> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://grandcentral.backbase.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Grand Central iPaaS > Grand Central is a pro-code integration platform that accelerates banking integration development Grand Central Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a pro-code platform that accelerates the development, deployment, and management of banking integrations. The platform provides an engineering-centric environment where you manage infrastructure, application configuration, and deployment workflows through code. Grand Central uses a GitOps approach, so you can self-serve resources, automate deployments, and maintain security standards without waiting on central operations tickets. ## Key capabilities Grand Central is built on enterprise-grade cloud technologies, including Azure and Kubernetes. The platform hosts connectors, APIs, and event-driven architectures while abstracting infrastructure complexity. With Grand Central, you can: * **Build and deploy connectors:** Run integration logic using industry-standard frameworks such as Camel K. * **Manage APIs:** Publish and secure APIs using Azure API Management (APIM). * **Handle events:** Implement event-driven patterns using Azure Service Bus. * **Monitor applications:** View application performance through Datadog or Grafana. ## Pro-code approach Unlike low-code platforms that use drag-and-drop interfaces, Grand Central treats infrastructure as code (IaC). You interact with the platform primarily through Git repositories. This approach provides the following benefits: * **Auditability:** Git commit history tracks every change to infrastructure and application state. * **Reviewability:** Pull request reviews enforce governance and code quality standards. * **Automation:** Merged pull requests automatically trigger pipelines that apply changes. This eliminates manual console operations. ## Core repositories You work with two primary repositories: | Repository | Purpose | Use cases | | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `self-service` | Provisioning control plane | Manage user access, request repositories, create secrets, and configure platform resources. | | `applications-live` | Deployment control plane | Define runtime configuration for applications across environments (development, staging, UAT) and synchronize cluster state through ArgoCD. | Separating provisioning from deployment creates a clear boundary between infrastructure management and application lifecycle management. ## Platform terminology The following sections define the key terms you need to understand when working with the Grand Central platform. For a comprehensive alphabetical glossary, see [Glossary](/platform/reference/glossary). ### Grand Central platform Grand Central is an integration platform that provides applications for building connectors and agents. The platform also includes pre-built connectors and agents developed by the Grand Central team. ### Independent software vendor (ISV) An independent software vendor (ISV) is a company that develops, markets, and sells software solutions specifically for the financial services industry. ### Unified APIs Unified APIs are BIAN-inspired APIs packaged within the scope of a connector. These standardized interfaces abstract the complexity of different ISV implementations into consistent endpoints. ### Connector pack A connector pack is a collection of connectors within the same business domain of an ISV. ### Connector A connector is an out-of-the-box integration between the Grand Central platform and a third-party ISV. Each connector maps to one domain API specification. ### Connector types A pre-built connector comes with the Grand Central platform, also referred to as a managed connector. It provides an out-of-the-box integration with an ISV that allows you to unlock data without custom development. A custom connector is a connector that you build on the Grand Central platform to connect an ISV or a financial institution that doesn't have a pre-built connector available. ### Connector domain A connector domain is the logical grouping of business capabilities and data ownership. The following table shows the available connector domains: | Domain | Description | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Core Banking | The system of record for accounts and ledgers. | | Customer Relationship Management | The system of engagement for customer data. | | Payments Processing | The functional area for moving money between entities. | | Onboarding & Origination | The workflow for acquiring new business. | | Data Enrichment | A utility domain for enhancing data quality. | ### Building a connector Building a connector is the development process of creating a connector on the Grand Central platform. You map the proprietary endpoints of an ISV to Grand Central's Unified APIs and define data transformation logic. The output of this process is a connector definition that is ready to be installed. ### Installing a connector Installing a connector is the configuration process of activating a connector (either pre-built or custom) within an available connector slot. You input tenant-specific credentials, such as API keys, base URLs, and authentication tokens, to establish a secure link between the Grand Central platform and the external ISV. Once installed, the connector is live and can send and receive data. ### Connector slot A connector slot is a licensed unit of capacity that allows you to activate one distinct connection to an external system within a specific business domain. ### Sync Hub Sync Hub is a distributed event streaming tool that you can use when building connectors. ## Next steps * [Architecture](/platform/architecture): Learn about the platform architecture and components. * [Security](/platform/security): Review the security model and access controls.