5 Reasons Your Business Needs a Data Integration Plan
Data integration (DI) is indispensable to businesses for a variety of reasons. It means gathering information from every available source and synthesizing it into usable groupings to guide decision making and spur growth. It’s often necessary for obtaining funding, predicting areas of need to stay ahead of demand and edging out the competition. Learn why every business needs a plan for data integration.
Many Business Practices Require Data Integration
Increase the value of data-driven practices by accessing every available tool and technique. Businesses depend on DI for the following:
- Data warehousing and business intelligence – Often one set of current data doesn’t give stakeholders a clear picture. Calculated, aggregated time-oriented data values from a data warehouse can provide necessary insight, and they would not be possible without data integration.
- DI provides real-time information – Just-in-time inventory and operational Business Intelligence require data integration to speed up time-sensitive data collection processes.
- Diverse businesses use DI for data transfer – Whether businesses need to communicate between departments or with separate entities across the globe, DI solutions help share data.
Access Strengths of Multiple Data Types
Each data format serves a distinct purpose. Organizations use multiple formats because each has exclusive characteristics that make it useful. Integrating data allows organizations to benefit from the strengths of each without having to pull up each individual data set.
For example, when businesses integrate data from CAD and GIS, they see both the CAD drawing and functional GIS distinctions.
Manage Data Complexity
While each data format is useful, the more sets of data you have, the more difficult it can be to untangle them. Data integration streamlines connections for more efficient delivery. Some organizations create a data hub for simple access.
Improve Data Value
Information is more usable when data sets are combined. Here are a few examples:
- Merge and leverage data from external sources like vendors.
- Combine different types of data like structured, unstructured, spatial and big data.
- Integrate multiple databases even if they’re in different locations.
- Unify schema from dataset groups.
Provide Data Accessibility
When data integration makes all your data available in a central location, you can provide access to anyone who needs it. Marketing teams can acquire data and easily transform it for projects and share results between team members for improved agility. Stakeholders can apply calculations to real-time results from their mobile device.
Improve collaboration between teams and access everything you need to know for smarter business decisions. DI technology also makes sure data is error and duplication free, checking and cleansing all information as it passes through. One input updates across the system in real time, keeping information up to date.
Make sure your organization can use its data to its maximum potential. Contact Indy Data Partners to find out more about Data Integration.