The Power of Data Integration Strategy for Your Business
Data Integration Strategy is probably one of the most important things to have for businesses in 2020, as described in this article https://spd.group/data-unification/the-power-of-data-integration/. I would like to recommend it to you, if you want to find out about real-world use cases and tangible benefits of DI for organizations similar to yours.
We live in a time in which information is the core element of business success for companies in almost any industry. Data is the key to making proper and timely decisions, building winning strategies, data can impact everything from revenue growth to customer satisfaction.
According to McKinsey, companies that heavily rely on data and make informed decisions are:
- increasing profits by 93%;
- boosting sales by 82%; and
- improving the speed of sales growth by 112%.
To obtain the necessary information, there are two primary challenges that need to be solved. First is the pace – the information must be provided as soon as possible, preferably in real-time. The second is trustable information you can take action on without questioning it. That’s a big problem, because almost half of data records contain errors that could mess up processes.
So, there is a lot of hype around technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things — but to benefit from them, companies should embrace digital transformation to its fullest. Right now, nearly 60% of data in companies is inaccessible for decision-making; analysts spend most of their time extracting and processing data. The real cost of poor data quality for businesses is $15 million a year on average.
The solution to all of those problems and challenges, as well as the key to unlocking the value of innovations in technology, is a data integration strategy. It is the only way for businesses to obtain accurate and detailed information that leaders will be able to take action upon.
Data integration is not just a list of technical processes, but rather a whole strategy that will make the necessary information accessible and understandable to anyone in every branch of a business. In this article, we will discuss what data integration is, how to achieve it, what tools we can use, and how to get the most out of your time and budget investments.
“The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.” – Carly Fiorina, former executive, president, and chair of HP.
What is Data Integration?
The definition of data integration is pretty simple – it is a process that aims to combine data from multiple sources into a unified view, making it accessible and actionable. You can measure the positive result of this process by getting information fast, accurate, and at scale, which will help you achieve your business goals and maximize your ability to use the latest technologies in your organization.
There is no unified approach or method to data integration, but all solutions have certain parts in common — such as a network of data sources, a master server, and users who need to access data from this server.
Why is Data Integration So Important?
First and foremost, it saves time on analyzing data and extracting value from it. Your employees will have access to the whole system without a time-consuming necessity to build connections between different subsystems. If you add automated tools for integration instead of manual coding, you can double the productivity of the organization — as 86% of the companies that used these tools did.
Collaboration and data sharing between different departments will instantly improve, despite their location or a project they are working on. Additionally, data integration will reduce the number of errors that could occur — automated solutions that regularly synchronize for updates prevent a lot of possible errors, boosting overall productivity as a result. But there are definitely even more benefits for businesses. Let’s look at them closely.
