Data Integration is a hot topic in today’s world as most firms are trying to realize the value out of the data they have collected from their customer base. The process of retrieving data from multiple source systems and combining it in such a way that it yield consistent, comprehensive, current and correct information for business reporting and analysis is called Data Integration.

Data integration is a term covering several distinct sub-areas such as:

  • Data warehousing
  • Data Migration
  • Enterprise application/information integration
  • Master Data Management

Some of the major benefits of data integration are:

  • Availability/Accessibility-Asset data that is easily retrieved, viewed, queried, and analyzed by anyone within an agency encourages the integration of such data into every area of an agency that can benefit from it, spurring both innovation and better decision-making.
  • Timeliness-Well-organized data can be quickly updated; one input will often apply the data across a variety of linked systems, and the information can be time-stamped to reflect its currency.
  • Accuracy and Integrity-Errors are greatly reduced because the integration environment drives a higher quality of input and can include automatic or convenient error checking and verification.
  • Consistency and Clarity-Integration requires clear and unique definition of various types of data, avoiding confusion or conflict in the meaning of terms and usage.
  • Completeness-All available information, including both historical and recent data, is accessible in an integrated database, with any missing records or fields identified and flagged via the integration process.
  • Reduced Duplication-Identical data is eliminated reducing the need for multiple updates and ensuring everyone is working from the exact same information.

Data Integration is big challenge for any firm, the biggest issue lies in technical implementation of integrating data from disparate and incompatible sources. Hence it is done in three separate phases, namely:

  • Design
  • Implementation
  • Testing

In next few blogs we will talk about how we help assist our clients with their data integration issues.