Data, data, data; the biggest corporate asset has now become both a blessing and a curse. As we’ve previously mentioned, data has become the world’s new oil. It drives sales, insights, return on investment, and is also at the base of every corporate strategy out there. But the real question would be: “Is there such thing as ‘too much data’?”.
Ideally, the answer would have to be “No.” However, practically, the answer is: “Only when it’s not organized.”
Unstructured data is a real trigger for data scientists – or anyone required to work with data for that matter – because unstructured data puts companies at risk of losing Big Data and resources. Also, as companies keep receiving data, these bulks of unstructured data keep expanding, causing chaos when not organized.
Therefore, in the fight against data overkill, our weapon of choice would be Intalio’s Data Integration Solution.
What is Data Integration?
Data integration is the process of retracting information from specific sources and turning data from unstructured to structured by integrating them into specific predefined categories.
The process starts by extracting information using tools – such as Intalio Data Capture Software – where information is extracted from different sources or media. This collected data is then automatically checked for inconsistencies and goes through a set of predefined rules. It is searched for duplications, blank inputs, and so on. From there, it gets converted and transformed into any source format that can be integrated, stored, analyzed, and used for later purposes. Finally, the information or data gets loaded onto the end location while adhering to the proper format needed.
Data integration solutions help integrate data from multiple sources to be gathered across an organization and can then be found on one platform instead of having information silos or duplicating work to extract specific information or insight. Simply, it’s retracting data from multiple sources and transforming them into meaningful information that can easily be found.
The Top 5 Benefits of Data Integration
Corporate cooperation:
When systems containing various sets of data are unified in one location, it can benefit the entire corporation. By allowing the information to be available to anyone in the company, each department can gather its proper insight without undergoing extensive – and sometimes duplicated – work.
Eliminating errors:
By going through the cleansing step of data integration and forcing information to go through specific protocols, the final results will then be properly integrated and ready to be accessed and used in real-time. This process steers away from irrelevant or missing information and duplications.
Saving time:
When data is scattered across multiple systems or locations, it becomes very consuming and prone to error to gather all of the required data from these different sources. This is especially trivial if the answer or decision needed from the data is time-sensitive. When the data is already integrated, this search process becomes quick and easy.
More accurate business decisions:
When data is still unstructured and scattered, it risks being left behind when gathered or when needed. This causes decisions and opinions to be less informed which could cause corporate loss both in finance and in opportunities. However, when data is integrated, the accuracy of retraction allows for decision-making accuracy and leaves no data left behind.
Customer insight:
The ease of access to the once scattered data allows for better results and clearer customer insight. Customer data integration provides a complete picture of key performance indicators (KPIs), financial risks, customer profiles, and so on.
The Cure to Data OCD
Our Data Integration Platform can help a major retailer integrate data from multiple stores they own, allowing them to understand their customers’ behavior and payment preferences, making way for a new strategy to tackle these findings and lead to financial gains. These solutions are essential in other industries as well, such as healthcare, finance, telecommunications, and marketing, to name a few.
As you’ve seen, data integration tools are the heroes fighting against scattered data outbreaks and overkill, which makes them our weapon of choice in the fight against Data OCD.
If you still haven’t found a way to organize your scattered data and are considering data integration solutions, let us know so we can partner and help you win that fight.
