A-Z Popular Blog Top Search »
Technology
Simplicable Guide
A-Z
Search
Popular
Sitemap
Advertisements
Technology Guides
Technologies

What is Data Integration?

 , December 20, 2015 updated on November 06, 2016
Data integration is the practice of combining data from a variety of sources. This is typically done to support processes, user interfaces and reporting that require data from heterogeneous systems.
It is common for organizations to have their data spread amongst systems that may number in the thousands, each with a distinct data model. It is equally common for critical business data to end up in documents, emails, text files and other unstructured data repositories. As such, new projects may be unaware of existing data and replicate it leading to duplicated effort, data quality issues and needlessly complex business processes and technology stacks.
Data is often isolated along political lines in an organization. In other words, competing managers may not cooperate and tend to develop duplicated data repositories. As a result of these issues, data integration is a significant challenge for many organizations.
Many data integrations are intended to meet the requirements of a single project and may be designed as point-to-point transfers of data. With time these integrations can grow to number in the thousands and are often difficult to maintain. In other cases, data integrations are architected to be reusable services with a common data model. This is typically a more desirable solution but can represent a major initiative that is commonly underestimated by project teams.
Overview: Data Integration
TypeInformation Technology
DefinitionServices that provide access to data to support technologies such as automation, user interfaces and reporting.
ExamplesA hospital that accesses an emergency patient's national health records to see if they're allergic to anything.
A sales report that uses data from a customer relationship management, billing platform and marketing automation system.
An ecommerce engine that displays products from thousands of partners in a single user interface.
Related ConceptsProcess Integration

IT Skills

This is the complete list of articles we have written about it skills.
Algorithms
Analytics
Architecture
Artificial Intelligence
Automation
Big Data
Coding
CRM
Data
Data Mining
Databases
Design
Devops
ERP
Gamification
Information Security
IT Examples
Legacy Software
Office Productivity
Problem Management
Process Automation
Robotics
SCM
Service Delivery
Service Management
Software Design
Testing
If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.
 

Types of Technology

A reasonably comprehensive list of information technologies.

Gamification Techniques

A list of gamification techniques.

Information Technology Problems

A list of common IT problems.

Types Of Cloud

The basic types of cloud computing.

IT Quality

Common types of IT quality.

Machine Data

The common types of machine data.

Types Of Software

The common types of software.

Proprietary Technology

A definition of proprietary technology with examples.

Systems Design

The common elements of a systems design.

Systems vs Applications

The difference between systems and applications explained.

Problem Solving

An overview of problem solving with examples.

Thought Processes

A list of thinking approaches and types.

Workaround

A definition of workaround with examples.

Creative Thinking

A list of common creative thinking techniques.

Problems

A list of common types of problems.

Analysis Paralysis

The definition of analysis paralysis with examples.

Arrow Of Time

The definition of the arrow of time with examples.

Business Problems

An overview of common business problems.

Decision Framing

The definition of decision framing with examples.

Research

The common types of research.
The most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day.

New Articles

Recent posts or updates on Simplicable.
Site Map