Modern enterprises rely on data to drive operational and strategic decisions. The challenge often presents itself in the process of combining data from different sources with a goal to providing a unified view on a single interface to enable analytical analysis to drive business strategy and performance.
Once the decision has been made to integrate, the next question is: how?
Answering the “how” question depends on existing IT systems architecture, the stage of the cloud migration journey, and understanding the different integration solutions that can be applied.
There are many options available; here are 5 factors to consider when selecting the right data integration tool for your enterprise.
- Enterprise Size
The larger the organisation, the more complex the data integration strategy. If you are a growing organisation you need to find a solution that is scalable and flexible to support your growth. Each day there are 2.5 quintillion bytes[1] of data being created globally, and this is continuing to increase. Investing in a tool that accommodates your ever expanding data is vital.
- New Sources of Data
Finding a solution that can handle new and additional data sources that can be plugged in efficiently and effectively is paramount to a future proof solution. This is one of the biggest limitations of opting for an on-premise solution. A cloud or hybrid approach provides a more appropriate solution for optimal support in integrating new sources of data.
- Security
Data security is a top priority and it can become a critical problem to solve with large-scale data integration projects. The average total cost of a data breach declined slightly in 2020 to $3.86 million[2], ensuring you have the expertise, skills and resources in place when it comes to security and privacy compliance is paramount in data integration project.
- Data integration use case
To select the most fitting solution, identifying data integration use cases which add value and help achieve business objectives, will be a key driver in the decision making. Are you looking to sync data across multiple systems, provide a sales and marketing dashboard or migrating data?
- Budget
Meeting all expectations and requirements within a realistic financial limit can raise many internal challenges. The more prominent solutions require large up-front investments from: recruitment of skill sets, expensive licence fees and updated hardware.
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[1] https://www.domo.com/learn/data-never-sleeps-5?aid=ogsm072517_1&sf100871281=1
[2] https://www.capita.com/sites/g/files/nginej146/files/2020-08/Ponemon-Global-Cost-of-Data-Breach-Study-2020.pdf