The Secret to Successful Data Integration

The value of data integration is now pretty well-established. With integration, businesses can manage their data far more effectively and with it, their customer relationships, staff, and resources. Businesses with integrated data are generally more productive and better able to innovate. In short, data integration makes sense.

But it only makes sense if it’s successful. If you’re about to take on a data integration project in your business, how can you make sure it actually delivers the benefits you want?

There are several things that make a difference to the success of data integration and all of them come down to one thing: trust. Trust in your systems, trust in your data, trust in your people. If you don’t have complete confidence in any one element, or your staff doesn’t, you’ve got problems you need to solve before you spend any more time working on data integration.

Trust in your data

Data integration is all about improving the quality of your data. But if the data you start with is poor, there’s only so much you can do to make it useful. The key here is to look at your whole business and see what you actually need from your data integration project. Talk to your sales team and find out what data would be most useful to them. Talk to your accounts people and find out what would make their lives easier.

If you’re not confident that your data is good, a data integration project is an opportunity to solve that problem. But it’s not a solution in itself. Do your groundwork and make sure you have the raw material – the data – you need before you start work on an integration.

Trust in your systems

There’s little point in deciding you want to integrate your CRM and ERP if you know that you don’t actually like or trust one of those systems. Again, a data integration project is a great opportunity to review what you’re using and decide if it’s right for you or not.

You also need to have confidence in the integration system itself. There are lots of data integration options out there, from off-the-peg to completely custom. Some, like Rapidi Online, offers the convenience of off-the-peg with the ability to add some customization. Talk to a few different providers and find one you trust absolutely and that your team can trust too.

Trust in people

One of the big benefits of data integration is that it helps build better relationships within and between teams. When everyone has access to the same data, they’re more likely to work closely together and see each other’s points-of-view.

But for this to happen, there has to be a degree of trust and respect there, to begin with. People aren’t going to buy into the idea of gaining trust in others if they don’t have a relationship, to begin with. Focus on building trust first and then consolidate it with integration.

Successful data integration happens when your business processes are working well and your people believe in each other. Get those right and you’re halfway there.