When computing and evaluations began shifting from enormous mainframes to smaller, distributed systems, these systems needed a highly stable means of communicating links. One of the first methods, electronic data interchange (EDI), helped systems share and exchange data in well-defined formats. It was first used by the banking industry, then slowly spread to other industries, including retail.
By the 1990s, with the rise of the Internet, system integration ensured a clear-cut competitive advantage. The benefits of data integration were immense. Using the essential data it provided, companies could address customer needs and requirements and address them in a better, improved manner.
Today, industry giants consolidate systems and applications to implement automated, streamlined workflows and the kind of data integration that helps companies deliver actionable insights and make informed decisions. The benefits of data integration help companies deliver the value promised to customers and create new revenue streams.
This blog highlights the advantages/benefits of data integration solutions in detail. Let’s take a look.
Four Key Advantages/Benefits of Data Integration
1. More Efficient Operations and Lower Costs
When organizations leverage modern data integration solutions, they are able to implement data connections much more quickly, securely, and easily. With self-service and automation as their core capabilities, companies can bring their non-technical workers to the business forefront and improve the speed and quality of data-driven operations. Consequently, IT teams are freed to devote their time to drive higher-value strategic efforts. Companies can do more with less, which ultimately helps them reduce costs.
2. Faster Onboarding
Modern data integration solutions with self-service features enable non-techie business users to onboard customers 80 percent faster. That means IT no longer needs to create long custom codes and perform data mappings to implement onboarding connections. Instead, the non-technical staff can just point and click through easy-to-navigate screens. Because business workers can connect with customers sooner, they can address and meet their needs faster than ever. That fills customers with delight and satisfaction, encouraging them to stay, and growing the company’s revenue.
3. Automated Workflows and Better Visibility
In the current times, organizations must consolidate unstructured and structured data from different sources, both internal and external, and run processes. For instance, when a customer invests in a product or service from a particular retailer, that transaction fuels a complex set of functions. This includes data sharing across all sales, inventory, shipping, supply, and accounting applications involved. Using a modern data integration solution, retailers can build seamless, automated workflows. And by centralizing operations, data integration solutions improve visibility enterprise-wide, enabling companies to track, monitor, and optimize their efforts.
4. Better Decision-Making
Valuable business metrics are pertinent — they empower companies to recognize areas for improvement, determine where costs can be diminished, and unlock new opportunities for growth. Data integration platforms bring data together from various applications, offering companies a way to predict, evaluate process efficiencies, and drive well-informed decision-making.