Automated data integration: What it is and how to implement it the right way
November 24, 2022
Effective data integration allows you to tailor marketing campaigns, reduce ad spend, and boost team productivity. The problem is that most businesses are manually integrating data, which is time-consuming and promotes data silos.
So, if you want to automate your data integration process, don’t stress. We’ve got you covered.
Here’s exactly what we mean by data integration, and what you can do to implement it correctly.
What is automated data integration?
Automated data integration is the process of using software to enter and update data automatically rather than hand-coding it. This removes the need for manual integration, which can be error-prone and time-consuming.
What is an example of data integration?
ETL (extraction, transformation, and loading) and ELT (extraction, loading, and transformation) are both examples of data integrations.
Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. ETL provides faster analysis and is more widely used, while ELT loads data faster and is more flexible.
Which system is best for you will depend on your needs. For example, if you’re a startup transferring small amounts of customer data, ETL is a better option. But if you’re a larger organization dealing with more data, ELT is practical since the data-loading process is easier.
What are the benefits of automating data integration?
Overhauling your business processes can be intimidating, but consider these benefits:
- Better marketing leads
- Reduced marketing spend
- Improved productivity
1. Better marketing leads
Organizations can view individual customer preferences, pain points, and buying history across multiple social platforms using automated customer data integration.
You can then utilize this demographic data to target your audience with relevant and compelling information about your product or service.
2. Reduced marketing spend
Is your organization cutting marketing budgets to save money? Just because you have less money to work with doesn’t mean your marketing results should be substandard. By automating data integration, you understand your customer’s needs better, so you can more effectively target pain points.
And if your organization isn’t cutting costs, you can use this bigger budget to take your personalized marketing campaigns to the next level, as your money is going to more relevant campaigns.
3. Improved productivity
The automated integration of databases will eliminate data silos overnight, allowing employees to access the necessary information to complete projects.
Even if your organization doesn’t have data silos, an integrated data automation process makes it quicker to get the knowledge needed to complete tasks.
For example, let’s say a data manager in your organization spends one hour per day gathering customer information. If you implement an automated system, they’ll save an hour every day and can focus on other activities, boosting productivity by almost 10%.
A look at some common data integration approaches
Here are some standard data integration approaches:
- Manual
- Middleware
- Data virtualization
1. Manual
The most common and ineffective data integration method is manual integration. This occurs when someone collects and manually transports data from surveys and social pages into their database. From here, they’ll clean and structure it by reading through and deleting bad data.
This form of hand-coding wastes time and is prone to errors, so we suggest you avoid it.
2. Middleware
Middleware is one step better than manually integrating data, but it’s still inferior to data virtualization. Middleware is when you use software to connect your data source to your database. This streamlines the integration process, but you aren’t getting a 360-degree view of customer data, and this can make data harder to understand.
3. Data virtualization
The most efficient method of data integration is data virtualization. Data virtualization will speed up the integration process and allow you to gain a unified view of customer data while leaving it in its original form.
How to implement data integration into your organization
Automated data integration tools like Lytics make data integration easy. Unlike middleware, which only connects data sources to your database, Lytics gives you a full view of customer preferences and buying history across mobile and web applications.
It doesn’t matter what software you’re using to collect data; Lytics has your back. Lytics integrates with:
- AWS
- AdRoll
- Campaign Monitor
- Google Analytics
- Mailchimp
- Oracle
This streamlines the automated data integration process.
To experience these benefits, connect your data-collecting software to a customer data platform. It’ll automatically integrate your customer data under one digital roof, so you can use it for decision-making.
