Digital activities generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. As consumers and businesses alike become more reliant on technology, information becomes more complex and diverse. Even small companies have terabytes of data at their disposal, generated by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, social media, and other online resources. In short, it’s a staggering number of ones and zeros that most human minds cannot comprehend.
One of the biggest challenges facing businesses today is translating data – data that comes from servers, smart-grid connected devices, and everything in between – into actionable insights that improve the effectiveness of their marketing strategies, customer service, and operational efficiency.
Businesses that fail to tap into this incredibly valuable digital commodity are inevitably destined to fade into obscurity as more innovative companies lead the way. It is essential to optimize these resources.
What Is Data Integration?
The enterprise technology environment typically consists of multiple applications and systems that serve various corporate needs. From internet-connected smart devices to CRM systems, every piece of modern technology generates data. Coming from a wide range of sources, raw data is practically impossible to make sense of, hence the growing need for data integration solutions.
Data integration is the process of creating an infrastructure that provides an efficient and accurate interface between the systems integral to any business. Basically, it ensures that systems such as customer service, accounting systems, customer portals, Human Resources, etc. all “talk” to each other, providing efficiency and useful data that drives increased profitability and strategic decisions.
How Do IT Providers Handle Integration?
Data integration systems work by connecting application programming interfaces (APIs) to critical systems within an organization, ensuring that information is accurately and efficiently processed to eliminate manual processes and human intervention that introduce the risk of errors. By assuring that data is efficiently and accurately processed, data can be accessed to enhance the decision-making process, optimize efficiency, and increase profitability.
In the healthcare sector, organizations need a way to process and store patient information, meet compliance regulations, protect patient records, transmit claims to Insurance companies, analyze utilization data, track and analyze treatment methodology, as well as multiple business functions such as human resources, payroll, and accounting. The infrastructure is complex and encompasses systems that are both real-time and batch. The desired result of this complex healthcare system data integration is to serve their patients and provide the best healthcare possible while meeting all regulatory and compliance obligations. Plus, they need to efficiently integrate all business functions and provide data for smart business decisions.
In a sector where delays or incorrect information can mean the difference between life and death, it’s imperative that employees have access to the right information in real-time.
Business Benefits of Data Integration
Organizations may not realize that critical information is available because it’s spread across multiple databases. Data integration provides the bridge between varying infrastructure to provide accessibility. Companies across all industry verticals use data integration to interpolate customer metrics, enhancing better service and improved decision-making.
In the realm of Healthcare, health insurance companies use a system called Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) to measure the quality of patient care. This information is provided to customers to help them pick the best plan. A custom web app or framework could be built to safely integrate electronic medical records (EMRs) with an insurer’s database to improve HEDIS data collection and ultimately enhance customer experiences.
Regardless of the industry, data integration is about having access to information that improves the bottom line. Accessibility must be standardized and centralized for decision-makers to utilize available data.
Getting Started With Data Integration
Although data integrations are often overwhelming for internal teams, hiring the right application development company is critical to success. The experienced application development company will provide a data integration application that will result in improved productivity, consistent and available data, and access to real-time statistical analysis.