Data integration is a common operation in every IT organization, and there are thousands of service providers to build an integration solution. But, have you wondered what you should know before choosing data integration services? Do you know what mandatory characteristics that the solution should have?
Here is a quick checklist to verify if you are going to choose the best data integration solution. Check it out to know the features of an ideal data integration solution.
1. Database diversity
The data integration solution should be able to support different data formats and external data sources. It is generally tough to combine data when multiple data sources in multiple formats come into the scene. Adding to the complexity, unstructured data makes it worse to integrate data from different sources. The integration solution should be able to fetch data from standalone databases or even spreadsheets.
Every data format is unique in terms of metadata, attributes, schema, and structure. Combining such complex source data into a standard and usable format is an interesting challenge.
Not every data integration solution is designed for every kind of database. The information can be stored in data warehouses, data marts, or data lakes. So, deciding the type of database supported by the integration solution is an important aspect to ensure success. The ability to add new data sources is also a major concern.
2. Ease of integration
A perfect data integration solution should be fairly simple without compromising on features such as seamless batch processing, real-time integration, data consistency, and fault tolerance. It should be able flexible to handle large sets of unequal data easily. The ideal data integration solution should support API integration to combine data from any number of source applications. The solution should be capable of transforming and preparing the data for further reporting and analytics.
3.Customization and support
A data integration solution should be customizable to the client requirements. It should deliver the integrated data with the required transformations in the particular format specified. The solution should be able to support custom APIs and complex integration scenarios. Any changes that the customer wishes to add in the integration solution should be easily done without affecting any other system dependencies.
The data integration platform should also provide comprehensive technical support in case you come over any obstacle. Customer success should be the top priority. The support should be able to quickly identify the issue and progress toward resolution.
4. Cost
Deciding a data integration solution based on the cost is important. There are many cost-sensitive integration solutions in the market, but do you know if they would fit your business requirements? The solution should be able to improve efficiency and reduce software costs.
It is advisable to perform a detailed cost analysis before choosing the data integration solution. It should include factors such as batch processing, API maintenance, data hosting, error handling, data analytics, and other business logic capabilities. A cloud-based data integration platform would also prove to be fruitful in terms of a cost-effective solution.
5. Scalability
A fully scalable data integration solution is necessary to provide steady performance in the integration. Even as the data volumes and number of processing nodes increase proportionally, it is important to manage the same workload faster with additional resources. The solution should be easily scalable and it should be at a low cost.
6.Regulatory compliance
When it comes to the world of data being shared with multiple vendors, it is necessary to guarantee the data security. Check if the data integration solution comes with built-in compliance to privacy frameworks such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SSAE 16. It is not just enough when a solution provider claims data integration services compliant to different security standards. Double check for compliance certificates and make sure that the data integration solution is indeed safe and secure.