Digital transformation has played – and continues to play – a huge part in every business for many decades. While technological advances have allowed us to progress and streamline business processes, some elements have been left behind –  such as data.  

Whenever a new technology becomes available, one of the consequences is data becoming siloed and therefore becoming hard to access across an organisation by different stakeholders and departments. 

Data provides insights into the way a business works and helps decision-makers implement changes for the better. So, for a business to progress, data needs to be integrated.  

Here are some insights* into how businesses can align their data and the advantages of doing so. 

1. Increased Operational Efficiency: Data integration streamlines business processes by enabling seamless data exchange between systems and automating data workflows. This reduces manual effort, minimizes data entry errors, and accelerates decision-making, leading to improved operational efficiency and productivity. 

1. Make Better Decisions: By integrating data from disparate sources and systems, organizations can create a unified view of their data assets. This comprehensive perspective enables stakeholders to access a single source of truth and eliminates discrepancies or inconsistencies in data. With a clear view to hand, you can make quicker, better, and more informed decisions. 

1. Personalized Customer Experiences: Integrated data allows organizations to gain a deeper understanding of their customers by consolidating information from multiple touchpoints and interactions. This enables personalized marketing campaigns, product recommendations, and customer service experiences, fostering stronger customer relationships and loyalty. 

1. Agility and Innovation: By breaking down data silos and facilitating cross-functional collaboration, data integration enables organizations to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, customer preferences, and competitive dynamics. This agility fosters innovation and enables organizations to seize new opportunities and stay ahead of the curve. 

So how should you go about integrating your data to gain these advantages? Mark Hesketh, Managing Director at Codiance shares their steps to doing so:

1. Make a data assessment: Firstly, you should work with your teams to assess all data sources and repositories across the organization. Quite often, we find businesses discover multiple sources of the same/similar data or even data they were not aware of at all! Identify where data is stored, what types of data are being collected, and how it is currently being used.
2. A Framework for data collection and storage: This should be well thought out but does not need to be complex. Establishing a clear and robust data governance framework that sets out policies, procedures, and responsibilities for managing and sharing data will help minimise the likelihood of siloed data in the future. The key areas to consider are data quality, security, privacy, and compliance.
3. Data Integration Strategy and Technology: Next you must define an approach and way of unifying your data. In essence, this is about creating a single storage structure for your data. You may use integration technologies such as ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tools, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), and data integration platforms to facilitate seamless data exchange. Implementing a centralised data warehouse can dramatically streamline data integration efforts longer term.

Throughout this process, it’s important you foster strong collaboration and communication between departments and teams to encourage the sharing and utilisation of data. You should be encouraging stakeholders from different areas of the organization to work together on data-related initiatives and projects.

Guide provided by Codiance

codiance.com