How trustworthy, secure, and accessible is the information within the enterprise? The best way to answer this question is to develop an effective data integration strategy. Data integration becomes inevitable as the enterprise adopts service-orientation, turns to Software-as-a-Service vendors, or seeks to improve business intelligence. Good data quality and accessibility are key requirements for such initiatives.
A strategy for managing people and processes is critical to a successful adoption of data integration. This note discusses the following:
- The definition of data integration and the drivers for adoption.
- Trends in data integration-related peer activities.
- Strategic business benefits of data integration in the context of IT initiatives.
- Vendor offerings of available data integration tools: on-demand and open-source.
The background, business benefits, and industry trend insight contained in this note has a singular goal: to help IT create a unified view of enterprise information and gain the flexibility to take advantage of emerging business opportunities.