Justifying Data Integration Initiatives

The Cost of Data Integration Initiatives

Although there is a lot of buzz around the prospect of using data integration to solve pressing informational problems, organizations are beginning to realize that they must first address a wide range of challenges, from defining a clear business strategy to managing technology compatibility issues. Data integration initiatives are often intertwined with other high-priority issues such as legacy modernization, consolidation and shared services, cloud computing, mobile services, and cyber security. The biggest concern however, has been justifying the costs associated with many data integration efforts.

The cost and infrastructure challenges that most organizations face include:

• Overall Cost of Data Integration Activities
• Poor or Inconsistent Data Quality
• Strains on Existing IT Infrastructure (including storage capacity and network bandwidth to support data-capture and analysis)
• Security Risks Related to Data Integration Initiatives
• Development Time Necessary to Successfully Implement Data Integration Initiatives
• Difficulty Obtaining or Analyzing Real-time Data
• Difficulty Designing Data Analytic Systems
• Difficulty Integrating Data Initiatives within Existing IT Infrastructure
• Lack of Qualified Staff Resources to Handle Data Management or Analysis
• Difficulty in Uncovering Actionable Insights from Analytics
• Difficulty of Demonstrating the Value of Data Initiatives to Senior Management
• Inability to Demonstrate the ROI from Investment in Data Integration

The business case for data integration must start with a purpose – the rationale and the need for investing now. However, this bumps up against another key challenge noted many organizations – the inability to demonstrate a return on investment for data integration initiatives. The fact that organizations often start talking about investing in data integration well before they have figured out what increased product or service capabilities it will deliver – is just one of the factors that makes quantifying the ROI so challenging.

Infrastructure Concerns

Many organizations are concerned about whether their current IT infrastructures (including network bandwidth, storage, and processing capabilities) are agile and flexible enough to handle data integration projects effectively. In addition, the perennial concerns of data quality, timeliness, governance, and security are doubly relevant. Simply put, if you can’t manage your current data and you have data silos, you will need to adopt a more flexible API-based approach that is capable of securely bridging the gap between multiple data sources and multiple end-user devices.

A Focused Approach

With so many data and information management tools, systems, and platforms to choose from, the best approach is often to start with a focus on the highest impact initiatives – and on specific data connectivity problems. An extremely targeted approach can help address another major concern among organizations – the difficulty in justifying the cost-benefit of the solution.

Learn More

For additional insight into data integration trends, best practices, and client successes, contact Ron Garnett and request a Best practice Briefing. In addition, we can help you to develop a detailed Project Blueprint that will guide the organization through the process of defining technology project requirements, planning infrastructure modernization strategies, deploying new systems, and the all-important budget justification.