What is data integration and why it’s important
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Jun 2, 2023

What is data integration and why it’s important

Data integration is a massive challenge and finding a solution that’s right for your e-commerce business can be tough. How do you know if your data isn’t integrated? How do you know what data should be integrated? And how do you know which software will solve the problem in your industry? This blog will help answer those questions and more!

The data integration problem

Data integration is a huge problem for most businesses. It’s necessary for companies to be successful in today’s business world. But it can also be incredibly difficult to implement effectively. In fact, many businesses don’t even attempt to integrate their data. They know that it will be too expensive or time-consuming to do so effectively. This is a problem that will only get worse as time goes on. More companies rely on data analysis for everything from marketing strategies to product development processes.

How a CDP solves the data integration problem

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a centralized platform for managing data. A CDP allows you to integrate data from multiple sources, including databases, applications, ads, or email systems. Having all this data in one place means that you can use it to power more than just your marketing automation software.

A CDP will enable you to take advantage of its flexibility, scalability, and ability to power other applications. Whatever they may be. Most importantly, however, it will allow you to manage customer data effectively regardless of where it comes from or what tools are being used by your employees (or third parties).

The problem is that most businesses simply don’t have the time or resources to create a data integration solution that will work for them. Not only are these systems incredibly expensive and difficult to implement. But they also require extensive training and maintenance in order to function properly.

In fact, many businesses fail because they simply don’t have the resources necessary to keep up with a system like this. A CDP gives you the freedom to connect all your systems. And it can manage data at every stage of the customer journey. It also allows you to create a single source of truth for your customer data. This means that everyone in your organization has access to the same information. This will make it easier for them to collaborate on projects. And to build a better understanding of how customers interact with your brand.

Data integrations you’ll need regardless of your CDP choice

Whatever CDP you choose, you’ll need to integrate it with data sources in order to get the most out of your CDP. Here are some of the integrations that will be crucial no matter which one you choose:

  • Analytics Platforms: Analytics platforms can help you see how many users interact with your website. This includes what they do once they get there, and where they come from. This is important so that when you build an effective marketing campaign. Or if the product launch strategy is based on this information (which comes from analytics), so it doesn’t fall flat.
  • Ad Platforms: Similar to analytics platforms (and often integrated with them as well), ad platforms allow you to track user behavior around advertising campaigns. This means you can track when someone clicks a link in an ad but never continues on after reaching the landing page for whatever reason. Maybe because their expectations weren’t met? You have data about why and can make adjustments accordingly.
  • CMS: A Content Management System (CMS) is software that allows website owners to create content without having any technical expertise or coding skills. Instead, they can just add text fields, pictures, or videos however they want using an easy-to-use interface. This is provided by their CMS providers such as Shopify, Woocommerce, or another e-commerce CMS.

Side tracking

Analytics, ad platforms, and CMS integrations are key to e-commerce CDPs

  • Analytics
  • Ad platforms
  • CMS

Integrations with these platforms can be done through a CDP. The data you get from these integrations is valuable because it helps you run your business more efficiently. But e-commerce sites are also using these integrations to drive revenue. The best part about working with an open source CDP is that it will save money and time on development cost. This is true since everything runs on Docker containers instead of software installed on your own servers.

The good news is that there are some steps you can take to improve your data integration right now. Here are some things every business should be doing in order to integrate their data more effectively. If you’re looking for a CDP that can integrate with multiple platforms, check out our e-commerce CDP. You can also contact us to see if it will work for your business and get started today.

Data integration is a massive challenge and finding a solution that’s right for your business can be tough.

Data integration is a huge problem. And finding the right solution can be equally difficult.

The good news is that there are solutions out there to help you with this challenge. But they’re not always easy to find or implement. In fact, they often require expensive up-front investments and ongoing maintenance fees that could quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars annually. Sometimes they even come with large per-user fees. Or maybe other unexpected costs that can make it hard for your business to keep pace if it continues growing (or shrinking) at the same rate as it has been.

And because these services aren’t cheap or easy to use, many businesses end up struggling along with their existing systems. This tends to result in more errors and missed opportunities for growth than ever before!

However, Custimy.io has developed a Customer Data Platform that contains all the integrations at a fraction of the cost. This means it is accessible for everyone in e-commerce. No matter your budget or your technical skills, Custimy can deliver a CDP that can help you integrate the right data. All so you can make more informed and better decisions in your e-commerce.

Conclusion

Data is the new oil. And data integration is a critical part of any business that wants to thrive in this digital age. It’s no longer enough to just collect data. You need to be able to access it quickly and easily, both for internal use. As well as for external consumption by third parties like ad platforms and analytics providers.