External Data Integration is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Identifying the path forward is the first step towards external data integration, simplified.

External data integration is a complex process, historically speaking. There are many hurdles to overcome, and organizations have to constantly be looking ahead to make sure they’re prepared for the next step. It’s critical to stay organized and prepared for what’s around the bend, and the best way to do that is to create a map of your journey. We’ve named it the external data gauntlet, as it can be an open-ended never-ending challenge if managed incorrectly. 

The first step in making it through the gauntlet is to know the steps to success to transform raw data to business critical insights. Along the way, you should be prepared for each of these steps: 

• Acquire datasets
• Ingest them into your infrastructure
• Transform the data into a useable desired format; this includes cleansing, validating, standardizing, enriching, and blending it 
• Deliver to your internal consumers 
• Query against the data to answer your hypothesis or question
• Analyze the insights gained 

Illustrated visually, it might look something like this: 

Laying it out makes it look simpler than it is in reality. Externally, the impression is that everyone knows what they’re doing, and can sprint this gauntlet with ease. Charles Ashwanden, one of our resident financial services experts, explains that the problem is often right under our noses. 

“I actually don't think that's the case, I think the majority don't. I think everyone's scrambling to get by. If we take that veneer off to take that approach, I know this is really, really, really difficult managing,” he says. “That's what we know and it's it's trying to change that and I think that, from a different angle, we need to change the approach, we need to help our sales groups understand that we’re not a charitable service, this is actually a massive, massive opportunity to help clients.” 

So once we identify our process and accept its complexity, then what? Join us on October 14, 2022 for our first live External Data University event to walk the gauntlet in detail. You can register on LinkedIn here. 

After the event, be sure to keep an eye on the blog for more detailed gauntlet content, and follow us on LinkedIn to be notified of future XDU events. No sales pitches, just learning together as a community