
Database Integrations
In today’s world of automation, well executed database integrations are a must! We work with our clients to build the necessary interfaces required to do so.
Data Interfaces
In many cases the interfaces are between two or more databases residing on completely different platforms. In these cases, we study the data structures on both the sending and receiving ends before determining the required strategy. The resulting strategy sometimes includes a direct one-to-one mapping of fields. In other cases it requires the placement of an interim flat file. This flat file provides the means to link the data fields in 2 steps rather than one. But it’s necessary because of the conflicting data structures preventing the one-on-one.
Data Integrity
To make matters worse, data is not without business rules and required edits. Without rules the data has no integrity. So, we study the rules in the programs sending and receiving the data back and forth. Sometimes we have to add additional rules to match up data integrity levels between the two databases. This is done through programming on either end of the data exchange process. All this work is intricate and requires advanced skills. To accomplish these tasks we employ our database experts and programming experts. Together they get the job done and done correctly.
Reduced Overhead and Errors
Database integrations save organizations a great deal of time and money in reducing manually intensive processing tasks. Interfaces to databases in accounting, outside vendors and suppliers, partners, etc. are often critical functions in an organization. This is especially true for businesses selling products through their website as well as in store. End to end automation through these database integrations, although sometimes expensive, is most certainly a wise decision. It results in reduced overhead and errors thus making operations much smoother for the long run.
Providing large amounts of data to your customers is a very good service ONLY if the performance is there. So if you’re planning to do this, make sure you have a solid database administrator and web designer to do so.