Data integration is a technical term used to describe the process of combining data from various applications for the purpose of sharing the data between applications and for accomplishing data analysis tasks that provide solid information which is useful for the management of a business.

In technology-driven businesses such as internet-based businesses, data integration is usually very important, especially if business processes are automated. Data integration enables a business to use data generated through various sources and applications and to automate processes which has the potential of saving the business operator a lot of time and money.

The ability to integrate data through data integration eliminates a lot of monotonous, time intensive processes such as data entry, printing of reports, and manual consolidation and use of data produced by different software applications or other data accumulating or producing technologies. For instance, data integration can be used to take customer contact information from a customer database that is collected through a sales process to be used in a marketing program for the purpose of direct marketing or email marketing.

Without the capability of data integration, this process could not be automated. Thus, reports would have to be printed from the sales program and the hard copy data resulting from that process would have to be manually entered into the marketing program to accomplish the sharing of the data between the sales database and the marketing program.

When developing the infrastructure for your internet-based business, purchasing your hardware and your business software, and having your website and databases developed data integration capabilities and the compatibility of the various technologies and applications you use should be considered.

When you use applications and technology that is compatible in regard to data integration from the get-go, it will be easier to automate various processes in your business over the long run in order to save you time and money.

Advanced planning is crucial to ensure that automation can be accomplished without unnecessary expenses or reinvestment, or extensive data integration challenges. Involving a data integration expert in the process of planning your company's infrastructure, designing your data systems and selecting your hardware and software applications is really a very good idea. High quality planning with the ultimate goal of complete automation through effective data integration will stage your company for growth and expansion.

Initially, when you first start your business, automation may not seem necessary and the expense of data integration and automation may be cost prohibitive in the beginning. However, over the long run, as you build your customer base and experience significant increases in business activity, you will find that automation is not a luxury. In fact, automation and data integration will become a necessity. Without it, your business will become stagnant and growth will be seriously hindered.

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are an example of technology that relies on data integration to provide business owners with high quality management information and useful reports. CRM systems, through the use of data integration, enable information from sales processes, shipping processes, bookkeeping processes and such to be shared giving customer service representative instant access to customer information that is necessary for providing top-notch, efficient customer service. Information that is consolidated in a CRM system through data integration can also be used for marketing, budgeting and other business planning activities.

Point of sale systems, payment processing solutions and bookkeeping systems can also be interfaced through the use of data integration techniques to eliminate the need for duplicate entry saving you loads of time and money. Planning for automation and data integration will make it easier for you to expand and grow your business as well.