Modern enterprises generate tons of data from mobile and web applications and IoT devices. But, when it comes to deriving actionable insights from the data wealth, they fall behind because their data is not unified. That’s where data consolidation and data management come into the picture.
One of the many ways businesses can generate value from data is through data consolidation in a database, data warehouse, data lake, or any other unified system. Database consolidation is a modern practice that helps enterprises manage and extract value from the enormous amounts of data they collect across the various digital channels and consolidate them into an advanced database management system.
This blog post will explore database consolidation in greater detail- the core principles and how it benefits enterprises in the long run.
The Principles of Database Consolidation
At the core, database consolidation is all about merging various data sources into one centralized storage database. It does not essentially mean physical storage. It could be a cloud storage solution. In fact, next-generation databases employ cloud-based database management methods (and are one of the most popular data consolidation options).
The core principles of database consolidation are explained in detail below:
- Centralized Data Storage
Centralized storage means collecting data from multiple sources into one centralized database or a warehouse to enable complete database lifecycle management. Having all the vital enterprise information available in one place helps you extract data trends. Enterprises usually implement AI-integrated systems to sort and categorize the database automatically.
- Integrated Systems
To extract value from your consolidated data, you need to build an integrated system accessible from everywhere. The enterprise systems you have implemented- from employee communications to marketing automation software- should be able to communicate with each other. If not, you should adopt a process to extract and transform the data to ensure your employees can access the relevant data.
- Simplified Access
Centralized databases enhance customer experience, improve business reporting and increase process efficiency. However, it is only possible when your staff can access that information. A single data platform that provides access to both backend data for analysis and customer data for better service is an ideal solution.
- Extract, Transform, Load (ETL)
If you are an established business, you will have multiple data sources- social media, email marketing, electronic retail, and the list is endless. ETL is the process that collects all the relevant data and loads it into your new data warehouse.
The data extraction process involves taking both structured and unstructured data from its source and filtering it for data quality. Transformation process analyzing the filtered data to remove duplication and encryption. Loading the data is the final step of data processing, which ensures that only usable data enters the database or data warehouse.
You can do this manually with coding scripts that transform data into a suitable format that the system understands. But this is inefficient and time-consuming. Since real-time business data becomes obsolete fast, you need a more technical solution like a database-as-a-service platform to speed up the process.
- Application Programming Interface (API)
By identifying the different applications and ERP systems you are using and combining the respective APIs, you can unify the data output and obtain more control over your centralized data library. Using a cloud-based best database management system, you can look at no-code data consolidation solutions, gain better control over the APIs, and automate many parts of the ETL process- all with the click of a button.
How Does Database Consolidation Benefit Enterprises?
Database consolidation is the right move for many businesses (especially for marketing companies to derive deeper user insights). Here are some of the advantages of the data consolidation model:
- Encourages Informed Decision-Making
Consolidating data using advanced database management systems enables you to process, sort, and analyze business data in real time. That means you have an accurate framework for defining and tracking KPIs across various departments.
Simultaneously, you can derive detailed insights from customer behavior. There are two core benefits of this approach. Firstly, you can judge customer satisfaction by analyzing how your service/sales processes impact your customers. Secondly, you can witness the direct outcomes of the marketing efforts on user behavior. For instance, by deriving actionable results when testing for new copies, CTAs, or a different marketing plan.
- Provides Cost Savings and Efficiency
Database consolidation helps you to access data at the granular level and exposes the inefficiencies in your business processes. Deriving actionable insights from negative data points will help you make informed decisions for process optimization. For example, let’s say your current call center performance data represents that the conversion rate for cold calls is less than 1%.
You can look at this data point and make assumptions to initiate actions like training your sales staff or optimizing marketing channels to build more engagement around your product/service to improve client conversions.
- Enables Seamless Customer Experience
According to a recent study, customer experience will likely overtake price considerations and emerge as the key brand differentiator. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
Thus, ensuring seamless customer experience across multiple channels and platforms is now a top priority for businesses. For instance, they should be able to begin a transaction on a mobile device and complete it on the company website. Whatever your customer expects, database management and consolidation enable you to ensure a consistent multichannel experience.
- Enhances Security
Data security comes hand in hand with database consolidation and management. Advanced database management systems apply consistent security protocols at all the data levels so, you always know where your data is and who has access to it. It makes the job of your data administrators easy and is particularly beneficial if you have an international business that needs to account for different national security frameworks.
Consolidate Your Database for Clarity and Consistency
Data analysis is becoming more crucial for businesses with every passing day. The speed at which data analysis happens increases dramatically with database consolidation and management. If you need to update your inventory planning, data can help you with that. If your customer experience is lacking in certain areas, data will guide you toward making the most informed decisions.
So why wait? Leverage Wipro’s Cloud-Based Digital Database Platform Services 2.0 to build an optimized enterprise database landscape that drives complete database lifecycle management and automation of the process for generating new business value.
