Becoming data-driven: start at the foundation!

As we discussed in one of my in a previous blog I explained the value of integration on different levels within the organization. Advantages of integration on the short term are higher productivity and more efficiency, but alsocompetitive advantages on the long term through the provision of new digitized services. An aspect of integration that enables organizations to deliver these services is timely, event-driven information exchange. In this blog I will discuss the benefits of event-driven integration and the requirements for this.

In our current digital economy, correctly processing data has become increasingly important. In a benchmark research conducted by eMagiz, more than 90% of the participants indicated that data will play a crucial role in the development of their organization in the coming years. Traditional organizations are increasingly transforming into IT organizations, whereby digital services have become a core business process. This raises questions with regards to employee competencies, integration with chain parties and openness of data. Almost all organizations are in this process of digital transformation and are investigating how they should set up their organization for this. After all, the promise of digitized services is great. Think about:

• Personalized offers for customers.
• Transparant and real-time information on business processes.
• Predictive services through AI and data science.

A data and event-driven IT architecture is an important condition for the development of such digital services, but requires investments and choices. A framework can help companies to analyze their current architecture, determine a goal architecture based on business goals and set up a plan to move towards this goal.

Below is a framework that describes a blueprint for a data architecture on a certain abstraction level, as well as six important points for attention that facilitate innovation and rapid development of services. These point of attention are:

1. From on-premises to cloud infrastructure.
2. From batch to real-time data processing.
3. From commercial-of-the-shelf solutions to modular, integrated best-of-breed solutions.
4. From point-to-point to decoupled data access.
5. From one central enterprise warehouse to domain-based architecture.
6. From rigid data models to flexibele schemas.

An integration platform such as eMagiz is part of the solution in the design of such an architecture. Particularly in the field of disconnecting data access, setting up real-time data provision and developing APIs, an iPaaS platform is the ideal product to create manageability, speed, and scalability.

It’s crucial that business objectives are leading in setting up anarchitecture. Setting up a facilitating technical foundation is important, but not an end goal in itself. That’s why we at eMagiz like to talk about business goals, services and customer value. If there is a clear vision for this, it is easier to follow-up with a technical architecture. Of course, one company is not the same as the other and the actual implementation of the framework will differ for each organization. Are you interested in discussing the framework based on your business objectives and future services? Then please do not hesitate to contact us!

By Tom ten Vregelaar, Account manager @ eMagiz