The Focal Point of Data Integration: Did Salesforce Get It Right?

We've all been brought up believing that the focus of data integration is a back office function and that this process should be something that is completed by large ERP and CRM applications deep in the bowels of the IT department. All ERP vendors promote their own add-ons that can facilitate the data integration process.

The problem with data integration is not the transfer of data, which has to go through a migration process and follows a rigorous MDM (master data management) exercise to determine a unified enterprise-wide data schema. No, the problem lies in determining the final functionality and higher level business goals that need to be reached after the integration has been completed.

Traditional integration projects worry about ensuring that the back office systems are integrated and are based on sometimes justifiable needs to share data between systems. But the focal point of determining what data needs to be integrated from which back office systems has to happen at the customer level, in the front office to ensure that the business process flows correctly.

This is where Salesforce.com has it right. A company should determine what their sales people, customers or partners need on a smart phone or tablet to ensure that the business process flows faster and more efficiently. Based on that need, an integration project needs to be completed. The focal point of all data integration needs to be in the front office as SFDC proposes, not in the back office where we usually find it.