Data Management Research Library

Data integration is a fundamental -- yet deceptively challenging -- part of any business intelligence (BI) system. BI is commonly used to support key decision-making processes and can be a surprisingly high-profile endeavor. Additionally, integrating data from disparate sources across an organization has unique challenges. Luckily, best practices and techniques for BI-data integration are rapidly evolving. Now, organizations have many more choices than just extract, transform and load (ETL) or hand-coded approaches. There are plenty of new methods and tools on the market, each with their own benefits and drawbacks -- and some work better than others, depending on your organization's requirements and budget.

In this 12-minute podcast, appropriate for IT and BI professionals, expert Rick Sherman discusses the various data integration methods used for BI today. Listeners will:

• Find out the pros and cons of the top data integration techniques for BI and learn how data integration choices can make or break a BI program
• Hear common mistakes that organizations often make when it comes to designing data integration for BI systems
• Learn more about new methods for BI data integration, such as the emerging real-time techniques and tools
• Get expert advice for designing or optimizing a BI-data integration