Uniform blog/3 considerations for multisource data integration and delivery
3 considerations for multisource data integration and delivery
3 considerations for multisource data integration and delivery
Visit any major brand’s website, and it’s likely their digital experience is powered by content and data from multiple sources. Yet, many companies grapple with how to eliminate the high cost of constantly coding to reap the benefits of multisource experience creation and delivery.
In short, the technology that drives omnichannel experiences is rapidly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve requires constant investment in your data ecosystem.
Let’s outlines common data integration obstacles and three factors to consider to reduce risks and maximize opportunities when integrating content and data into the experience creation process.
The challenges of data integration from multiple sources
Integrating data sources from your content management system (CMS), product information management (PIM) system, digital asset management (DAM) system, customer data platform (CDP), and other systems requires custom code to retrieve and present the right information across web and mobile experiences. However, as your omnichannel experience grows increasingly layered and complex, so does the code connecting your technology stack.
When integrations rely on developers writing code, bottlenecks in the digital production process follow:
- Marketers cannot access the content and data they need to create personalized experiences efficiently or quickly. Customer information is scattered across systems, and they must rely on engineering for basic production tasks.
- Developers want marketers to have the tools to create data-driven experiences so they can focus on value-added activities. Instead, they’re swamped by marketing requests, which delays projects and slows digital workflows.
Poor data integration has ramifications throughout the digital production process, from reducing your speed to market to creating more chances for errors.
Below are key considerations for avoiding these pitfalls and enhancing your digital experience by reducing needed code.
1. Context matters in omnichannel
Context is understanding site visitors’ behavior and using those details to deliver an experience worthy of their time and attention. Customers expect personalized content that addresses their unique interests, makes them feel valued, and offers tailored solutions to their problems.
However, companies struggle to streamline access to customer content and data as this information is siloed across the organization. Brands can employ a single tool to pull data from various sources, but developers will need to leverage APIs to connect that data to the omnichannel experience.
In such a setup, developers are weighed down with coding work, and marketers lose control and autonomy in the digital production process. Without a unified workspace to bridge content and data across channels and technologies, digital teams are held back by cumbersome technology, data silos, and broken workflows.
The way forward with multi-source experience creation
In a purpose-built tool for building and managing digital experiences, digital teams construct web pages using data-driven content in a single interface. Switching from one platform to the next is no longer an issue. Instead, marketers work in one unified platform that seamlessly and easily integrates data from multiple sources without the need for integration code to pull data into the digital experience production process.
Additionally, content creators can quickly access the tools they need in a secure, controlled environment while customizing and testing content in their omnichannel campaigns.
2. Future-proof technology to market trends
When back-end systems are glued to front-end visual layers with extensive code, development involvement is needed to constantly connect content and data to the website. Predictably, this presents a dilemma: If your data source changes, replacing the front-end frameworks can be expensive and time-consuming, and slow down digital teams.
The way forward with multisource experience creation
Blending several systems into a flexible, agile technology stack is necessary to facilitate omnichannel experience management that embraces rather than resists multisource content creation. A front-end experience solution offers no-code data integration, which frees developers from writing code and enables marketers to independently test, iterate, and launch experiences based on accessible, accurate data.
Furthermore, pre-built connectors, which allow you to perform data integration work in advance, enable you to add new technologies and replace and upgrade legacy systems without disrupting the digital experience.
3. Proper data integration is complicated—but worth it
Many companies still employ all-in-one solutions that tightly couple data integration with website code. Because these are closed systems, it’s difficult to integrate cutting-edge capabilities such as personalization and AI–technologies that help brands optimize data and accelerate content delivery.
Adding new functionality to single-vendor platforms also requires specialized knowledge. When developers leave the organization, they take this knowledge with them, along with the skills needed to run a growing number of data systems.
The way forward with multi-source experience creation
Marketers are trained to focus on data and how it informs the content that drives customer experiences. But merging customer data from various systems requires careful coordination, as well as the right tools to minimize impact on website performance and data integrity.
By using a global network to cache data, a unified platform ensures information is delivered anywhere in the world in minutes, regardless of how many systems provide that data. With a unified visual workspace, you gain fine-grained control over how and when data is retrieved from your CMS, CDP, PIM, etc. all while delivering at lightning-fast speeds.
Stay competitive with easy, no-code integration
With upfront planning, preparation, and investment, brands can simplify data integration through a visual workspace while providing centralized data and content access and unlimited flexibility throughout the digital production process. As your business grows, the visual workspace’s pre-packaged integrations help digital teams connect, manage, and apply data to experiences without moving from one technology stack to another.
Schedule a demo with a Uniform team member to see how the visual workspace’s integrations can help you build a contextualized experience in minutes.
