Business Tip 9
Use Automation Tools for Data Acquisition and Integration

A crucial part of the development process is figuring out HOW it's all going to get accomplished ...

In this series, we’ve discussed the importance of unifying and utilizing disparate data sources as well as defining and implementing Best Practices. In the next group of tips, we are going to discuss how you can Automate the Tactical to let technology do the heavy lifting and free your time for strategic thinking -- and selling!

Some tasks are best left to machines. In the next few tips we are going to identify what type of tasks are best suited for automation and how you can use software tools to:

1 – Automate data acquisition and integration

2 – Create intelligent, insightful statements from data automatically

3 – Create ready-made and customizable analysis

4 – Automate the dissemination and update of content and data

Automate data acquisition and integration

The tasks involved in loading, cleaning, integrating, and updating data sources are difficult, tedious – and so perfectly suited for being automated with data management and integration tools. Make sure any solution you consider can:

	Recognize data sources automatically. Your data management tool should recognize what type of data is being loaded into it, to save you the trouble of having to identify it. The tool should automatically convert the most common types of data sources into a format that is compatible with front-end presentation systems used by business personnel.
Remember custom load-in settings such as which data (e.g. measures) in the source should be imported, how you want data formatted, and where the data source is. A data integration tool should be able to remember what you’ve told it so you don’t have to locate and configure data sources over and over again.
	Match items in different data sources. Automating the matching of the same item in different sources can be a huge timesaver, especially when a new item is introduced. Mapping products and geographies is key for the successful integration of multiple sources.

The data, products and accounts depicted in this example are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual data, products or accounts is purely coincidental.