Database integration consolidates data from multiple sources to provide businesses with more comprehensive views and opportunities to use that data. For example, if a company has an Oracle database with information on all of their US customers and a smaller database with some sales data on UK customers, they might want all of that information in one database. Database integration pulls data from different sources together, and database integration systems or software make that transition easier than doing it all manually.
Database integration software filters and properly sorts data based on qualifications. Users can set those criteria for how the data is categorized and migrated from one database to another. They might specify groups in which data will be placed and moved.
Benefits of database integration
Databases are a convenient place to store and study large amounts of data, but when a company needs to compare data from multiple databases — whether on site, in the cloud, or both — they can run into challenges. Database integration eliminates some of that challenge by removing data silos and grouping the data together so it’s useful for analysis. This allows employees to more efficiently access and modify data, too.
Database integration could potentially improve security, too. An integrated database system allows businesses to centrally manage their sensitive data. It might require stricter access controls for employees if all the data is in one main hub, and it could increase security risks, too. But if done well, database integration can allow businesses to focus on securing fewer entry points.
Database integration as a web application allows different users to edit data that connects to a web page. The website‘s interface provides places to make queries or search and locate data quickly — for example, a content management system through which users can search and update entire web pages. These databases can come from different locations, such as a local web server or the cloud. The web application connects to databases so that the data is available to its users and is centralized in one app.
Similar definitions
There are many similar terms regarding data and databases, which can be confusing. Two we wanted to distinguish here are:
- Data integration, a similar concept to database integration, which involves the consolidation of data from different locations, but those locations are not necessarily all databases.
- An integrated database, which connects to other systems or software so that its data can be analyzed in other platforms. A business might use this if their database has a lot of customer data and they want to pull that data into their CRM software, for example, integrating that database with it.
