The Hidden Costs of Poor Data Integration

This evolution has created a web of interdependencies between source and target systems, often resulting in complex, spaghetti-like integrations. Determining the system of record becomes a mind-bending puzzle: Which system truly owns the data? For how long? Is it the entire dataset or only specific elements?

Whatever the situation is, it is becoming more and more complex to manage all that data flowing through your systems, let alone to scale to the level that it can support new business models and technological trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered business models and always data thirsty LLM’s.

Okay, we all agree this is not rocket science, there is no physics needed here to solve this challenge – Sorry Einstein. However, if you get it wrong, or you keep ignoring it for too long, it will impact your business tremendously. Whether it is an outdated product catalog, pricing data not well synchronized, or the wrong stock-levels in your supply chain, it is tricky and can paralyse your business.  

It’s one thing to be aware of it, and another to confront and solve it at its root. The crude reality is that many organisations admit they face this type of challenge, but instead of solving it, they opt to patch it, and carry on with the old way of doing things which in the end leads to a suboptimal data integration approach and resulting into data silos and inefficiencies in the way the business leverage (or not at all) the competitive value represented by that data.
As noted by Gartner about the urgency of change for organisations:

“Sixty-one percent of organizations are forced to evolve or rethink their data and analytics operating model because of the impact of disruptive artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.”

Embracing Data-as-a-Product for Scalable Success

On the other hand, we also see organisations taking the leadership, by creating awareness of the sense of urgency, and starting initiatives to deal with the challenges introduced by high demanding data-driven processes and innovative ai models across the business.

How are they doing that? By tackling this challenge, from a different angle, i.e. by approaching it not only from the IT point of view, but also from the human side. A holistic approach, where we look at data, not just as a given part of IT systems, but rather as part of the organisation. Netflix described this shift perfectly:

“By recognizing data’s users, use cases, and lifecycle as fundamental attributes, we elevate data to a first-class entity in our organization’s thinking. This product-oriented approach emphasizes reliability, clear ownership, proper governance, and proactive management of data debt.”

(Source: Netflix Tech Blog)

In the industry, they call that approach today data-as-a-product. From my part we can call it whatever it fits your company the best, data++, data rocks, etc. It is about the concept of owning the responsibility of owning not just a system and processes but also the data that it produces and enriches, it is almost like a devops mantra;
‍“you own it, you know it, you use it, you maintain it, you share it”.

It’s a unified strategy that connects governance, AI-readiness, and scalability under one philosophy: treat your data with the same discipline and care as you would any core business product.

So, the question is: where does your organization stand?

Are you part of the group that sits and waits until the limit is reached? Or the group that accepts the challenge and starts the journey to prepare their organisations for the new digital era, where humans and AI become partners to create more scalable and positive impact in whatever endeavor they undertake together!

Our Rojo Integration Experts help organizations turn their data into a strategic product.
From modernizing integrations to building enterprise-wide data strategies, we provide tailored solutions that turn your data into a true business asset.

If you’re ready to move beyond patchwork solutions and start building a future-proof data ecosystem, let’s talk. ‍

Get in touch to schedule a free discovery call with out experts today.

Your data deserves to be a product, not a problem.

This blog was written by Roberto Viana, Managing Partner at Rojo Integrations. For Roberto, treating data as a product is a critical step for businesses to stay competitive in the AI-driven era. By tackling integration challenges and adopting a holistic approach, organizations can unlock the full value of their data and build a future-proof ecosystem.