The Ultimate Guide to Data Integration

This guide introduces data integration as a crucial step towards making data-driven decisions within an organization. It covers various aspects of analytics, including ad hoc reporting, business intelligence, data as a product, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. The text also discusses big data and its importance in analytics. Furthermore, it delves into the concepts of ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) and ELT (Extract-Load-Transform), explaining their differences and when each might be preferable. It also provides insights on building a modern data stack and the tradeoffs between building and buying your own data integration solution. Lastly, it offers practical steps to get started with data integration, such as assessing needs, migrating or starting fresh, evaluating elements of the modern data stack, calculating total cost of ownership and ROI, establishing success criteria, and setting up a proof of concept.