Cloud data integration is a key part of any company’s digital transformation. It helps business operations run smoother and faster and lets them handle larger server loads. Data integration in the cloud also increases server and data security, scalability, and operational flexibility. In fact, LogicMonitor looked at the current state of the cloud and found that digital transformations are the main reason (63%) why businesses adopt cloud data integration. The study projected that 83% of enterprise workloads would be in the cloud by 2020.
If you’re part of that vast majority, then cloud adoption is necessary to link all of your servers, operations and devices. Here are our recommended best practices for security, scalability and flexibility to help you get the most from your cloud data integration.
Cloud Data Integration Best Practices: Security
The first step towards seamless and successful cloud integration is to properly train your workers. They need to know the system that governs your new cloud data applications. You should provide appropriate resources and time to train your workers to ensure that your operations run smoothly.
Your user policies should be clearly defined for both your staff and customers. Doing so informs users of what they can and can’t do with the new systems. That helps maintain the integrity and security of your data. It also allows workers to give feedback and understand if there are any security flaws or other glitches.
Cloud data integration begins with your users. They unearth insights and solve complex real-world problems by using your business data. Knowing how they can and can’t use this data, and how the new system operates, will increase productivity and morale.
Most cloud systems have strong security, but they are still vulnerable as they do not allow remote access to private systems. Your business should enforce the following security imperatives:
- Password protection techniques such as two-factor authentication and randomized passwords of at least eight characters with upper-case letters, lower-case letters, a number and at least one special symbol.
- Anti-malware and anti-virus program.
- A secure connection to protect your data.
Before the integration process, your business should run a security diagnostic from top to bottom, checking even your Wifi routers for weaknesses. This means you will also have to restrict access to some data, ensuring that workers have individual passwords and domain access according to their roles.
In case something does go wrong, you should have a clearly-defined data recovery plan. Your data backup options should be congruent with your system’s requirements, which your cloud provider can help you customize and optimize. Remember, you will have to find a way to secure the data of your private system to succeed, which is not an easy thing to do without the right digital transformation business backing you.
Data Integration Strategy: Scalability
Integrating your data to the cloud isn’t simply a matter of migrating it but rather of making your on-premise servers and data also available on the cloud. To succeed, your business will need to have a well-detailed infrastructure in place for adequate cloud data integration.
Your developers can help you create the infrastructure that needs to be in place before integration. Trying to build it out later can disrupt the entirety of your cloud and on-premise operations. Also, if your framework isn’t set up properly, you may unwittingly create new bugs or security vulnerabilities.
If your business already has a data integration infrastructure on-premise, it may be possible to extend it to cloud platforms. It is also wise to consider additional data analysis and compatibility tools. The best tools can be customized or developed specifically for the type of cloud you need. Much like your on-premise solutions, cloud data integration requires tools that will improve data quality and data speeds. The right software developer and digital transformation company can help you find cloud solutions and integration tools that fit your business’ unique needs.
Cloud Data Integration Best Practices: Flexibility
Once you begin your cloud integration process, it will be inevitable for your company to revise your data integration solutions and perhaps design new ones that are better suited for the cloud. The way you approach data landing and staging—the in-between area in which your data is processed during extraction, cleansing and loading—should also be revised.
You can achieve this by ensuring that your data integration tools support the protocols and interfaces of actual cloud-based applications and platforms rather than simply on-premise sources. It is also key to look for APIs that are proprietary to your cloud provider.
Your developer can help you find tools that make your on-premise, legacy solutions compatible with your cloud applications and solutions. Doing so can ensure that your data integration process is smooth while also reducing bugs and security vulnerabilities later on. Pay additional attention to the data landing and staging space. Vulnerabilities often appear during this in-between process.
When approaching your data integration cloud process, your solution should also be capable of handling a variety of data latencies, referring to the time it takes for data packets to be stored or retrieved. This means that your solutions should be able to manage latency inconsistencies, including the speed at which data changes or transforms due to new data coming in.
You can reduce latency by identifying bottlenecks with your data solutions that could slow down your cloud services. The best way to go about this is by running tests that identify latency levels. Advanced troubleshooting tools, including ping, traceroute and SNMP monitoring can help as well.
Choosing The Right Developer
A successful cloud data integration process considers the needs of your on-premise solutions, the advantages of cloud migration and ways to combine the two to optimize your business operations. Following these data integration best practices will help you protect your data, improve your scalability and enhance your ability to use data to bolster your company’s productivity.
If you’re seeking to reach your cloud integration goals, you will need a developer with the experience and technical expertise to help you do so. The team at 7T specializes in app development with experience in cloud integrations, Big Data and Predictive Analytics. We’re also well-versed in other emerging technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, blockchain and natural language processing.
7T is headquartered in Dallas, but we also serve clients in Austin, Houston, and beyond. If you’re ready to discuss your project, we invite you to contact us today.
