Natalie Gagliordi | Content Strategist | June 13, 2023
Data is a critical asset for businesses but without a connected data ecosystem, many organizations are missing opportunities to draw practical insight out their data. That’s because their day-to-day operational data is spread across the business, and they can’t supplement that data with the right third-party information. The pressure today is about more than looking back at reports about what has happened; it’s about using operating data to see the ups and downs coming sooner to be able to react—not only faster but also more effectively. Data can’t be used effectively to do this until it’s captured, cleaned, organized, and stored in a connected data ecosystem.
Whether you’re a business leader wanting to trust your data to make better decisions in the moment, a business analyst doing deep analysis to improve processes and systems, or a customer expecting up-to-date information, it’s essential to understand the elements that make up your organization's data ecosystem.
Connected data is data that’s integrated from multiple sources and linked together for use in analytics and other decision-making processes. The concept also applies to connecting operational data across distributed IT applications and platforms to improve processes and behaviors. Businesses can use connected data to gain a more complete and accurate picture of overall business performance or just one specific process within a business. Connected data also can help to increase process efficiencies and drive better outcomes because it enables businesses to establish a holistic view of operations and spot trends that otherwise may be missed. By contrast, operational data that is not connected causes frustration and delays in decision-making. For analytical data, business decision makers suffer from their inability to correlate and capture context and then make the right timely decisions.
A connected data ecosystem is an environment that combines data from disparate business systems and provides a platform of data management and applications to support informed decision-making. Connected data ecosystems exist for the purpose of capturing all the data needed—and only the data needed—to produce useful and actionable insights or drive improvements in the effectiveness of a business’s people, processes, and applications. These ecosystems are designed to let organizations uncover value from their operational data by making it accessible, usable, and easily analyzed. By having a connected data ecosystem in place, organizations can clear the obstacles that keep employees from using data to quickly understand a disruption in the business—be it a sales surge, raw material shortage, spike in emergency room visits, or drop in interest rates—and to react in the best possible way.
Connected data ecosystems are comprised of computing infrastructure, business applications, data management tools and platforms, data integration and orchestration tools, data warehousing and analytics systems, data governance processes and tools, and data security and privacy systems. Artificial intelligence and machine learning tools are increasingly a part of this ecosystem, using algorithms to parse through masses of operating data and look for connections that might otherwise be missed. Like ecosystems in the natural world, data ecosystems are designed to evolve over time to meet the changing demands of an organization.
Key Takeaways
Connected data is the concept of linking together data from any data source and processing it to facilitate more efficient and responsive business operations. A connected data ecosystem takes this concept a step further, establishing a network of data elements that are joined to each other in a way that allows for more meaningful analysis and understanding. In a connected data ecosystem, data elements are linked together through relationships, thus providing insight into the overall data set. The purpose of a connected data ecosystem is to provide a comprehensive view of data for more effective analysis.
This connected data ecosystem relies on a technology platform made up of four broad parts: applications that run business processes in a company; data management infrastructure that processes and stores that data; integration tools that pull data in from all the disparate, relevant sources; and analytics engines, including AI capabilities in some cases, that help people make sense of all this data.
Connected data ecosystems contain data from various sources, which can include company-owned assets, such as databases, data warehouses, and spreadsheets, or third-party sources connected via APIs. The data in an ecosystem is organized in a way that allows it to be easily accessed and shared across different systems and applications. Key to a connected data ecosystem are the links between the data elements, which enable users to explore the relationships across the data set for relevant insights.
A connected data ecosystem is an important tool for businesses looking to improve decision-making, increase employee efficiency, enhance data security, and foster collaboration. A connected ecosystem combines and transforms relevant data so that it can be analyzed and interpreted to inform business decisions. For example, if you’re a consumer goods company planning inventory levels, you likely need data integrated from myriad systems—forecast and budgeting, manufacturing, supply chain, HR, marketing, and sales. And here’s the key element: This isn’t a one-and-done annual or quarterly reporting job. Leaders responsible for inventory lean on this data ecosystem to stay on top of inventory as business conditions change, blending this ongoing operating data to anticipate trouble spots before they blow up. Businesses that use connected data ecosystems are more sensitive to change as it happens and therefore can make better decisions based on a more complete understanding of their data.
Connected data ecosystems can also better position a business to quickly respond to changing needs and opportunities via access to timely and targeted data. For instance, a global manufacturing company could use a connected data ecosystem to share and unify its data across its engineering, supply chain, and production teams for more effective collaboration, such as knowing when a design choice creates a sourcing or manufacturing headache. Likewise, a logistics company could leverage a connected data ecosystem to reduce costs by automating elements of shipment tracking.
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By tapping into the value of connected data, organizations can improve their overall performance and drive better business outcomes. Data ecosystems also can help employees find ways to generate new revenues, save costs, increase productivity, and improve customer service.
Key benefits of a connected data ecosystem include:
A connected data ecosystem is a technology stack with three fundamental elements: infrastructure, analytics, and applications, plus the integration to pull them all together. These components work together to create the ecosystem, enabling data to be captured and used for insights.
Creating a connected data ecosystem involves collecting and integrating data, modeling the relationships between the data elements, and linking the data elements together to glean meaningful insights through analysis. Key steps to create a connected data ecosystem include:
Connected data ecosystems are becoming increasingly important for businesses and organizations to make strategic decisions and respond to fast-changing business conditions. Understanding and engaging with an organization's data ecosystem leads to informed decision-making at all levels, resulting in a host of other potential benefits, including increased efficiency, more satisfied customers, and reduced costs.
When a company is building a connected data ecosystem, the team needs the right infrastructure and systems to support its operation. A data ecosystem can’t deliver without ensuring secure and reliable access to data. With Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integration services, businesses can extract, transform, and load data for data science and analytics and create code-free data flows into data lakes and data marts. The Oracle Integration product portfolio offers a complete collection of data integration tools and application integration services to help automate processes and centralize data management in the cloud. Oracle can help your business connect nearly any data store, process, application, service, or API across cloud and on-premises systems with Oracle Integration’s advanced solutions.
What is in a data ecosystem?
A data ecosystem is comprised of infrastructure, analytics, and applications that enable data to be captured and used for insights.
What is a data processing ecosystem?
A data processing ecosystem refers to the interconnected relationships between the elements or components that process data.
Why do businesses need a connected data ecosystem?
A connected data ecosystem gives a business a more comprehensive view of data for more effective analysis. Without it, businesses can miss opportunities to grow revenue, cut costs, or help employees be more productive.
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