In this article, we’ll explore the challenges of two-way integrations and the benefits of the one-way integrations utilized by Mosaic.
When integrating two systems, many technical challenges can arise. Without clear data ownership, synchronization delays or conflicts from either side can lead to inaccurate records, duplicate or missing entries, and a general erosion of trust in data accuracy.
While two-way integrations may seem to provide you greater flexible, they often introduce fragility that grows exponentially as data points grow and more systems are connected. Avoiding two-way integrations ensures a streamlined approach to managing your data, reducing costs, complexity, and the potential for error.
Through a single source of truth integration (SSOTI), you eliminate the risk of data issues from your integrated data, ensuring complete data integrity. By design, the ERP or other source system will be unaffected by the integrated system.
Significant Advantages of a Single Source of Truth
1. Clarity in Ownership and Accountability: An SSOT clearly defines which system owns the data, avoiding confusion over where, when, and who last updated the data.
2. Data Integrity and Accuracy: An SSOT minimizes the risk of discrepancies and data corruption that can arise from synchronization conflicts in two-way integrations. When multiple systems attempt to write data simultaneously, errors or overwrites can occur due to the “race case,” where delays on either end obfuscate which data is the latest version. This ultimately leads to unreliable information that is difficult to audit.
3. Improved Decision-Making: Consistent and accurate data from an SSOT ensures all teams and stakeholders base their decisions on the same, accurate information. This reduces confusion and misalignment caused by outdated or conflicting data in different systems.
4. Simplified Maintenance: Managing two-way integrations can be complex and costly. Each side of the integration requires constant monitoring and updates to ensure compatibility, which increases the maintenance burden. An SSOT eliminates the need for constant audits and reconciliation, reducing the risk of integration failure.
5. Reduced Operational Risk: Two-way integrations can create cyclical dependencies, where one system’s failure impacts others. An SSOT mitigates this risk by centralizing data in a single, authoritative repository.
6. Enhanced Scalability: As your business grows and adds more tools or systems, maintaining a single source of truth ensures that new systems can be integrated with confidence, knowing exactly which system serves as the SSOT for accurate data.
7. Regulatory Compliance: For industries with strict compliance requirements—like timesheets and audit logs for government agencies—an SSOT helps ensure data consistency and traceability. This makes it easier to meet audit and reporting standards without the added complexity of reconciling multiple source audit trails.
.svg){kind=small}