Why You Need A Cloud Data Hub

As you begin reading this, stop and think about all the different business applications you use every single day just to do your job (if you opened this via email, that's one of them).

While email is a somewhat basic application, more complex solutions like marketing automation, CRM and B2C retail shopping carts are being utilized every day, and generating a massive amount of data each time they are used (all of which is valuable). But what happens to all this data?

If you aren't using a cloud data hub to move data back and forth between applications, then there's a good chance that all the information generated is long gone. 

How do cloud data hubs actually work?

A cloud data platform is designed to move data between all of a company’s business applications and their existing ERP (financial and accounting) system. The ERP system serves as the "one source of truth" for most businesses and is filled with a vast amount of business-critical information that needs to be leveraged by your personnel. Sadly, these ERP systems are incredibly difficult to navigate and all data must be manually keyed if you aren't using a data mover. 

With a cloud data and API platform, moving data across applications becomes way easier. You don’t have to interface directly with your ERP system or deal with any hassles like:

• Version releases or changes
• Identifying incremental data changes 
• Translating accounting-centric data schemas into web ready ones. 

For example....

With CIMcloud's platform (which I strongly recommend), you just have to call straight forward RESTful style APIs to GET (read) and POST (create, update or delete) data. Our standard cloud data platform (which includes a bi-directional integration with your ERP) then takes care of the rest to ensure real-time, accurate data across applications and devices. This means that all applications, regardless of user, will display the same information allowing for effective interactions and removing potential errors from manually keying information.   

Regardless of any bias this content may contain, you can certainly see the appeal of having all of your business-criticial data (from any application) be accurate and easily accessible. 

Is the data I'm missing actually valuable?

Whether it's a customer order buried deep in your email inbox or simple contact information that you can't locate, you are generating critical data on business applications every single day and need to ensure that data is aggregated for quick, easy access.

If you implement a customer self-service portal but don't integrate it with your ERP system, how are customers going to see accurate information on things like inventory? Likewise, if your CRM software requires manual entry of all information then is it really enabling your employees to be more efficient? 

The point of all this is that your business generates more and more information every day, and if you aren't using a cloud data hub to aggregate information then you're losing valuable data by the second. 6