Data Wrangler, In These Parts?
Organizations today have data spread over multiple locations and formats. A common example is a Salesforce-type CRM application in the cloud with an inventory system on-premises as an Oracle database. You chose these applications because they are the best in their class. But from a business-planning standpoint, you now have isolated silos of data. You want to be able to leverage cross-system views of this data. You need to somehow corral it into a common space. In cowboy-technical terms, you need the help of a data wrangler.
Sharing data with business partners represents a similar type of challenge. These types of transactions vary by industry. But from medical professions to manufacturing industries -- the unmistakable trend is towards sharing of electronic records. These sorts of behind-the-scenes activities strengthen your relationship with business partners. Done right, they are set-it-and-forget-it sorts of services. But who on-staff can figure out the data formats and ensure that data connections with partners are secure?
There are many other occasions that you need to wrestle data from one format into another. These are all examples of the data wrangler role and are areas that we can help you.
A data wrangler discussion with us will almost always include some reference to a powerful tool by Microsoft. It's called SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). This is included with any license of SQL Server. The tool can connect to nearly any type of data source. It offers great flexibility for quickly transforming data and defining import/export logic. You can schedule these jobs to occur on a recurring basis. Simply put, SSIS is fantastic. It's the primary tool we depend upon for doing any data manipulation.
The paragraphs below describe typical services in this category:
Data Wrangling Variations
Different Sort of Cattle Drive
In all of these cases, we are harnessing the computer to perform tasks that are tedious and demoralizing for your staff. This type of automation frees your staff for higher purposes. The staff-time-savings is often the clearest business use-case for recovering our expense. Data accuracy is another frequent side-benefit resulting from the automation of these processes. For a detailed example, read this data quality scenario.
What data do you wish you could harness more effectively? Call us and let us know how we can help. And we promise, no more cowboy puns.