Data Services – SOA for data

Most established businesses have more than one database. This is especially true for those that have different business systems for different activities within the company. So if a business has an Order Management, Inventory Control, CRM and Sales/Marketing systems, then they probably have at least that many databases. In most cases, there is a lot of redundant data in those databases and it is also not unusual to have data discrepancy from one database to another.

So, at some point, company management discovers that having redundant data and processes actually hurts the business – surprise!

An immediate reaction can be:

“Let’s create a single database and move all the redundant data over as well as change all the processes to point to the new database”.

-or-

“Let’s change all the data entry, validation, feeds, and other processes to use the same logic when storing data and then fix all the discrepancies so they don’t happen again”.

Above solutions were probably good alternatives 10 years ago, but they are wrong solutions today.

The best way to handle multiple systems and databases is by creating a Data Services Layer between all the system’s business logic and the databases. This is a stripped down version of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) applied to data, which will allow preserving existing application and database investments and at the same time ensuring that all business data is being retrieved, validated and stored in a uniform manner via Data Services .

Data Services will also open door to improving business processes across the enterprise and allow quick turnarounds when developing or customizing business applications.