Data integration

"Data integration is the combination of technical and business processes used to combine data from disparate sources into meaningful and valuable information. A complete data integration solution delivers trusted data from various sources" (IBM). It "combine[s] data from multiple separate business systems into a single unified view, often called a single view of the truth. This unified view is typically stored in a central data repository known as a data warehouse" (Keylink). "Data integration is often a prerequisite to other processes including analysis, reporting, and forecasting" (dataintegration.io).

"Data integration ... supports the analytical processing of large data sets by aligning, combining, and presenting each data set from organizational departments and external remote sources to fulfill integrator objectives. ... For example, a user’s complete data set may include extracted and combined data from marketing, sales, and operations" (Techopedia) that's combined "in such a way that it can yield consistent, comprehensive, current, and correct information for business reporting and analysis. The source systems may be various types of devices and the data may be in a variety of formats" (TechTarget).