From a nearly overnight shift to remote work to the ongoing uncertainties around in-person events, the challenges facing today’s organizations can seem more daunting than ever. As new technologies emerge to answer the call, organizational leaders regularly find themselves and their teams questioning whether they have the right tools and resources for the job at hand. With each new system selection, new questions abound as to how to avoid a disjointed experience for both members and staff while preventing discrepancies in data than can upend the ability to make timely business decisions.
That’s where an extensible systems architecture enters the picture to offer the flexible power of best-in-class applications while supporting the integration capabilities necessary to prevent data silos. This architecture is aimed at establishing two key elements:
- Universal Data Model – A data lake using common/open data standards to create a central repository of information
- Integration Platform – Plug and Play bus architecture for integration scalability
How do you implement an extensible system? At MemberJunction, we believe that starts with defining your goals and then identifying the types of data and data flows between systems to deliver the desired outcomes. Perhaps you’re looking to consolidate data for your team’s upcoming Machine Learning (ML) initiatives. Or you’re concerned with the disjointed nature of your website. Having a clear set of goals around data is important as you consider questions such as:
- What data elements should be most visible to your members?
- Do each of your systems house the data necessary to provide the most value to the organization? If not, what’s missing?
- What scenarios result in conflicting data between systems? Are there other conditions affecting data quality?
For organizations looking for guidance in preparing their technology roadmap, we can help you develop a Strategic Integrations Plan. Over the course of a month, MemberJunction partners with your team to evaluate how an extensible systems platform fits within your organization’s tech landscape. MemberJunction will help you:
- Review and collect requirements for implementing a Universal Data Model using a data lake
- Assess the types, source, volume, and condition of data in the primary systems of the organization’s technology landscape
- Identify inputs needed for implementing an Integration Platform / iPaaS solution
- Critical events/touchpoints, shared properties, and expected behaviors between software applications
