Your sales data is in one system. Marketing data in another. Support tickets somewhere else. At some point, you need to connect them. But when?

When Integration Makes Sense

Integration pays off when you need to answer questions that span multiple sources. "Which marketing channels drive the most valuable customers?" requires marketing and sales data together. "How does support volume relate to product changes?" needs support and product data. If you're manually combining exports every week, integration will save time and reduce errors.

When to Wait

Integration has a cost: setup, maintenance, and potential complexity. If you rarely need combined data, or if your processes change often, manual combination might be enough for now. Integrate when the pain of manual work outweighs the cost of building a connection.

Start With the Highest-Value Connection

You don't need to connect everything at once. Identify the one combination that would help most—often sales + marketing, or operations + finance—and build that first. A single, reliable integrated view is better than a fragile web of connections.

Keep It Simple

Integration doesn't have to mean a data warehouse. Sometimes a scheduled export plus a simple script or spreadsheet that combines the data is enough. Start with the simplest approach that works; add complexity only when needed.

Plan for Change

Data sources change: new columns, new tools, new definitions. Design your integration so it can adapt. Document where data comes from and how it's combined. When something breaks—and it will—you'll be glad you did.

Integration is a means to an end: clearer reporting and better decisions. Focus on the questions you need to answer, then build the minimum integration required to answer them.