Charity data integrations Part 2

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What are your charity data integration objectives?

In Part 1 of this series on things to consider when your charity thinks it needs to sync up different systems, we covered typical charity data integration scenarios and benefits that data integration brings to a charity moving to a Salesforce CRM or wishing to add a data integration element to an existing Salesforce instance.

In this part we will list key questions you need to answer to be able to guide your charity to the solution that’s best suited for you.

What do you want to achieve exactly?

• Target data and volumes: what data needs updating in each system and for what purpose? 3 data fields or 300 fields? How many records will be created/updated and how often will it occur?
• Update frequency: How frequently do you need the update to happen? Do you need 10 fields to automatically update corresponding fields in Salesforce immediately when they are updated, or is a daily or hourly update sufficient?
• Master data location: Where should the master data reside? Should one system take precedence over the other?
• Data replication and storage considerations: More data in your organization ultimately leads to larger data volumes, which can adversely affect performance and add technical debt. If your data already resides in Salesforce and you need it in an external system, avoid copying it to an external system unless absolutely necessary. Instead, have the external system access that data.
• Data direction: Do you want to pull data from an external source into Salesforce, push data from Salesforce to an external source, or both? You could also push data directly into Salesforce from external systems (e.g. Websites), or use middleware to manage the integration between systems.
• Integration criteria: What criteria should trigger the integration? For example, should it occur when data is created or changed in the other system? Or both?
• Will you need any historical data to be uploaded: will there be any initial data load to have the entirety of the information at hand once the integration is in place?
• Future changes: How likely is it that you will need to modify the integration in the future? For instance, if a new field is added in the external source, will you want this reflected in Salesforce? Who will ensure the integration is up-to-date when/if these changes happen? In other words, who will be expected to maintain the integration?

These questions can help clarify your integration needs at the very start and ensure you are all on the same page.

Why do you want it?

It’s important you think about why you feel you need the specific type of integration and the benefits it will bring to your operations. For example, real-time payment and email marketing data integration will mean you communicate with your supporters based on their interaction with your charity here and now.

If your charity organises events and uses an app for that purpose, you may question yourself whether a real-time direct integration is necessary or maybe a regular data load from the event app would sufficiently meet your needs?

Read our final part of the blog series on charity data integration here – it will help you understand the different types of integrations and why certain types cost more than others!

About the author:

Julia Narkeviciute joined Giveclarity after more than 12 years of experience in the charity sector. Julia helped set up Salesforce and integrate and migrate data at her human rights charity and learned a lot in the process. She is a certified Salesforce Administrator and has been involved in analysing charities’ business requirements when moving to a new CRM. Working at Giveclarity has allowed Julia to combine both her passion for nonprofits and user-friendly software.