According to MuleSoft, 62% of IT leader s say their organizations aren’t equipped with the right data access to fully leverage AI. Their sentiment is understandable, given what we know about the explosion of applications and technology ecosystems (SAP, Microsoft, NetSuite, AWS, Salesforce, etc.) that make up the technology stacks of most enterprises.
Harmonizing data across these systems is a foundational step manufacturers must cover before they can implement the type of sophisticated predictive analytics, supply chain optimization and sales forecasting that contribute to the success of the world’s largest manufacturers. Yet, fewer than half of manufacturing data teams assess themselves as successful in achieving this.
Large manufacturing companies must efficiently blend data across multiple ecosystems, across on-premises systems and the cloud, to establish a data foundation capable of powering enterprise AI initiatives.
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Recordati, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer with an extensive network of facilities, including two chemical plants, seven manufacturing plants, and numerous R&D and distribution centers worldwide, faced this challenge. When effective decision-making requires data that is sourced from multiple systems and platforms, how can this data be efficiently blended to drive the business forward?
The Challenge: Connecting disparate ecosystems
Recordati’s Business Intelligence (BI) team faced a daunting challenge: They needed to replicate critical financial, operational, and CRM data from various systems, including SAP, Salesforce, Power BI Cloud, and SQL Server. However, the integration process was complicated due to:
- A mix of cloud and on-premises environments, requiring seamless connectivity.
- Reliance on Salesforce for CRM and Power BI for analytics, which needed real-time data access to existing SAP systems.
- Manual SSIS-based data pipelines, which were labor-intensive and inefficient for large-scale data transfers.
The company’s three-person BI team struggled to keep up with data demands, as manually creating pipelines for Salesforce and Microsoft data integration took days or even weeks, limiting their ability to provide real-time insights that drive robust decisions from organizational leadership.
CData Sync for ERP integration with Microsoft and Salesforce ecosystems
To overcome these integration hurdles, Recordati turned to CData Sync, a powerful, automated data replication tool that seamlessly integrates Microsoft and Salesforce platforms with existing ERP systems like SAP. By implementing this solution, Recordati achieved:
- Automated, real-time data replication between Salesforce, Power BI Cloud, and SQL Server.
- Improved analytics capabilities, allowing data from their CRM (Salesforce) and ERP (SAP) to be visualized in Power BI effortlessly.
- Efficient handling of 1.5 billion rows of data monthly, ensuring scalability and reliability.
- A hybrid integration approach, connecting on-premises SQL Server databases with cloud platforms like Power BI and Salesforce.
CData Sync allowed Recordati to integrate Microsoft SQL Server and Salesforce with SAP by creating a seamless, automated data pipeline. This eliminated the need for manual coding and maintenance of SSIS pipelines, enabling real-time synchronization of CRM, financial, and supply chain data across platforms.
Additionally, the integration ensured that Power BI reports reflect the latest insights, empowering decision-makers with accurate, timely data.
“With CData Sync, we’ve eliminated manual data transfers and now have a fully automated integration between Salesforce, SQL Server, and Power BI,” said Marco Ribaldone, Manager of the Business Intelligence Center of Excellence at Recordati.
The results? Optimized data integration has contributed to Recordati’s 31% annual revenue growth, empowering 3,500 global data users all the way up to the C-Suite to make informed, data-driven decisions about production, inventory and the broader supply chain.
Expanding data integration capabilities
Building on this success, Recordati plans to further expand its Salesforce and Microsoft integrations by:
- Incorporating additional data sources into its analytics ecosystem.
- Replacing more SSIS pipelines with CData Sync’s automated processes.
- Enhancing cross-platform reporting capabilities to further optimize business intelligence.
What this means for ERP Insiders
Automating ERP data preparation contributes to a more agile, competitive business. Organizations using CData Sync have reported a 90% reduction in time-to-value for data integration. This means that operational data is more readily available to decision-makers across the organization – for Recordati, reports that previously took days to compile are now available seven times faster, enabling the company to react swiftly to market changes. This agility ultimately contributed to 31% year-over-year growth for the business.
Enhance operational efficiency through real-time ERP data integration with analytics platforms. ERP users eliminate manual pipeline development and reduce operational overhead by unifying their data. For organizations leveraging Microsoft, Salesforce and a variety of other ecosystems, products like CData Sync provide a robust solution for real-time data integration, automation, and analytics enablement – supporting reporting platforms like PowerBI, Tableau, and SAP Analytics Cloud This means that business users can more easily access high-quality data that is ready for analytics, enhancing their efficiency and insight.
Seamless cross-platform connectivity enables deeper, more meaningful analytics. By providing the ability to harmonize data across operational systems like ERPs, CRMs, databases, etc., solutions like CData Sync ensure a unified view of the supply chain, sales, production processes, etc. Users can utilize these solutions to easily connect data across ecosystems like Microsoft, SAP, NetSuite, and Salesforce to develop end-to-end visibility and analytics across your organization’s operations.
