Peter Campbell, IT Director of Earthjustice and author of Tech Cafeteria has published a wonderful primer on data integration, Understanding the Alphabet Soup of Data Integration.  Thanks to Idealware, which sponsored this article.

Exchanging data between applications can be done in a variety of ways, but many can be difficult to grasp.  Peter offers a clear explanation of how data can be stored, types of data formats and methods to transfer data, as well as how APIs are used.  What I found especially useful was his section on how to identify “data exchange friendly software,” in ways such as “Can I do data exports” and “Is there an API available?”

Tate Hausman who issued his Integration Proclamation also recently described to me how he is attempting to manage an integration project between SalesForce and Democracy in Action, two applications often used by nonprofits.

It’s clear that being able to share data is finally getting some attention, as evidenced by the recent announcements of Kintera’ Connect and Convio Open.  Wouldn’t it be nice if eventually we could select the applications that are best for each of our needs, and easily move data between them.

My take: data integration must be discussed before products are chosen;  if they don’t connect, look for an alternative that does.  Vendors must also do more to make this area understandable by non-programmers.  Why is this important for online fundraising?  Because everyone in a nonprofit needs to have access to the same information about constituents (not just development), and it shouldn’t be different depending on which internal system you use.