Data Synchronization Overview
Often, multiple applications within an enterprise use equivalent data. For example, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and a Billing system both contain information about customers. If the address for a customer changes, the change should be updated in both systems. Data synchronization keeps equivalent data across multiple systems consistent; that is, if data is changed in one application, a similar change is made to the equivalent data in all other applications.
Applications can be thought of as resources of data. (The remainder of this chapter will refer to applications as resources.) There are two methods for keeping data synchronized between resources:
One-way synchronization, in which one resource is the source of all data changes. When a data change is required, it is always made in the source. After a change is made, it is propagated to all other resources, which are referred to as the
targets.
For example, for data synchronization between a CRM system, Billing system, and Order Management system, the CRM might be the source of all changes and the Billing and Order Management systems receive changes made to the CRM system
N-way synchronization, in which every resource can be a source and a target as well. Changes to data can be made in any resource. After the change is made, it is propagated to all other resources.
For example, for data synchronization between a CRM system, Billing system, and Order Management system, any of the systems can initiate a change, and then the change is propagated to the other two systems.
N-way synchronizations are more complex than one-way synchronizations because multiple applications can change corresponding data concurrently.