data integration that accelerates kintone utilization

What is kintone data integration?

First, we will organize the basic functions and roles of kintone, and then look at typical usage scenarios and how data integration is needed.

Kintone is used by various departments and projects within companies because it is easy to create apps and allows for centralized information management. Another feature is that it is easy to design from the user's perspective and can be flexibly customized to suit the business level.

With the spread of digitalization and remote work, the amount of information handled both inside and outside the company continues to increase. data integration is important for integrating information and eliminating duplicate entries and inconsistency issues. In particular, if data from different systems is fragmented, it becomes difficult to analyze data quickly, which can lead to delayed decision-making.

Kintone allows you to smoothly carry out your entire business by linking apps with each other or with other external systems. Everyone from on-site staff to managers can understand the situation using consistent data, which makes business flows and internal communication smoother.

Basic functions and roles of kintone

Kintone allows you to create apps with drag-and-drop operations, and comes with an intuitive interface that displays lists and graphs. Information that was previously managed in Excel or on paper can be easily digitized, and real-time sharing reduces issues caused by time lags when viewing or updating information.

It also comes with a full range of mechanisms to ensure safe and smooth work, such as access permission settings and comment functions.It is highly customizable, so it can flexibly accommodate the unique requirements that arise in new projects or departments.

Kintone's great appeal lies in its versatility, which allows it to be used in a wide range of applications, including customer management, human resources and general affairs, project management, and sales support.

Why data integration is necessary

Modern companies operate multiple systems and services simultaneously, and registering the same information in each increases the risk of duplicate entry and mismatched data. Not only does this increase the burden on the person entering the information, but errors due to incorrect entry can also have a serious impact on the entire business.

By linking kintone with other systems, you can consolidate master data, sales activity information, and other data and handle it centrally. Eliminating the need to enter data multiple times not only reduces the burden on staff, but also enables the handling of accurate information with fewer errors.

Furthermore, data centralization through collaboration makes it easier to visualize and utilize data. Visualization also facilitates information sharing between departments and teams, leading to improved efficiency across the entire company.

Data utilization scenarios for each business

In customer management and sales support situations, it is common to centrally manage customer information with kintone, while linking activity history to other apps to create reports. By keeping items of high interest up-to-date, you can accurately time proposals and follow up with customers.

In addition, by linking it with project management and task management apps, progress, responsible parties, and required resources can be shared in real time, enabling the entire team to make decisions more quickly and making adjustments to plans based on unified information.

Furthermore, there are many cases where it is linked to mission-critical system, core system for order management and inventory management, allowing sales data and inventory levels to be checked at all times in the most up-to-date state.

How data integration between kintone apps

We will introduce a method to reduce duplicate data entry and prevent input errors and missed updates by linking multiple apps on the same kintone.

Kintone's standard features allow you to exchange data between apps. By effectively combining lookups, related records, app actions, and more, you can minimize manual integration work.

By utilizing these standard functions, you can incorporate workflows according to your business design, eliminating the need to switch between management screens for each person in charge.

Creating a system that keeps data accurate at all times will be a major factor in improving the accuracy and speed of information throughout the organization.

Utilizing the lookup function

The lookup function is a function that references and retrieves data registered in other apps. This significantly reduces the effort required for input and allows you to handle highly consistent data. For example, by reading customer information from a customer master app, you can transfer accurate information to a project app.

If further corrections are required, simply update the information in the master app and the correct data will be reflected in the lookup destination.

Depending on the business design, it is possible to automate many of the internal workflows, reducing human error and achieving reliable information management.

Using the Related Records feature

The Related Records List feature allows you to display information related to other apps in a list. For example, from a customer management app, you can view a list of issues and response history related to a customer.

This feature is basically for display purposes only, so it is useful when you want to collect information across multiple apps. Data added or changed in real time is reflected directly in the related list, so you can keep track of all information updates without missing anything.

Increased visibility allows both managers and staff to accurately grasp the current situation, which is very helpful in preventing oversights in customer responses and duplicate work.

Utilizing the App Actions feature

The App Actions feature copies data generated in one app to another. For example, by automatically copying necessary information from an inquiry response app to an app for another department, you can establish a collaborative flow while avoiding duplicate entries.

The advantage of this is that you can set actions such as clicking a button as triggers, making it easier to determine operational rules.

Kintone's strength is that by combining these standard functions, you can achieve flexible and efficient inter-app integration without writing any code.

How to connect with external systems and cloud services other than kintone

If there are existing systems and services in the company, it may be necessary to integrate approval flows and data that cannot be completed by kintone alone. In such cases, it is necessary to integrate data with other existing systems and services as well. Here, we will show you how to integrate using data integration tool such as API integration and ETL.

▼I want to know more about the API
⇒ API｜Glossary
▼I want to know more about ETL
⇒ ETL｜Glossary

API-based collaboration

By using kintone's REST API, you can implement integrations that allow you to retrieve data from other systems and write it to kintone.

For example, one possible system would be to link with an inventory system, import items, stock quantities, and inventory history into kintone, allowing sales and support departments to check them immediately.

When integrating with an API, you need to be careful about implementation aspects such as preparing security tokens and handling errors when they occur.

In addition, while its high degree of freedom makes it easy to respond to complex requirements, it does require knowledge and skills in application development.

No-code integration using specialized tools for data integration

GUI-based data integration tool have mechanisms in place that make it easy to connect a variety of systems. By using data integration tool that provides a connector for connecting with kintone, you can build data integration between kintone and other systems with drag-and-drop operations.

The attractive feature of this system is that data conversion and processing processes can be implemented without any programming, making it easy for even non-engineers to get involved in operation.

Even if the data flow throughout the system is complex, using tools specialized for data integration such as ETL, EAI, and iPaaS, can reduce development load and make it easier to create a stable integration platform.

A connector for connecting with kintone is included as standard. Saison Technology's data integration tool that enables codeless integration.

Kintone data integration examples and benefits of implementation

We will examine the effectiveness and benefits of using kintone through actual examples of data integration with other systems.

Understanding what business areas it will be useful in and what results it will produce will make your implementation considerations even smoother.

Integration with customer management and sales support systems

A typical example is consolidating customer data into kintone and sharing sales activity history and progress in real time. Compared to traditional methods of managing data in separate systems or Excel, the risk of losing track of information is significantly reduced.

Not only the sales department, but also the customer support and marketing departments will be able to access the same data, allowing for consistent customer service.

As a result, there will be no delay in responding to complaints or making additional proposals, leading to improved customer satisfaction and an increase in repeat business.

Example of integration with invoice issuing system

By importing order information into kintone and automating invoice creation, you can significantly reduce the amount of manual transcription and checking work that you previously had to do.

In particular, by making it easy to access data that is important to the accounting department, such as accounts receivable and payment information, from kintone, the workload during the fiscal year-end can be reduced.

Examples of mission-critical system, core system integration

The integration with mission-critical system, core system directly connects to the operational flow of the entire company, so the benefits of introducing it are significant. Data analysis of the system, which previously required time and effort, has become easier, and important indicators that are useful for management decision-making can be quickly provided.

Important points to note when promoting data integration

When introducing system integration, there are important points to consider, such as security and operational costs.

To build an effective collaboration flow, it is essential to consider security measures and costs, as well as coordination between the responsible parties. Especially when the scope of the data flow is large, it is important to thoroughly define the requirements before proceeding with implementation to prevent problems.

If the systems to be integrated and the operational rules are unclear, unexpected inconsistencies and operational burdens may arise after integration.

Collaborative development is not something that is completed once and for all; it is also important to maintain the system as appropriate depending on the operational situation.

If you use data integration tool introduced in the previous section, you can implement it without coding, which makes maintenance easier. It also makes it easier to take over work when the person in charge of system operation changes.

The definitive no-code data integration tool! Saison Technology's data integration tool

The person who wrote the article

Affiliation: Marketing Department

T.K

After joining Saison Technology, he worked as a development and operations engineer for EDI services, and then gained experience in business development for new services. Currently, as a marketing manager, he explores how our products can solve customer problems and disseminates information.
(Affiliations are as of the time of publication)

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