DATA MAPPING AND DATA MAPPING TECHNIQUES

Enterprise data is getting more dispersed and voluminous by the day, and at
the same time, it has become more important than ever for businesses to
leverage data and transform it into actionable insights. However, enterprises
today collect information from an array of data points, and they may not
always speak the same language. To integrate this data and make sense of
it, data mapping is used which is the process of establishing relationships
between separate data models.

What is Data Mapping?

In simple words, data mapping is the process of mapping data fields from a
source file to their related target fields.

For example, in Figure 1, ‘Name,’ ‘Email,’ and ‘Phone’ fields from an Excel
source are mapped to the relevant fields in a Delimited file, which is our
destination.

Mapping tasks vary in complexity, depending on the hierarchy of the data

being mapped, as well as the disparity between the structure of the source
and the target. Every business application, whether on-premise or cloud,
uses metadata to explain the data fields and attributes that constitute the
data, as well as semantic rules that govern how data is stored within that
application or repository.

For example, Microsoft Dynamics CRM contains several data sets which
comprise of different objects, such as Leads, Opportunities, and Competitors.
Each of these data sets has several fields like Name, Account Owner, City,
Country, Job Title, and more. The application also has a defined schema
along with attributes, enumerations, and mapping rules. Therefore, if a new
record is to be added to the schema of a data object, a data map needs to be
created from the data source to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM account.

Depending on the number, schema, and primary keys and foreign keys of
the relational databases data sources, database mappings can have a
varying degree of complexity. For example, in the following example, data
from three different databases tables are joined and mapped to an Excel
destination.

Depending on the data management needs of an enterprise and the

capabilities of the data mapping software, data mapping is used to
accomplish a range of data integration and transformation tasks.

The Importance of Data Mapping

To leverage data and extract business value out of it, the information
collected from various external and internal sources must be unified and
transformed into a format suitable for the operational and analytical
processes. This is accomplished through data mapping, which is an integral
step in various data management processes, including:

a) Data Integration

For successful data integration, the source and target data repositories must
have the same data model. However, it is rare for any two data repositories
to have the same schema. Data mapping tools help bridge the differences in
the schemas of data source and destination, allowing businesses to
consolidate information from different data points easily.

b) Data Migration

Data migration is the process of moving data from one database to another.
While there are various steps involved in the process, creating mappings
between source and target is one of the most difficult and time-consuming
tasks, particularly when done manually. Inaccurate and invalid mappings at
this stage not only impact the accuracy and completeness of data being
migrated but can even lead to the failure of the data migration project.
Therefore, using a code-free mapping solution that can automate the process
is important to migrate data to the destination successfully.

c) Data Warehousing

Data mapping in a data warehouse is the process of creating a connection

between the source and target tables or attributes. Using data mapping,
businesses can build a logical data model and define how data will be
structured and stored in the data warehouse. The process begins with
collecting all the required information and understanding the source data.
Once that has been done and a data mapping document created, building
the transformation rules and creating mappings is a simple process with a
data mapping solution.

d) Data Transformation

Because enterprise data resides in a variety of locations and formats, data

transformation is essential to break information silos and draw insights. Data
mapping is the first step in data transformation. It is done to create a
framework of what changes will be made to data before it is loaded to the
target database.

e) Electronic Data Interchange

Data mapping plays a significant role in EDI file conversion by converting the
files into various formats, such as XML, JSON, and Excel. An intuitive data
mapping tool allows the user to extract data from different sources and
utilize built-in transformations and functions to map data to EDI formats
without writing a single line of code. This helps perform seamless B2B data
exchange.

Data Mapping Techniques

Although an essential step in any data management process, data mapping
can be complex and time-consuming. The process of connecting data
sources, building mappings for data transformation and integration, and
validating the transformed data can take up significant developer resources,
particularly when the entire process is done manually.

Based on the level of automation, data mapping techniques can be divided

into three types:

1. Manual Data Mapping

Manual data mapping involves hand-coding the mappings between the data
source and target database. Although hand-coded, manual data mapping
process offers unlimited flexibility for unique mapping scenarios initially, it
can become challenging to maintain and scale as the mapping needs of the
business grow complex.

2. Semi-Automated Data Mapping

Schema mapping is often classified as a semi-automated data mapping

technique. The process involves identifying two data objects that are
semantically related and then building mappings between them. For
example, to build mappings between the schemas of Database 1 and
Database 2, the possible matches that a developer can use include
Database1:StudentName≈Database2:Name and
Database1:ID≈Database2:SSN.

Database 1 Database 2

Student Name
Name
ID
SSN
Level
Major
Major
Grades
Marks
Once schema mapping has been done, Java, C++, or C# code is generated
to achieve the required data conversion tasks. The programming language
used may vary depending on the data mapping tool used.

3. Automated Data Mapping

Automated data mapping tools feature a complete code-free environment for

data mapping tasks of any complexity. Mappings are created between the
data source and target database in a simple drag-and-drop manner. An
automated data mapping tool also has built-in transformations to convert
data from XML to JSON, EDI to XML, XML to XLS, hierarchical to flat files, or
any format without writing a single line of code. Some enterprise-grade data
mapping software also offer process orchestration and job scheduling
features to automate database mapping.

Types of Data Mapping Tools

Data mapping tools can be divided into three broad types:

1. On-Premise: Such tools are hosted on a company’s server and native

computing infrastructure. Many on-premise data mapping tools
eliminate the need for hand-coding to create complex mappings, and
automate repetitive tasks in the data mapping process.
2. Cloud-Based: These tools leverage cloud technology to help a business
perform its data mapping projects.
3. Open-Source: Open-source mapping tools provide a low-cost
alternative to on-premise data mapping solutions. These tools work
better for small businesses with lower data volumes and simpler use-
cases.

How to Evaluate and Select the Best Data Mapping Software

Selecting the right data mapping tool that’s the best fit for the enterprise is
critical to the success of any data integration, data transformation, and data
warehousing project. The process involves identifying the unique data
mapping requirements of the business and must-have features.

The key to choosing the right data mapping software is research. Online
reviews on websites like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice can be a
good starting point to shortlist data mapping software that offer the
maximum number of features. The next step would be to classify the
features of data mapping tools into three different categories, including
must-haves, good-to-haves, and will-not-use, depending on the unique data
management needs of the business.

Some of the key features that a data mapping solution must have include:
 a) Support for a Diverse Set of Source Systems

Support for various databases and hierarchical and flat file formats, such as
delimited, XML, JSON(JavaScript Object Notation), EDI, Excel, and text files are the
basic staples of all data mapping tools. In addition, for businesses that need
to integrate structured data with semi-structured and unstructured
data sources, support for PDF, PDF forms, RTF, weblogs, etc., is also a key
feature.

If your business uses a cloud-based CRM application, such as Salesforce or

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, look for a data mapping tool that offers out-of-the-
box connectivity to this enterprise applications.

b) Graphical, Drag-and-Drop, Code-Free User Interface

To break down information silos and allow both data professionals and
business users access to enterprise data, it is important to select a data
mapping solution that offers you a code-free way to create data maps. From
built-in transformations to join, filter, and sort data to a range of expressions
and functions, user-friendly data mapping tools feature an extensive library
of transformations to fulfill the data conversion needs of an enterprise.

c) Ability to Schedule and Automate Database Mapping Jobs

Since data mapping jobs, if not automated, can take up a significant amount
of developer resources and time, opting for data mapping software with
process orchestration capabilities can bring cost-savings to a business.

With the ability to orchestration a complete database mapping workflow and

time-based and event-triggered job scheduling, these data mapping
solutions automate data mapping and transformation process, thereby
delivering analytics-ready data faster.

d) Instant Data Preview Feature for Real-Time Testing and Validation of

Mappings

Mapping data to and from formats such as JSON, XML, and EDI can be
complex due to the diversity in data structures. However, to prevent
mapping errors at the design-time, an effective data mapping tool should
feature an Instant Data Preview engine which lets the user view the
processed data, as well as raw data at any step of the data management
process.

e) Smart Match Functionality for Resolving Naming Conflicts

Often, companies are required to leverage incoming data from business
partners, such as resellers and suppliers. Mapping and integrating data from
third parties can be challenging due to difference in data representation. For
example, one vendor might name the Order ID field as ‘Order No.’ while
another vendor might name it as ‘Order #’. Hence, an agile data mapping
solution should possess a synonym-driven file reading and mapping feature
to address the challenge of naming conflicts. This can be done by defining
synonyms for a word in the synonym dictionary of a particular project.