The 9 Best Data Integration Books You Should Read in 2023

A compilation of the best data integration books on technique and methodology written by some of the most prominent experts in the field.

There are loads of free resources available online (such as Solutions Review’s Data Integration Software Buyer‘s Guide, Vendor Comparison Map, and best practices section) and those are great, but sometimes it’s best to do things the old-fashioned way. There are few resources that can match the in-depth, comprehensive detail of one of the best data integration books.

The editors at Solutions Review have done much of the work for you, curating this directory of the best data integration books on Amazon. Titles have been selected based on the total number and quality of reader user reviews and ability to add business value.

Below you will find a library of titles from recognized industry analysts, experienced practitioners, and subject matter experts spanning the depths of real-time data streaming all the way to development and design. This compilation includes publications for practitioners of all skill levels.

The Best Data Integration Books

Managing Data in Motion: Data Integration Best Practice Techniques and Technologies

OUR TAKE: Author and influencer April Reeve is a 25-year industry veteran. This book will teach you the techniques, technologies, and best practices to moving, transforming, and integrating disparate data in complex enterprise environments.

“Managing Data in Motion describes techniques that have been developed for significantly reducing the complexity of managing system interfaces and enabling scalable architectures. Author April Reeve brings over two decades of experience to present a vendor-neutral approach to moving data between computing environments and systems. Readers will learn the techniques, technologies, and best practices for managing the passage of data between computer systems and integrating disparate data together in an enterprise environment.”

Data Integration Blueprint and Modeling: Techniques for a Scalable and Sustainable Architecture

OUR TAKE: One reviewer referred to this title as a “great reference manual.” This title offers a generic data integration approach by 20-year veteran Anthony Giordano, a partner in IBM’s Business Analytics and Optimization Consulting Practice.

“This book presents the solution: a clear, consistent approach to defining, designing, and building data integration components to reduce cost, simplify management, enhance quality, and improve effectiveness. Leading IBM data management expert Tony Giordano brings together best practices for architecture, design, and methodology, and shows how to do the disciplined work of getting data integration right.”

Business Intelligence Guidebook: From Data Integration to Analytics

OUR TAKE: After reading this book, you will be able to design the overall architecture for functioning business intelligence systems with the supporting data warehousing and data-integration applications. Author Rick Sherman is one of the foremost experts in the space.

“After reading this book, you will be able to design the overall architecture for functioning business intelligence systems with the supporting data warehousing and data-integration applications. You will have the information you need to get a project launched, developed, managed and delivered on time and on budget – turning the deluge of data into actionable information that fuels business knowledge. Finally, you’ll give your career a boost by demonstrating an essential knowledge that puts corporate BI projects on a fast-track to success.”

Data Virtualization for Business Intelligence Systems: Revolutionizing Data Integration for Data Warehouses

OUR TAKE: Authored by big data expert and influencer Rick van der Lans, this is a practical guide for understanding and deploying data virtualization in data warehouse environments.

“Data virtualization can help you accomplish your goals with more flexibility and agility. Learn what it is and how and why it should be used with Data Virtualization for Business Intelligence Systems. In this book, expert author Rick van der Lans explains how data virtualization servers work, what techniques to use to optimize access to various data sources and how these products can be applied in different projects. You’ll learn the difference is between this new form of data integration and older forms, such as ETL and replication.”

The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Definitive Guide to Dimensional Modeling

OUR TAKE: Ralph Kimball’s Data Warehouse Toolkit is one of the definitive guides in the industry, ranking number-5 in Amazon’s Data Warehousing book category and touting more than 350 reviews and 4.6 stars.

“The first edition of Ralph Kimball’s The Data Warehouse Toolkit introduced the industry to dimensional modeling, and now his books are considered the most authoritative guides in this space. This new third edition is a complete library of updated dimensional modeling techniques, the most comprehensive collection ever. It covers new and enhanced star schema dimensional modeling patterns, adds two new chapters on ETL techniques, includes new and expanded business matrices for 12 case studies, and more.”

I Heart Logs: Event Data, Stream Processing, and Data Integration

OUR TAKE: Written by a LinkedIn Principal Staff Engineer leading architecture for online data infrastructure, this title shows you are logs are used for programmatic access in databases and distributed systems.

“Why a book about logs? That’s easy: the humble log is an abstraction that lies at the heart of many systems, from NoSQL databases to cryptocurrencies. Even though most engineers don’t think much about them, this short book shows you why logs are worthy of your attention. Based on his popular blog posts, LinkedIn principal engineer Jay Kreps shows you how logs work in distributed systems, and then delivers practical applications of these concepts in a variety of common uses.”

Big Data Integration Theory: Theory and Methods of Database Mappings, Programming Languages, and Semantics (Texts in Computer Science)

OUR TAKE: This book provides a concise, formal introduction to logics, (co-)algebras, databases, schema mappings and category theory, but is probably not great for beginners.

“This book presents a novel approach to database concepts, describing a categorical logic for database schema mapping based on views, within a framework for database integration/exchange and peer-to-peer. Database mappings, database programming languages, and denotational and operational semantics are discussed in depth. An analysis method is also developed that combines techniques from second-order logic, data modeling, co-algebras and functorial categorical semantics.”

Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth (SAS Institute Inc.)

OUR TAKE: Written by internationally recognized author, speaker, and business consultant Jill Dyché, this book got rave reviews by thought leader Wayne Eckerson of the Eckerson Group.

“Whatever business you’re in, you’re ultimately in the customer business. No matter what your product, customers pay the bills. But the strategic importance of customer relationships hasn’t brought companies much closer to a single, authoritative view of their customers. Written from both business and technical perspectives, Customer Data Integration shows companies how to deliver an accurate, holistic, and long-term understanding of their customers through CDI.”

Big Data Analytics: From Strategic Planning to Enterprise Integration with Tools, Techniques, NoSQL, and Graph

OUR TAKE: Authored by the President of data management consulting firm Knowledge Integrity, David Loshin provides a short guide for managers to introduce big data technology to their organizations.

“Big Data Analytics will assist managers in providing an overview of the drivers for introducing big data technology into the organization and for understanding the types of business problems best suited to big data analytics solutions, understanding the value drivers and benefits, strategic planning, developing a pilot, and eventually planning to integrate back into production within the enterprise.”

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