Intellova
Data glossary

Data, in plain English

No jargon, no sales pitch — just short, clear answers to the questions behind unifying your business data. Each one is a 30-second read.

What is data unification?

Data unification is the process of bringing data from many separate systems — CRM, accounting, support, payroll and more — into one consistent, connected database, with a shared key that links the same customer, product or transaction across sources. It turns scattered, siloed data into a single source of truth you can analyse, automate and run AI on.

What is a unified business database?

A unified business database is a single database that consolidates data from all of an organisation's tools — CRM, accounting, rostering, support and more — into one connected store, with a shared key linking records across systems. It gives the business one trustworthy place to analyse, report on, automate and apply AI to its data.

ETL vs ELT: what's the difference?

ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) transforms data before loading it into the destination store; ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) loads raw data first and transforms it inside the destination. ELT suits modern cloud warehouses (transform with the warehouse's compute); ETL suits cases needing cleansing or compliance before data lands.

What is reverse ETL?

Reverse ETL is the process of copying data from a central warehouse or unified database back into operational tools — like a CRM, marketing platform or support app — so teams can act on unified insights inside the apps they already use. It's the opposite direction to traditional ETL, which moves data into the warehouse.

What are data silos?

Data silos are isolated pockets of data held in separate systems that don't share information — for example, sales data trapped in a CRM, finances in accounting software, and support tickets in another tool. Silos make it hard to get a complete, consistent view of the business and force manual work to reconcile figures.

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