The average organization runs 897 applications, and only 29% of them are connected to each other, according to MuleSoft’s 2025 Connectivity Benchmark Report. That gap is why your sales, finance and operations teams often argue over whose numbers are right.
The Commercient Data Lake CLI (command-line interface) is how Commercient teams close that gap. It pulls ERP, CRM and eCommerce data into one governed SQL Server database per customer, then turns that data into APIs, exports and AI access. If the letters “CLI” make you nervous, this guide explains what it is, what it does and why it matters for results you care about: faster builds, a smaller IT backlog and one source of truth.
What Is a CLI, and Why Does the Commercient Data Lake Use One?
A CLI, or command-line interface, is a text window where you type a short instruction and the software carries it out. Instead of clicking through ten screens to export a report, someone types one short export command and the file appears. Most business leaders already rely on tools built this way every day without seeing them.
The Commercient Data Lake CLI is the official command-line client for the Commercient Data Lake and Data Hub. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it gives your team, your integration partner or Commercient’s own specialists one consistent way to set up, query and manage your data.
The reason Commercient uses a CLI is speed and repeatability. A typed instruction can be saved, reviewed, reused and automated. That means a setup that worked for one department can be repeated for the next one without being rebuilt by hand. You don’t need to learn it. You only need to know that it exists and what it makes possible.
Why Do ERP, CRM and eCommerce Data End Up in Different Places?
Each system was bought to solve one problem. Your ERP (enterprise resource planning software, such as SAP or Oracle NetSuite) runs orders, inventory and invoicing. Your CRM (customer relationship management software, such as Salesforce or HubSpot) runs pipeline and customer conversations. Your eCommerce platform, such as Shopify, runs online orders.
None of them was designed to share a single copy of the truth with the others. So a sales rep sees one customer balance in Salesforce, finance sees another in SAP, and the online store shows a third version of the order history.
This is common. In MuleSoft’s research, 95% of IT leaders said they struggle to integrate data across systems. The result is extra spreadsheets, extra meetings and decisions made on numbers nobody fully trusts.
What Disconnected ERP and CRM Data Costs Your IT Team
The biggest hidden cost lands on IT. Every new dashboard, customer portal or AI pilot starts with the same request: “Can you get me the data from the ERP and the CRM?” Each request becomes a small custom project.
According to MuleSoft’s 2025 Connectivity Benchmark, about 39% of IT team time goes to designing, building and testing custom integrations. The same research found that 86% of IT leaders expect their workloads to keep rising.
That is where your IT backlog comes from. When every project rebuilds the same data connections, IT spends its time plumbing, and the projects business leaders asked for wait in line.
How the Commercient Data Lake CLI Turns Data Into APIs, Exports and AI Access
The Commercient Data Lake gives each customer its own managed database on Microsoft SQL Server, one of the most widely used business databases. Commercient’s connectors read from and write to more than 150 systems, according to the Commercient Data Lake CLI documentation, so your ERP, CRM and eCommerce data land in one place and stay current.
From there, the Data Lake CLI turns that single database into three things your teams can use right away:
- APIs: ready-made REST and GraphQL APIs, which are standard ways for other software to read and update data. Your developers or partners build a portal or app on top of them instead of writing new connections.
- Exports: simple commands to query data and export it for reporting, finance reviews or analysis in the tools your team already uses.
- AI access: a built-in MCP server (Model Context Protocol, a standard way for AI assistants to connect to data) lets tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini work with your live business data. Model Flexibility lets you change AI providers without rebuilding permissions.
The business outcome is simple: new projects start from data that is already connected and cleaned up, so builds move faster and fewer requests pile up in IT’s queue.
How Does the Commercient Data Lake Keep ERP and CRM Data Governed?
Putting all your data in one place only helps if the right people see the right parts of it. The Commercient Data Lake handles this inside the database, through Trust & Control.
Every access key is scoped to specific records, actions and fields, down to individual columns. Role-based permissions decide who can see what, and audit logs record every write. If a key doesn’t explicitly allow something, the answer is no, which the Commercient Data Lake CLI documentation describes as “fail-closed.”
For AI, this matters most. An AI agent connected to the lake sees only what its key allows. Your pricing data, payroll fields or customer records stay out of reach unless you decide otherwise.
Commercient Data Lake Integrations: Where Your Data Comes From
The Data Lake builds on the same connectors that power Commercient SYNC. Here are three common combinations:
- SAP + Salesforce: Sales reps often can’t see SAP order and invoice history while they sell. With both feeding the Data Lake, reps, finance and AI tools work from the same customer record.
- SAP + HubSpot: Marketing teams in HubSpot usually lack purchase data from SAP. Once it’s in one database, campaigns can be built on what customers actually bought.
- Oracle NetSuite + Shopify: Online orders in Shopify and fulfillment in NetSuite often drift apart. Bringing both together gives operations one view of orders, stock and customers.
What Does One Source of Truth Look Like in Practice?
Before: a VP of Sales asks for a dashboard combining Salesforce pipeline with SAP revenue. IT adds it to the backlog, builds a custom connection weeks later, and finance disputes the numbers because their SAP report shows something different.
After: both systems already feed the Commercient Data Lake. A developer or partner uses the Data Lake CLI to publish an API over the tables they need, the dashboard connects to it, and sales and finance read the same numbers from the same database. The next request, an AI assistant that answers “which accounts are overdue?”, uses the same data and the same permissions, with no new integration project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to code to benefit from the Commercient Data Lake? No. The Data Lake CLI is used by technical staff, partners or Commercient’s team to set up and manage the Data Lake. Business users benefit through the dashboards, apps, exports and AI assistants built on top of it.
What is the Commercient Data Lake CLI? The Commercient Data Lake CLI is the official command-line tool for the Commercient Data Lake and Data Hub, and its commands start with “dlake.” It is used to connect data sources, query and export data, create scoped access keys, and manage APIs and AI access for each customer’s SQL Server database.
How is the Commercient Data Lake different from Commercient SYNC? SYNC moves data between systems, such as keeping SAP and Salesforce in step. The Data Lake stores data from all your systems in one governed database, so apps, reports and AI tools can use it from a single place. Data can also be written back from the lake to your ERP or CRM.
Which systems can feed the Commercient Data Lake? Commercient connects to more than 150 systems, including ERPs like SAP, NetSuite, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics 365, CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot and Zoho, and eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. The full list is on the Commercient integrations page.
Can AI tools use Data Lake data safely? Yes. AI tools connect through a built-in MCP server using scoped keys, so each agent sees only the tables, rows and fields its key allows. Every write is logged for audit.
See the Commercient Data Lake in Action
See how the Commercient Data Lake brings your SAP, Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite or Shopify data into one governed database. Book a free demo.
