The Truth Behind Hidden Data Integration Costs, And Why Commercient is Different

Data Integration Costs

In today’s competitive environment, and with ever-growing budget challenges, getting the lowest price can sound like a good idea. But many times the “best deal” doesn’t mean getting the best value. Sure, there is always someone offering the same for less; in every industry, you can always find someone promising the same service or product at a fraction of the cost. Data integration is no different. But if we focus only on trying to save a few bucks, it’s easy to see that the lowest price is rarely the best option. 

Consider this analogy, where you are looking for a new cable TV service. You want 100 channels, and you’re considering two options that are available in your area. Option 1 costs $50 per month, and Option 2 costs $75 per month for the same channel list. Without even thinking, you sign the contract for Option 1, believing you just saved yourself $25 per month.

You can’t wait to get started and call to schedule a technician to come to your home to install the new service. What you didn’t realize is, Option 1 was cheaper because they don’t actually send a technician out for installation. Rather, in 5-7 business days, they will ship you the receiver via ground mailing service for self-install. 

“OK, fine,” you say to yourself, “I have to wait a little longer, but I’m still saving money, right?”

Well, finally, your new Option 1 cable receiver arrives and you’re ready to install! But wait, this is not as easy as you thought it would be. The cords are all hooked up, but nothing is happening. After waiting on hold with tech support for what seems like forever, you finally get through to someone who walks you through the same things you have already done, wasting 20 more minutes of your afternoon, just to find out that it is going to cost you $200 to have a technician come out to fix this. 

You’re already committed, and, hey, an extra $200 for the technician is still cheaper than the other plan, right?! So the technician comes three days later, and, FINALLY, you are ready to watch your channels!

You sit down to watch the World Series in your recliner, beer in hand, nachos and wings on the table, and all you can see is a pixelated screen, causing you to miss half the game! Spoiler alert: The Braves win.

So once again, you call this “dream” of a cable service that offered you a cheap price, only to discover that the service you bought is not in high-definition! To upgrade to better quality, you need to pay an additional $25 per month. 

At the end of the day, this service is not cheaper at all. It has taken your time, been a source of frustration, and caused you to miss Jorge Soler’s home run putting the Braves ahead early in the game! What it really boils down to is that cheaper does not mean better!

In the world of data integration, you get what you pay for. So, what do you get when you pay for data integration with Commercient? Let’s take a look: 

  • Customer Service – Commercient has staff online 24/7 managing our clients’ integrations, providing the peace of mind that on Monday, when everyone gets to the office, your staff will have valuable ERP information already SYNC’d to the CRM without you lifting a finger.
  • Benefits of a Managed Service – Commercient takes care of everything for you, from start to finish, for a fixed cost. We are the cable technician who not only provides you with the channels but also sets up the channels and manage them long-term.
  • No resources needed on your end – Since Commercient handles all the heavy lifting, you don’t need to divert your staff from their responsibilities for the data integration.  
  • A tried and tested solution – You can integrate with confidence, knowing that there are tens of thousands of happy users who have already tested this data integration and still use it because IT WORKS!
  • Fixed Monthly Cost – A lot of data integration companies offer a low cost to get you in the door that will increase as you grow based on the number of transactions included in the data integration. Another common practice is to offer a low implementation cost with various clauses that this cost is subject to change. That’s just crazy! We want you to be successful, and we want you to grow. And we don’t want your success to come with an additional price tag. Commercient offers a fixed monthly cost that does not increase as you sell more. We want to grow with you! We also offer a fixed implementation fee understanding that each project is unique and we prepare accordingly to handle that for a low fixed cost based on our extensive experience with the ERP and CRM systems that we support. 

To sum it up, you can find other data integration solutions that may be a bit cheaper, but you aren’t comparing apples to apples. You are comparing apples to a filet mignon dinner from a fancy steakhouse with pomme frites, fire-roasted creamed corn, and a glass of merlot. So, before signing a contract for data integration, you need to ask yourself, is the lowest price really the best deal?