How can you synchronize data between external systems for application development?

1 Why synchronize data?

Data synchronization is the process of transferring and updating data between two or more systems, helping to improve user experience by providing access to the latest information, enhance data quality by reducing errors and inconsistencies, enable collaboration and communication between different teams and stakeholders, support business processes and workflows that rely on multiple data sources, and comply with security and regulatory requirements for data protection and privacy.

2 How to synchronize data?

Data synchronization can be achieved through a variety of methods and techniques based on the type, frequency, and direction of the data transfer. Batch synchronization, for example, involves transferring data in large batches at regular intervals, such as daily or weekly. This is ideal for low-priority or historical data that does not change often. Incremental synchronization is used to transfer only the data that has changed since the last synchronization, such as new or updated records, while bidirectional synchronization enables data to be transferred in both directions. Unidirectional synchronization sends data in one direction only, from system A to system B or vice versa, and is suitable when one system is the master or source of truth.

3 What are the challenges of data synchronization?

Data synchronization can present application developers with a range of challenges, such as data conflicts, data mapping, and data security. Data conflicts occur when two or more systems have different or contradictory versions of the same data, and developers must decide which version should prevail to avoid data loss or corruption. Data mapping involves defining how the data fields and structures in one system correspond to the other system, and may require transforming and aligning the data during synchronization. Lastly, data security entails protecting the data from unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure during synchronization. This may involve encrypting and authenticating the data during transmission to comply with relevant laws and regulations for data protection and privacy.

4 What are the tools for data synchronization?

Various tools and platforms can assist with synchronizing data between external systems for application development. Zapier is a cloud-based service that enables you to connect and automate data transfers between over 3,000 apps and web services. Through creating workflows or zaps, you can trigger data synchronization based on events, schedules, or conditions, as well as customize it with filters, formatters, and logic. MuleSoft is an integration platform that facilitates building and managing data synchronization solutions using APIs, connectors, and templates. The Anypoint Platform allows you to design, test, deploy, and monitor data synchronization across various systems and environments; the Mule runtime engine executes data synchronization processes using various protocols and formats. AWS AppSync is a cloud service that permits you to synchronize data between your applications and data sources using GraphQL. You can use AWS AppSync to create and manage GraphQL schemas, resolvers, and subscriptions that determine how your data is synchronized. Additionally, AWS AppSync handles offline and online scenarios, data conflicts, and data security.

5 How to test and monitor data synchronization?

Testing and monitoring data synchronization is essential for ensuring its reliability, performance, and quality. To ensure the best results, you should use unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests to test your data synchronization logic and scenarios. Tools such as Postman, SoapUI, or JMeter can be used to create and execute test cases and verify the expected results. Additionally, you should monitor your data synchronization processes and metrics using dashboards, alerts, and logs with tools such as Grafana, Datadog, or Splunk. Debugging and troubleshooting data synchronization issues can be done by using breakpoints, tracepoints, and log points with Visual Studio Code, Eclipse, or PyCharm to inspect and modify your code and data during execution. With these practices in place, you can ensure that your data synchronization is reliable, performs well, and is of high quality.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?