Integration glossary
Two-way data synchronisation
Two-way synchronisation keeps a record current in two or more systems, so an edit made in any of them reaches the others.
One-way and two-way synchronisation
One-way synchronisation copies data from a single source of truth to other systems, which is how most reporting databases are filled. It is simple because only one side ever changes the record.
Two-way synchronisation lets each team keep working in its own tool. Sales updates a phone number in the CRM, billing corrects an address in the billing system, and both changes reach the other side without re-keying.
The hard part is conflicts
Sooner or later two systems change the same record before either change has been passed on. A rule that keeps whichever write arrived last quietly throws the other one away.
Resolving conflicts field by field avoids most of that loss. If one system changed the phone number and the other changed the address, both edits survive. When both changed the same field, an agreed rule decides, and the outcome is recorded so it can be checked.
Avoiding echoes
A change copied from system A to system B can look like a new change in B and travel straight back to A. A sound synchronisation recognises its own writes, so a change moves once and stops.
Two-way synchronisation in STRAX
In STRAX, changes flow both ways through the hub, so a correction made in any connected system reaches the others and your teams keep the tools they already use. Conflicts are settled field by field, every value shows where it came from, and synchronisation is rate-limited per system so a busy source is never overwhelmed.
How the STRAX integration engine works → Data movement, in the documentation → What a data hub is →
More terms
Other ideas worth knowing.
Self-hosted integration platform
Integration software that runs on your own servers, so the data moving between your systems stays under your control.
Read the definition →iPaaS (integration platform as a service)
Integration delivered as a cloud service, where the vendor hosts the platform that connects your applications.
Read the definition →Data hub
A central store that every connected system feeds and reads, so they share one current version of each record.
Read the definition →See it on your own systems.
A demo takes about an hour and shows these ideas working on systems like yours.