Customer data integration may involve between six and 12 fields of data for every individual customer, such as name prefix, first name, last name, middle name or initial, name suffix, nickname, maiden name and professional or academic title.

Complicating the data management further, much of this data changes frequently and becomes obsolete. For example, customers may change their names, move, get divorced or die.

The value of the data is divided into five categories:

1. Completeness: Organizations may lack all the required data to make sound business decisions.
2. Latency: If data is not used quickly enough, it can become obsolete.
3. Accuracy
4. Management: Data integration, governance, stewardship, operations and distribution all combine to make or break the value of the data.
5. Ownership: The more dissimilar customers are, the more difficult it will be to use the data to make decisions.

Accurate and comprehensive customer data retrieved through CDI has many uses and applications. These include:

1. Providing raw data for various service providers
2. Optimizing product assortment, promotion, pricing and inventory rotation (merchandising)
3. Reducing waste
4. Choosing the best locations for branch offices or outlets
5. Supporting customer relationship management
6. Supporting master data management
7. Differentiating customers and their needs