Conclusion

In short, data integration and data quality are not the same things, but they are very closely linked. Can a company have one without having the other? Yes, but to what benefit? If a company has high quality data in every aspect but does not use it for anything, the company is losing out. If a company is very serious about data integration but the data that they are using is low in quality, that company is also losing out. While these two areas are not technically the same, they must be used in concert with one another in order to assure the success of a company, both now and in the future. Often, integration takes place throughout a company but the quality of the data is not as good as would have been hoped for. People ignore problems with data, customers fail to correct discrepancies that they see in their addresses or phone numbers, or they provide misleading information so that the company will not contact them. Some of these things cannot be helped, so there will never be perfect...

The companies who store this data, though, must do what they reasonably can to keep their data as pure as possible. It will help them in the long run.
Companies that pay close attention to the quality of their data and make an effort to keep it up-to-date and correct generally do better than companies that ignore quality controls in the face of speed, cost cutting measures, or other reasons. Companies who then take that quality data and integrate it correctly are often the best at what they do, and that shows to their competition and to their competitors. It means a lot less aggravation for those who contact the company more than once, because all of their information is taking down the first time. They can then call any department in the company and their information will be there, and it will be correct. People want to do business with a company like that, because it implies that the customer matters to them. Quality and integration of data are both keys to a strong, successful business.