Single Source of Truth

What Is a Single Source of Truth?

A single source of truth (SSOT) is an authoritative data repository that serves as the definitive reference for business information. When you have a true SSOT, every team—finance, sales, operations—accesses the same consistent, accurate data without conflicting versions.

In practice, a single source of truth means:

• One place to find any metric or report
• Consistent definitions across the organization
• No more “my spreadsheet says something different” conversations
• Audit trails showing exactly where data came from

Why Don’t Most Companies Have a Single Source of Truth?

Despite its obvious benefits, true single source of truth remains elusive for most organizations:

Organic system growth: Companies add tools as they scale—NetSuite for finance, Salesforce for sales, Shopify for e-commerce—without a unification strategy.

Acquisitions: Each acquired company brings its own tech stack, multiplying data silos.

Departmental autonomy: Teams choose their own tools without IT oversight, creating shadow IT sprawl.

Failed consolidation attempts: Many organizations have tried (and failed) to achieve SSOT through expensive ERP migrations.

Single Source of Truth vs. Data Warehouse

A data warehouse stores historical data for analysis and reporting. But having a data warehouse doesn’t guarantee a single source of truth.

Common issues with data warehouses:

• Multiple warehouses across the organization (Snowflake, Redshift, legacy SQL servers)
• Inconsistent data models and definitions
• Stale data due to batch processing delays
• Requires technical skills to access

A true single source of truth layer sits above your data warehouse, providing:

• Real-time or near-real-time data access
• Business-friendly interfaces (like Excel sync)
• Consistent semantic definitions
• Governance and access controls

How to Create a Single Source of Truth

Building a single source of truth doesn’t require replacing all your existing systems:

1. Inventory your data sources: Map where critical business data lives today
2. Define your semantic layer: Establish consistent definitions for key metrics (What exactly is “revenue”? “Customer”? “Churn”?)
3. Connect and centralize: Use a data centralization platform to pull from all sources
4. Establish governance: Define who can access what data and who owns definitions
5. Deliver to end users: Push data into the tools people already use (Excel, dashboards, AI)

Benefits of a Single Source of Truth

Organizations with a true SSOT report:

• 75% faster month-end close
• 90% reduction in data-related meeting conflicts
• Significant decrease in reporting errors
• Faster response time to leadership questions