Best Data Integration Tools

Azure Data Factory is a managed cloud service built for extract-transform-load (ETL), extract-load-transform (ELT), and data integration projects. This is a digital integration tool as well as a cloud data warehouse that allows users to create, schedule, and manage data in the cloud or on premises. The use cases of the product include data engineering, operational data integration, analytics, ingesting data into data warehouses, and migrating on-premise SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages to Azure. The tool allows users to create data-driven workflows for initiating data movement and data transformation at scale. Data can be ingested from disparate data stores via pipelines. Companies can utilize this product to build complex ETL processes for transforming data visually with data flows. Azure Data Factory also offers services such as Azure HDInsight Hadoop, Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure SQL Database. These services are created to facilitate data management and control for organizations, providing them with better visibility of their data for improved decision-making. Azure Data Factory allows companies to create schedules for moving and transforming data into their pipelines. This can be done hourly, daily, weekly, or according to the specific needs of the organization. The steps through which the data-driven workflows work in Azure Data Factory are the following: 1. Connecting to required sources and collecting data. After connecting to the various sources where data is stored, the pipelines move the data to a centralized location for further processing. 2. Transforming and enriching the data. Once the data is moved to a centralized data store in the cloud, the pipelines transform it through services like HDInsight Hadoop, Azure Data Lake Analytics, Spark, and Machine Learning. 3. Delivering the transformed data to on-premise sources or keeping it in cloud storage sources for usage by different tools and applications. Azure Data Factory Concepts The solution consists of a series of interconnected systems that provide data integration and related services for users. The following concepts create the end product for users: Pipelines: A pipeline refers to the logical grouping of activities that performs a unit of work which together perform a task. Mapping data flows: Azure Data Factory lets its users create and manage graphs of data transformation logic for transforming any-sized data. The logic is executed on a Spark cluster, which does not have to be managed or maintained personally by the user. Linked services: The linked services in the tool define the connection to the data source. There are various services used for two main purposes - to represent a data store that the solution supports and to represent a compute resource that can host the execution of an activity. Integration runtime: The integration runtime in the tool provides the bridge between the activity and linked services needed for it. Triggers: There are various types of triggers in the solution, created for different types of events. They determine when a pipeline execution should be initiated. Pipeline runs: Pipeline runs are instantiated by passing the arguments to the parameters that are defined in pipelines, executing the pipelines' work. Control flow: Control flow in Azure Data Factory is an orchestration of pipeline activities. Connect and collect: This serves as the first step of the services that this tool offers. It connects all the required sources of data and processing in order to prepare the data for moving it to a centralized location for further processing. The step eliminates the need for companies to integrate expensive custom solutions for data movement. Through Copy Activity, Azure Blob storage, and Azure HDInsight Hadoop cluster, users can quickly initiate the first step of organizing their data. Transform and enrich: The collected data can be processed or transformed by using the mapping data flows of the product. Data transformation graphs can be executed on Spark without the need to understand its clusters or how programming works. CI/CD and publish: Through Azure DevOps and GitHub clients, the tool can receive full support for CI/CD for their data pipelines, which allows for the development and delivery of ETL processes before publishing the finished product. Monitor: When users have successfully built and deployed their data integration pipelines, the service offers them the option to monitor the scheduled activities and pipelines. This is done through Azure Monitor, API, PowerShell, and health panels on the Azure portal. Azure Data Factory Benefits Azure Data Factory offers clients many several benefits. Some of these include: An easy-to-use platform which is suitable for both beginner and expert users, as it offers code-free processes and built-in support. Pay-as-you-go option for clients to pay only for the services that they are using. Powerful tool with more than 90 built-in connectors, which allow companies to ingest on-premise and software as service (SaaS) data quickly. Provided autonomous ETL, which unlocks operational efficiencies and citizen integrators. The tool is designed to handle large volumes of data and provide users with better scalability and performance than classic ETL systems. Azure Data Factory allows users to easily migrate ETL workloads to the solution’s cloud. The solution offers great security for its users, as it provides the option for assigning specific permissions and roles within the organization. Azure Data Factory is highly automated, which allows users to orchestrate their data more efficiently. The platform is a combination of GUI and scripting-based interfaces, which gives users more freedom over data management. The tool provides organizations with the option to rely on Microsoft to fully manage the process. This eliminates the potential need of hiring a third-party expert. Reviews from Real Users According to Dan M., a Chief Strategist & CTO at a consultancy, Azure Data Factory is secure and reasonably priced. A Senior Manager at a tech services company evaluates the tool as reasonably priced, scales well, good performance.

Informatica PowerCenter is a data integration and data visualization tool. The solution works as an enterprise data integration platform that helps organizations access, transform, and integrate data from various systems. The product is designed to support companies in the full cycle of a project, from its initial rollout to critical deployments. Informatica PowerCenter allows developers and analysts to collaborate while accelerating the work process to deploy projects within days instead of months. The Advanced edition of the product provides an additional real-time engine which allows companies to have always-on enterprise data integration. This ensures seamless collaboration and increment of data lineage visibility and impacts analysis. The Premium edition of the solution offers an early warning system that detects unexpected behaviors or incorrect utilization of resources in the workflows and alerts companies in the case that these occur. This version of the product also offers automatic data validation, which ensures data accuracy and reduces testing time and expenditure of resources for by up to 90%. Informatica PowerCenter Features The product provides users with various features which allow them to execute data integration initiatives such as analytics, data warehousing, data governance, consolidation, and application migration. The features of the solution include: Collaboration: Informatica PowerCenter offers role-based tools and processes which enable business self-service while benefiting from high-quality IT resources. Automation: Through various automations and easy-to-use software, users can utilize graphical and codeless tools and initiate effective data integration without additional knowledge. Scalability: The tool provides high scalability to users, which ensures seamless performance and minimum downtime. PowerCenter also has adaptive load balancing, pushdown optimization, and dynamic partitioning. Monitoring: Through the extensive monitoring feature, the operations and governance of the solution are easily overseen by users. The tool also provides alerts that can prevent damage to the system. Real-time data: Through real-time data, users can monitor applications and analytics, ensuring their efficient operation. Prototyping: Informatica lets its users collaborate with information technology to prototype, profile, and validate results in a timely manner. Connectivity: Users can access and integrate data from different types of sources through high-performance connectors. Automated data validation testing: The product offers script-free automated and repeatable audit and validation of data. Data transformation: This feature allows users to use comprehensive parsing of JSON, PDF, XML, Microsoft Office, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for non-relation data. Cloud applications connectivity: The product allows for seamless connection to cloud application sources and targets. Informatica PowerCenter Benefits The benefits of using Informatica PowerCenter include: The tool can work over a wide range of systems and platforms and also allows for lean integration. It enhances the quality and speed of performance and optimizes the cost of the process for your organization. PowerCenter supports multiple databases, including TPump, Parallel Transporter Fastload, and Teradata MLoad. The tool is very easy to monitor and maintain, which simplifies the data integration process for companies. The centralized error logging system allows users to locate errors in a timely manner and correct them. The tool can convert data from an application to another format, as it serves as one of the most powerful data transformation solutions. PowerCenter can also serve as middleware between two applications. The solution offers both parallel processing and load balancing. PowerCenter is a tool with a high level of security, which also minimizes essential administration activities. The solution ensures the quality of information, as it does not allow invalid or unwanted data to be uploaded to the source. Reviews from Real Users Yahya T., a developer and architect at L'Oreal, says the product is stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast. Mohamed E., a senior manager for Data management and data governance at a tech company, says PowerCenter is stable, mature, and offers flexibility in building the pipeline and has a drag-and-drop mode because it's GUI-based; technical support is brilliant.

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a Microsoft platform designed to build enterprise-level data integration and data transformation solutions. Users now have the ability to solve intricate business queries by downloading and copying files, cleansing and mining data, loading data warehouses, and managing SQL Server objects and data through Integration Services. SSIS is a component of the Microsoft SQL Server data software used for many data migration tasks. SSIS loads data into one or more destinations by extracting and transforming data from a wide variety of sources such as XML data files, flat files, and relational data sources. Integration Services include: An SSIS catalog database to manage, store, and run packages. An ample set of built-in transformations and tasks. Graphical tools for building packages. Create packages programmatically and code custom tasks through programming the extensive Integration Services. With graphical Integration Services, you can create solutions without writing any code. Benefits of SSIS There are many benefits of SSIS, such as: Solve complex business problems - encrypt files with SSIS and send them to various network locations. Migration of DTS packages to SSIS - users can migrate DTS packages to SSIS while choosing to run DTS packages using DTS runtime or incorporate DTS packages into SSIS. Development of ETL processes - Microsoft’s SSIS packages provide the ability to extract, transform, and load data into data warehouses. This service takes data from various sources, like CSV files, XML files, flat files, and relational data sources and transforms and loads them to their destinations. Data migration from other databases - with Integrations Services, users can transform data to make sure it complies with the rules of the database they are migrating to. Managing and automating SQL server objects - SSIS packages can manage and automate SQL server objects which will help save you time and resources. Reviews from Real Users The SSIS platform stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two major ones are its debugging capabilities during data flow execution and its easy connectivity with other Microsoft tools. Muhammad J., a senior manager software developer at Techlogix, notes, "The debugging capabilities are great, particularly during data flow execution. You can look into the data and see what's going on in the pipeline." Ismail L., a data engineer at a tech service company, writes, "The most valuable thing is that it is easy to connect with Microsoft tools. In Europe, particularly in France, a lot of companies use Excel, SQL Server, and other Microsoft tools, and it is easier to connect SSIS with Microsoft tools than other products."

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is a data integration software solution that provides a unified infrastructure to streamline data and application integration projects. It uses a powerful design approach to data integration, which separates the declarative rules from the implementation details. The solution is based on a unique ELT (Extract Load Transform) architecture, eliminating the need for a standalone ETL server and proprietary engine.  Oracle Data Integrator Features ODI has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include: Automatic documentation generation Visualization of data flows in the interfaces Customization of generated code Automatic reverse-engineering of existing applications or databases Graphical development and maintenance of transformation and integration interfaces Robust data integrity control features, assuring the consistency and correctness of data Powerful core differentiators Heterogeneous ELT, declarative design and knowledge modules Flexibility and modularity Oracle Data Integrator repository Topology navigator Operator Navigator Security Navigator Integrator Console ODI domains Oracle Data Integrator Benefits There are many benefits to implementing ODI. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include: Efficient architecture: Oracle Data Integrator has a simple architecture that utilizes the source and target servers to perform complex transformations, making it an efficient solution. Supports all platforms: ODI gives you platform independence by supporting all platforms, hardware, and OSes with the same software. Cost-effective: Oracle Data Integrator reduces costs associated with initial hardware and software acquisition, and also decreases maintenance costs because it eliminates the need for an ETL Server and an ETL engine. Automatic detection of faulty data: By using ODI, faulty data is recycled before insertion in the target application, providing you with a data quality firewall. Easy development and maintenance: With a low learning curve, Oracle Data Integrator increases developer productivity while facilitating ongoing maintenance.  Active integration: ODI includes all styles of data integration: data-based, event-based and service-based. Reviews from Real Users Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) solution. Brian D., Business Process and Strategy Specialist Advisor at NTTData, says, “The Knowledge Module (KM) is my favorite feature of ODI. This is where I learned how to use variables to make jobs dynamic. I took that knowledge and created a KM that would go into iTunes and pull the sales of eBooks. Making something that is reusable, like a KM, is important to not only reduce build time but also maintenance in the future.” Ashok S., Applications Support Manager at a marketing services firm, mentions, "The most valuable features of ODI are the ease of development, you can have a template, and you can onboard transfer very quickly. There's a lot of knowledge modules available that we can use. If you want to connect, for example, a Sibyl, SQL, Oracle, or different products, we don't have to develop them from scratch. They are available, but if it's not, we can go into the marketplace and see if there's a connector there. Having the connector available reduces the amount of hard work needed. We only have to put the inputs and outputs. In some of the products, we use there is already integration available for ODI, which is helpful."

Talend Open Studio is a free, open source ETL tool for data integration and Big Data. The solution enables you to extract diverse datasets and normalize and transform them into a consistent format which can be loaded into a number of third-party databases and applications. Talend Open Studio Features Talend Open Studio has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include: Automatic identification of data types and potential errors tMap module Graphical conversion tools Charts Database SCD Tools Business intelligence formats (Jasper, OLAP, SPSS, Splunk) ETL and ELT support Eclipse-based development tooling Versioning Large library of connectors Data flow orchestration File management without scripting Data transformations Talend Open Studio Benefits There are several benefits to implementing Talend Open Studio. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include: Reduces the time taken to develop the integration. Provides a wide selection of source and target connectors. Monitor and manage problematic deployments with ease. Allows developers to have the lowest cost of ownership for any solution. Improves collaboration between different teams who need access to data. Automated data integration process synchronizes the data and eases real time and periodic reporting, which would be time-consuming if done manually. Achieve better data quality because data matures and improves over time. Reviews from Real Users Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Talend Open Studio solution. Elio B., Data Integration Specialist/CTO at Asset messages, says, "The solution has a good balance between automated items and the ability for a developer to integrate and extend what he needs. Other competing tools do not offer the same grade of flexibility when you need to go beyond what is provided by the tool. Talend, on the other hand, allows you to expand very easily." A Practice Head, Analytics at a tech services company mentions, “The data integration aspect of the solution is excellent. The product's data preparation features are very good. There's very useful data stewardship within the product. From a technical standpoint, the solution itself is pretty good. There are very good pre-built connectors in Talend, which is good for many clients or businesses, as, in most cases, companies are dealing with multiple data sources from multiple technologies. That is where a tool like Talend is extremely helpful.” Prerna T., Senior System Executive at a tech services company, comments, “The best thing I have found with Talend Open Studio is their major support for the lookups. With Salesforce, when we want to relate our child objects to their parent object, we need to create them via IDs. Then the upsert operation, which will allow you to relate a child object to the event, will have an external ID. That is the best thing which keeps it very sorted. I like that.” An Implementation Specialist, Individual Contributor at a computer software company, states, “I can connect with different databases such as Oracle Database or SQL Server. It allows you to extract the data from one database to another. I can structure the data by filtering and mapping the fields.” He also adds, “It is very user-friendly. You need to know the basics of SQL development or SQL queries, and you can use this tool.” PeerSpot user Badrakh V., Information System Architect at Astvision, explains, "The most valuable features are the ETL tools."

IBM InfoSphere DataStage is a high-quality data integration tool that aims to design, develop, and run jobs that move and transform data for organizations of different sizes. The product works by integrating data across multiple systems through a high-performance parallel framework. It supports extended metadata management, enterprise connectivity, and integration of all types of data. The solution is the data integration component of IBM InfoSphere Information Server, providing a graphical framework for moving data from source systems to target systems. IBM InfoSphere DataStage can deliver data to data warehouses, data marts, operational data sources, and other enterprise applications. The tool works with various types of patterns - extract, transform and load (ETL), and extract, load, and transform (ELT). The scalability of the platform is achieved by using parallel processing and enterprise connectivity. The solution has various versions, catering to different types of companies, which include the Server Edition, the Enterprise Edition, and the MVS Edition. Depending on which version a company has bought, different goals can be achieved. They include the following: Designing data flows to extract information from multiple sources, transform the data, and deliver it to target databases or applications. Delivery of relevant and accurate data through direct connections to enterprise applications. Reduction of development time and improvement of consistency through prebuilt functions. Utilization of InfoSphere Information Server tools for accelerating the project delivery cycle. IBM InfoSphere DataStage can be deployed in various ways, including: As a service: The tool can be accessed from a subscription model, where its capabilities are a part of IBM DataStage on IBM Cloud Park for Data as a Service. This option offers full management on IBM Cloud. On premises or in any cloud: The two editions - IBM DataStage Enterprise and IBM DataStage Enterprise Plus - can run workloads on premises or in any cloud when added to IBM DataStage on IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service. On premises: The basic jobs of the tool can be run on premises using IBM DataStage. IBM InfoSphere DataStage Features The tool has various features through which users can integrate and utilize their data effectively. The components of IBM InfoSphere DataStage include: AI services: The tool offers services such as data science, event messaging, data warehousing, and data virtualization. It accelerates processes through artificial intelligence (AI) and offers a connection with IBM Cloud Paks - the cloud-native insight platform of the solution. Parallel engine: Through this feature, ETL performance can be optimized to process data at scale. This is achieved through parallel engine and load balancing, which maximizes throughput. Metadata support: This feature of the product uses the IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog to protect companies' sensitive data and monitor who can access it and at what levels. Automated delivery pipelines: IBM InfoSphere DataStage reduces costs by automating continuous integration and delivery of pipelines. Prebuilt connectors: The feature for prebuilt connectivity and stages allows users to move data between multiple cloud sources and data warehouses, including IBM native products. IBM DataStage Flow Designer: This feature offers assistance through machine learning design. The product offers its clients a user-friendly interface which facilitates the work process. IBM InfoSphere QualityStage: The tool provides a feature that automatically resolves data quality issues and increases the reliability of the delivered data. Automated failure detection: Through this feature, companies can reduce infrastructure management efforts, relying on the automated detection that the tool offers. Distributed data processing: Cloud runtimes can be executed remotely through this feature while maintaining its sovereignty and decreasing costs. IBM InfoSphere DataStage Benefits This solution offers many benefits for the companies that utilize it for data integration. Some of these benefits include: Increased speed of workload execution due to better balancing and a parallel engine. Reduction of data movement costs through integrations and seamless design of jobs. Modernization of data integration by extending the capabilities of companies' data. Delivery of reliable data through IBM Cloud Pak for Data. Utilization of a drag-and-drop interface which assists in the delivery of data without the need for code. Effective data manipulation allows data to be merged before being mapped and transformed. Creating easier access of users to their data by providing visual maps of the process and the delivered data. Reviews from Real Users A data/solution architect at a computer software company says the product is robust, easy to use, has a simple error logging mechanism, and works very well for huge volumes of data. Tirthankar Roy Chowdhury, team leader at Tata Consultancy Services, feels the tool is user-friendly with a lot of functionalities, and doesn't require much coding because of its drag-and-drop features.

Oracle GoldenGate is a real-time data integration and database replication solution. It can detect data events and route them across networks at very low latencies and integrates well with 100s of combinations of non-Oracle databases, data stores, and clouds. Oracle GoldenGate Features Oracle GoldenGate has many valuable key features, including: Simple to use web interface Fast and easy installation or provisioning Command line access via AdminClient that can run anywhere RESTful APIs for DevOps Offers built-in monitoring but also can be easily adapted to roll your own monitoring APIs are protected by Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) authentication. Oracle GoldenGate BenefitsSome of the benefits of using Oracle GoldenGate include: Oracle GoldenGate is deeply integrated with the Oracle Database (logging, redo, backup and recovery layer, security, administration, data guard, data vault, autonomous database etc.). It is the most stable, performant, and reliable CDC / replication solution for Oracle. High performance: Oracle GoldenGate is capable of sub-second latency for data movement. featuring low impact capture, routing, transformation, and delivery of transactional data. GoldenGate is the only CDC / replication tool that keeps pace with new and emerging innovations (security, features, data types, etc) in the core Oracle Database. The solution supports a wide range of use cases, from conventional OLTP data replication and high availability to data lake ingestion or multi-cloud ingestion, SaaS application replication, and messaging replication. GoldenGate is the only CDC / replication technology certified for Exadata, Exadata Cloud Service, and Exadata Cloud at Customer. For fault-tolerance, GoldenGate has its own mechanism to keep track of how much work is completed and how much is pending. This mechanism is independent of any database and ensures, with the help of automatic gap-resolution, that no data loss occurs. GoldenGate uses its own proprietary format files for keeping the committed data coming from the source database, making it independently functional irrespective of the database in use. To maintain the performance and consistency, only committed data is sent. Uncommitted data is captured by GoldenGate, but is discarded after receiving a Rollback. With GoldenGate, data sending is in “near real time,” which reduces the possibility of latency. Reviews from Real Users Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Oracle GoldenGate users. PeerSpot user Steve-J., Cloud Migration Software Consultant - UK & EMEA at 1PLACE, says, "What I have found the most valuable about GoldenGate is that it does real-time and no-downtime migrations. Its migrations are fast. There are not many tools like it on the marketplace." Pinak S., Senior Manager of System and Database at ESL, mentions, “We like how in GoldenGate the heterogeneous database is supported. Sometimes the client actually needs a schedule and needs to ensure the state of databases for reporting purposes. With that in mind, we have been able to configure GoldenGate for certain schema. The solution is quite stable. They've recently improved the ease of implementation.” A Database Administrator at a manufacturing company explains, "It moves the data as you set it up, and it works. I am also very impressed with its stability and scalability. It is not super feature-rich, but the new releases have more functionality. It recently had more native integrations with Oracle Database. If you are using it against an Oracle database, it has a lot more functionality." An Oracle ERP DBA Consultant - Oracle Super Cluster T5-8 Admin at a government comments, "GoldenGate can connect and collect data from multiple sources, such as SQL Server."

SAP Data Services is a top-ranking data integration and data quality tool. This is a product that aims to provide its users with effective access to their data in order to transform it and connect it to various business processes. SAP Data Services offers companies detailed data insights which improve decision-making and make company operations more effective. Organizations can increase the value of their structured and unstructured data with the functionalities of this product regarding data integration, quality, and cleansing. Through various components such as: Simplified maintenance On-premises deployment Data quality and integration Intuitive user interfaces the product transforms data into a ready-to-use resource for business insights. Some of the key components of SAP Data Services include: Universal data access Native-text data processing Intuitive user interfaces Data quality dashboards Simplified data governance Scalability and high performance Through these components, the product allows its clients to access and integrate data sources and targets with native connectors. Users can derive meaning from unstructured text data, match data to reduce duplicates, and see the impact of data quality issues. The tool also offers the option to enable parallel processing, bulk data loading, and grid computing for high-volume data loads. SAP Data Services Features The solution has different features for data integration, data quality, data profiling, and processing of text data. Using these features, clients can manage their company's data easily and achieve excellent results by optimizing it. Some of the product’s features include: Data integration capabilities: The features regarding data integration provide a wide variety of opportunities. The product is available in 31 languages and connects to many data sources, providing its clients with access to their data anywhere at any time. It is also integrated with the SAP Business Suite applications, allowing users the full experience that the company has to offer. The tool is interconnected with SAP Data Hub, orchestrating data flows through the SAP Data Intelligence solution. Additionally, it supports a large number of third-party data sources, it is optimized for SAP HANA, and provides fine-tuned data replication and transformation through unique mechanisms. Data quality capabilities: Clients can use a single interface to access designing, testing, debugging, editing, running, maintaining, and monitoring of data integration and data quality. It allows for the delivery of ready-to-use transformations and exposes hidden problems in users' data. With this feature, clients can build a single version of their data that is most efficient for them. Data profiling capabilities: Companies that work with high-volume data can employ parallel processing, bulk data loading, and grid computing to be able to operate with the data more efficiently. This feature enables unlimited scalability and high availability by various automations. It also provides excellent security for the treated data through encryption and other services. Processing of text data capabilities: This feature allows users to extract data from unstructured texts and understand it better. It works with 220 different file and text formats and 31 languages. SAP Data Services Benefits This solution offers various benefits to its clients regarding the efficient operation of their data. The key benefits of SAP Data Services include: Broad access to data which can build a better perspective for companies of their information. Improved decision-making and information management due to efficient data operations. Ability to utilize various tools to help unify data on premises, in the cloud, or within big data. The software provides efficient insight for reporting and data analytics. The tool allows for easy integration with a large number of different databases. The product provides the opportunity to seamlessly connect with other SAP solutions. The solution simplifies extract, transform, and load (ETL) construction processes through intuitive graphic software. Reviews from Real Users According to Michael Lutz, senior data warehouse developer at Fox Chase Cancer Center, SAP Data Services is a powerful tool that does a lot. An associate consultant at a consultancy says the tool is easy to use, simple to implement, and offers very good mapping capabilities.