Azure Data Factory Reviews

Used Azure Data Factory, Data Flow (private preview) and Databricks to develop data integration processes from multiple and varied external software sources to an OLTP application Azure SQL database. The tools are impressively well-integrated, allowing quick development of ETL, big data, data warehousing and machine learning solutions with the flexibility to grow and adapt to changing or enhanced requirements. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This solution will allow the organisation to improve its existing data offerings over time by adding predictive analytics, data sharing via APIs and other enhancements readily. It's as simple as extending the data pipelines with new modules and components. The solution is improving the organisation by offering something the organisation can grow with.

Data Flow and Databricks are going to be extremely valuable services, allowing data solutions to scale as the business grows and new data sources are added.

Data Flow is in the early stages — currently public preview — and it is growing into a tool that will offer everything other ETL tools offer. There are a few features still to come. The thing we missed most was data update, but this is now available as of two weeks ago. A feature that is confirmed as coming soon is the ability to pass in a parameter and filter, etc.

The platform simplifies data access and visualization with minimal coding, catering to various data management needs across different client projects.

The product centralizes data workflows, enhancing data integration efficiency and visualization for comprehensive analysis.

The platform excels in data transformation with its user-friendly interface and robust monitoring capabilities, making ETL processes seamless.

The product integration with advanced coding options could cater to users needing more customization.

I've been using Azure Data Factory for almost a year now.

The product is stable. 

The product is scalable. 

The initial setup process is straightforward. 

Azure products generally offer competitive pricing, suitable for diverse budget considerations.

Data Factory integrates seamlessly within the Azure ecosystem, offering robust data management capabilities across large-scale projects.

I rate it a nine out of ten. 

We use Data Factory in our projects, which we deliver to customers. We have almost five implementations in which we're using Data Factory.

It's cloud-based, but there's the integration runtime, which you can connect to on-premises sources. You can transfer data from on-premises to the cloud. We're integrating on-premise data sources to cloud data-based services, like rescue or finance and so on.

Azure Data Factory is very good for enterprise organizations like banks and international insurance companies.

It's cloud-based.

I like the basic features like the data-based pipelines.

We have had some issues, but it's critical to use Data Factory for what it was designed for. It's not very good for iteration processes for loop data activity because you must wait for the runtime. This is a downgrade, but we developed some workaround for it, and we're running the Azure function for these iteration processes.

There's space for improvement in the development process of the data pipelines.

I would rate the stability as nine out of ten, but there are some issues with the responsiveness of the interface.

It's easy to scale.

I would rate the technical support as four out of five.

I'm mostly working with cloud technology, and we use other vendors. On-premises, there is another team in my company that's working with Oracle tools. I'm focusing only on Azure technology, which means that I personally don't have hands-on experience with different tools.

Setup is very straightforward and simple, but it depends on the customers. We have more than 15 data engineers who have data engineer certification from Microsoft. For them, it's a very easy process. 

Of course, there are some issues when configuring the on-premise integration runtime because you have to deal with the network settings on on-premise infrastructure. In terms of ADF as a product, there are very good guides and documentation that you can use to navigate how to solve certain issues.

The price is fair.

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

For any customer who needs to transfer or transform the data from sources for analytical purposes, Azure Data Factory is a good product for that.