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Rama Subba Reddy Thavva - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Mercedes-Benz AG
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Dec 6, 2022
It lets you create ETL pipelines, and it comes with a good dashboard and many connectors
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like best about Azure Data Factory is that it allows you to create pipelines, specifically ETL pipelines. I also like that Azure Data Factory has connectors and solves most of my company's problems."
  • "A room for improvement in Azure Data Factory is its speed. Parallelization also needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

I can't go into specifics about the use case for Azure Data Factory, but it's for analytics related to an assessment.

What is most valuable?

What I like best about Azure Data Factory is that it allows you to create pipelines, specifically ETL pipelines.

I also like that Azure Data Factory has connectors and solves most of my company's problems. I can't recall a case where I couldn't use the solution for solving problems.

I'm also happy about the Azure Data Factory dashboard.

What needs improvement?

A room for improvement in Azure Data Factory is its speed. Parallelization also needs improvement. As for the rest of the features of Azure Data Factory, I'm happy.

I cannot suggest an additional feature I'd like to see in Azure Data Factory in the future because some of the features aren't available internally because the features undergo security evaluation first, and my organization controls which features would become available to users.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Azure Data Factory for the last two years.

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Azure Data Factory
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Azure Data Factory. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We're happy with the stability of Azure Data Factory.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Azure Data Factory is scalable, with clusters available on demand. There isn't any issue with scaling the solution.

How are customer service and support?

We have an internal support team and the Azure Data Factory support team. We raise tickets and follow up on those tickets, and on a scale of one to five, we'd rate support as four because sometimes there are delays. Otherwise, we are satisfied with Azure Data Factory support.

How was the initial setup?

My company didn't set up Azure Data Factory as the Azure team did it.

What about the implementation team?

We outsourced the implementation of Azure Data Factory directly to the Azure team.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have no idea how much Azure Data Factory costs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We're using AWS apart from Azure Data Factory. We're trying out Palantir Foundry as well. They are the leading service providers in the data analytics and ETL world.

What other advice do I have?

I'm familiar with Palantir Foundry, but my company just recently got the Palantir Foundry license, so I'm still not using it, but checking it for shortcomings.

I have experience with Azure Data Factory, too.

I'm unsure of the exact version of Azure Data Factory, but I'm using the latest version or whatever's available on Azure.

I have a vague figure of users of Azure Data Factory, but it's more than one thousand to one thousand five hundred people.

I'd tell people who want to use Azure Data Factory that Microsoft offers excellent courses, ESI (Enterprise Skill Initiatives). You should register and take the courses. Azure Data Factory is a solution I'd recommend to others.

I'd rate Azure Data Factory as nine out of ten because it has a lot of connectors, even custom connectors, for data onboarding. It can also integrate with Spark notebooks and allows my organization to parallelize code. Azure Data Factory also has provisions for Spark and SQL scripts or any scripts, plus the infrastructure is highly scalable, so it's a nine for me.

My organization is a customer of Azure Data Factory.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Rohit Sircar - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration Solutions Lead | Digital Core Transformation Service Line at Hexaware Technologies Limited
Vendor
Nov 21, 2022
Helps to pull records and parse them quickly, but the exception handling and logging mechanisms can be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "We have found the bulk load feature very valuable."
  • "It works very well with Azure Data Factory to pull the records, parse them quickly and post them in the database and data warehouse."
  • "When the record fails, it's tough to identify and log."
  • "The only challenge with Azure Data Factory is its exception-handling mechanism."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for the solution is data integration and we deploy it only on Azure.

How has it helped my organization?

When we were integrating the Ports product with our internal data warehouse, we had to update all the reports to our internal data warehouse on the Ports system database. However, they were not given access to the database company, and they dump some files or provide you with them. In one case, they were providing files. In another case, they provided some APIs where you need to call in a batch of thousands of records multiple times. It works very well with Azure Data Factory to pull the records, parse them quickly and post them in the database and data warehouse.

What is most valuable?

We have found the bulk load feature very valuable.

What needs improvement?

The only challenge with Azure Data Factory is its exception-handling mechanism. When the record fails, it's tough to identify and log.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for a year and a half and are currently using the latest version.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and we intend to further increase its usage in the future.

How are customer service and support?

I rate customer service and support an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used different solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was done in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I cannot comment on licensing costs because I was not involved.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a six out of ten. The solution is good but its exception handling and logging mechanisms can be improved. I advice users considering this solution to go for it especially if their integrations are heavy on the data side.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Azure Data Factory
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Azure Data Factory. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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Camilo Velasco - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Sosty
Real User
Oct 28, 2022
No deployment cost, quick implementation, pay only for the processing time and data
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution includes a feature that increases the number of processors used which makes it very powerful and adds to the scalability."
  • "The solution includes a feature that increases the number of processors used which makes it very powerful and adds to the scalability."
  • "The solution can be improved by decreasing the warmup time which currently can take up to five minutes."
  • "The solution can be improved by decreasing the warmup time which currently can take up to five minutes."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of this solution is to extract ETLS, transform and load data, and organize database synchronization.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is the data flow, which is the same SQL server in important service, integration services, which is a very robust and powerful tool to transform data.

What needs improvement?

The solution can be improved by decreasing the warmup time which currently can take up to five minutes.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is extremely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously I used AWS Glue and SSIS.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house and is immediate because it is a native cloud tool.

What was our ROI?

I have seen an ROI with the time saved migrating data for reports.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution's fees are based on a pay-per-minute use plus the amount of data required to process. The more data you process the more CPUs and time is required which increases the cost of using this solution.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution ten out of ten.

The only thing you need to deploy the solution is to click on publish.

The solution includes a feature that increases the number of processors used which makes it very powerful and adds to the scalability.

We have three people using the solution in our organization and one engineer that maintains it.

I recommend to any potential user to factor in the five-minute warm-up time that is required for each execution.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Anirban Bhattacharya - PeerSpot reviewer
Practice Head, Data & Analytics at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Aug 22, 2022
Beneficial guides, scales well, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is the core features that help you through the whole Azure pipeline or value chain."
  • "The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is the core features that help you through the whole Azure pipeline or value chain."
  • "Azure Data Factory can improve the transformation features. You have to do a lot of transformation activities. This is something that is just not fully covered. Additionally, the integration could improve for other tools, such as Azure Data Catalog."
  • "Azure Data Factory can improve the transformation features. You have to do a lot of transformation activities."

What is our primary use case?

Azure Data Factory can be deployed on the cloud and hybrid cloud. There have been very few deployments on private clouds.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is the core features that help you through the whole Azure pipeline or value chain.

Across the whole field of use, from accepting the ingestion and real-time SaaS ingestion for which we often use other components. These areas have been instrumental across the board.

What needs improvement?

Azure Data Factory can improve the transformation features. You have to do a lot of transformation activities. This is something that is just not fully covered. Additionally, the integration could improve for other tools, such as Azure Data Catalog.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure Data Factory for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Azure Data Factory is good.

I rate the scalability of Azure Data Factory a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Azure Data Factory is scalable. The solution can move up and be aligned to resources or scaled down.

We have a lot of customers using the solution, approximately 100.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Azure Data Factory is very good. There are some improvements needed.

I rate the support from Azure Data Factory a four out of five.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Informatica. When comparing Informatica to Azure Data Factory, Informatica is a bit behind.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Azure Data Factory is not complex if you know what you are doing. If you do not know the technology you will have a problem.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Azure Data Factory gives better value for the price than other solutions such as Informatica.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend this solution to others.

I rate Azure Data Factory an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Dan_McCormick - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Strategist & CTO at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jun 9, 2022
Secure and reasonably priced, but documentation could be improved and visibility is lacking
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is that it has a good combination of flexibility, fine-tuning, automation, and good monitoring."
  • "The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is that it has a good combination of flexibility, fine-tuning, automation, and good monitoring."
  • "They require more detailed error reporting, data normalization tools, easier connectivity to other services, more data services, and greater compatibility with other commonly used schemas."
  • "It's essentially just a black box. There is some monitoring that can be done, but when something goes wrong, even simple fixes are difficult to troubleshoot."

What is our primary use case?

We use Azure Data Factory for data transformation, normalization, bulk uploads, data stores, and other ETL-related tasks.

How has it helped my organization?

Azure Data Factory allows us to create data analytic stores in a secure manner, run machine learning on our data, and easily adapt to changing schema.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is that it has a good combination of flexibility, fine-tuning, automation, and good monitoring.

What needs improvement?

The documentation could be improved. They require more detailed error reporting, data normalization tools, easier connectivity to other services, more data services, and greater compatibility with other commonly used schemas.

I would like to see a better understanding of other common schemas, as well as a simplification of some of the more complex data normalization and standardization issues.

It would be helpful to have visibility, or better debugging, and see parts of the process as they cycle through, to get a better sense of what is and isn't working.

It's essentially just a black box. There is some monitoring that can be done, but when something goes wrong, even simple fixes are difficult to troubleshoot.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Azure Data Factory for a couple of years.

There is only one version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, I believe the stability has been good, but there have been a couple of occasions when Microsoft's resources needed to be allocated were overburdened, and we had to wait for unacceptable amounts of time to get our slot. It has now happened twice which is not ideal.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There is no limit to scalability.

We only have a few users. One is a data scientist, and the other is a data analyst.

We use it to push up various dashboards and reports, it's a transitional product for transferring, transforming, and transitioning data.

It is extensively used, and we intend to expand our use.

How are customer service and support?

You don't really get that kind of support; it's more about documentation and the community support that is available. I would rate it a three out of five compared to others.

You could call them, and pay for their consulting hours directly, but for the most part, we try to figure it out or look through documentation. 

I think their documentation is lagging because it's not as popular of a tool, there's just not a lot, or as much to fall back on.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We had only our own tools, and we switched because you get to leverage all of the work done in a SaaS or platform as a service, or however they classify it. As a result, you get more functionality, faster, for less money.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

It is a working tool. You can start using it within an hour and then make changes as needed.

We only need one person to maintain the solution; it doesn't take much to keep it running.

It's not a problem; it's a platform.

What about the implementation team?

We completed the deployment ourselves.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment. I can't really share many details, but for us, this becomes something that we sell back to our clients.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You pay based on your workload. Depending on how much data you process through it, the cost could range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

Pricing is comparable, it's somewhere in the middle.

There are no additional fees to the standard licensing fee.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at some other tools, such as Databricks, AmazonGlue, and MuleSoft.

We already had most of our infrastructure connected to Azure in some way. So the integration of where our data resided appeared to be simpler and safer.

What other advice do I have?

I believe it would be beneficial if they could find someone experienced in some of the tools that are a part of this, such as Spark, not necessarily Data Factory specifically, but some of those other tools that will be very familiar and have a very quick time for productivity. If you're used to doing things in a different way, it may take some time because there isn't as much documentation and community support as there is for some more popular tools.

I would rate Azure Data Factory a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Zubair_Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Veraqor
MSP
Nov 30, 2023
Seamless cloud-based data integration providing a versatile platform with scalable data processing, diverse data connectors, and comprehensive monitoring and management capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable aspect is the copy capability."
  • "Currently, smaller businesses face a disadvantage in terms of pricing, and reducing costs could address this issue."

What is our primary use case?

My task involves extracting data from a source, performing necessary transformations, and subsequently loading the data into a target destination, which happens to be Azure SQL Database.

How has it helped my organization?

The company is experiencing significant benefits as one of our customers is successfully implementing the solution we provide. We offer support to the customer in utilizing Azure Data Factory, and their satisfaction level is quite high.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect is the copy capability.

What needs improvement?

Implementing a standard pricing model at a more affordable rate could make it accessible to a larger number of companies. Currently, smaller businesses face a disadvantage in terms of pricing, and reducing costs could address this issue.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for more than six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is quite satisfactory. I would rate it nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It provides impressive scalability. There are a total of eight switches currently in use. I would rate it nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is available for all products, and you can reach them without any hassle. They offer assistance through various channels and are proficient in addressing technical issues, ensuring the highest level of support. I would rate it nine out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In the past, we used Oracle Data Integrator.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup has been smooth and without any difficulties.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment time is contingent on the volume of data. If there are millions of records to process, it will understandably take a significant amount of time. Conversely, for smaller datasets, the deployment can be relatively quick, often within a matter of minutes to reach the destination. In the cloud deployment process, the initial step involves defining the instance. Subsequently, in the copy activity, we specify both the source and destination. Following this, communication with the destination takes place. This process constitutes the necessary steps for deployment, and we proceed accordingly. Due to the cloud system being provided by Microsoft, they handle the maintenance of the servers.

What was our ROI?

The routing value is quite impressive, especially considering that we successfully implemented it for one of our clients, and they expressed satisfaction. For our latest projects, we've acquired additional customers who also require this product for their setups. I would rate it eight out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

While I can't specify the actual cost, I believe it is reasonably priced and comparable to similar products.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend considering this solution because, from my perspective, it is not overly expensive. The pricing seems reasonable, making it a viable option to explore. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Director of Business Intelligence Analytics at The Gibraltar Group - Insurance Services
Real User
Apr 6, 2023
Lots of features and easy data collection but needs more integrations
Pros and Cons
  • "It makes it easy to collect data from different sources."
  • "Sometimes I need to do some coding, and I'd like to avoid that. I'd like no-code integrations."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for data warehousing. I'm integrating data from multiple sources.

How has it helped my organization?

I have a team helping me out from India. It helps manage the data and collect everything from sources.

What is most valuable?

The product has a lot of features.

It makes it easy to collect data from different sources.

The solution offers good integration with pretty much any system.

I like that it is cloud-based. 

What needs improvement?

Sometimes when I run some jobs, I have issues with the log flow. I want to see where the data goes. I want to see the data stream.

I'd like more integrations with other APIs. Sometimes I need to do some coding, and I'd like to avoid that. I'd like no-code integrations. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for four or five years. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm using the solution as an end-user.

We are using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer826419 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO, Director at Prosys Infotech Private Limited
Real User
Feb 26, 2023
Easy to deploy, good support, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "We have been using drivers to connect to various data sets and consume data."
  • "We require Azure Data Factory to be able to connect to Google Analytics."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is to connect to various different data sets and do an EAT into our data warehouse.

What is most valuable?

We have been using drivers to connect to various data sets and consume data. The solution gives everything under one roof, which is an important feature.

What needs improvement?

We require Azure Data Factory to be able to connect to Google Analytics.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

We had a few technical calls with the Microsoft technical support team for some issues that we were facing, which they helped us resolve.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and the team is able to deploy between six and seven days.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost is based on the amount of data sets that we are ingesting. The more data we ingest the more we pay.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a nine out of ten. We have been happy with all the customer implementations, and the customers are satisfied with the ADF pipelines. We are also currently examining the Synapse pipelines, which are likely similar.

We have six developers using the solution in our organization.

People should use the solution for two reasons. Firstly, we can switch off any data pipelines we set up to save costs. Secondly, there are several connectors available in one place, including most standard connectors.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Azure Data Factory Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Azure Data Factory Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.