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Jacques Du Preez - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at Intellinexus
Real User
Top 5
Very stable and easy to complete end-to-end integration
Pros and Cons
  • "For developers that are very accustomed to the Microsoft development studio, it's very easy for them to complete end-to-end data integration."
  • "The initial setup is not very straightforward."

What is most valuable?

For developers that are very accustomed to the Microsoft development studio, it's very easy for them to complete end-to-end data integration.

What needs improvement?

One of the features that still is in development is data privacy to the cloud side of the SAP integration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure Data Factory for 3 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the stability a 9 out of 10. 

Buyer's Guide
Azure Data Factory
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Azure Data Factory. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

6 developers are using the solution at present. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not very straightforward. I rate it a seven out of ten. 

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

The pricing is a bit on the higher end. 

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the solution an 8 out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer2311983 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Developer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A cloud-based data integration service that allows you to create data-driven workflows in the cloud for orchestrating
Pros and Cons
  • "For me, it was that there are dedicated connectors for different targets or sources, different data sources. For example, there is direct connector to Salesforce, Oracle Service Cloud, etcetera, and that was really helpful."
  • "It's a good idea to take a Microsoft course. Because they are really helpful when you start from your journey with Data Factory."

What is our primary use case?

I'm not sure how much information I can provide regarding to some kind of security of my company, but I can tell you that we were migrating integrations from from platform to the other, and the other platform was error data factory.

What is most valuable?

For me, it was that there are dedicated connectors for different targets or sources, different data sources. For example, there is direct connector to Salesforce, Oracle Service Cloud, etcetera, and that was really helpful.

What needs improvement?

It's a good idea to take a Microsoft course. Because they are really helpful when you start from your journey with Data Factory.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure Data Factory for one year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution doesn't have stability issues. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easy to scale. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. Deployment is automatic and takes few minutes. 

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

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
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Azure Data Factory. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director of Business Intelligence Analytics at The Gibraltar Group - Insurance Services
Real User
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
Sarath Boppudi - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at BiTQ
Real User
Top 5
Great innovative features with a user-friendly UI
Pros and Cons
  • "UI is easy to navigate and I can retrieve VTL code without knowing in-depth coding languages."
  • "Lacks in-built streaming data processing."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for traditional ETL; moving data from the web and data sources to a data warehouse. I've also used Data Factory for batch processing and recently for streaming data sets. We have a partnership with Microsoft and I am a cloud solution architect.

What is most valuable?

There are a lot of innovative features that Microsoft releases regularly. The UI is easy to navigate and finding information on new features has proven to be quite easy. I like that I can retrieve VTL code pretty quickly without knowing in-depth coding languages like Python. Microsoft has very good support teams that I've dealt with and they are very helpful in resolving problems.

What needs improvement?

Improvement could be made around streaming data because I feel that the Data Factory product is mainly geared for batch processing and doesn't yet have in-built streaming data processing. Perhaps it's on the way and they are making some changes to help facilitate that. If they were to include better monitoring that would be useful. I'd like to see improved notifications of what the actual errors are.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four 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 way we've used the product is around streaming data, and that doesn't work well with Data Factory. As loads increase, some of the underlying infrastructure that gets used to process data seems to slow down. This is basically a development product, so in terms of scalability it doesn't have a wide user base, it's only meant for developers and analysts. The number of users will vary from anywhere between one to five people. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service is excellent. 

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

I've previously used Microsoft SSIS, which is the last incarnation of Azure Data Factory. I've also used IBM Data Manager and Teradata's Management Loads, so I have quite a bit of experience in this area. One of the major differences is that Azure Data Factory is a SaaS service. The other solutions were in-house and you managed your own infrastructure to run them. What I get from Data Factory is a lot better than what I got for the other products. Azure Data Factory is great because it's evolving day-to-day.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is relatively straightforward. That's assuming that when you're creating the Data Factory, you have some knowledge about how to create it. We deployed in-house and it took about ten minutes for the initial creation process. The provisioning itself is not something you have control over because it's a self-service that does what it needs and happens in the background. The infrastructure doesn't require any maintenance, it's all managed on the backend. There is maintenance in terms of your codes, connections, and the like, but that is separate from the infrastructure maintenance.

What was our ROI?

The Data Factory itself will not give you a return on investment, it's the entire solution that brings a return, I'd say at least 20% to 30% of return for investment over a five-year period. 

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

Azure Data factory is a pay-as-you-go service so cost depends on the number of connections, how many times each activity in that node is run, and how much data gets moved. There are a number of factors that define the price, but it pairs with your service. You're charged for the amount of data that's moved, but there are no charges for the features you use.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this solution. If you decide to implement Data Factory, I suggest reaching out to qualified professionals because there are a lot of moving parts. That said, if you have internally qualified staff, deployment shouldn't be a problem. Apart from a few minor issues, it's pretty reliable with good support and a whole bunch of resources available on the web.

I rate this solution a solid nine out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1713492 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Good product integrations but transient issues sometimes cause pipeline failures
Pros and Cons
  • "It is beneficial that the solution is written with Spark as the back end."
  • "There are limitations when processing more than one GD file."

What is our primary use case?

Our company uses the solution for data ingestion. 

What is most valuable?

It is beneficial that the solution is written with Spark as the back end. 

The solution is cloud-based and integrates well with other Azure products such as Synapse Analytics.  

What needs improvement?

There are limitations when processing more than one GD file. 

Data ingestion pipelines sometimes fail because of transient issues that have to do with the cloud network. It takes more than six hours to process or ingest 300,000 records and that is a long time. 

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 new in the market and pretty stable because ADF is a little more codified than AWS. Synapse Analytics adds another tool for data. 

Stability is not quite at the level of Informatica or DataStage. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. 

For multi-tenant applications connected to multiple databases, Microsoft recommends a share box and a cell post integration run time. But a run time connecting to multiple sources has limitations and requires multiple shares connecting to your data if you are ingesting it from on-premises. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is okay. Support is contracted or partnered with various companies but is fine as a first level. 

Most of the time, technical support has to connect with product engineers who troubleshoot issues. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is not very complex but requires intake, setting up integration services, and connecting to databases like Oracle before you push it to service.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution in-house. 

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

The pricing is pay-as-you-go or reserve instance. Of the two options, reserve instance is much cheaper. 

In the cloud, everything is service based and expensive. Users should be knowledgeable enough to maximize the solution. 

For example, it makes no sense to run integration services all day if you are not ingesting data because you pay for that usage. It is important to understand how the product works to manage it accordingly and keep costs down. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a six out of ten. 

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
CarlosAraque - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Warehouse Analyst at ACSO Australia
Real User
Top 20
Good connectivity but monitorability could be better
Pros and Cons
  • "Data Factory's best features are connectivity with different tools and focusing data ingestion using pipeline copy data."
  • "Data Factory's monitorability could be better."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use Data Factory for data ingestion and B2B transformation.

What is most valuable?

Data Factory's best features are connectivity with different tools and focusing data ingestion using pipeline copy data.

What needs improvement?

Data Factory's monitorability could be better. In the next release, Data Factory should include integrations with open-source tools like Air Flow.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Data Factory for about a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Data Factory is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Data Factory is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft's technical support is good, so long as your company has a good relationship with them.

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

I previously worked with Talend, Matillion, and Fivetran.

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

Data Factory is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Data Factory 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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Abdelmonem Metwally - PeerSpot reviewer
ETL/BI Senior Consultant at Qrious
Consultant
A good data migration tool that has strong security features, but needs more development to be able to deal with complex data transformations
Pros and Cons
  • "This solution has provided us with an easier, and more efficient way to carry out data migration tasks."
  • "This solution is currently only useful for basic data movement and file extractions, which we would like to see developed to handle more complex data transformations."

What is our primary use case?

We mainly use this solution to carry out data movement and transformation.

What is most valuable?

This solution has provided us with an easier, and more efficient way to carry out data migration tasks.

What needs improvement?

This solution is currently only useful for basic data movement and file extractions, which we would like to see developed to handle more complex data transformations.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found this to be a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is an easily scalable product, due to it being cloud-based.

How are customer service and support?

The customer support for this solution is very good. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this product is straightforward, if you deploy the solution using a template; rather than implementing the solution first, and configuring the features afterwards.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the product using both in-house staff, and members of a vendor team. The vendor team were very helpful, and gave good advice while we were deploying the solution.

What other advice do I have?

We would recommend this solution as it is very solid and has good security features.

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

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
Director Technology at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy pipeline setup and good integration
Pros and Cons
  • "Data Factory's best feature is the ease of setting up pipelines for data and cloud integrations."
  • "Data Factory could be improved in terms of data transformations by adding more metadata extractions."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use Data Factory for creating pipelines on cloud in terms of integrating multiple cloud services.

What is most valuable?

Data Factory's best feature is the ease of setting up pipelines for data and cloud integrations. It also has good integration with other Azure services.

What needs improvement?

Data Factory could be improved in terms of data transformations by adding more metadata extractions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Data Factory for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Data Factory's stability has improved following some initial issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Data Factory's scalability is good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy as it's a SaaS offering.

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

Data Factory is affordable.

What other advice do I have?

I would give Data Factory a rating of eight 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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partners
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Azure Data Factory Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Azure Data Factory Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.