What is our primary use case?
I'm a freelance consultant, so I work for a few different clients on different projects. Sometimes I do system integrations, and sometimes it's more of the deployment of the tool itself.
Informatica Axon is mainly used for master data management because it's quite a powerful tool. Lots of clients are struggling because Collibra is not an MDM tool. Azure has some possibilities in the data factory for MDM, but in the end, it doesn't have the engine that Informatica has. I see quite a few clients bring Informatica into the architecture for ETL processes. They use it to extract, transfer, and load data, in addition to MDM, since they're a bit restricted with other tools.
What is most valuable?
I think definitely what my clients find strong about the solution is all of the processes that it can do. You can extract and transfer your data as you wish it to be consumed later. I definitely hear that this adds value to the tool.
Another thing I hear clients say is that you can use the MDM modeling functionality as a kind of engine to do data cleansing before you consume the data.
Also, for example, Collibra works closely together with Azure, which works closely together with Informatica and Google because the clients have needs that can't be fulfilled all by one platform. Solutions needs to fit into that architecture, and Informatica can fit in there, and that's appreciated in the market.
What needs improvement?
There is always room for improvement in making the look and feel more user-friendly. There are also some technical issues sometimes with integrations because clients have a lot of different types of data sources.
One thing I miss with Informatica is the sandbox environment. I do freelance consulting, meaning I give trainings, and sometimes clients ask me to give a training in my own environment, my sandbox environment.
I have an environment that Collibra provides me with for certifications of training, so I can use a kind of sandbox to actually show a few things to clients. I have the same thing with Microsoft. With Informatica, it's a bit more difficult. They're not that willing to provide the sandbox to an individual consultant, so I'm just on my own. That's a bit of a pity because sometimes if a client has something that is not configured, I can quickly configure it in my own environment and then show it in a demo. I don't have that opportunity with Informatica. I have to work on the client's system, which then sometimes causes security problems.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't have complaints about the stability, and I don't see it as a big issue coming up with my clients. The app sometimes had issues for some clients but it was not business critical or actually impacting them.
Buyer's Guide
Informatica Axon
March 2024
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I think it is scalable, but that is not really the focus of my work. There are a lot of reasons I can give that the scalability might be affected, but they are actually not really related to the tool itself, but just how you build it in.
How are customer service and support?
If I have a problem with the client and I'm a bit stuck, the support is really good. I can fall back on the people from support and they're quite willing to help.
It can also help the client because I do a project for six or twelve months, and then I'm gone. If the client has a question after that, they can talk to the support and it's really good.
From what I have experienced, I would give the technical support an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
How was the initial setup?
I think the setup is quite easy if you are data-minded. If you don't have any clue about data management or don't have that background, you're not going to be able to do it. You need to have a bit of technical understanding to do it in the correct way. If you're completely new and you don't have that background of experience, then it's a bit harder, and you'll need to follow a step-by-step plan.
I see clients starting to set it up from scratch and it takes three years. If a client says they want to deploy it within their whole organization, then, in general, you need to count about three years because it's not only the tool. You also need to set up your governance and your organization on it. All of your processes need to be aligned with the tool, so it's a three-year program in general.
Both for the business end users and for the technical people, the maintenance is more on the technical side. For example, for the API connections, the batch processes, and the real-time processes, it's not always easy. One of the things that I always say to my clients is that they need to document everything, and that helps. I tell them to build into their project a documentation pillar where they document everything that they do, like their MDM and rules. It's easier if they have good documentation, but it's still a challenge. Without documentation, it's hard.
What other advice do I have?
I think definitely starting it up gradually, meaning don't buy the tool and then start trying to put everything in from the beginning. First, think about: What do I want to bring into the tool? Which sources do I want to go integrate with the tool? Which data, which business areas do I want to cover with that? You need to do a modeling exercise. You need to do some preparation work first and take it slow. Start small, take a specific business unit or data domain, and then show the value for your business. Then the budget will come, and you can do more with the tool.
I rate this solution as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator