Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Reviews

Very large and complexes environments implementation, 10000+ users with 24x7 global operation and multiple EPM tools working in sync.

For the EPM environment, the ODI is the key to transforming a good project into a great project. With ODI, we can make all the EPM tools work together as one and we can create a puzzle that will increase the performance and capability of all EPM tools. We can have an integrated environment and decrease the close time from two days to one hour.

It's the best tool for data integration. It can do anything you want, but the only downside is that you need to know what you are doing. You can take 10 times longer to do the same thing if you don't know how to use the tool.

You have to know how to change the KM, how to use the dynamic coding, how to create dynamic models, and so on. In a lot of places, I see people using ODI wrongly, but the good thing about the tool is that isn't hard to fix common mistakes. With this you can improve performance, and in some cases, more than 10 times.

Right now, we have two very different GUIs - 11g and 12c. 11g is faster to develop than 12c as it takes more steps to do exactly the same as 11g, but you have a lot of things that you need to do yourself.

12c implemented some things for which you have to use some specialized code automatically, like parallel data load, but it is slower to develop. For me, the best thing would be to merge the GUI from 11g into the capabilities of 12c.

More than 12 years.

There were issues mainly because of a Java memory leak.

We have had no issues with scaling it for our needs.

The technical support for EPM is bad. I don't remember anytime that the service support helped me with something. The problem is bigger when you have an environment with more than one product like Hyperion Planning and ODI.

This happens because the products have different owners within Oracle and then different supports, and because of this, if you open a trouble ticket of loading data to planning and you say the words ODI, you'll be pushed around the two separate support teams indefinitely, even if your company has an Oracle support director just for you.

The bigger the environment, the bigger the challenge is you need to face. Maybe one day Oracle will integrate all their tools. It'll be easier, and the good thing is that I saw a lot of improvements over the years.

All tools are expensive, but I think ODI is the most expensive since it depends on your sources and target databases. I think the best way to go is by doing packages and try to include free tools (if you buy Planning you have an ODI for BI licenses for free) or try to get discounts from your Oracle supplier. It's always good to explore what could happen if you get another tool or hardware together. Sometimes, you get more for less than if you get just one tool. Just be careful to not buy things that you won't use.

I'm a consultant and my only evaluation was on the database. I decided on Oracle because of the database and during my career, their other tools are starting to come naturally.

Because Oracle products are development frameworks, your final results are as good as the people that implemented it. Make sure that your implementation team is the best it could be, at least for the first implementation. If something is implemented incorrectly at the start, it'll cost you a lot more to fix than to build a new system from scratch. Sometimes it can be so badly designed that it is impossible to fix.

I've been working on implementations for 21 years and I have seen bad implementations everywhere. In fact, I have seen the same tools implemented in the same team by two different people, with one being a success and the other a failure. In the same company, one department says that the tool does not work for them and another says that the tool is the best. The only difference was the implementer. Make sure you get a good team to implement it. The tool has its flaws but most of time (99%) it is the implementer's fault that you have a bad or slow model.

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) integrates with the cloud, but the 12C version only can be integrated with the cloud. The best part of the ODI is, it does not have its own ETL engine of its own, it utilizes the database engine itself.

We use ODI for data integration only, such as extraction, transformation, and loading of data from different sources into one particular database. Additionally, we use ODI for our data warehouse.

ODI's most valuable features are it utilizes the database engine and is very lightweight.

ODI's ability to connect multiple types of database environments from a particular server, place, or system is beneficial. I can connect to many databases, such as Dev, UAT, production, or user acceptance test databases. All together in only one place. It's all about changing the context in that particular application. The moment you change the context, the ODI will start processing the data from different environments altogether.

ODI could improve by being more user-friendly. Informatica, which is also an ETL tool, similar to ODI, but Informatica is very user-friendly, easy to use, and simple to integrate, compared to ODI. ODI has many features, put them all together, and sometimes we get confused about which ones to use, which ones not to use.

I have been using Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) for approximately two years.

The stability of Oracle Data Integrator is very good.

ODI is scalable, it is a matter of your configuration. If you configure the tools properly it is scalable.

The solution can be used for small to large enterprises.

I have been satisfied with the technical support.

I have used other solutions previously.

ODI has one of the easiest implementations out of all the others for a database.

I would recommend using ODI if we are using an Oracle Database as your data warehouse, or as your primary database only. If not then I wouldn't recommend ODI to be used. 

I have seen the newer cloud version and I think it is more user-friendly than the older versions.

I rate  Oracle Data Integrator an eight out of ten.

I'm a technical manager and we provide technical services to our customers. We are partners with Oracle. 

This product helps our customers achieve their goals and objectives.

The best feature of this solution is the documentation. Everything is set out clearly with step-by-step instructions.  

I think Oracle should add more functions to improve optimization. Automation should be improved to enhance the product. Some of our customers carry out data comparisons between Oracle and other features and Oracle is lacking in some of those tools and features.

The stability and performance are good and our customers use the solution on a daily basis. 

The scalability is good, we have around 100 users. 

The initial setup really depends on the situation so it can sometimes be more complicated. When it comes to implementation, a deployment will usually take around 40 days and up to six engineers. 

I rate this solution seven out of 10. 

An area for improvement would be the lack of SQL compatibility - ODI has no ability to interact with SQL unstructured types and data types.

ODI is a proven product with high performance in large-scale data processing.

ODI comes included when buying the cloud version of the Oracle database license.

ODI is very friendly to those who have been traditionally writing a scale PL/SQL. It has lots of connectors to many different sources, although the target databases it supports are relatively limited compared to Informatica. It's also easier to understand, very developer-friendly, and has a big forum community and lots of documentation for support. I would rate it as nine out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for digital health and sometimes automation tasks.

The integration of the solution with Oracle is very good. It's nice and easy.

The scalability is great. It's one of the reasons we chose the solution.

The stability is okay.

We found the implementation to be quick and easy.

The resource management aspect of the solution could be improved.

The migration process could be easier.

Technical support could be better. They're okay, however, their service could improve a bit.

The solution could be more reliable.

I've been dealing with the solution for around four years at this point.

The stability of the solution is pretty good. It doesn't crash or freeze on us. We don't have any bugs or glitches. 

We have about 20 people using the solution within our organization. They use it on a daily basis.

We deployed with scalability in mind. We've found it to be quite effective.

We've contacted technical support in the past. They're okay in terms of the service we provide. I would rate them seven out of ten overall. They could be a bit better.

We did previously use a variety of different solutions. So far, this product has been the best option for our organization. It has more features and integration capabilities. It's a bit more complex than other options.

The initial setup of the solution is not complex. It's very straightforward. We found it to be easy.

For simple mapping, deployment only takes about half an hour.

We handle the maintenance ourselves. Occasionally, we may reach out to Oracle for certain tasks, however, largely, we deal with everything maintenance related internally.

We did not need the help of a vendor or integrator. We did do everything on our own.

The solution isn't the most expensive, nor is it the cheapest option. In terms of pricing, it sits somewhere in the middle. Everything is covered under one license. You don't have to buy any add-ons.

We're simply an Oracle customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company.

There's no specific version of the solution that we use.

I wouldn't recommend any other services above Oracle.

Overall, I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

I have used ODI to improve run-times of many corporations' overall integration run-times. Corporations on a daily basis run integration jobs which normally take five hours or more. I have seen these jobs become hourly jobs because of the time reduction they received with ODI's involvement.

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.

Error handling can always be improved with ODI. A lot of the errors are generic, but I will say that with a little experience, you can decipher the errors to help you fix them. In fact, I find myself not using the debugger that came out with 12c, just because I have learned to read "ODI-login-eze."

If there was a way to keep the basic user from creating a monster SQL that kills a system on execution, that would be great as well.

I have used it for 10 years. It's hard to believe it has been that long, but time flies when you have fun -- and I actually have fun when developing integration solutions. I started out on 10g and was able to quickly pick up on the ELT model after working with ETL for years before that. I was one of the first to install 11g on Red Hat. The main reason for the upgrade to 11g was purely looks as there were very little actual enhancements beside a couple of tools.12c was a major overhaul. I love working with 12c as it's now a flow-based tool but still ELT. It brings me back to the days of Hyperion Application Link (HAL), except that 12c isn't slow.

Stability is good, better than 10g and 11g.

Scalability-wise, 12c is the best in it's class. I could hand 12c to any size client and they would be fine developing and maintaining it.

I think that you get more than the regular Oracle support when you are working with ODI. Even the "First Responders" have a very wide knowledge on the product. This is a pleasant change from some of the other products for which you get the person who asks if your computer is plugged in.

I work on all the other integration products as well as ODI. In fact, I had to compare all the integration products (ODI, SSIS, HAL, Informatica, DataStage) when we were trying to decide on the strategic direction for the major bank that I was working for. HAL was being sunset, so easy decision there. DataStage cost a lot to host and was hard to develop in. Informatica was not installed anywhere in the corporation so the knowledge base for us wasn't there, so it got the boot too. It really came down to SSIS and ODI. We had a lot of SSIS knowledge and I was the only ODI developer. I took someone who never seen SSIS and ODI before, but had basic database knowledge, sat them in front of a computer, and gave them a day course on both. To be fair, after each course they had them create a job to do the same load. Results were clear and ODI won hands-down. ODI won out because of price, support, and speed/ease of development.

In 12c, they have made the setup so much more simple then what it used to be. The interface to do the setup walks you through every setup step.

I have been on both sides of the fence for this question. I would always have a vender do the install if you have never used the product before. There are a lot of little tweaks that can be made that takes experience with the tool to know these tweaks. If you have had the product for over a year, I would say, that in-house would be ok. Just make sure that if you have to remediate the install that you involve Oracle in that process so you make sure that all the parts get cleaned up properly otherwise the reinstall could be problematic.

The ROI on this tool is dependent on if it is implemented properly. When done properly your ROI is very quick. Most client however block the ability to have this setup properly. However the Cloud version is helping us as consultant show the client how powerful this setup can be.

I would say that you need to pay attention to the licensing to make sure that you are not paying to much. Normally, the licensing can be your friend if you don't need ODI for anything complex. You can switch ODI to go back to ETL if you don't want to spend that much money. Thin about it this way, if you are charged for only where it translates the data, then put a 4-core Red Hat in the middle of everything. Force your jobs to translate only on the Red Hat server. Your 1 million dollar implementation just went to 200k -- you're welcome. The caveat with the ETL setup is that the processing is slower per job -- you're not welcome. Again, ask yourself, what do I really need this for?

Know what you are getting into.

If you are going to use a firm to build out a solution, ask for a Proof of Concept and ask them to show you how flexible it can be. If they can't quickly come up with something, be wary. Don't just go with someone that is cheap, you get what you pay for.

This snapshot is to turn on automapping. This is a very useful function to have on when developing. This will make the magic happen when you connect a source and a target together. This is not in the documentation, so good luck finding how to turn it on if you haven't used it before.

We have been using Oracle Data Integrator for populating Financial Services Data Warehouse. Data extraction is done into a staging area from different source systems and then this data is validated and certain quality checks have been performed here. We used Oracle Data Integrator data quality checks builtin capability to perform these different data quality checks. Then data is consolidated and transformed into the staging area and finally gets landed into the data warehouse. I also used this for generating data hand-offs for other applications.

Oracle Data Integrator offers a declarative style ETL development, where you mainly use pre-built knowledge modules for doing integration tasks. As a developer, you don't need to focus on how part of the integration, you only focus on what to do. You just need to configure certain components as per your requirements and underlying execution plan and code is generated for you. For every technology there are knowledge modules available, the best optimal code is generated which eventually gets executed on database level. Our developers created best performing ETLs with very little effort leveraging this feature.

There are number of valuable features in this tool: 

• Declarative design 
• Client-server architecture model.
• Very good user access model
• Pre-built user profiles defined that give you control for access management
• Very good logging and execution logs feature which gives you complete detail of executions and you can query these in a different manner.

All ETL code is stored in repositories in underlying database schemas. The number of users can access and work on the same solution using a client tool. So distributed teams can work on this tool in an efficient manner. 

There are certain things where it can be improved. Initial solution setup seems a bit complex at the start, it should be improved because it becomes bit tough for a novice to get started on this. Sometimes error description is not helpful to understand the problem it gives some generic type of errors which are at times not that helpful to understand the underlying root cause of the issue. 

Error descriptions should be easy and specific to actual problems rather than generic lengthy descriptions. Also, another main feature that should be readily available is that there should be a source component available that can extract data from a source based on the custom query rather than giving a source data store only in the mapping. 

I have been using Oracle Data Integrator for five years. 

Good.

It's very good.

Whenever we needed Oracle Technical Support, we're able to get it in timely fashion and most of the time has been good to help in resolving the problems.

I didn't switch any tool. I'm a professional developer and my tool selection is based on client requirements. I've used both SSIS and ODI for different clients.

The initial setup is a bit complex as it needs some repo schema setup and agent setup.

We did it at our own.

Excellent.

ODI has bit on higher end in setup and pricing but it has more power as well. So it depends on your use. 

No, my selection was based on client's choice.

I think different tools have their own pros and cons, so it all depends on your overall needs.

We use this solution for Data Integration in Data warehouse projects.

This automation using Knowledge Modules has improved our organization.

The most valuable feature that we use is the Knowledge Modules.

The performance of the user interface is in need of improvement.