ETL tools move your data from one system to another system. It is a viable option for manually assembling and maintaining the extract load process. Organizations are known to create and spend a considerable amount of data on various sources. The difficult part is that capturing the data and transferring it into a consumable format is accurate and actionable.
The reasons why you require ETL tools
You may choose not to opt for any freshdesk etl and opt for hand coding. This may turn out to be a cheaper and more effective option but once the number of data increases and tasks become complex, first-hand coding is not feasible or cost-effective. ETL tools are easier and faster, to use hand-coding, in the long run. ETL tools would be the key to processing the large volume of data as they go on to provide
- Ease of use- Graphical interfaces enable you to drag and drop functions. This is going to speed up the process of mapping tables, or columns between the source and the target storage.
- Advanced processing- the data changes have to be tracked manually as you may copy changed data where there is no need to accomplish an entire data refresh.
- Greater control- there is support for version control, transformation scheduling, monitoring and unfulfilled metadata management.
- Operational resilience- the automation of several components of the integration process. This would reduce manual intervention and reduce error
The types of ETL tools that are available in the market today
The ETL tools have been around for decades. Since the data integration process and technology have changed various forms of ETL solutions have entered the market. A few of them would be working on–premises data and a few others would be working on the cloud. Some of the prefer to work in a hybrid environment. Currently, there are various options available for different budgets and needs. Below is a summary of the ETL tools that are available in the market
- Legacy or batch processing ETL tools- the tools extract, transform and load the data lakes in batches of ETL jobs. Till this point in time, batch processing tools were an effective way since they use limited resources for a limited period of time.
- Real-time ETL tools- Most modern-day organizations require real-time access to data. Consider a scenario where your customers are searching for a product and you would have to choose relevant products as soon as possible. The organizations have gone on to develop modern ETL solutions on top of it like a SaaS platform or an open solution.
- Open source ETL tools- these tools have a source code that is free. It is going to help organizations keep their costs low whereas it goes on to provide similar functionalities to most of the ETL tools. Most of them have gone on to formulate a management layer with batch processes and scheduled workflows. These are the tools that vary in quality integrations along with ease of use. They also vary in adoption and availability of support.
- Cloud native ETL tools- with a lot of business moving over to the cloud, they would require a way to extract, transform and load the data directly into a cloud warehouse. Cloud-native ETL tools would allow an organization to obtain key cloud benefits like agility and flexibility that are part of the ETL process.
The identification of the right form of ETL tool for your business needs
There are numerous ETL tools for you to consider. Now the question is which is the one that you are aware will suit your business. Below are some of the factors that you need to consider
- User case-the user case has to be one of the critical components in your decision. If you do not think you require real-time updates you may go for an existing batch tool. But if you are planning to move over to the cloud, then cloud-native tools will be of help.
- Scalability- Once the business grows so too do the ETL processing tools. This may include the volume of data from disparate data sources or formats. It may also go on to include processing steps or third-party interventions. You need to search for an ETL tool that is going to help the future needs of your business.
- Error handling- In some cases, unexpected issues may break a pipeline. An example is corrupt data or network failures that may lead to an error condition. The ETL tool should be capable of handling errors. This is going to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
- Performance optimization- the ETL process is known to deal with large data chunks through the various data workflows. Since the volume of the data is growing so too the execution time. The ELT tool needs to have built tools like pushdown optimization that would enable it to deal with the changing needs of the business.
- Cost optimization- When it comes to any buying decision cost is an important point of consideration. You need to look for Etl tools that can deliver ETL. This is going to reduce costs when they transform the data where they use the resources in the respiratory.
How you can make the most from the ETL tools
Each step in the stage of ETL is important. The moment you go on to develop a set of ETL you take each step along with the process. There are a few steps for Etl implementation that you need to follow.
Firstly, you need to extract what you need. You have to speed up the load process and improve the accuracy that is changed or loading. While it is good to have a lot of information for interpretation, a lot of data flowing through the ETL may slow down things. Secondly, it does make sense to maximize data quality. Make it a point that the data is reliable where you clean feed into the ETL processes. A few of them would allow you to integrate it to the ETL process.
