As your company grows and takes on new projects, managing, and sharing this Big Data can provide many challenges. Many times, your outdated data storage systems and applications cannot handle this rising volume while keeping your data safe and accessible.

Data migration is required to combine data from diverse sources into a single, accessible repository for use by the organization's many divisions. It typically happens following an acquisition, particularly if the systems from many companies need to be merged or if the systems are spread out across the entire enterprise. Regardless of whether you're switching to a public, private, hybrid, or multi-cloud environment, you'll need a secure, affordable, and effective way to move your data to its new storage place.

If you are thinking of migrating this massive data manually, it can be quite tedious and utilize a lot of resources. Hence, this is where automated data migration tools can help save the day.  This article provides an in-depth understanding of various types of data migration tools and the factors you should consider while choosing the right tool for your business. Further in this article, you will explore the most popular tools being leveraged by companies globally. But before you dive into these topics, let’s get an overview of data migration.

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What is data migration?

Data migration refers to the transfer of data including folders, directories, etc. from a source to the destination storage. There are several reasons why it happens. A few of them are data center relocation, server maintenance, website merge, storage device repair or upgrade, and crisis recovery.

Data can be migrated locally (transferring data between locations on the same computer) or remotely (transferring data through a network or the internet from one computer to another).  Let’s explore the common types of data migration:

• Storage Migration: It refers to moving data from one physical storage place to another. Many businesses are moving their data storage today to get quicker performance, more flexible features, and a scalable platform in addition to being economical.
• Application Migration: It is necessary when a firm switches suppliers or software packages. Every application uses a different data model. As a result, the operating systems, virtual machine setups, and management tools can vary for each application. This necessitates the transfer of data to a new computing environment.
• Business Process Migration: A firm restructuring, merger, or acquisition is frequently the catalyst for business process migration, which takes place when business applications and the data they are connected with are being moved to a new environment.
• Data Center Migration: It entails either moving the data onto new infrastructure or moving the infrastructure and the data it contains to a new location. Before shifting a data center physically or remotely to a new place, the data is first relocated logically.
• Cloud Migration: More and more data will be created and reside in the cloud due to the benefits of cloud data management. Cloud migration, one of the fastest-growing data migration methods involves transferring on-premises data or applications to a cloud environment such as public, private or hybrid cloud.
• Database Migration: To address the most recent business requirements, it is typically required to switch to a new database. Simple database migration may comprise upgrading from an older database management system (DBMS) version whereas moving databases with different data schema, between the source and target DBMS is a part of more complicated database migrations.

What are data migration tools?

A data migration tool is a piece of software used to move data from one data source to another. By ensuring that the data transported is accurate, it aids in the process of moving data from an outdated system to a new one. These tools can also assist you in managing and securing your data. They achieve this by extracting, preparing, transforming, cleaning, and loading data in order to make sure that its format is appropriate for its new storage place.

Although moving data might be a laborious and time-consuming operation, it doesn't have to be if you have the correct data migration tools at your disposal. Automated tools can streamline different data migration workflows, provide your team with easy-to-use interfaces, as well as offer additional capabilities that make the data migration process more seamless.

What are the types of data migration tools?

Depending on the user's needs, there are 3 distinct categories of data migration tools:

1) On-premises

These tools move data from one database or server to another without transferring it to the cloud. It is the best choice for compliance needs that forbid multitenant or cloud-based data migration tools. It provides minimal latency and full stack control, from the application to the physical layers. However, this necessitates ongoing maintenance of these tools. A few examples of on-premise data migration tools include Informatica PowerCenter, Oracle Data Service Integrator, and IBM Infosphere.

2) Open-source

The developer community drives the development and improvement of open-source migration tools. These tools often have their source code accessible through a centralized repository like git.  The free open-source data migration tools make it possible to move data between various data systems & users can contribute to this code. These tools are appropriate for tech-savvy individuals who can interpret open-source code and make adjustments as needed. The widely used open-source data migration tools are Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, and Talend Open Studio.

3) Cloud-based

Data is moved via the cloud with the help of cloud data migration tools. These solutions can both act as a platform for data transfer and as cloud storage.  Through the platform's online interface, the company is able to control the data that is stored on the cloud servers. To transfer the data to the cloud, these solutions can interact with numerous well-liked data streams and sources. 

Due to the quick availability of resources and the opportunity to expand their architecture effectively, many businesses leverage cloud data migration tools to transfer their on-premise data to cloud platforms. These tools are preferred by businesses since it is both economical and highly secure. Fivetran, Snaplogic, Stitch Data, and AWS Migration Services are a few examples of cloud-based data migration tools.

In addition to using cloud-based or on-premises tools, organizations can also develop their own data migration workflows. Small, medium-sized, and startup businesses that seek to reduce the cost of data movement employ open-source data migration tools. On-Premises Data Migration Tools are the best option if all of your data is already in one place. If a company is moving data to the cloud or if the data is already present in a cloud repository, cloud-based data migration tools may be preferable.

9 Key factors to evaluate data migration tools

An essential part of the data migration planning process is picking the right migration tool. Below is a list of important factors that you should keep in mind while selecting the best tool for your business use case:

1) Scalability

A data migration tool should be scalable to meet changing or expanding business needs. Search for a data migration tool that can be scaled up or down in accordance with your needs. Otherwise, you'll need to continually update your service, which will be expensive and time-consuming.

2) Enhanced connectivity

A data migration tool should be able to connect with data structures, such as XML, JSON, EDI, etc., without any issues. If your company needs to connect to business databases (such as IBM DB2, Teradata, or Microsoft Dynamics CRM) or third-party platforms (such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, etc.), seek a solution that has pre-built connectors for these services.

3) Compatible with legacy systems

The formats and schema used by legacy systems are unique and don't always translate well to new destination formats. Therefore, it's crucial to have a simple method for converting those outdated data formats into what the new system requires. The best data migration tools offer plug-ins or modules that quickly convert those files into required formats while maintaining the accessibility and security of the original material.

4) Automated workflows

Large-scale data migration frequently entails complicated operations and involves relocating a lot of data. To make such operations more efficient, it's a good idea to choose a tool that provides an automated workflow. The best data migration tool combines job scheduling and workflow orchestration, which eliminates manual labour, streamlines data processing, and allows for faster data transmission.

5) Easy data mapping

To migrate data seamlessly, it must be mapped from the data source to the destination correctly. It's best to choose a tool that gives a code-free, drag-and-drop, graphical user interface in order to allow non-technical employees and data specialists to use these operations effortlessly. 

6) Auto-detection of missing items

When working with a large database or repository, auto-detection of missing field values saves a lot of time. This implies that if something goes wrong, such as deleting a row of data by mistake, the application will quickly identify the issue and halt the operation.

7) Flexible & transparent pricing models

Data migration products have a wide range of pricing structures. Some vendors charge by the gigabytes of space consumed, while others charge by the workloads/hour. Before choosing a data migration solution, be careful to know how much data you're moving, what kind of data you have, and what your system requirements are.

8) Provides comprehensive documentation & training

It will save time and effort to have a self-help manual that explains how to use the tool, especially when using more complex features like scripting languages and APIs. Depending on the complexity of your migration project, you should also take into account vendors that provide video tutorials, workshops, and 24/7 support.

9) Security

When looking for new products and services, security is always the top concern, and data migration tools are no exception. Consider whether sensitive data can be transmitted between sources and destinations securely. Keep an eye out for authentication techniques like multi-factor authentication and encryption techniques.

Top 12 best data migration tools

Now that you have an understanding of why you need data migration tools and how to select the right tool for your business, let’s explore some of the best data migration tools available in the market.

1. Fivetran

The automated extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) of data from diverse sources into a centralized data warehouse can be done using Fivetran. It is a cloud-based data migration tool that can be configured to operate with any other data source with it’s powerful pre-built connectors such as Salesforce, Amazon Redshift, Google Analytics, MongoDB, and many more.

Some of the significant features of Fivetran are:

• Reduces the need for data engineers to be hired in order to create data pipelines connecting different SaaS services.
• Provides a wide range of 150+ pre-built connectors to source and destination. 
• It supports ELT i.e. data teams can quickly set up custom data transformations after the data has been loaded.
• It lets customers organize and streamline their data operations, including metadata management, process orchestration, and application connectivity.
• Connectors are completely maintenance-free and automatically adjust to source changes.
• Fivetran makes data migration easier by handling all data integration tasks automatically.
• Fivetran supports the most extensive privacy, security, and compliance program including automated column hashing, SSH tunnels, and more.
• All Fivetran customers receive round-the-clock access to Support Specialists who work closely with you to rapidly resolve any technical issues.

Pricing: Offers a 14-day free trial. Supports a consumption-based pricing model, based on your source type and monthly active rows. Fivetran now offers a free plan that includes standard plan features and allows up to 500,000 monthly active rows.

2. Talend open studio

Talend Open Studio, an open-source data migration tool, offers a variety of services for Big Data, data migration, cloud storage, enterprise application integration, data management, and data quality. By efficiently monitoring, regulating, and controlling the cloud computing platforms, Talend solutions let cloud design projects scale and work seamlessly.

Some of the significant features of Talend are:

• Includes 900 components, pre-built connectors, automatic task conversion to Java code, and many other capabilities for syncing and integration.
• Enhances return on investment by lowering storage costs.
• Using graphical tools and wizards, massive data integration can be automated with ease. This allows the organization to set up an environment where operations that are carried out in the cloud or on-site can easily leverage Apache Hadoop, Spark, & NoSQL databases.
• It is supported by a big open-source community. All Talend users and community members rely on it as their preferred forum for exchanging knowledge, experiences, doubts, and other information.

Pricing: Being an open-source software, it is completely free of cost.

3. Matillion

Data migration between systems, databases, and platforms is made possible via the cloud-based ETL solution Matillion. With built-in analytics features, this tool enables you to load, transform, sync, and orchestrate data in one location.

Some of the significant features of Matillion are:

• Provides low- or no-code GUI. Users can configure ETL for infrastructure particular to their enterprise and manage complex pipelines through a single dashboard.
• Supports 80 pre-built connectors to well-known SaaS services, such as Google BigQuery, AWS, Salesforce, etc.
• Push-down ELT technology processes complex joins over millions of rows in a matter of seconds by harnessing the power of your data warehouse.
• Through the use of its transformation components, Matillion offers post-load transformations. 
• Any user can design a transformation component using either point-and-click selection or by writing SQL queries.
• It enables the storage of values or a list of values as variables that can be used in other sections or tasks.
• While creating your ETL/ELT jobs, you can see real-time feedback, validation, and data previews on the interface.

Pricing: For its first-time clients, Matillion provides a 14-day free trial. The customer's Data Warehouse platform determines the pricing plans for it. Depending on the size of the instances that users operate, it charges an hourly fee. Additionally, it provides annual billing options. Explore the pricing page to learn more.

4. Integrate.io

Integrate.io offers customers a single interface for managing, converting, and moving data between several applications. It aids businesses in the integration, processing, and preparation of data for cloud analytics. This data migration tool offers a user-friendly interface and a highly automated workflow. Hence, users can concentrate on their priority tasks without having to worry about the challenges of data migration.

Some of the significant features of Integrate.io are:

• It facilitates easy data migration from on-premises and legacy systems.
• It integrates seamlessly with SQL, Oracle, Teradata, DB2, and SFTP servers.
• It gives you the ability to consolidate data from various sources into a single data pipeline and allows you to carry out a myriad of other data transformations right out of the box without the need for further coding.
• It ensures that data is transferred securely when moving from one source to another.
• The availability of integrations via REST API or direct FTP uploads enables even non-technical staff to use this application easily with their technology stack.

Pricing: Offers a 14-day free trial and flexible pricing plans, mainly Enterprise, Professional, and Starter. Explore the pricing page to know more.

5. Panoply

Unlike other marketing-focused data management software, Panoply.io brings all of your business data together in one place. This comprehensive solution caters to all three aspects of an organization’s data stack: collection via automated integrations, storage via a cloud data warehouse, and management via AI-driven automation. 

Some of the significant features of Panoply are:

• It connects with over 40 data sources and organizes data regardless of the source or format. 
• With the help of Panoply's AI-powered data engineering, your data team can concentrate on important tasks rather than monitoring data sets.
• Uses the cloud architecture of the Amazon cloud to store data across several AWS availability zones and cloud locations.
• Discovers data types automatically and creates a schema from the basic data structure.
• Allows for the efficient processing of a broad range of data types, including CSV, XLS, TSV, JSON, and server files.

Pricing: As a cloud-based warehouse, Panoply's storage scales with your business, so no manual resizing is necessary and you only pay for what you use. There are 3 price categories offered by the vendor: Lite, Basic, and Standard. Each tier has a different level of customer support and response time. Explore the pricing page to learn more.

7. Informatica

With the help of Informatica, organizations can access, transform, and integrate data from a wide range of systems and distribute that data to other transactional systems, real-time business workflows, and users. The cloud-native integration service from Informatica referred to as PowerCenter extracts, loads, and converts data from various sources. Additionally, it offers capabilities like data integration, data governance, and data migration. To process the data, it can link to a wide range of databases.

Some of the significant features of Informatica are:

• Ensures data accuracy by providing a single environment for data transformation, profiling, integration, cleaning, and metadata management.
• Guarantees security through thorough user authentication, granular privacy control, and secure data transmission.
• Informatica is a simple-to-use application with an intuitive user interface.
• Makes it easy to use metadata, reuse components across teams and projects, and search and profile data, all of which streamline design processes.
• Can effectively transfer a large volume of data between a variety of data sources.
• It distributes the workload between the ETL server and database box, making it easier to complete operations under challenging circumstances.
• With capabilities like runtime monitoring and automatic job logging, Informatica Workflow Monitor is ideal for many services.
  

Pricing: Offers a free trial and consumption-based pricing model. Check out the pricing models to learn more.

8. Singer.io

A CLI-based application, Singer.io enables you to create ETL pipelines using two different kinds of scripts. Targets load data to a destination while Taps extract data from a source. These scripts can be combined in any way to stream data from databases, applications, web APIs, and files to various locations.

Some of the significant features of Singer are:

• JSON is the communication format used by Singer apps, which makes them simple to use and implement in any programming language. 
• When necessary, Singer additionally supports JSON Schema to offer rich data types.
• Without the use of any daemons or difficult plugins, the Taps and targets can be combined with the Unix-based pipe operator effortlessly.
• By preserving the state between calls, it facilitates incremental extraction.

Pricing: Being an open-source software, it is completely free of cost.

9. Hadoop

An open-source framework, Apache Hadoop manages massive amounts of data. It consists of numerous discrete components and is regarded as a landmark group of products in the business intelligence and data analytics fields.

Some of the significant features of Hadoop are:

• Its distributed cluster system core enables effective and concurrent data processing.
• It can process both unstructured and structured data across a single server or many PCs.
• Additionally, it offers cross-platform support to its users. 
• It offers quick access via HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System). With this feature, computing tasks can be easily distributed across multiple nodes, resulting in faster processing.
• Since data is replicated among nodes, it can still be retrieved and used even if one of the nodes fails.
• It easily integrates with a variety of SaaS systems, including Google Analytics, Oracle and other Apache software.

Pricing: Being an open-source software, it is completely free of cost.

10. Dataddo

A no-code, cloud-based ETL software, Dataddo prioritizes flexibility and makes the process of building automated data pipelines simple with a large selection of connectors and highly customizable metrics. The platform connects effortlessly with your current data stack, so you won't need to spend money on additional tools. Dataddo's user-friendly interface and easy setup allow you to concentrate on integrating your data.

Some of the significant features of Dataddo are:

• Dataddo offers reverse ETL and data replication in addition to integrating data and creating ETL pipelines.
• It offers about 200 pre-built connectors. Moreover, within 10 business days of receiving a request, extra connectors can be connected.
• It offers customizable metrics for creating or integrating sources.
• It uses SmartCache storage to store your data without having to set up any external storage, such as data warehouses, databases, etc.
• It creates data footprints of a source at a specific time using snapshotting.

Pricing: Offers a free plan for 3 dataflow connections and a custom pricing plan depending on the number of dataflows that starts at $99/month. Check out the pricing models here.

11. AWS Glue

An event-driven serverless computing platform, AWS Glue fully manages the extraction, cleaning, and presentation of data for insights. It offers services to many clients globally. Your ETL jobs are orchestrated by AWS Glue using other AWS services to create output streams and build data lakes and warehouses. It takes advantage of API calls to perform data modifications, generate runtime logs, store job logic, and deliver notifications to keep you informed about task executions.

Some of the significant features of AWS Glue are:

• Using Amazon Cloudwatch, you can keep track of tasks and receive alerts about their status.
• It uses built-in datastore crawlers to gather schema, and data types to automatically create metadata, which is then stored in the Data Catalog.
• It creates triggers based on a schedule or event to automatically move data into data lakes and warehouses.
• With more than 250 pre-designed transformations, it is possible to automate anomaly screening, convert data to relevant formats, and correct missing values without having to write any code.
• Using SQL, you can create a virtual table from numerous data sources.
• It integrates easily with more than 70 data targets and sources, including AWS services such as Amazon Redshift, and S3, among others.

Pricing: Offers a free plan and custom pricing model depending on the number of data processing units used. Check out the pricing models here.

12. Stitch

Stitch Data assists you in transforming, cleaning, and preparing your data for analysis. It can also extract and load data from a variety of sources, including databases and spreadsheets, whether it is structured or unstructured. Customers can easily migrate their sophisticated databases without writing any code with Stitch's robust pre-built connectors.

Some of the significant features of Stitch are:

• Supports more than 130 connectors, including Asana, MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Salesforce, AWS, etc.
• Ingests data automatically and scales up to handle large amounts of data.
• Includes a wide range of capabilities, such as data warehousing, ETL, data migration, and many more.
• Monitors errors, alerts users about them, and, if possible, automates the fix.
• Using an API and JSON framework, you can programmatically push data into a data warehouse.

Pricing: Offers a 14-day free trial and volume-based pricing model, with 3 different pricing plans - standard, advanced and premium. Check out the pricing models here.

Conclusion

As you can see from the list above, there are numerous tools available for a wide range of use scenarios. It can be difficult to decide which tool to use for data migration. Selecting the most versatile, reliable, and scalable solution for your use case is crucial. 

In this article, you understood the various types of data migration tools available in the market. You also learned about some of the key factors to keep in mind while choosing the right data migration tool. In addition, you explored the best data migration tools widely leveraged in the industry. Depending on your needs, you can use one of these to increase the efficiency and productivity of your business workflow. Fivetran, an automated tool, offers powerful pre-built connectors that can help migrate your data easily. To explore these connectors, explore the Fivetran Connector Directory.

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