Businesses regularly collect data from multiple sources, like customers, internal departments, external contractors, applications and more. Data integration helps companies collect all this data, store it centrally and analyze it to gain actionable insights. This central and productive method of collecting and using data boosts business efficiency. Teams and analysts get almost instant access to the data they need and they no longer no need to waste time looking through multiple storage systems.

In this article, we’ll explain how data integration works and provide an in-depth look at the nine best data integration platforms. In addition, we’ll cover six critical criteria to help pick the right data integration tool for your company. 

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What is data integration platform?

Data integration is the process of extracting data from multiple sources and storing them in a central repository like a data warehouse. This centralized storage provides a unified view for analysis and business intelligence. As a result, analysts and data scientists can transform raw data and use it to gain insights that can improve business processes.

There are two common data integration methods: Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) and Extract, Load, Transform (ELT).

‍Extraction is the process of gathering data from different sources, like spreadsheets, sensors, applications and third-party software. The more sources you have, the more complex integrations you’ll need.

‍Loading is when the gathered data is moved to a destination like a storage system (data lake or data warehouse) or a business intelligence tool.

Transformation is when data is cleaned, formatted and standardized to prepare for analysis. In the ETL process, transformations are applied before the data is loaded to storage. In the more modern and efficient ELT method, data is loaded into storage and then analysts can apply transformations as needed. With the right data integration solution, organizations can streamline analytics, boost collaboration, eliminate data silos and automate processes to increase efficiency.

Types of data integration platforms 

Businesses can choose between different types of data integration tools to create a cohesive data pipeline.

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There are four types of data integration tools that businesses can use.

1. Cloud-based data integration platforms

These tools integrate data into cloud-based storage, like a cloud data warehouse. Using a cloud platform enables better scaling, increased flexibility and reduced costs.

2. On-premise data integration platforms

These tools are installed on a local network or private cloud and use connectors to gather data from multiple local sources, like different internal teams within a business.

3. Open-source data integration platforms

Open-source data integration tools have public source codes that contributors can edit. They are often free. Developers can use these tools to build custom data pipelines manually.

4. Proprietary data integration platforms

Proprietary data integration tools are built and managed by third-party providers. Businesses can choose between different pricing models to match their data needs. For example, Fivetran is a fully-managed data integration solution that lets users create reliable no-code data pipelines in minutes.

Factors to consider choosing data integration platform

With so many integration tools available for data teams, organizations must consider several factors to choose the correct one for their goals.

Here are six features that an effective data integration platform must have.

1. Rapid data processing

Your data integration platform must support rapid data processing, which leads to faster analysis and insights. When data teams can quickly gather data-backed suggestions for improvements across business departments, organizations can implement them to gain a competitive advantage.

2. Multiple source support

Integration platforms that only support certain types of sources or impose limits on the number of sources can actively hinder data extraction and analysis. Your data integration tool must be able to efficiently extract data from databases, SaaS applications and other business systems. 

3. Scalability

Your data integration platform must be cloud-based to promote easy scalability. With Fivetran, for example, you only pay for what you use and scaling just involves upgrading your subscription to get instant access to additional components and features.

4. Compliance and security

Data leaks can cost companies millions of dollars in fines, legal claims and a loss of customer trust. This is why security and compliance are vital. Businesses of all sizes choose Fivetran because it boasts a comprehensive privacy, security and compliance program. Top-notch encryption, granular access control, detailed logging and more ensure your data is always safe.

5. Instant data previews

If your business relies on real-time analysis, instant data previews and availability are crucial. Data integration platforms that only support batch ingestion are unsuitable for this use case and can hinder analysis. The faster analysts can access new data, the faster they can garner insights.

6. Dynamic data transformations

If you’re using ELT for data integration, then you need a platform with pre-built transformations to create an efficient, automated workflow. Data models can immediately transform data once loaded to your destination and further reduce the time needed to gain actionable data insights.

The top 9 data integration platforms

We’ve compiled a list of the top 9 data integration platforms and listed their critical features so data teams can make an informed decision.

1. Fivetran

2. Talend

3. Informatica

4. Dell boomi

5. Snaplogic

6. Integrate

7. Zigiwave

8. Oracle data integrator

9. Singer

1. Fivetran

Fivetran is a fully managed data integration platform that uses connectors and APIs to pull fresh, rich data from all your sources rapidly. 

The solution employs log-based change data capture (CDC) to detect changes and replicate them to your destination quickly. Data teams and developers can easily set up Fivetran connectors using the platform’s visual designer and simple user interface. This enables seamless SaaS application integrations and database replication. The tool integrates hundreds of leading SaaS applications and storage and analytics platforms.

Fivetran is among the best big data integration platforms because its fully-managed pipelines provide near real-time data access. So, your teams can view and work with the latest information without burdening developers with low-impact maintenance tasks. 

The tool also has pre-built transformations to elevate your ELT pipelines and speed up your time-to-insights. It also offers automated model runs based on triggers so raw data can be made analytics-ready quickly. Fivetran guarantees a 99.9 percent platform uptime, making it a reliable data integration tool for every organization. The platform uses idempotence to ensure data integrity.

Data is also checked during the moving process to catch and resolve errors before they significantly impact your analytics. The solution has robust security, privacy and compliance features, including top-notch encryption in transit and at rest, anonymized sensitive data, granular role-based access control and more. Companies can easily scale Fivetran data pipelines by buying additional components as needed. 

2. Talend

Talend offers a suite of data integration and governance tools. Their data integration solution helps businesses move data from sources to destinations, like an on-premise data warehouse, cloud data warehouse or a data lake.

Talend provides the following key features:

• Connectors and components to connect data sources to destinations.
• Tools to develop and deploy data pipelines 
• Integration with cloud service providers, analytics platforms and data warehouses
• Data quality checks throughout the data integration process

Talend also has an open-source integration solution, Talend Open Studio, that lets developers build simple pipelines and execute basic ETL tasks.

3. Informatica

Informatica is an enterprise cloud data management software. It supports cloud data integration via ETL and ELT pipelines for efficient data migration and data processing.

Informatica has the following key capabilities:

• Integration with on-premise, cloud and SaaS applications
• Supports data ingestion via high-performance ETL
• Allows rapid mass data transformations for data processing
• Data quality monitoring
• Data infestation for cloud data warehouse and lakes

Like Fivetran, the platform allows developers and analysts to focus on building effective pipelines by offering managed serverless cloud data integration.

4. Dell Boomi

Boomi is a cloud-based Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) that companies can use for data integration, workload automation and API management. It supports event-based, real-time and batch-processing ETL pipelines.

Boomi offers the following features:

• Drag-and-drop interface to easily build integrations
• Connectors and data mapping tools for quick integration implementation
• Templates, process libraries and custom scripting give you complete control
• Dataflow recommendations and reusable business logic for additional integration support

Since Boomi combines many capabilities on a single platform, businesses can use the solution’s other features, like the Master Data Hub, for data management to boost operational efficiency.

5. SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an enterprise iPaaS that supports no-code/low-code ELT and ELT. Like Fivetran, it includes pre-built connectors and integrations to help developers build and improve integration workflows.

SnapLogic’s key features include the following:

• Dynamic user experience powered by Iris AI
• 600+ pre-built connectors or Snaps and templates
• Deployed in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and leverages AWS’s security and compliance capabilities
• SnapLogic AutoSync ingests data from SaaS applications to cloud data warehouses

SnapLogic is focused on fast, intuitive data ingestion that can help analysts get quicker data access and consequently boost insights and business decisions.

6.  Integrate.io

Integrate.io is a low-code data warehouse integration platform primarily used for ETL and reverse ETL data pipelines. The platform helps you ingest data from different sources into a data warehouse for analysis.

Integrate.io offers the following features:

• Low-code ETL and Reverse ETL for fast data processing
• Specializes in ingesting data into Amazon Redshift and Snowflake 
• Data warehouse analytics to help improve job performance and data handling
• API generation for enterprise data sources to eliminate bottlenecks

The platform also supports database replication via ELT and CDC but is mainly used for ETL data integration.

7. ZigiWave

ZigiWave is a no-code integration tool that syncs data between ITSM (IT service management), Cloud, DevOps, Monitoring and CRM (customer relationship management) systems. 

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ZigiWave’s integration platform, named ZigiOps, offers the following features:

• Templates to build and deploy integrations in a few clicks
• Customization via advanced data mapping
• APIs to connect systems in a unified platform
• Enterprise-grade security

Businesses can use these features to collect and monitor their data on a single unified platform. Since the solution is no-code, users of all technical levels can build simple data integration workflows.

8. Oracle Data Integrator

Oracle is among the largest software companies in the world, and one of the many tools in its suite is the Oracle Data Integrator, a dynamic data integration solution for enterprises.

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Oracle Data Integrator has the following capabilities:

• Support for batch and event-driven data integrations
• Integrations with Oracle GoldenGate (their database replication software) and Oracle Warehouse Builder (their data warehousing and metadata management solution).
• Low-code automations to simplify integrations
• Big data support and parallel processing 
• Pre-built integrations to set up, scale and patch big data pipelines.

If your company uses Oracle, then the Data Integrator can be helpful since it works with many of their other software and can streamline data processes. There is also a cloud-based version named Oracle Data Integration Cloud.

9. Singer

Singer is an open-source ETL tool that allows businesses to extract and transform data before moving it to a destination. The platform uses data extraction scripts, called “Taps,” and data loading scripts, called “Targets,” to dictate how data is moved from different sources to destinations. 

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Singer boasts the following features:

• JSON-based applications that are easy to program and implement
• Support for JSON Schema to extract rich data types and impose rigid data structures
• Pre-built Taps and Targets for popular sources and destinations help build pipelines quickly

Technically advanced users and developers can use Singer to create custom data pipelines for ETL integration.

Conclusion

Data integration platforms come with their unique mechanisms, features and pricing models. The best solutions in the industry offer complex features in easy-to-use packages so analysts and developers can focus on high-value tasks. 

With Fivetran, you can build no-code data pipelines and integrations in minutes and forget about maintenance and data checks. Using idempotence and CDC, the platform ensures your data is synced without errors and in near real-time. An intuitive platform like this can automate your data workflows and boost productivity. You can experience how Fivetran can improve your data integration by signing up for a free trial.