What is our primary use case?
I use the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) for the ETL, for the ELT functions, and the integration activities to gather the data from multiple sources and integrate it into my data warehouse.
The Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) helps me optimize my data movement and transformation by allowing me to apply certain parameters, how I can use this data at the source, various options on how to place the data, and even after loading data from the files; it can help me configure the sub-link task, allowing me to move the file from one directory structure to another. It gives me the flexibility to have data aggregation done so that for analytics purposes, I don't have to query the base tables.
This whole flow of taking the data from the raw sources, loading it into fact tables, and having the right incremental load, CDC only on getting new data, and then having the option to aggregate the data for analytics purposes helps me maintain a good performance of my ETL functionalities, as well as using the core function of Oracle databases, applying partitioning on large fact tables, and having the right local partition indexing integrated with ODI helps me maintain the performance of my ELT and ETL jobs.
What is most valuable?
The best features in the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) include its knowledge modules, easy integration, and the flexibility to apply a complex level of transformations.
ODI's declarative design approach impacts the development lifecycle as a framework; it is very easy. We can have multiple repositories and control version control and change management. We can have the development environment, quality assurance and testing environment, and production environment. We don't need to replicate our efforts in all three environments. We can do good development and migrate the complete architecture built in the development environment, do testing with the simple migration utilities that ODI facilitates.
The main benefits that Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) brings to the table include data quality, data completeness functionality, metadata management, and the reverse engineering feature, which allows integrating the metadata of diversified data sources with a single click. It also facilitates many types of data sources, not limited to databases, flat files, XML, CSV files, and data from various database technologies including NoSQL interfaces such as Hadoop and HBase, as well as environments from the cloud. ODI helps consume diversified sources of source data and populate data in targets, not bound to any single database technology.
What needs improvement?
It would be great if ODI could link the designer, mapping, and workflows in a more simplified manner, maybe in one combined interface. It would be excellent not to have to go into different areas to perform different activities but rather have a user-defined interface where we can configure a job, run it, monitor it, link packages, and link subprocesses all in one frame instead of having the designer separately, mapping separately, and monitoring and session management separately.
With respect to data quality challenges, it would be great to give an option to fix data quality issues based on AI. Integrating AI with ODI that provides recommendations on how to fix those data quality issues after analyzing and profiling business data would be excellent.
One of the main disadvantages of the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is that it sometimes takes a lot of resources when handling multiple jobs. The scalability and the ability to handle multiple workloads of several parallel ETL jobs could use improvement, and certain parallel threads should be added along with the ability to configure multiple jobs from the same data directory structure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) for almost six years now.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
My experience with the deployment of the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) has been quite straightforward. It does depend on the WebLogic Server, which can sometimes be a little tricky depending on the environment we are configuring, whether it is Windows, Linux, or what kind of cluster or non-cluster we have. However, overall it is reasonable.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of performance stability, I have not experienced any downtimes, crashes, or performance issues with the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI).
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One of the main disadvantages of the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is that it sometimes takes a lot of resources when handling multiple jobs. The scalability and the ability to handle multiple workloads of several parallel ETL jobs could use improvement, and certain parallel threads should be added along with the ability to configure multiple jobs from the same data directory structure.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support of Oracle is very good; they support the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) solution effectively.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the customer service and technical support of Oracle at number nine, with 10 being the highest.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Informatica, SSIS, GoldenGate for various activities, as well as AWS DMS, Pentaho, Talend, Azure Data Factory, Databricks, and when I compare all these, I find some good features about ODI that are not present as easily and flexibly as they are in the ODI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing aspect of Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is reasonable; it brings significant value to the table. It's not a product for everyone, but for those needing to handle serious business data with responsibility and objectivity, the pricing is fair.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have experience with other products and solutions, such as Informatica and services on the AWS cloud, Azure Data Factory, and Databricks.
I work with solutions from Informatica including Azure Data Factory and Databricks, as well as AWS.
What other advice do I have?
I have not integrated it with GoldenGate in my environment.
I would advise anyone considering the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) for their organization to acknowledge that data warehouse and data integration projects are not small or short-lived; they are long-duration projects. If you are serious about managing your data in a robust manner, I definitely recommend ODI.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) an 8 out of 10.