Informatica PowerCenter vs Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) comparison

Informatica PowerCenter is a data integration and data visualization tool. The solution works as an enterprise data integration platform that helps organizations access, transform, and integrate data from various systems. The product is designed to support companies in the full cycle of a project, from its initial rollout to critical deployments. Informatica PowerCenter allows developers and analysts to collaborate while accelerating the work process to deploy projects within days instead of months.

The Advanced edition of the product provides an additional real-time engine which allows companies to have always-on enterprise data integration. This ensures seamless collaboration and increment of data lineage visibility and impacts analysis.

The Premium edition of the solution offers an early warning system that detects unexpected behaviors or incorrect utilization of resources in the workflows and alerts companies in the case that these occur. This version of the product also offers automatic data validation, which ensures data accuracy and reduces testing time and expenditure of resources for by up to 90%.

Informatica PowerCenter Features

The product provides users with various features which allow them to execute data integration initiatives such as analytics, data warehousing, data governance, consolidation, and application migration. The features of the solution include:

• Collaboration: Informatica PowerCenter offers role-based tools and processes which enable business self-service while benefiting from high-quality IT resources.
  
  
• Automation: Through various automations and easy-to-use software, users can utilize graphical and codeless tools and initiate effective data integration without additional knowledge.
  
  
• Scalability: The tool provides high scalability to users, which ensures seamless performance and minimum downtime. PowerCenter also has adaptive load balancing, pushdown optimization, and dynamic partitioning.
  
  
• Monitoring: Through the extensive monitoring feature, the operations and governance of the solution are easily overseen by users. The tool also provides alerts that can prevent damage to the system.
  
  
• Real-time data: Through real-time data, users can monitor applications and analytics, ensuring their efficient operation.
  
  
• Prototyping: Informatica lets its users collaborate with information technology to prototype, profile, and validate results in a timely manner.
  
  
• Connectivity: Users can access and integrate data from different types of sources through high-performance connectors.
  
  
• Automated data validation testing: The product offers script-free automated and repeatable audit and validation of data.
  
  
• Data transformation: This feature allows users to use comprehensive parsing of JSON, PDF, XML, Microsoft Office, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for non-relation data.
  
  
• Cloud applications connectivity: The product allows for seamless connection to cloud application sources and targets.

Informatica PowerCenter Benefits

The benefits of using Informatica PowerCenter include:

• The tool can work over a wide range of systems and platforms and also allows for lean integration.
  
  
• It enhances the quality and speed of performance and optimizes the cost of the process for your organization.
  
  
• PowerCenter supports multiple databases, including TPump, Parallel Transporter Fastload, and Teradata MLoad.
  
  
• The tool is very easy to monitor and maintain, which simplifies the data integration process for companies.
  
  
• The centralized error logging system allows users to locate errors in a timely manner and correct them.
  
  
• The tool can convert data from an application to another format, as it serves as one of the most powerful data transformation solutions.
  
  
• PowerCenter can also serve as middleware between two applications.
  
  
• The solution offers both parallel processing and load balancing.
  
  
• PowerCenter is a tool with a high level of security, which also minimizes essential administration activities.
  
  
• The solution ensures the quality of information, as it does not allow invalid or unwanted data to be uploaded to the source.

Reviews from Real Users

Yahya T., a developer and architect at L'Oreal, says the product is stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast.

Mohamed E., a senior manager for Data management and data governance at a tech company, says PowerCenter is stable, mature, and offers flexibility in building the pipeline and has a drag-and-drop mode because it's GUI-based; technical support is brilliant.

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is a data integration software solution that provides a unified infrastructure to streamline data and application integration projects. It uses a powerful design approach to data integration, which separates the declarative rules from the implementation details. The solution is based on a unique ELT (Extract Load Transform) architecture, eliminating the need for a standalone ETL server and proprietary engine. 

Oracle Data Integrator Features

ODI has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Automatic documentation generation
• Visualization of data flows in the interfaces
• Customization of generated code
• Automatic reverse-engineering of existing applications or databases
• Graphical development and maintenance of transformation and integration interfaces
• Robust data integrity control features, assuring the consistency and correctness of data
• Powerful core differentiators
• Heterogeneous ELT, declarative design and knowledge modules
• Flexibility and modularity
• Oracle Data Integrator repository
• Topology navigator
• Operator Navigator
• Security Navigator
• Integrator Console
• ODI domains

Oracle Data Integrator Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing ODI. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Efficient architecture: Oracle Data Integrator has a simple architecture that utilizes the source and target servers to perform complex transformations, making it an efficient solution.

• Supports all platforms: ODI gives you platform independence by supporting all platforms, hardware, and OSes with the same software.

• Cost-effective: Oracle Data Integrator reduces costs associated with initial hardware and software acquisition, and also decreases maintenance costs because it eliminates the need for an ETL Server and an ETL engine.

• Automatic detection of faulty data: By using ODI, faulty data is recycled before insertion in the target application, providing you with a data quality firewall.

• Easy development and maintenance: With a low learning curve, Oracle Data Integrator increases developer productivity while facilitating ongoing maintenance. 

• Active integration: ODI includes all styles of data integration: data-based, event-based and service-based.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) solution.

Brian D., Business Process and Strategy Specialist Advisor at NTTData, says, “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.”

Ashok S., Applications Support Manager at a marketing services firm, mentions, "The most valuable features of ODI are the ease of development, you can have a template, and you can onboard transfer very quickly. There's a lot of knowledge modules available that we can use. If you want to connect, for example, a Sibyl, SQL, Oracle, or different products, we don't have to develop them from scratch. They are available, but if it's not, we can go into the marketplace and see if there's a connector there. Having the connector available reduces the amount of hard work needed. We only have to put the inputs and outputs. In some of the products, we use there is already integration available for ODI, which is helpful."