HCL DataConnect vs. Informatica PowerCenter

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL DataConnect
Score 6.8 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
HCL DataConnect (formerly Actian DataConnect) is a hybrid integration solution that enables users to integrate anything, anywhere, anytime. It can be deployed in on-premise, cloud, and/or hybrid environments and offers quick onboarding. With its emphasis data quality, data reuse, adaptability and self-service integration, DataConnect is designed to support rapid onboarding and deliver the fast time to value.N/A
Informatica PowerCenter
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Informatica PowerCenter is a metadata driven data integration technology designed to form the foundation for data integration initiatives, including analytics and data warehousing, application migration, or consolidation and data governance.N/A
Pricing
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Data Source Connection
Comparison of Data Source Connection features of Product A and Product B
HCL DataConnect
9.5
2 Ratings
14% above category average
Informatica PowerCenter
8.5
18 Ratings
3% above category average
Connect to traditional data sources9.92 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Connecto to Big Data and NoSQL9.01 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Data Transformations
Comparison of Data Transformations features of Product A and Product B
HCL DataConnect
9.9
2 Ratings
16% above category average
Informatica PowerCenter
7.5
18 Ratings
11% below category average
Simple transformations10.02 Ratings8.018 Ratings
Complex transformations9.92 Ratings7.018 Ratings
Data Modeling
Comparison of Data Modeling features of Product A and Product B
HCL DataConnect
9.9
2 Ratings
19% above category average
Informatica PowerCenter
8.2
18 Ratings
0% above category average
Data model creation10.01 Ratings9.015 Ratings
Metadata management10.01 Ratings8.016 Ratings
Business rules and workflow9.92 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Collaboration9.82 Ratings6.116 Ratings
Testing and debugging9.92 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Data Governance
Comparison of Data Governance features of Product A and Product B
HCL DataConnect
9.5
1 Ratings
15% above category average
Informatica PowerCenter
9.0
15 Ratings
9% above category average
Integration with data quality tools9.01 Ratings9.015 Ratings
Integration with MDM tools10.01 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Best Alternatives
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Small Businesses
Skyvia
Skyvia
Score 9.6 out of 10
Skyvia
Skyvia
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
Score 8.2 out of 10
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
Score 8.2 out of 10
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
IBM InfoSphere Information Server
Score 8.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(2 ratings)
8.0
(21 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
HCL DataConnectInformatica PowerCenter
Likelihood to Recommend
HCL Technologies
The choice to use Actian DataConnect really comes down to pricing and the type of integration project you are performing, specifically with the requirements, whether you want the integration to be on-premise or in the cloud, can you install agents on your servers etc. For integration tools it runs head to head with its competitors.
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Informatica
1.- Scenaries with poor sources of data is not recomended (Very bad ROI). The solution is for medium-big enterprises with a lot of sources of data and users. 2.- Bank and finance enviroment to integrate differente data form trading, Regulatory reports, decisions makers, fraud and financial crimes because in this kind of scenary the quality of data is the base of the business. 3.- Departments of development and test of applications in enterprises because you can design enviroments, out of the production systems, to development and test the new API's or updateds made.
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Pros
HCL Technologies
  • Map multiple source and destination tables - what would be done in many steps in SSIS can be done in one or two "maps" in Data Integrator.
  • Platform independent, cloud based, no client software.
  • Conversion of data types, write flat files - this helps us with integrating systems.
  • Fairly straightforward to use if the user has ETL experience.
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Informatica
  • Informatica Powercenter is an innovative software that works with ETL-type data integration. Connectivity to almost all the database systems.
  • Great documentation and customer support.
  • It has a various solution to address data quality issues. data masking, data virtualization. It has various supporting tools or MDM, IDQ, Analyst, BigData which can be used to analyze data and correct it.
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Cons
HCL Technologies
  • Integration Manager needs better scheduling improvements. Like dependencies, and not running a process again if the prior run is still running.
  • New connector development does not seem a priority.
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Informatica
  • There are too many ways to perform the same or similar functions which in turn makes it challenging to trace what a workflow is doing and at which point (ex. sessions can be designed as static or re-usable and the override can occur at the session or workflow, or both which can be counter productive and confusing when troubleshooting).
  • The power in structured design is a double edged sword. Simple tasks for a POC can become cumbersome. Ex. if you want to move some data to test a process, you first have to create your sources by importing them which means an ODBC connection or similar will need to be configured, you in turn have to develop your targets and all of the essential building blocks before being able to begin actual development. While I am on sources and targets, I think of a table definition as just that and find it counter intuitive to have to design a table as both a source and target and manage them as different objects. It would be more intuitive to have a table definition and its source/target properties defined by where you drag and drop it in the mapping.
  • There are no checkpoints or data viewer type functions without designing an entire mapping and workflow. If you would like to simply run a job up to a point and check the throughput, an entire mapping needs to be completed and you would workaround this by creating a flat file target.
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Likelihood to Renew
HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Informatica
Our team enjoys using Informatica and feels that it is one of the best ETL tools on the market.
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Usability
HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Informatica
Positives; - Multi User Development Environment - Speed of transformation - Seamless integration between other Informatica products. Negatives; - There should be less windows to maintain developers' focus while using. You probably need 2 big monitors when you start development with Informatica Power Center. - Oracle Analytical functions should be natively used. - E-LT support as well as ETL support.
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Performance
HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Informatica
PowerCenter is robust and fast, and it does a great job meeting all the needs, not just the most commercially vocal needs. In the hands of an expert power user, you can accomplish almost anything with your data. It is not for new users or intermittent users-- for that the Cloud version is a better fit. Be prepared for costly connectors (priced differently for each source or destination you are working with), and just be planful of your projects so you are not paying for connectors you no longer need or want
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Support Rating
HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Informatica
Informatica power center is a leader of the pack of ETL tools and has some great abilities that make it stand out from other ETL tools. It has been a great partner to its clients over a long time so it's definitely dependable. With all the great things about Informatica, it has a bit of tech burden that should be addressed to make it more nimble, reduce the learning curve for new developers, provide better connectivity with visualization tools.
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Alternatives Considered
HCL Technologies
Data Integrator was initially a part of a package deal for us with our new Student Information System. It was chosen prior to my arrival at the institution. Since I discovered we have SQL Server licenses, we have decided to use SSIS instead since I have a background in the MSBI stack and SSIS appears to be more straightforward (process flow philosophy vs "map" philosophy.)
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Informatica
While Talend offers a much more comfortable interface to work with, Informatica's forte is performance. And on that front, Informatica Enterprise Data Integration certainly leaves Talend in the dust. For a more back-end-centric use case, Informatica is certainly the ETL tool of choice. On the other hand, if business users would be using the tool, then Talend would be the preferred tool.
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Return on Investment
HCL Technologies
  • Our customer likes the consistent reliable integrations we have built so we [got] a definite return on investment.
  • Problems are fairly easy to handle and rework.
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Informatica
  • The data pipeline automation capability of Informatica means that few resources are needed to pre-process the data that ultimately resides in a Data Warehouse. Once a workflow is implemented, manual intervention is not needed.
  • PowerCenter did require more resources and time for installation and configuration than was expected/planned for.
  • The lack of or minimal support of unstructured data means that newer sources of dynamic/changing data cannot be easily processed/transformed through PowerCenter workflows.
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ScreenShots

HCL DataConnect Screenshots

Screenshot of DataConnect is a hybrid integration solution used to design, deploy, and manage integrations on premise, in the cloud or in hybrid environments with no limits on data types or volumes.Screenshot of Actian DataConnect is a versatile hybrid integration platform that supports a wide range of use cases in every industry.Screenshot of DataConnect helps service delivery teams (e.g. SaaS ProServ team, Systems Integrator) rapidly  onboard and maintain application integrations across their customer base.Screenshot of DataConnect helps organizations onboard master data from their customers as part of the customer onboarding and maintenance process.Screenshot of DataConnect helps an enterprise or service provider exchange EDI data with their supply chain, customer network, or partner network.Screenshot of Actian DataConnect