Altova MapForce vs. dbForge Studio (Edge) vs. Oracle Data Integrator (ODI)

This tool is useful for small and large IT departments and associated data analysts that perform direct database functions such as DBA tasks or extracting/importing data. Non-technical staff members would not benefit from this tool as much as the functions are detailed and technical. However, automation engineers will find this tool very open for automation, and can generate the scripting code for any of its functions.

Incentivized

Oracle Data Integrator is well suited in all the situations where you need to integrate data from and to different systems/technologies/environments or to schedule some tasks. I've used it on Oracle Database (Data Warehouses or Data Marts), with great loading and transforming performances to accomplish any kind of relational task. This is true for all Oracle applications (like Hyperion Planning, Hyperion Essbase, Hyperion Financial Management, and so on). I've also used it to manage files on different operating systems, to execute procedures in various languages and to read and write data from and to non-Oracle technologies, and I can confirm that its performances have always been very good. It can become less appropriate depending on the expenses that can be afforded by the customer since its license costs are quite high.

Incentivized

• Connection manager (we use it through ssh tunnels) works effortlessly.
• Great sync tools for both database schemas and data.
• Storing code snippets to be used when needed.
• Nice code suggestions while typing queries.
• Usually does very well with storing your session and opening all of your sql tabs when opening the apps next time.
• Does very well when executing large sql files (without opening the files into the application that is).
• Pretty good debugging help when a problem occurs in executing a query or a files with multiple queries.

Incentivized

• Oracle Data Integrator nearly addresses every data issue that one can expect. Oracle Data Integrator is tightly integrated to the Oracle Suite of products. This is one of the major strengths of Oracle Data Integrator. Oracle Data Integrator is part of the Oracle Business Intelligence Applications Suite - which is highly used by various industries. This tool replaced Informatica ETL in Oracle Business Intelligence Applications Suite.
• Oracle Data Integrator comes with many pre-written data packages. If one has to load data from Excel to Oracle Database, there is a package that is ready available for them - cutting down lot of effort on writing the code. Similarly, there are packages for Oracle to SQL, SQL to Oracle and all other possible combinations. Developers love this feature.
• Oracle Data Integrator relies highly on the database for processing. This is actually an ELT tool rather than an ETL tool. It first loads all the data into target instance and then transforms it at the expense of database resources. This light footprint makes this tool very special.
• The other major advantage of Oracle Data Integrator, like any other Oracle products, is a readily available developer pool. As all Oracle products are free to download for demo environments, many organizations prefer to play around with a product before purchasing it. Also, Oracle support and community is a big advantage compared to other vendors.

Incentivized

• The ability to parameterize searches more would be advantageous. For example, being able to specify to only look for certain columns, certain data type changes, etc.
• The output reports from dbForge are very plain and could contain more detail, and perhaps be structured more like a pivot table form Excel

Incentivized

• ODI does not have an intuitive user interface. It is powerful, but difficult to figure out at first. There is a significant learning curve between usability, proficiency, and mastery of the tool.
• ODI contains some frustrating bugs. It is Java based and has some caching issues, often requiring you to restart the program before you see your code changes stick.
• ODI does not have a strong versioning process. It is not intuitive to keep an up to date repository of versioned code packages. This can create versioning issues between environments if you do not have a strong external code versioning process.

Incentivized

It is maturing and over time will have a good pool of resources. Each new version has addressed the issues of the previous ones. Its getting better and bigger.

dbForge Studio (Edge) has a great UI and it's versatile, but it still has some glitches. Its multiple database support makes it possible to stick with only one UI to handle different RDBM systems, even though you have to redefine user credentials for each new connection (no copying/cloning feature for database connections). The Edit View and diagramming features also could be improved.

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is a reliable ELT tool, supporting data loads from various heterogenous sources. It is effective both for structured as well as non structured data. Its works well for creating translations and transformation and also aids in the data quality checks when combined with an MDM solution. Troubleshooting issues can be of a challenge if it is not configured properly.

Incentivized

Although experience here is limited, as only one question has been asked and answered promptly, the registration and licensing process was very smooth and professional. There are forums online that discuss dbForge issues, as well as a Facts and Questions section on dbForge's website, so product support does seem to exist if needed.

Incentivized

Before choosing dbForge Studio I evaluated at least a dozen tools, especially on the Visual Query Builder function. For now, I have identified only one product that has a better Visual Query Builder than dbForge Studio. This other product also manages UNIONs, while dbStudio still doesn't do it visually. However, the better alternative product is enormously slower in operations and less feature-rich than DbForge Studio

I have used Trifacta Google Data Prep quite a bit. We use Google Cloud Platform across our organization. The tools are very comparable in what they offer. I would say Data Prep has a slight edge in usability and a cleaner UI, but both of the tools have comparable toolsets.

Incentivized

• Saved a TON of time when looking at massive amounts of parent/child data by allowing us to just use the master-detail browser.
• Very little training time needed for employees that are already used to using SQL Management Studio. This is a proper Windows UI application.
• Very cost effective to purchase the standard edition for every employee that needs it, but the free edition does most of what they need too!

Incentivized

• From a business intelligence perspective, it allows us to provide users with the necessary data and information to make informed decisions.
• Compared with other Oracle products and licensing, I do not think the pricing was unreasonable.
• It is part of a larger install, so for ease of use, we purchased it with other Oracle products.

Incentivized