Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) vs. Vertify

I have only been using Astera Centerprise for about 6 months and I am still learning the ins and out of it. A scenario where it seems to do well is in generating reports from SQL queries that we already had and no longer have to run the reports manually. The SQL Query Source object has been the most useful tool for me thus far. I have yet to fully stress test the server side of Astera Centerprise, but currently there have been some version updates that required me to re-set up all the scheduled jobs that we have. We only have 8 jobs thus far but have plans to expand this into the hundreds and those same updates would require exponential amounts of work.

Incentivized

I would recommend it, as VertifyData exactly fit our use case. I can't speak for all use cases and all connectors - naturally - but the ones we are using and have explored so far, work perfectly well. Also, being a person myself that is not fluent in SQL or JSON or API language in general, I was still able to create all workflows our company needed myself. Which I consider a huge benefit.

• API integrations vis REST Web Service transformation
• Stored Procedure integration via SQL statement Lookup transformation
• Bulk imports and exports to and from tables
• Data dumps from SQL tables to excel, csv, text files etc...
• EDI Integrations like 810, 856, 940, 945 etc.. via Astera Centerprise Data Integrator plus EDI Connect

• Communication.
• Follow up.
• They're constantly trying to improve.

• When purchasing Astera Centerprise you are given options on how you would like to be trained and each option comes with a different price tag. We chose to be trained using online meetings over several days. The training went too fast and it was not always easy to understand until I started using the product.
• I am a person that wants to learn how and why something works so that I can use the knowledge in the future. When contacting the support team they take the problem, create a solution for you and send it back. The solutions always work, but when I get the solution I have to review every field and function to understand how it works so that I can re-create it for another solution I need. I would much rather have the support team explain what I had done incorrectly and what they changed or I would like to find a solution with them instead of having it handed to me.
• Astera uses license keys to allow their customers rights to only the functionality that was purchased. Each user and server has its own key and each key is only good for one year. There have been 2 different times that we received keys that had less functionality that we purchased. It wasn't until it created problems that we noticed and had to request new keys. This year our sales representative made sure she was available when we updated our keys so that if there was a problem she could fix it right away; however, there were not issues this year. I believe this is something they pay closer attention to now.

• Automated error trouble-shooting is not always clear/helpful
• Clearly distinguishing internal errors vs. external errors
• Perhaps a blog where users can interact with questions + solutions

We've been using Astera Centerprise application for the last 6 years and we've already added EDI connect to it. Both applications are working really well for our enterprise needs so far with no issues, so we'll continue renewing the licenses.

Centerprise is highly usable; however the version we are currently using could be a little more intuitive in some areas though by no means unworkable. I think some of the issues we have have been addressed and solved in the latest version.

Creating a mapping between source and target while also using lookups and transformations is not trivial. And VertifyData solved this reasonably well, at least all users in my organization understood it pretty quickly.

In most cases Astera is stable. However, our client experiences the error from time to time. Mostly they are related to cdc file and ServerAdminConfig.xml file.

Incentivized

I think the performance for Astera is great when compare with other similar software.

Incentivized

It is not the easiest user interface to read/understand. However, once you understand how it works, then using it is not that bad. It's hard to remember what feature is listed under what tab (Manage vs. Define). A suggestion would be to get all call to actions on the same page

Support is great! No matter if you need technical assistance or you have general questions about the tool - the support is very responsive and provides solutions quickly. They are available via various channels, which makes it very convenient to get in touch with them (Support portal, direct email contact, LinkedIn).

Incentivized

Astera support provided us implementation/installation tutorial and we were able to perform all the activities. Also one of the support was there to shadow us to make sure the process was smooth with no issues

We looked at continuing to use SSIS as an alternative. Although we own SSIS as part of our SQL licensing, we found that it takes a much higher skill level to create solutions. It also does not have the ability to parse unstructured data the way that Centerprise Data Integrator can. We also looked at Datawatch Monarch as a possibility but found it over-all to be cost-prohibitive. We also looked at a cheaper alternative called SimX but did not have a strong confidence in the product as we evaluated it. We landed on Centerprise Data Integrator as it met all of our business requirements and we know we could leverage it for many uses across our enterprise.

Vertify offered more flexibility and was presented as a simple solution. In reality, it is more complex that we envisioned and we have never fully utilized our tools due to the lack of ability to configure things properly.

Incentivized

I was helping on purchase this product but I am not sure about the term and pricing for it. But based on what I understand that the term of the licenses are good.

Incentivized

I think Astera can do multiple things. However, we are not sure what it can do. We only know the basic features. If they can give us some kind of training, then we maybe able to benefit for it. We are planning to use their Azure connection in the future. If they can provide the training for it, it will be wonderful.

Incentivized

Centerprise is very easy to use and can transfer the data quickly

Incentivized

• It is tough to say on how Centerprise would have helped us with ROI. Unfortunately our project (after 3 years) was scrapped (put on hold) due to the impromptu purchase of another Crop Insurance company. But with that, Centerprise was huge in getting our warehouse loaded for our BI Team to make important decisions about our policies.

• Independently, teams are able to carry out their process with less communication and at a higher level of accuracy.
• VertifyData is actively taking into consideration, consulting, and supporting our plans to build out the business