SSIS
August 10, 2017
SSIS
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with SQL Server Integration Services
I've used SSIS to support individual departments within an organization. Typically I use SSIS to automate migrating and transforming data from one location to another. SSIS has a diverse range of source and destination formats that makes it easy to move data between different systems. There are many add on tools for other source / destinations that are not out of the box. For example, Dynamics CRM.
- SSIS allows you to run many processes in parallel. Thus, you can run multiple data flows simultaneously to increase the throughput of the migration process.
- SSIS provides many tools for transforming data during the migration process.
- The one issue that I have with SSIS is that sometimes the business logic gets baked into the SSIS package. This can make it harder to debug. In some cases this makes sense if the source and destination is not a database. However, when using a database as a source I prefer to manipulate and transform the data via sql and then simply expose the dataset to SSIS after the data has been prepared. I find it easier to write and debug sql directly rather than working in SSIS. However, in cases when a database is not involved then putting the business logic in SSIS makes sense.
- SSIS can have significant ROI by automating data flow processes and putting data integrity checks and transformations in place during the process. The reliability of the process increases and time is recouped because no end user is responsible.
- Ability for non programmers to create and automate processes.
I have not used any other data transformation tools other than writing custom .exe programs. SSIS is far superior as it provides so much functionality out of the box. From data sources, transformations, error handling, parallelism, scheduling, etc.