ETL Tools

If you work in IT field or if computer is just your cup of tea, then this article is exactly what you should be reading through. It is going to describe one of the most interesting business intelligence software: ETL Tools.

For those who do not really know what ETL tools really are, here there is an explanation:

ETL stands for extract, transform, load.  Firstly, the data from various sources is extracted. Then, the data is converted into a format for the next stage: transformation processing. In this stage a series of rules or functions are applied to the data that had been previously extracted  in order to derive the data for loading. The final stage is about loading the data into the end target which usually is a data warehouse, for example audit reports.

Information about data integration

Nowadays when the information flow is so general and quick the real problem is that if the sent data is the same as the obtained data?

Sometimes it can be very strange when it occurs that end-user sees something else what is not in original data. Due to abundance of programs it is difficult to see exactly the same data in particular program. It could be done only in case of using the same software i.e. Microsoft which has an additional very helpful function “Save as”. It guarantees that data saved in the newest version of the application can be open in older version of application and inversely. What is more it is kept a GUI standard which allows to look and feel the same as in Word, Excel or Outlook what affords not to lose in particular program, because each program uses the same icons, color schemes, templates and style. But it is possible to have the same for other applications?

Today it can be done due to “data integration”. Data integration conception includes complex issue connected with data which are being exchanged between informatics systems. It can be described in this way: the data acquisition by tools from different sources, their transformation to the same level and data warehouse. Then all users operate the adequate data.

But the key problems including in this issue can be i.e. keeping quality and reliability of data, high capacity of integration processes, metadata ordering etc. What is more the data integration should cooperate with Business Intelligence tools so these data must be adjusted in proper way.

In telecommunication and informatics systems the protection of integration prevents against data deformation by an accident during reading, saving, transmitting or storage. From these reasons it is using a cryptographic techniques as MAC codes which are resistant to manipulation.

It is said that two systems are fully integrated while they look the same, act the same and consume and/or the same data. To integrate it in this way there are need a special tools which enable to proceed a data integration. In this case it is using an ETL application which is responsible for collecting data from different source systems, their transformation to set coherent form and loading transformed data into storage (data warehouse).

Examples for ETL tools can be:

• Ab Initio
• BusinessObjects Data Integrator (BODI)
  
• Microsoft Data Transformation Services
• DMExpress
• Talend
• Infosphere Datastage
• Informatica PowerCenter
• Oracle OWB and DI

Data warehouse

Another very imported tool is data warehouse which is kind of database and optimize from reality slice point of view. Storages integrates data from other database which are used in this range. These data become from different sources, but integrated and ready to readout. Warehouse is a developed database storing huge amount data collecting in time what causes that it is not possible to proceed a typical transaction, but it is using data mining which search general form of knowledge from vast amount data. These processes have a multidimensional character- not limited only to one table, but taking the advantage of many relations.

Data integration allow to merge database between two similar companies or combine research results from different bioinformatics repositories. It is need to exchange data between two different systems in proper way without any deformations.