About the Services
AWS Data Pipeline
AWS Data Pipeline is a cloud-based data integration service from Amazon. It works well with cloud and on-premise data sources. Amazon launched it in 2012. And since then, it helped thousands of customers move and process data.
But unlike AWS Glue, Data Pipeline is not serverless. It requires an Amazon EC2 instance to perform processing.
AWS Data Pipeline has a web interface to define your data processing workflows. And it requires no coding knowledge. In one place, you can schedule, automate, and track your data workflows. It’s more of a fill-in-the-blanks rather than drag-and-drop.
AWS Data Pipeline is like any other AWS service when it comes to security and privacy. It’s HIPAA eligible and has various certifications, including SOC 1 and PCI DSS. Rest assured that your data is in safe hands.
Pentaho Data Integration
Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) is an ETL tool with different offerings. You can choose between open-source and Enterprise Edition. Hitachi Vantara launched this in 2004. Since then, this tool has been serving a growing number of customers worldwide, and the feedback is positive.
PDI enables you to extract, transform, and load (ETL) data from a variety of sources. With PDI, you can integrate data to create meaningful insights and reports. These reports can help in business decisions.
PDI’s user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. However, it can get slow at times, and customization of the UI is limited, according to some reviews in Gartner Peer Insights. And only 68% Would Recommend according to the same reviews.
PDI is a product you need to install and configure. That means you take care of security and privacy concerns on your own. Yet, you can deploy PDI in the cloud and use whatever certifications the cloud provider has. PDI also uses security providers like LDAP, Secure Socket Layers, and more. So, PDI is not lax on security and privacy.
Skyvia
Skyvia is a no-code cloud data integration platform for many data integration scenarios. It’s an all-rounder tool for ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL, data migration, one-way and bi-directional data sync, workflow automation, and more. Devart launched this fantastic product in 2014 for cloud data integration and backup.
Skyvia offers more than 180 ready-made data connectors. These are available for thousands of free users, including 2000+ paid customers. Big names like Hyundai and General Electric trust Skyvia to process their data. Its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface suits both IT professionals and business users. And don’t take our word for it. Listen to G2 reviewers about how easy it is to start and work with it. Data integration experts who used other tools can adapt with little to no help from support.
Skyvia has flexible pricing plans perfect for small startups and large enterprises. So, it makes it applicable to businesses of all sizes. Also, Skyvia’s freemium model allows users to start using it now and then decide if they need to upgrade later.
The safety of your data is also our prime concern. So, we hosted it in Microsoft Azure cloud, providing the best data security and privacy. It complies with a wide set of security standards, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, and many others.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | ETL | ETL, streaming data | Data ingestion, ELT, ETL, reverse ETL, data sync, workflow automation. |
| Skill level | Low code, no-code solutions. Coding in various languages. | Low-code, no-code solution. | No-code wizard. Top-rated as one of the easiest ETL tools by G2. |
| Sources | JDBC-compatible connectors and Amazon ecosystem connectors. | 40+ | 180+ |
| Destinations | Supported data sources. | Supported data sources. | Supported data sources, including databases, data warehouses, cloud apps and flat files. |
| Database replication | Full or incremental load. | Full or incremental load. | Full table and incremental via change data capture. |
| Ability for customers to add new data sources | Through AWS SDKs. | Through JDBC or ODBC. | Ye s, by request or using REST API connector. |
| G2 customer satisfaction | 4.1 out of 5 24 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 15 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 217 Reviews |
| Peer Insights satisfaction | 4.7 1 Ratings | 4.1 137 Ratings | 4.8 103 Ratings |
| Developer tools | AWS Data Pipeline CLI. AWS Management Console. | Pentaho Data Integration. Pentaho Metadata Editor. Pentaho Aggregation Designer. Pentaho Schema Workbench. | REST connector for data sources that have REST API. |
| Advanced ETL capabilities | AWS SDKs. Query API. | Supports Hadoop and Spark integrations for Big Data. | Visual ETL data pipeline designer with data orchestration capabilities. |
| Compliance and security certifications | SOC 1/2/3, HIPAA, GDPR ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 PCI DSS | No provided security and privacy certifications. User and Role management within PDI. Supports security providers such as LDAP, MSAD, SSO, SSL, AES, JDBC. | HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 (by Azure). |
| Purchase process | Use the free trial and talk to sales. | Use the free trial and talk to sales. | Self-service or sales. |
| Vendor lock-in | Pay-as-you-go. No minimum contract term. | Pentaho Community Edition is open-source. Talk to sales for more details. | Monthly or annual contracts. |
| Pricing | Based on frequencies of preconditions and activities. With 12 months of free tier. | Community Edition is free and open source. Contact sales for Enterprise Edition. 30-day free trial of Enterprise Edition. | Volume-based and feature-based pricing. Freemium model allows to start with a free plan. |
Connectors
AWS Data Pipeline
AWS Data Pipeline has data connectors for AWS RDS, JDBC data sources, and more. These let you connect to various data sources. Be it databases, cloud platforms, and storage systems. Some of the most popular ones include Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, and Amazon Redshift.
AWS Data Pipeline allows you to connect to other data sources using AWS SDKs. This allows you to connect to any data source with an API or a JDBC driver. With this, you can use Java, .NET, and others.
Pentaho Data Integration
Pentaho Data Integration offers a wide range of data connectors through JDBC. So, you can connect to databases, cloud platforms, and big data sources like Hadoop. Some of the most popular ones are MySQL, SQL Server, Google Analytics, and Salesforce.
PDI allows you to create your own custom data connector. Or use pre-built connectors created by the Pentaho community. In addition, PDI offers a marketplace where you can find third-party connectors. So, you can also try your luck here if you don’t want to roll up your sleeves to build a connector.
Skyvia
Skyvia offers more than 180 connectors, and more to come very soon. It supports connectors for CRMs, accounting, email marketing, e-commerce, human resources, marketing automation, payment processing, product management, all major databases and DWH, flat files, and more. It’s also not a problem whether your data is on-premise or in the cloud.
You can access your on-premise data with peace of mind using the Skyvia Agent. It allows you to connect to databases like SQL Server, MySQL, and more using an encrypted connection. You need to download the Skyvia Agent and install it. Then, download a secured key file and place it in the same folder as the Agent. The Agent is like an unbreakable metal door, and you use the key file to open that door to your on-premise data. You can also set it up so that Skyvia can access only the resources you specify and nothing else.
Customers can also leave a request for a new data connector. And Skyvia will prioritize building it without additional payment.
Transformation
AWS Data Pipeline
AWS Data Pipeline supports various types of transformations like filtering, aggregation, and normalization. You can use a simple drag-and-drop interface to perform transformations. Or write your transformations using a programming language like Python or Java. For even more complex transformations, you can also use Hive, Pig, and MapReduce.
Scheduling data transformation activities is easy with AWS Data Pipeline. And you can also check it in real-time using the AWS Management Console or through API calls. With AWS Data Pipeline, customers have complete control over their data transformation process.
Pentaho Data Integration
Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) allows you to transform data from one format to another. With PDI, customers can perform a variety of data transformations. Some of these are simple operations like filtering and sorting. There also are complex operations like pivoting, joining, and data validation.
PDI lets you drag and drop transformations into place. No need to write any code. But if you need custom transformations, you can code in languages like Java.
Skyvia
Skyvia is a full-featured ETL service that allows powerful data transformations. It is a no-code solution allowing data splitting, conversion, lookups, and many more.
You can use the Skyvia Data Flow and Control Flow for advanced data pipelines. Transformations for these advanced pipelines are flexible. It supports extending your data with new columns, conditional flows, and summarized values. And all these you can do with parameters, variables, and more for flexibility without code.
Moreover, Skyvia has an Expression Builder to build formulas with many functions. With this, you can convert or extract parts of the data or form new values to suit your needs. And if you love coding in SQL, Skyvia can further extend your transformation needs. It supports multiple joins, groupings, CASE expressions, and more in SELECT queries. And you can also use DML commands like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.
Support
AWS Data Pipeline
AWS Data Pipeline provides various levels of customer support. You can access documentation available on the AWS website. You can also submit tickets through the AWS Support Center. Or engage with the AWS community for guidance and support.
There are 4 plans for premium support: Developer, Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus. The plans differ in the level of support and the services included. It can be any or all of the following:
• 24/7 access to AWS support engineers,
• personalized support,
• and guidance for architecture and best practices.
AWS also provides a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for different response times.
Pentaho Data Integration
Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) offers various levels of support. You can access support through the Hitachi Vantara support portal. From there you’ll see the knowledgebase articles, product documentation, and community forums.
PDI customers have access to standard support. This includes email support and access to the support portal during business hours. Premium support is also available. It provides 24/7 phone support, priority handling, and faster response times. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are available for premium support.
You can also access a range of professional services like consulting and training.
Skyvia
Skyvia offers free email, chat (on the website or in-app), and forum support for all customers. It also provides extensive documentation with lots of tutorials and user guides.
For paid customers, there's also a phone support option and additional support options for Enterprise customers.
Pricing
AWS Data Pipeline
AWS Data Pipeline offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model. The frequency of pipeline runs forms the basis of the model. Low-frequency runs are pipelines that run less than once a day. Rates are lower than high-frequency runs, which are pipelines that run once a day or more.
AWS Data Pipeline also offers a Free Trial. This includes 3 low-frequency preconditions and 5 low-frequency activities per month. This is free for 12 months. The Free Trial includes access to all AWS features. So, customers can test out the service and see if it meets their needs.
Pentaho Data Integration
Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) offers a free Community Edition. It is also open source but comes with limited features. If you’re looking for more advanced features and support, try the Enterprise Edition. But, the website doesn’t mention the pricing for the Enterprise Edition.
But, PDI offers a 30-day trial for the Enterprise Edition. It allows you to try out the full range of features and see if this product is for you. If you decide to buy it, you’ll be able to access premium support services as well.
Skyvia
Skyvia Data Integration is a freemium tool with an option to request a 14-day trial. So, price is not a barrier to entry.
And when you’re ready, paid plans start from $19 per month. Pricing tiers depend on a few factors. It includes the number of loaded records, scheduling frequency, and advanced ETL features. There are no sale commitments. And customers can upgrade or downgrade at any time. Check out a detailed comparison here.
If you doubt the price is worth it, check out review sites like G2. Aside from ease of use, reasonable pricing is one of the things Skyvia customers like. So, you can be sure the features you get are worth every penny.