About the Services
Informatica
Informatica is an iPaaS platform offering solutions for the enterprise sector. It’s capable of ETL, ELT, and cloud management. It started in 1993. And now, they have 5000+ customers, including Dolby, Twitch, and more.
Informatica offers integration products for both cloud and on-premise cases. The most popular products are PowerCenter and Intelligent Data Management Cloud platform. You can start for free, but you need a work email. So, Gmail, Outlook, and the like won’t pass the registration.
They have a low-code, no-code GUI tool for both cloud and on-premises. They also have an AI recommendation engine called Claire AI. But the ease of use is a mixed bag from users in review sites. Some say it’s easy to use. But others feel it’s too complex and hard to navigate.
Like other data integration tools, Informatica ensures your data is private. They have SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and other certifications.
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 | Data Ingestion, ETL. | ETL, streaming data | Data ingestion, ELT, ETL, reverse ETL, data sync, workflow automation. |
| Skill level | Varies from low-code to high-code, depending on the product. | Low-code, no-code solution. | No-code wizard. Top-rated as one of the easiest ETL tools by G2. |
| Sources | 90+ | 40+ | 180+ |
| Destinations | Cloud, on-premises, mobile, and social data sources. | Supported data sources. | Supported data sources, including databases, data warehouses, cloud apps and flat files. |
| Database replication | Full table; incremental via change data capture. | Full or incremental load. | Full table and incremental via change data capture. |
| Ability for customers to add new data sources | Yes, by Connector Toolkit Developer. | Through JDBC or ODBC. | Ye s, by request or using REST API connector. |
| G2 customer satisfaction | 4.2 out of 5 264 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 15 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 217 Reviews |
| Peer Insights satisfaction | 4.2 308 Ratings | 4.1 137 Ratings | 4.8 103 Ratings |
| Developer tools | Informatica Developer Tool, REST API, Connector Toolkit. | Pentaho Data Integration. Pentaho Metadata Editor. Pentaho Aggregation Designer. Pentaho Schema Workbench. | REST connector for data sources that have REST API. |
| Advanced ETL capabilities | Visual ETL designer, Claire AI. | Supports Hadoop and Spark integrations for Big Data. | Visual ETL data pipeline designer with data orchestration capabilities. |
| Compliance and security certifications | SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, HIPAA / HITECH, GDPR, Privacy Shield. | 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 | Requires conversation with sales. | Use the free trial and talk to sales. | Self-service or sales. |
| Vendor lock-in | Annual contracts. | Pentaho Community Edition is open-source. Talk to sales for more details. | Monthly or annual contracts. |
| Pricing | Consumption-based pricing. | 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
Informatica
Informatica’s platform boasts 50K+ high-performance, metadata-aware connections based on its website. But this is not the actual number of connectors. The list of Informatica connectors shows less than 100. It supports SaaS apps, relational databases, data warehouses, and more. It also supports ODBC, JDBC, OData, and REST API. And with these, the number of connectors can increase but will not reach 50K.
You can request new connectors or use the Connector Toolkit for developers.
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
Informatica
Informatica offers various data transformation capabilities like aggregation, masking, filtering, parsing, and more. The service processes data transformations in real-time or batch. It also uses AI to map columns to increase productivity.
Informatica offers simple transformations only in their free Cloud Data Integration. Grab a paid plan to enjoy advanced transformations. And get the highest-paid plan to have more data-quality services.
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
Informatica
Informatica support depends on your pricing plan.
For the free Data Loader, you only have the community to support you. But the free Cloud Data Integration lets you enjoy the community and live chat.
For the paid tiers, you have Cloud Data Integration – PayGo. It lets you enjoy the community, live chat, and basic support. Meanwhile, the Intelligent Data Management Cloud offers community and premium support.
Informatica also offers comprehensive documentation, a portal with learning courses, and certification training.
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, Skyvia offers a prioritized support including additional support options for Enterprise customers.
Pricing
Informatica
Informatica uses consumption-based pricing. It measures consumption in what they call Informatica Processing Unit (IPU). You need to subscribe to enough IPUs in advance for your data integration needs.
Informatica also offers a free tier for their Cloud Data Integration. But with it, you only get simple transformations and live chat support. Also unavailable are SOC 2 Compliance, API Management, data privacy, and more.
The paid tiers offer better support and the features missing in the free tier. For more information, visit Informatica’s website.
Note that one of the dislikes about Informatica is its price. Reviews in G2 report it’s very pricey.
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.