Cloud-Based Data Integration: Popular Tools

Ryan Williamson
3 min readSep 21, 2022

There is no denying that the world has seen a humongous increase in the amount of data available, thanks to the surge in the number of data sources in the market. The benefits and advantages of all this data and its sources, companies have struggled to realize this value on account of data silos and other such challenges. Thankfully, we have a solution at hand — data integration, i.e. the process of unifying disparate data sets to deliver more value and better insights. Data integration does much more than just bring together data sets, of course; it also eliminates redundant data, facilitates automation, etc.

Simply put, data integration refers to bringing data from several sources to a single point. It would be to bring a single location to acquire valuable information. This would help consolidate the collected data in a way that the data is complete, accurate, and up to date. Alternatively, it should be capable of conducting corporate analysis and reporting. Cloud-based data integration platforms generally cater to the business demand. They make use of cloud computing to assist companies with connection, management, storage, and integration of data from various sources. This is while ensuring that important data is available on demand.

Now, if you too are looking to undertake the process, here are some of the top tools you can use:

1. IBM App Connect: A multi-tenant, cloud-based system, IBM App Connect facilitates quick and seamless integration of apps with other systems across the business. It must be noted that this offering from the technology behemoth’s stables does not make use of the coding method; it is, in fact, based on an autoconfiguration method. IBM App Connect offers support for an extensive range of connectivity types, such as classic SOA to API, microservices-based integrations, current events, etc.

2. Dell Boomi: Dell Boomi, a cloud-native data integration platform makes use of a low-code graphical interface, APIs, and ready-made connectors to streamline the process of linking apps and data across cloud platforms as well as legacy systems. Yet another reason why this tool is so sought-after in the market is that it brings together master data management, data integration, and data quality services (DQS) under a unified interface.

3. Pentaho: A Hitachi Data Systems offers, the Pentaho platform provides high-level data integration along with reporting, OLAP services, data mining, ETL capabilities, and information dashboards among others. It also comes in handy while handling systems migration, executing data science tasks, developing apps, etc. Other key features of the Pentaho platform include support for intelligent architecture as well as high levels of scalability and personalization.

4. Cleo: Offered with a selection of APIs and connectors, Cleo is designed to help companies easily connect with SaaS and corporate services. It automatically ingests, translates, organizes, and links the entirety of the B2B data types from every available source to any given target destination. The Cleo cloud integration tool offers end-to-end visibility for pinpointing and addressing issues and can also be used as a managed service to outsource intricate integrations to the company’s SaaS vendor specialists.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, some of the most sought-after cloud data integration tools currently available in the market. Of course, the number of such tools at your disposal is quite huge and it can seem challenging to pick one for your organization. But don’t worry; as long as you take a strategic approach to selecting a tool best suited to your business’s unique needs.

So, be sure to factor in things such as security offered, real-time data availability, data sources supported, scalability, etc. With a sound data integration strategy fortified by robust tools, the process of cloud integration is greatly simplified. Alternatively, you can simply hire a trusted service provider to execute the cloud data integration project for your organization.

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Ryan Williamson

A professional and security-oriented programmer having more than 6 years of experience in designing, implementing, testing and supporting mobile apps developed.