In a world of large data, raw and disaggregated data is very often stored in different systems – both relational and non-relational. They also do not add value to the business as they do not have the right context or meaning to support analysts’ actions or facilitate business decisions. With the help of Azure Data Factory, these problems disappear entirely.

What is Azure Data Factory?

Azure Data Factory is a cloud-based ETL (extract, transform, load) service for data integration. Using the system, it is possible to connect to the source system, download and transform data and load it into another system. Azure Data Factory offers a codeless user interface that allows intuitive creation, management and data monitoring in one place. With this service, you can create data-based workflows (called streams) and schedule them. You can also create complex ETL processes that transform data graphically using data flows or computational services such as Azure HDInsight Hadoop, Azure Databricks and Azure SQL Database. Besides, you can also publish the transformed data in data warehouses such as Azure SQL Data Warehouse for Business Intelligence (BI). Importantly, with Azure Data Factory, your transformed data can be organized into practical warehouses and data lake services to help you make the right business decisions.

How does Azure Data Factory work?

Azure Data Factory is a fully managed data migration and integration service that enables Microsoft Azure users to combine data from different sources in the Azure Public Cloud. Using data flow mapping, Azure customers can create data transformations using an easy-to-use visual interface without the need to write code lines. These data flows are then performed as actions in the Azure Data Factory streams.

Azure Data Factory is a robust and mature solution for integrating structured, semi-structured and unstructured data from sources such as Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure Blob Storage and Azure Table Storage. The system also integrates well with Microsoft BI solutions and analytical tools such as Power BI and Azure HDInsight.

azure data factory microsoft

microsoft.com

What are the advantages of the Azure Data Factory?

Azure Data Factory allows you to:

  • cost-effective and fully server-less data management,
  • increasing productivity by creating comprehensive and straightforward ETL and ELT processes without the need for coding or system maintenance,
  • fast data processing, moving, transforming and processing with a few clicks,
  • data modelling in an accessible visual environment,
  • reduce costs associated with data migration thanks to fully managed experience in Azure Data Factory,
  • transferring data using ready-made connectors – including Azure data services, local data sources, Amazon S3 and Redshift and Google BigQuery – at no extra cost,
  • paying only for what users benefit from and further scaling the system with flexible options as data volumes increase,
  • full data protection through confidential processing on the Azure platform.

If you are interested in taking advantage of the possibilities offered by Azure Data Factory in your company, contact EBIS consultants to create a dedicated service package. We will be happy to help you choose the best BI solutions for your business, implement the selected solutions and take care of system maintenance and further development. Write to info@ebisgroup.com or call us on +48 12 307 06 35.