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reviewer1084386 - PeerSpot reviewer
ECM CONSULTANT/ARCHITECT/SOFTWARE DEVELOPER, DELUXE MN at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Easy to perform ETL on multiple data sources, and easy to use after you learn it
Pros and Cons
  • "Glue is a NoSQL-based data ETL tool that has some advantages over IIS and ISAs."
  • "There is a learning curve to this tool."

What is our primary use case?

Glue is a NoSQL-based data ETL tool that has some advantages over IIS and ISAs. It is tailored and customized to use with SQL Server, which works very well in that platform.

If you want to use other data sources, the NoSQL concept makes it very easy, because missing data can be inserted as a new column or with null values.

That is not the case with many other tools. If you have on-premises tools, such as IIS, they don't manage missing data well.

What is most valuable?

If you want extremely high-performance functionality, you have to use both AWS Glue or Data Lake to store it in some temporary table. First, you will have to do some cleaning of the data, then if you need performance and speed, you have to use IIS with an IBM tool. 

You have to use the right tool in the right places. For example, if you're using Oracle, you have got to use the Oracle tools. If you are using SQL, you have to use the SQL tools. There is no other tool that provides the performance.

It's context-based and project-based. In the projects that I have used, it has worked well.

What needs improvement?

There is a learning curve to this tool.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with AWS Glue for four years.

Everything runs on AWS, even if it belongs to a third party. For example, if you have a Netflix subscription, it runs on AWS. We have other products or vendor subscriptions that run on AWS.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Undoubtedly, the cloud is built to handle failure. If you have your devices, and your resources configured correctly, you won't have any issues. I haven't seen a problem.

How are customer service and support?

You have to pay for their technical support, and depending on which level of subscription, you will receive a call within an hour; otherwise, you will have to wait for days.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Azure's Data Lake, and I worked with Tipco in the past, though it's been a few years since we used it.

You should select the best tool for the job or the projects that are currently being worked on. Tipco was heavily used in the previous project we worked on.

How was the initial setup?

It takes some time to learn, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be fine. It's like any other IT tool, where nobody is an expert or isn't an expert, it is just the way you are exposed to a tool. 

You've chosen the right tool if you understand how the data works and what it needs to do. It's like going to Home Depot to get the right tool. You can purchase a set of tools, and it will work for you, but you will still need to purchase something else.

It's one of those tools in which someone must be an expert. After that, all tools and platforms become secondary.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

With AWS Glue, you pay more, but if you want to process the data, with speed and performance, you need the correct EC2 instances.

There is a price to pay. It doesn't come free.

Technical support is a paid service, and which subscription you have is dependent on that. You must pay one of them, and it ranges from $15,000 to $25,000 per year. 

You sign up for a level of service, and it does not come for free. As previously stated, everything is based on performance, ELAs.

It was very expensive, at that time. If a company wants to pay the money, it makes my job easier. However, if the company or enterprise does not have the funds to pay for it, then it is a hassle.

What other advice do I have?

In that environment, there is a lot going on. There are some things that you can get for free, and there are some add-ons that you can develop or use that have been tested. It's all about convenience and service. You will get what you pay for if you pay for what you want.

I'm not a fan of any tools; it all depends on the organization I work for, where their data is, what they want to do with it, how quickly they want to get there, and what their budget is, and you work around that. For me, I would not choose one over the other, unless I know the details of the project.

I would rate AWS Glue a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Senthil Kumar Veerasamy - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager, Analytics at Azendian
Real User
Top 10
A highly scalable solution, but its visual ETL tool is of no use for actual implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of AWS Glue is scalability."
  • "The solution's visual ETL tool is of no use for actual implementation."

What is our primary use case?

We are implementing a solution in AWS for one of our customers. It is more of a data analytics solution. We wanted to process data from different sources and put it into a central repository that can be used for any analysis or predictive modeling.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of AWS Glue is scalability.

What needs improvement?

Since AWS Glue is not like an enterprise ETL tool, we need to put quite a lot of effort into customization. The solution has a visual editor, but most ETL transformations cannot be implemented or constructed using that. We always have to do a script. The solution's visual ETL tool is of no use for actual implementation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using AWS Glue for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate AWS Glue an eight out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Most of our clients for AWS Glue are enterprise businesses.

I rate AWS Glue ten out of ten for scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Nobody from AWS technical support has implementation experience.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's configuration a five and its implementation a two or three out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution's pricing is pay-as-you-go. If you are using the solution for an enterprise business, it will be expensive.

What other advice do I have?

AWS Glue is a cloud-based solution.

Overall, I rate AWS Glue a six out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Mbaye Babacar Gueye - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5
Capable of handling real-time but ETL interface could be more user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "I also like that you can add custom libraries like JAR files and use them. So, the ability to use a fast processing engine and embed basic jobs easily are significant advantages."
  • "One area that could be improved is the ETL view. The drag-and-drop interface is not as user-friendly as some other ETL tools."

What is our primary use case?

One common use case is migrating data from one system to another.  So, mostly migrating data and data engineering, getting real-time or near-real-time data using Lambda functions and migrating big data from on-prem to the cloud for historical data before starting a project.

What is most valuable?

If you have the Fund Manager, you could use a fast processing engine, which is crucial for performance. 

I also like that you can add custom libraries like JAR files and use them. So, the ability to use a fast processing engine and embed basic jobs easily are significant advantages.

What needs improvement?

One area that could be improved is the ETL view. The drag-and-drop interface is not as user-friendly as some other ETL tools. 

Additionally, AWS Glue can sometimes be slow, especially when processing large datasets. It was sometimes a bit slow. Also, I couldn't directly use bucketed data. With Elastic Glue, you had to convert your data frames into the correct format before connecting them using the drag-and-drop interface. So that's something I didn't like because the conversion process wasn't straightforward. 

In future releases, I would like to see a feature that could trigger Glue pipeline using an API or something. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have experience with AWS Glue. I have about one year of experience in a professional setting, but I have also done some personal work with this solution.

How are customer service and support?

Support was good, but I was working with a big client, so that might have influenced the experience. The response time was fast, we heard back from them within a day. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy. 

The initial setup is not very complex. You can customize parameters like minimum and maximum for your needs. For me, it wasn't complex to deploy the solution. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate it around six out of ten compared to other tools like Databricks.  

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Sainagaraju Vaduka - PeerSpot reviewer
Data solution architect at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Excellent scalability, with valuable features, and profitable return on investment
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features currently are glue studio, jobs, and triggers."
  • "I would like to see stable libraries at the moment they are not there."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using it for batch crossing and transformations.

How has it helped my organization?

We have a large set of data and we are doing some transformations and identification. We are cleaning the data and transformations. Then we are putting the data into the destination table. So it is very comfortable.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features currently are glue studio, jobs, and triggers.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see stable libraries at the moment they are not there.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using AWS Glue for the past five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability I would consider to be an extensible Apache Spark.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good and we have three hundred projects we are working with.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we used EMR, Informatica, Data Pipeline, and Azure Data Factory.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We did our deployment in-house with the CI/CD integrations like GitHub and deployed the code on Glue. 

What was our ROI?

We are seeing a very good return on our investment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The current cost is around forty to fifty thousand a month.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend using AWS Glue for batching procedures. I would rate AWS Glue an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Shifa Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
Data engineer at nust
Real User
Top 5
Better than other tools for ETL jobs, but needs better documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "AWS Glue is quite better than other tools, but you have to learn it properly before you start using it."
  • "While working on AWS Glue, I could not find any training material for it."

What is our primary use case?

I constructed a straightforward ETL job using AWS Glue, wherein I had to load a couple of files in the Teradata database.

What is most valuable?

AWS Glue is quite better than other tools, but you have to learn it properly before you start using it.

What needs improvement?

While working on AWS Glue, I could not find any training material for it. Although it's not a problem with the product, the solution could include better documentation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using AWS Glue for about two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

AWS Glue is a stable solution.

How was the initial setup?

AWS Glue's initial setup is quite straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate AWS Glue a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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reviewer2541582 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal System Architect at a transportation company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Used for data engineering ETL jobs to extract, transform, and load data
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution’s most valuable feature is the ETL job."
  • "The solution’s technical support could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

AWS Glue is essentially used for data engineering ETL jobs to extract, transform, and load data. We use it to clean data. You have multiple data sources from your application that are not so clean. You have this data and may want to delete certain columns or fill in certain data in an Excel sheet. That's where the extract part comes in. Then, you transform, drop, or make the data uniform and load it to your destination like a data warehouse.

What is most valuable?

The solution’s most valuable feature is the ETL job. AWS Glue is an easy-to-use solution. AWS Glue integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like Athena, Redshift, and S3.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s technical support could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using AWS Glue for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

AWS Glue is a stable solution.

I rate the solution’s stability eight and a half out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In the future, our data sets are going to increase. For now, the solution's scalability is fine.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously used Data Pipeline, and I tried using Lambda.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is easy.

What other advice do I have?

AWS Glue is built for large datasets, and it does the job perfectly. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution eight and a half out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Sashi Dhar - PeerSpot reviewer
Operations executive at Wipro Infotech
Real User
Good support, user-friendly, and AWS-integrated
Pros and Cons
  • "It is AWS-integrated. There is end-to-end integration with the other AWS services. It is also user-friendly."
  • "There should be more connectors for different databases."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for day-to-day ETL jobs. It is being used to transfer data from Teradata to the cloud.

We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

It is AWS-integrated. There is end-to-end integration with the other AWS services. It is also user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

There should be more connectors for different databases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We have almost 40 users.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good. I would rate them a five out of five.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were not using any other solution previously.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. Within a couple of hours, it was done.

What other advice do I have?

Before you start using it, you need to know PySpark.

I would rate it a nine out of ten. It is good for what we are using it for.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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reviewer2116998 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant Data junior at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Top 20
User-friendly visual interface, but only a few built-in transformations
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature for me is the visual interface of AWS Glue."
  • "The product has only a few built-in transformations."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use cases of AWS Glue in our organization are for implementing ETL processes and for data flow.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature for me is the visual interface of AWS Glue. It is user-friendly and it is not complicated. Moreover, the coding part of AWS Glue allows users to upload their scripts after dropping some components. The product has flexibility and scalability, which is common in most cloud tools.

What needs improvement?

The product has only a few built-in transformations; additional custom-building transformations could be improved in the next release.

For additional features, I would like documentation on the equivalent of legacy ETL tools and their equivalent in AWS to make it easier for users to migrate their ETL processing to the cloud. It would save time and help users find the best transformation or solution to satisfy their new business needs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three months, and I am using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good; I have not faced any crashes so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate its scalability a seven out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used a product called SysTrack. For me, it was just a switch from SysTrack to AWS Glue.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing depends on the usage, such as the number of users, computers, and the time jobs run.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate this product a seven out of ten. It is a good product, but I have not experienced all the additional features.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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