Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

Consultant at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jan 28, 2018

The enhanced security model and debugger are nice new features while the new layout is an advantage and disadvantage

The new release of Oracle Data Integrator (ODI 12c) is now available. Let´s find out what the new features of ODI12c are that this version includes.

First, is there anything fancy in the installation process?

Just one note here: to be able to use ODI Studio, the enterprise installation needs to be selected (instead of the Standalone option) while launching the ODI installation program.

For the configuration part, creating a new login to ODI repository you are requested to specify a new wallet password. ODI12c provides you with a possibility to store your credentials in a wallet that is protected by a password. How much it helps to protect and manage your credentials with a single password!

Goodbye Interfaces, Welcome Mappings

First of all, we do not deal with interfaces anymore; mappings are offered to the developers instead. On this background let´s talk about common features and functions across various ETL tools, like Informatica Powercenter, which has many advantages. As the previous version of ODI and Powercenter are totally different technologies, there is no tool to convert the flow automatically. Either you need to use the Powercenter workflow manager to build a new ODI package, or you can use a Powercenter mapping to create a new ODI interface, keeping in mind all the constraints that ODI11g may have, including its inability to load multiple targets. What changes now? Source and target data tables can now be dragged and dropped to the same canvas, which was not the case for the previous version.

Example canvas with components panel:

Moreover, all objects have IN and OUT connectors. There is also a possibility to use multiple targets within the same mapping as the OUT connector can be mapped to many IN connectors. The split component may be used to direct rows to the desired destination based on particular conditions. And speaking of the split option - a new components panel has been added, containing operations like join, filter, lookup or split to simplify mapping creation (see picture above). The star icon (distinct component), enables selecting particular rows. Finally you can take advantage of the reusability of mappings, which can be applied across various projects by simply connecting to other components.

All these changes made Oracle Data Integrator more like Informatica Powercenter (or other ETL tools) when it comes to the creation of the transformation mappings. However, it’s good to remember that their main paradigm continues to be different, as ODI is still considered an ELT tool while Powercenter is a traditional ETL tool. Of course there will be supporters of both and the choice may depend on budget or functionality.

More Nice Features

We also found some other features that make our lives easier. One of them is the auto completion and syntax highlighting in expression fields. Another one is that when one column is selected all the related columns are highlighted across the mapping. The entire path for transformations is perfectly visible. Nice, isn’t it? I prefer that much more than checking every single box to track all modifications.

Undoubtedly, adding a debugger was long awaited. It provides you with options to set breakpoints, inspect the values of variables, debug sessions or data. Step by step, you can easily review your work.

We also enjoyed the enhanced security model. Security is assigned to a role and the same level of security is shared by all users belonging to that role. Additionally, ODI standalone agents are managed by WebLogic Management Framework, which gives us the benefit of centralized management. You are offered a wizard to carry out the configuration:

Agents can be controlled by Node Manager.

Any drawbacks?

As always, there is a discussion around new releases on which features are useful and which are not. Some changes, like the layout, can be considered both as an advantage and a disadvantage. In 12c this is the case for the complexity. You are now able to see more objects at the same time, providing you with some new options like the components panel, but on the other hand it makes everything less transparent and a decent screen size is needed.

To read the complete post, go to:

https://www.clearpeaks.com/blog/etl/what-are-the-ne...

Disclaimer: The company I work for is partners with Oracle and other vendors.

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

it_user275139

Hyperion Applications Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jul 27, 2015

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It handles metadata management efficiently and exports data loads from our ERP system to our finance data warehouse.

What is most valuable?

It's highly flexible, and can interface with almost any technology. One of the best ETL tools.

How has it helped my organization?

It has streamlined and automated data loads, and exports from our ERP system to our finance data warehouse and to Hyperion Essbase. The post-data load tie-back to the source system was also performed using this tool. The tool has also made metadata management more efficient, and automated the process from relational source to Hyperion Essbase.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for four years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It used to crash with large datasets.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never had to contact them.

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

This is the only ETL tool I have used and never found a need to look for another. It met all our needs.

How was the initial setup?

Straighforward except for DBA involvement during installation for schema creation.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was done in-house.

What other advice do I have?

It's a great product.

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

Brian DandeneauBusiness Process and Strategy Specialist Advisor at NTTData

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May 17, 2016

Great review. I agree that it can streamline the Metadata loading process for EPM applications. Especially if you have DRM installed you can automate the front to end process just by kicking off a few batch scripts. You just have to make sure you have the licensing to do it.

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it_user636159

Owner at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Nov 1, 2017

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Has a mapping functionality that makes the tool very open and accessible

Pros and Cons

"ODI is a very accessible tool, especially since the mapping functionality has been added."

"Technical Support could be better."

What is most valuable?

ODI is a very accessible tool, especially since the mapping functionality has been added.

How has it helped my organization?

We added DevOps to ODI.

You can use the ODI versioning or our component, and complement both with lifecycle management, fully-automated deploy and integration with issue tracking.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Not with ODI itself, but with deploying programs written in ODI. That is why we developed our solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It could be better.

Technical Support:

It could be better.

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

OWB: We switched because the this tool was at the end of its life.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

It was implemented in-house by experts.

What was our ROI?

Not applicable.

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

It is OK.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No.

What other advice do I have?

It is a great tool to work with.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We developed a DevOps solution for ODI.

Aslam Pasha

Assistant Manager at a integrator with 501-1,000 employees

May 16, 2017

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I have found most of the middleware and hardware to be valuable.

What is most valuable?

I have found most of the Oracle Fusion middleware and hardware to be valuable.

How has it helped my organization?

We are Oracle partners. We have our clients and they need this solution. We implement it according to the clients' requirements.

What needs improvement?

I think that the Oracle Fusion Middleware stack could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for almost ten years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I had some deployment issues. Sometimes, issues will be erased if the OS and the system do not meet the system requirements and prerequisites before deploying a specific application.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not encounter any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not encounter any scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would give technical support a rating of 10/10.

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

We have always used Oracle because we are Oracle partners.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

I performed the implementation. If there was something that I was unsure about, I contacted the support team for clarifications and update patches. Overall, it depends on the situation and the time frame.

What was our ROI?

I have seen a decent ROI for the Oracle and Veritas Backup Exec products.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at alternatives, but they could not provide us with the complete set of features.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good solution if they are trying to move to fusion stack.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are Oracle partners

reviewer1094502

Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Jan 26, 2022

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Proven high performance with large-scale data processing

Pros and Cons

"Easy to understand, very developer-friendly, and has a big forum community and lots of documentation for support."

"An area for improvement would be the lack of SQL compatibility - ODI has no ability to interact with SQL unstructured types and data types."

What needs improvement?

An area for improvement would be the lack of SQL compatibility - ODI has no ability to interact with SQL unstructured types and data types.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

ODI is a proven product with high performance in large-scale data processing.

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

ODI comes included when buying the cloud version of the Oracle database license.

What other advice do I have?

ODI is very friendly to those who have been traditionally writing a scale PL/SQL. It has lots of connectors to many different sources, although the target databases it supports are relatively limited compared to Informatica. It's also easier to understand, very developer-friendly, and has a big forum community and lots of documentation for support. I would rate it as nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid 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.

it_user448707

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) Specialist at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

May 31, 2016

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One of the benefits of it is the usage of the principle ‘write once, execute anywhere’.

What is most valuable?

It is a clever integration tool to extract data from every possible source, and it can transform the source data to a format the targets can handle. It is suitable for data warehouses and data migrations.

How has it helped my organization?

We replaced many manual actions and tasks with mappings in Oracle Data Integrator, and created schedules, and then used SOA Suite services to automatically transfer large data amounts between different systems.

What needs improvement?

The integration between the Oracle Repository and versioning tools like TortoiseSVN.

For how long have I used the solution?

We’ve used 11G for four years, and 12.1.3 for two years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

One of the benefits of it is the usage of the principle ‘write once, execute anywhere’. You set up the architecture in the topology within Oracle Data Integrator.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We've experienced no issues with performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't needed to scale it yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't needed to use it yet.

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

Previously we used Oracle Warehouse builder, and custom made PL/SQL data warehouses. We’ve chosen Oracle Data integrator over other solutions because it is the successor of Oracle Warehouse builder, and Oracle Data Integrator provides a more structured working-method, and the data warehouse is easier to maintain.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is rather straightforward, with the available documentation it must be possible to do the installation by yourself. You must have sufficient knowledge of Oracle Data Integrator to make the correct decisions during the creation of the architectural setup.

What about the implementation team?

We used an in-house team but hired interim experts, and created a team with combined knowledge levels, from rooky to expert. The initial setup is rather complex, and needs an experienced architect to make the correct decisions. The change of success is highly depending on the decisions that are made during the setup.

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

I have no info on the ROI or the licensing, but I know the license costs are high, so Oracle Data Integrator is only suitable for the larger companies.

What other advice do I have?

To benefit the most of Oracle Data Integrator it is important to assemble a team with the experience to make the project a success.

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

Business677

Business Analyst at Paunaste OÜ

Jan 29, 2019

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Knowledge modules can be modified to fix small issues

What is our primary use case?

To have a common ETL tool in the DW team, start a common way of ETL development, set up a process registry, and daily process flow.

How has it helped my organization?

It increased ETL development efficiency 1/3 in time.
It has a short learning curve for newcomers, compared to previous MS DTS packages and scripting.

What is most valuable?

Reusing existing ETL development pattern in the next similar tasks.
It's flexible to add new common procedures.
Knowledge modules can be modified to fix small issues.

What needs improvement?

ETL process registry solution is missing.
To manage dependencies between loading packages.
Versioning logic and release process are not well supported.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

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

it_user804942

Product Owner, Lead Entrepreneur and Chief Technology Officer(CTO) at a think tank with 1-10 employees

Jan 21, 2018

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Could use an add-on solution that might know how to avoid performance issues. Benefits from not having to maintain a separate ETL instance.

Pros and Cons

"I do not have to maintain a separate ETL instance. I can change the SQL when something is not performing correctly."
"It can integrate with more recent databases like Cassandra, Hadoop, and other more recent Big Data databases."

"If there was an add-on tool to hide the performance issues and solve them for me, then I might be interested in that as it would provide me value."

What is our primary use case?

We are moving data from everywhere to everywhere else all the time. We will be moving data to a cloud solution in the future and ODI seems to be able to do it as well.

How has it helped my organization?

The tool is declarative, and it only runs on the target staging databases, so I have full control over it and I can change the SQL that the tool generates. I do not have to maintain a separate ETL instance. I can change the SQL when something is not performing correctly.

What is most valuable?

It can integrate with more recent databases like Cassandra, Hadoop, and other more recent Big Data databases. Going forward, that is very important.

What needs improvement?

When I do a BI type of project, I like to pick the simplest declarative solution that I can find. So ODI appeals to me at a base solution level, but that sometimes puts a lot of burden on me personally to fix all of the nuances of the platform that I am integrating to and from. Some might argue this is just a part of the job, but if there is an add-on tool to hide the performance issues and solve them for me, then I might be interested in that as it provides me value. I can see a great deal of value of ODI plus an add-on solution that might know how to avoid performance issues on the target database with, for example, the proper use of SQL functions.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.

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