What Are Data Integration Tools?

Data Integration Tools consist of technologies that integrate and consolidate all data types from various internal and external sources into target destinations such as databases, data marts, and data warehouses. Technologies included in the Data Integration Tools market include Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL), Enterprise Information Integration (EII), Metadata Management Applications, and Data Quality and Profiling Applications.

Trends in the Data Integration Market

• Evolution towards data services. Data services are modular pieces of software that act as providers to deliver data integration as requested by a service consumer. With SOA fast becoming the predominant approach for implementing applications, data integration technologies are evolving to provide integration capabilities through data services.
• A key role in SOA. IT managers must not assume that SOA will hide and resolve all their data issues. In fact, SOA increases the importance of Data Integration Tools. With SOA, data will be consumed in many more ways than in the past. Applications will no longer care from where data is sourced. This makes the consistency and quality of data, and the processes that transform and deliver it, even more critical.
• Convergence of integration technologies. Data integration and Enterprise Applications Integration (EAI) are technologies that have typically been seen as complementary solutions created to meet different needs. Data integration and EAI technologies are now merging into a unified category that addresses the overall integration requirements of the enterprise.
• Vendor consolidation. The Data Integration Tools market is still immature and fragmented. The functional convergence towards a universal integration platform will lead to acquisitions and vendor consolidation in the integration market. Going forward, companies can expect single vendors to offer integration suites that will solve their overall integration problems in a more complete and consistent way.
• Emergence of competency centers. Companies must take a holistic approach to reduce redundancy, avoid poor quality data issues, and increase the effectiveness of their data integration investments. To accomplish this, companies need to centralize efforts to ensure best practices, standards, and skills are used consistently across multiple projects. While many consultant and analyst firms are recommending the creation of a new Integration Competency Center (ICC), Info-Tech believes that creating another isolated center is not the best approach. Instead, overall data-integration responsibilities would be a better fit under an existing Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC).

Source

http://www.infotech.com