Metadata Services

The Informatica platform is built on a common foundation of metadata services. These services include metadata management, lineage, change management, object versioning, and reporting/analysis. Metadata services enable end-to-end visibility and analysis of the data integration lifecycle and streamline the overall data integration process.

Unlike code generation ETL technologies, which store the transformation and interface information in detailed proprietary code, the Informatica platform’s unique, metadata-driven architecture creates transparency, exposing the data integration environment in a way that creates business value.

Components and Benefits

Metadata Catalog. The Informatica platform features a metadata repository that functions as the hub of its architecture. Metadata services provided on top of this repository allow for the import and management of metadata assets throughout the entire data integration lifecycle. Assets in the metadata catalog include business rules, physical models, relationships, and all end user-created metadata. Bringing together all these assets into a common catalog makes it easier for users to analyze and govern data throughout the entire data integration lifecycle.

Metadata Reporting and Analysis Services. These services allow for business and technical analysis of the data integration environment including visualization into data transformation objects, application statistics, data models, database objects, and reporting objects. These services are Web-based, streamlining the effort required to derive intelligence about existing metadata assets and their relationships. The Informatica platform’s metadata report and analysis services include:

• Data Lineage. Data lineage services trace a complete data integration solution from data model through business user end use. Data lineage helps users answer questions about where data came from, determine which rules were applied to data along the way, and ensure compliance by providing a complete view of the data lifecycle.
• Impact Analysis/“Where Used.” These services assess the impact of making a change across the entire data integration environment. By visually identifying all possible uses of a metadata object throughout the enterprise, efforts to effect change can be measured quickly.
• Team-based Development. These services allow development teams to create and manage multiple versions of objects in the metadata repository. Comprehensive object management and versioning services ensure that the metadata is secure and traceable in the repository and facilitate the full data integration lifecycle as solutions are developed and deployed. Multiple versions of an object can be maintained, development on the object can be controlled, and changes to the object can be tracked. Deployment groups can move specific groups of objects from one repository to another, providing superior control and automation of deployment across environments, locations and teams. The platform also features migration rollback functionality, which allows administrators to easily reinstate prior releases. The ability to better control and automate migrations reduces system development lifecycle costs and deployment risk.

Product Literature

PowerCenter Brochure