Universal Data Access

As the explosion of data continues across the enterprise, organizations need a unified, consistent approach for accessing all their data assets, regardless of the data formats, structures, or systems. The Informatica platform provides scalable, metadata-driven access to the broadest set of enterprise data sources and can deliver that data in any latency.

Components and Benefits

Broad Data Source Access. It’s estimated that unstructured data—email, Word files, spreadsheets, presentations and .PDF documents—accounts for as much as 80 percent of the information that today’s businesses store. In addition, many new government and industry regulations require strict adherence to complex new standardized data formats. With the Informatica platform, organizations can seamlessly access, discover, integrate, and deliver enterprise data currently locked in documents and industry-specific data formats. The ability to access and process any data format creates a powerful tool for delivering holistic data to the business. The Informatica platform is unique in its ability to access the widest array of data sources including:

• Relational databases (Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, Sybase, Teradata, Informix, etc.)
• Mainframe/midrange data (IMS, VSAM, DataCom, etc.)
• Pre-packaged enterprise applications (SAP, Siebel, PeopleSoft, etc.)
• Messaging systems (IBM MQ Series, TIBCO Rendezvous, webMethods, etc.)
• Standards (XML, Web Services, JMS, ODBC, JDBC, LDAP, IMAP, POP, etc.)
• Unstructured (Word, PDF, Excel, etc.)
• Semi-structured (HL7, ACORD, FIXML, SWIFT, EDI, etc.)

Metadata Access. With its metadata-driven architecture, the Informatica platform ensures that metadata is accurately and consistently captured regardless of the type of system from which the data was accessed. This means that developers can focus on the logical modeling of data transformations and avoid the complexity of having to connect to the backend systems.

Delivery of Data in Any Latency. The Informatica platform delivers data in any latency—from real time to change-only to batch. Data source-specific technologies implement change data capture or through direct interaction with message queuing and Web services interfaces. Users can move between latencies by simply reconfiguring the platform rather than by installing and implementing different connectivity options. This allows for rapid delivery of data integration solutions to meet changing business requirements.

Intelligent Scalability. With the ability to provide universal access to enterprise data, the Informatica platform is designed to handle increasingly larger data volumes over time. The platform provides high-performance, data source-specific interfaces, and the ability to scale to any data volume or allow for “intelligent” scalability through change data capture techniques.

Product Literature

PowerCenter Brochure
Data Integration Brochure