Introduction to Informatica Cloud
With the recent boom with cloud services and companies moving from on-premise solutions to cloud services, there has been a surge in service providers for a certain type of service specifically designed to carry out tasks. These services are deployed over the internet and can be accessed through proper credentials throughout the globe. Informatica Cloud is one such service that focuses on providing on-demand integration and platform for ETL (Extract, Transform and Load) for corresponding data and application. This genre is the cloud offering of the same feature of the on-premise solution by Informatica. Through a web interface, one can get access to development, administration, and monitoring capability. In this article, we would look at different Informatica Cloud fundamentals and try to have an overview of the topic.
The architecture of Informatica Cloud
Now that we have a fair understanding of what Informatica Cloud is all about we would take a plunge into the architecture and understand its detail before moving onto minute components of this architecture to have even a deeper dive.
In the above diagram, the architecture broadly has two parts, the first one is Secure Agent, and the second one is connectors. Let us look at them one by one and get a deeper understanding of each.
As the name of Secure Agent suggests, this part is related to security. Now, what security might we talk about when it is about the connection between cloud and on-premise. Yes, you have guessed it right! It’s the data security we look at over here. The secure agent is a light-weight program that ensures a secure communication channel between the firewall of on-premise and the Cloud service. The secure agent connects to the Informatica hosting facility when the task is run for accessing the task information. The source and the target are securely connected, and only then the transfer of data takes place. Secure agents also make sure to orchestrate the task flow, run the processes, and completes any task requirement. In case of loss of connection, connectivity is re-tried, and after continuous failure, the task fails. Insecure agent pluggable microservices are used to process data, and each service has its own set of configuration properties.
The second part is a connector, which are pre-built solutions that help connect data, devices, and applications. They are the connection between a cloud application and on-premise application. There are a lot of connectors that work with the integration of the application. Some of them are JDBC, a Java API-based connectors that enables Java programs to execute SQL queries. Another one is NetSuite, which helps in extraction from files and load them in the NetSuite cabinet. Salesforce, SAP, Workday are some more names on the connectors’ list!
Importance and Components of Informatica Cloud
In this section, we take a deeper plunge on understanding the components. These components are major holdings in allowing the cloud services to run smoothly at the hosting facility. Each of these components has specific tasks that it fulfils, and we would look at them one by one.
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- Informatica Cloud: Though the name is the same as the article name, this is one of the components that is basically the browser-based application running on the Informatica cloud’s hosting facility. This component helps the user create users, configuring connections, or even supports the creation, monitoring, and running of tasks. For accessing it, one would need proper credentials of user id and password.
- Hosting Facility of Informatica Cloud: This is the platform which we talked about in the earlier point, runs. All the tasks and organization information are stored in a repository known as PowerCenter. These data stored is nothing, but the metadata and Informatica Cloud doesn’t store any source or target data.
- Applications of Informatica Cloud: There are various tasks that one can perform in the Informatica Cloud-like synchronization of data, validation of contact, replication of data, and many such others. These tasks are carried out by one such application that runs on the hosting facility.
The components of Informatica Cloud carve out key importance like:
- Intellectual Property Focus: The data management capabilities simplify the IP development as one needs not to focus on the capabilities related to tasks, monitoring or running, and focusing on more important activities.
- Help Create More Revenue: With any new connector a user develops, the user can sell it in the marketplace to generate even more revenue! It’s like having an extra income for the time one has put in!
Uses of Informatica Cloud
As we have already talked about different tasks that Informatica Cloud-like synchronization of data can be performed, validation of contacts, replication of data, and much more. Along with the below applications, one can do wonders with Informatica cloud:
- PowerCenter: Using this application one can import PowerCenter workflows into Informatica Cloud. Once a task is set up and scheduled for running, one can use Informatica Cloud to monitor the activity and view logs of the tasks.
- Mapping Configuration: Using this application, a user can create configuration tasks for data processing as per the logic defined in the mapping. The different parts of the flow in this application in Informatica Cloud are defining the task, source and target of data, other parameters (if any), and scheduling option.
- Data Synchronization: This application helps in loading data and integrate applications and databases. Using Informatica Cloud, a user can insert, update, delete, or Upsert (Update and Insert). It helps in the transformation of the data before it is written to the target.
- Data Replication: To archive data or perform offline reporting or any other task that requires replication of data, Informatica cloud is at your service in just a click of a mouse.
- Contact Validation: Informatica Cloud is also used to validate and verify the postal address code and ensure that they are correct. It also allows in adding geocode information to the postal data. It also enables users to verify the email address and phone number through a Do Not Call registry service.
- Data Assessment: A user can easily assess and evaluate the quality of Salesforce data. And due to this capability, it is used for monitoring the quality of data in accounts, Contacts, CRM objects, etc.
- Data Masking: Another widely applied genre is to mask the data by replacing sensitive column data with realistic test data. The main task of Informatica Cloud is to help define the rule to mask sensitive data.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Informatica Cloud is a one-in-all tool widely used in the market for quite a wide variety of applications. It helps develop perspective by dividing the tasks of data synchronization; basically, the ETL tasks and reporting, where one can view or monitor the tasks carried out or have been finished. One can even drill down in asses the job and its details!
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