Informatica PowerCenter is being used for data warehouse development, using ETL and ELT, e.g. Informatica PowerCenter for ETL and Informatica Cloud Data Integration for integration between systems, e.g. with their downstream systems.
What I like most about Informatica PowerCenter is that it enables integration and connection with multiple new systems, both structured and semi-structured. I also find its adapters for multiple source systems valuable. Its features meet industry standards. It is a proven high-performing enterprise-scale ETL solution.
Though I wasn't able to explore all features of Informatica PowerCenter, it would be good if Informatica can also have connectivity with NoSQL compliant, unstructured data sources, e.g. Microsoft Azure Data Factory or Talend.
The cloud-based solution mostly focuses on continuous data stream processing, but not on batch processing. If Informatica enhances this cloud-based solution to also do the batch processing of data, and also integrate semi-structured and unstructured data processing, that will be more beneficial.
I've been working with Informatica PowerCenter for 15 years.
I find this solution very stable.
Informatica PowerCenter is easy to scale.
The support team is responsive. They're able to address our issues.
The initial setup for Informatica PowerCenter was straightforward.
Implementation for this solution was in-house. It was done by our own team.
I evaluated Oracle Data Integrator, Talend, and Microsoft Azure Data Factory.
We are using these solutions: Oracle Data Integrator with different versions, Informatica PowerCenter, Informatica Cloud Data Integration, and Talend. Matillion, we explored, but we don't use it for our company. We are a consulting partner. We are an implementation partner, so our consultants use these to implement solutions to many of our customers. We are an indirect partner through Oracle, and not a direct partner of Informatica.
Informatica PowerCenter is deployed both ways: on-premises and on cloud, but on cloud very recently. In the past two years, we have been using the cloud version. Deployment for this solution could take one to two days, if the person doing it is knowledgeable.
We have a team of 70 members who are data engineers and data analysts, but for the actual installation, setup, and configuration, we have another team made up of system/application administrators. We have a shared service model with 50+ associates who take care of this service. They will take a day or two to complete the deployment. Given all the infrastructure details available from the customer, it wouldn't take more than a day or two, worst case two days on average to set up and start the system, for it to be ready for working on and developing the ETL.
To maintain this solution, in a shared service model, e.g. not dedicated, it requires two to three people, but if it is dedicated, then one person can handle the maintenance.
There are two ways we are using this ETL solution. Number one: as part of Oracle's prepackaged solution, and number two: as an independent solution.
I don't deal with the licensing, but as part of Oracle's pre-packaged analytics solutions, we did use them. There's a one-time fee plus yearly support. That is their model, but I don't know the costs associated.
My advice to new customers of this solution is that if they are looking for an enterprise scale data warehouse and data management solution, Informatica PowerCenter is one of the go-to proven tools. Its limitations are on these two areas: one is that it needs to enable the cloud-based version to do batch processing, e.g. heavy data loads, and two is that it needs to enable connectivity to the NoSQL compliant and unstructured data sources.
Keeping the two product limitations out, e.g. the cloud version has limitations for batch processing and is unable to process unstructured and semi-structured data, my rating for Informatica PowerCenter is an eight out of ten.