More data is being created than ever before – and more is being asked of data than ever before, too. Consequently, it’s increasingly important for enterprise organizations to have access to data outside of production systems.
That’s where data replication comes in.
Data replication sends data to a replicated database, where it can be queried without impact on production systems. This powers solutions like business intelligence applications, disaster recovery, sandbox environments, and more. It increases the capability of business systems and can give organizations an advantage.
But it can be complex to get right.
There are a variety of solutions on the market that claim to provide data replication, but not all are created equal, and some are better suited for certain use cases. Choosing the right tool will enable your organization to use your data well – and to choose the right tool, you need to know what’s available.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at seven of the top data replication tools on the market today.
Admittedly, we might be slightly biased, but we believe that our data replication software is the best on the market for a variety of enterprise needs.
Star Quest Data Replicator (SQDR) sits between source and destination databases, allowing for real-time replication, vendor agnostic heterogeneous DBMS pairings, and relational and NoSQL database compatibility using an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI).
Notably, SQDR has a near-zero footprint on production servers. It’s also built to automatically restore replication following connectivity loss, without processes being compromised (something that’s a struggle for many other solutions).
Finally, SQDR typically allows for cost-savings of up to 90% when compared against our competitors. This is due to our per-core pricing model and our tailored implementations that are designed to meet your requirements, not to sell you services you don’t need.
To learn more about how SQDR can serve your organization’s data replication requirements, get in touch with us to schedule a free demo.
Nobody has ever gotten fired, the saying goes, for hiring IBM; the company is always, at the least, a safe choice. As you might expect from one of the world’s leading computing firms, their data replication product – InfoSphere – is a solid option.
Here’s how IBM describes the platform:
“IBM InfoSphere Data Replication provides log-based change data capture with transactional integrity to support big data integration and consolidation, warehousing and analytics initiatives at scale.”
It works for heterogeneous database pairings and is built for continuous availability. It’s a robust solution for enterprises, but if you’re looking for cost-efficiency, you may want to look elsewhere – it does, unsurprisingly, carry an enterprise-level price tag.
Oracle is another Fortune 500 firm that’s well known for offering reliable computing solutions. Their solution in the data replication space is Oracle GoldenGate. Here’s how the company describes the solution:
“Oracle GoldenGate is a comprehensive software package for real-time data integration and replication in heterogeneous IT environments. The product set enables high availability solutions, real-time data integration, transactional change data capture, data replication, transformations, and verification between operational and analytical enterprise systems.”
Obviously, GoldenGate’s biggest benefit is its tight integration with Oracle Database, but it is built for heterogeneous data transfer. Like IBM, Oracle is a worthwhile solution to consider if cost-efficiency isn’t a high priority.
HVR Software is a newer solution. Originally, the company specialized in Oracle database replication, but the solution has grown to encompass all of the industry-standard platforms (which you can view on their homepage). Here’s how they describe their capabilities on their website:
“[It’s] everything you need for efficient high-volume data replication and integration, whether you need to move your data between databases, to the cloud, or multi-cloud integration, into a data lake or data warehouse.”
If you’re considering investing in a simple data replication option that’s optimized for cloud environments, HVR Software may make your list.
Quest isn’t as big a player in the data replication space as some of the others listed here, but the company (founded in 1987) does have a data replication offering called SharePlex that they bill as a “complete replication solution.”
Here’s how they describe the software:
“With SharePlex, you can replicate Oracle data – at a fraction of the price of native tools. Easily achieve high availability, increase scalability, integrate data and offload reporting with the all-inclusive solution your database vendor doesn’t want you to know about.”
(You’ve got to admire their courage in taking a dig at Oracle’s well-known reputation for vendor lock-in.) Obviously, this is only a tool to consider if you’re looking to replicate Oracle data. If you are, it’s been designed for the task.
Qlik is another company that, while not as widely recognized as IBM or Oracle, has developed some name recognition for its data management offerings. The company bought Attunity Replicate several years ago, and now offers that solution under the brand name Qlik Replicate.
Here’s how they describe its capabilities:
“Qlik Replicate empowers organizations to accelerate data replication, ingestion and streaming across a wide variety of heterogeneous databases, data warehouses, and big data platforms.”
The product is one of a suite of tools (including Qlik Sense, Qlik View, Qlik Compose, and more) that the company offers. Like tools offered by IBM, it can be effective, but it’s not known for its cost-efficiency.
Talend is a newer company to the data management space – and, as you might expect, they’ve focused on cloud environments.
Their tool for data replication is Talend Data Integration. It’s available as an open-source, free download (Talend Open Studio for Data Integration), but to get enterprise capabilities like change data capture, you’ll need to opt for the subscription-based version.
Here’s how they describe it:
“Talend Open Studio for Data Integration makes data replication and other data integration operations easier and more reliable. A range of Talend Open Studio for Data Integration features and functionality help developers to quickly and successfully implement data integration processes.”
If you’re looking for open-source flexibility, this may be a consideration. If you’re looking for reliability and robustness, this will probably not be your top choice.
The last data replication tool we’ll look at is Fivetran. This solution is also marketed toward the cloud, and, specifically, toward newer database platforms like BigQuery, Snowflake, and Redshift (although they also connect to old standbys like SQL Server and Oracle).
Here’s how they describe their offering:
“Replicate everything, with zero configuration and schemas designed for analytics. Eliminate engineering busywork while empowering your analysts to prove value.”
This may be an option to consider if you’re working with newer database platforms, but it may not be as robust as some of the other tools on this list for use with traditional database systems.
There are a lot of data replication tools on the market; hopefully, the information above has helped you to clarify some options that could meet your business needs. If you’re looking for a robust data replication solution at an affordable price point, let’s talk.
At StarQuest, we’re experts at data replication. As mentioned above, our powerful SQDR software can be utilized for replication from an extensive range of data sources. And, importantly, our customer service team is regarded as some of the best in the business, with clients calling us “The best vendor support I have ever encountered.”
If you’re looking for data replication – we can help.
Get in touch with us to discuss your data replication needs. We can set you up with a no-charge trial of our software using your DBMS, and help you take the first step toward a solution that will benefit your business.