Dell Boomi and Informatica Cloud are two popular cloud integration platforms. They belong to a subset of cloud services called Integration Platform-as-a-Service, or IPaaS.
An IPaaS solution helps integrate cloud-to-cloud applications as well as cloud-to-on-premise applications. As organizations increasingly move their business applications to the cloud, IPaaS solutions like Boomi and Informatica are quickly becoming necessary for business IT.
A recent report by Zippia stated that 94% of companies currently use cloud services. An interesting stat in their report highlights the importance of IPaaS: 92% of companies have a multi-cloud strategy in place or in progress.
A multi-cloud strategy involves more than one cloud service provider and could include an on-premises data center. Unfortunately, this often results in multiple business applications being siloed from one another. This is where IPaaS solutions come in. With an IPaaS solution, a business can build, deploy, and manage integrations between applications that are on the cloud (and on-premises) so the company can create a coherent and unified IT ecosystem. IPaaS solutions deliver visual designers and many pre-configured components that help integrate apps quickly. In addition, these integrations are set up without the need for additional hardware or middleware.
Everything you need to know about Boomi
Overview
Boomi was launched in 2000 and later acquired by Dell in 2010. Their IPaaS (Boomi) solution is a cloud-based low-code integration platform. Boomi provides a graphical interface where you can create and deploy connectors that will connect applications hosted on the cloud and on-premises.
Businesses today, use multiple cloud-based platforms and applications such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Integrating these standalone platforms and other cloud technologies is both a challenge and a business necessity.
This is exactly what Boomi helps businesses achieve—integration with different standalone apps hosted on the cloud and on-premises systems.
Using APIs and in-built connectors, Boomi enables an organization to seamlessly pass data between applications regardless of where they are hosted.
Key features of Boomi
1. ETL processes—Boomi can process extract, transform, and load operations. ETL allows you to move data between applications and ensures it is always in the correct format, so it is usable. This is essential functionality for connecting applications on different clouds.
2. Data hub—Boomi can be a master data hub, central data management, and analysis location.
3. B2B/EDI (business-to-business/electronic data interchange) management—Boomi can be used as the solution to transfer data between companies.
4. API management—You can quickly create and deploy APIs with Boomi IPaaS.
5. Custom workflows—Automate processes by creating workflows within Boomi.
Pros and cons of Boomi
| Pros | Cons |
| The functions are easy to set. | Initial setup requires help from the support team and doing it in-house can be a bit difficult. |
| Incredible reporting tools are integrated. | Some internal processes like logging can take up excessive resources. |
| Provides real-time data analytics. | |
| Data collection tools are powerful. | |
| Integrations and processes can be copied and pasted. | |
| The support team is easily accessible and quite knowledgeable. | |
| APIs and connectors can be used for both internal and external applications. |
Everything you need to know about Informatica
Overview
Informatica is a cloud data management solutions provider launched in 1993. Like Boomi, it provides a cloud IPaaS solution that enables businesses to synchronize and integrate applications on the cloud and on-premises.
IPaaS is a separate product offered by Informatica along with other data management solutions. Data management solutions offered by Informatica include data integration, API and app integration, data quality checks, governance, and privacy.
Key features of Informatica
1. Cloud data integration—Integrate and automate data processes on the cloud at scale.
2. API management—APIs can be managed and secured through Informatica’s native API integration services.
3. A wide range of products—Informatica has been in the industry for close to 30 years and has a wide range of solutions that cater to different data management requirements.
Pros and cons of Informatica
| Pros | Cons |
| Building and maintaining a pic is quite easy. | The UI could be made more attractive. |
| Transmission and fetching of data are swift. | The pricing is on the higher side. |
| Enables data movement between different cloud technologies (through ETL). | |
| Provides zero-code and out-of-the-box APIs for quick connectivity. |
Boomi vs. Informatica: Which is right for you?
There are some differences between the two that might help you decide which one is right for your organization.
Starting costs for Boomi are much lesser than that for Informatica. This allows an organization to get started with an IPaaS with a smaller initial investment. Although Informatica has been around longer, since Dell now manages Boomi, you can expect incredible features, great support, and an overall excellent experience using the platform.
Boomi and Informatica are robust regarding features such as ETL, data quality and governance, and API connectors. That being said, Boomi provides many connectors that can be used out of the box, and most data management features are a part of a single product. This, coupled with the fact that Boomi is much more affordable, makes it the perfect choice for most organizations looking to implement an IPaaS solution.
If you are unsure how to get started, consulting an expert could help you move in the right direction. You can reach out to us for a consult on selecting the correct IPaaS solution, and we will guide you on how to move forward, along with expert help during implementation.
