Building the business case for a Databricks migration
A migration is approved on value, not technology. Here is how to build a case your CFO will sign.
Read the article: Building the business case for a Databricks migration →Informatica, SSIS and Talend to Databricks
Informatica, SSIS, Talend
Short answer
Moving from Informatica, SSIS or Talend to Databricks turns GUI mappings into pipelines as code, with version control, tests and lineage in Unity Catalog, and removes a separate ETL licence.
What we move
Mappings, workflows, schedules and transformation logic
Value after the move
- Fewer tools and licences to manage
- Pipelines as code with version control and tests
- Lineage from source to report in Unity Catalog
How Legacy ETL tools maps to Databricks
Each component has a clear target on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.
| Legacy ETL tools | Databricks |
|---|---|
| Informatica PowerCenter mappings | Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines |
| Informatica workflows | Lakeflow Jobs |
| SSIS packages | Pipelines and Jobs |
| Talend jobs | Pipelines and Jobs |
| ETL connectors | Lakeflow Connect |
| ETL lineage | Unity Catalog lineage |
How we run the migration
Assess
Inventory every table, job, report and user. Map dependencies, find what is unused, and estimate effort and cost.
Output: Migration assessment and business casePlan
Design the target lakehouse, governance and security. Group workloads into waves by value and risk.
Output: Target architecture and wave planConvert
Convert SQL and ETL with LakeBridge and our accelerators, then review and test the output.
Output: Converted, tested code per waveReconcile
Run old and new side by side and compare results table by table until they match.
Output: Signed-off reconciliation reportsCut over and optimize
Move users in waves, retire the old system, then tune cost and performance.
Output: Decommission plan and FinOps baseline
We use Databricks LakeBridge for profiling, code conversion and reconciliation, alongside our own accelerators and engineer review of every critical path.
Go deeper
FAQ
Informatica, SSIS and Talend to Databricks: FAQ
Do we lose visual design when moving away from an ETL tool?
Pipelines become code, which is easier to test and version. Lakeflow Designer also offers a visual way to build pipelines for analysts.