5 Signs That It’s Time to Invest in ETL

Emma Kessinger

December 21st , 2019

How much more data does your business generate than it did in 2016? Twice as much? Ten times as much?

Statistically speaking, it’s probably closer to 43 times as much. 

Experts predicted that between 2016 and 2020, annual data production would grow by 4,300%. The world is dealing with more data than ever, and that trend is set to continue well into the future.

The trouble is, data doesn’t deliver insights when it’s just sitting there. You need to consolidate and convert it into a useable format, ideally without blowing your labor budget.

That process, known as ETL, builds the foundation for Big Data analysis. But how can you know whether you’re ready for it?

Are You Ready for ETL?

If any of the following situations apply to you, it’s time to pull the trigger on ETL:

1. Your data sources are more varied than ever.

When your company was new, you had just a few clients and even fewer vendors. But as you grew, so did the volume of information you have to deal with. Now, you have more data from partners, clients, vendors, and platforms than you know what to do with.

To actually make use of that information, you have to extract — the “E” in ETL — it. Whatever sources of data you have to draw from, ETL pulls out information and transforms it into a usable format. ETLrobot plugs into Salesforce, GitHub, Shopify, and more so you can mine key sources of sales, product, and marketing data. 

2. Data processing is getting in the way of business.

You know your data has value, but just how much are you willing to spend to realize it? Asking full-time employees to spend their days on data entry is a good way to grind your company’s operations to a halt.

Getting a grasp on your data is vital, but you may not be able to refocus development efforts to get it. ETLrobot saves time and cuts labor costs by doing the work for you. By pulling, structuring, deduping, and loading your data automatically, ETLrobot helps keep team members doing what they do best.

3. Costs are piling up.

Perhaps you chose to hire a specialist rather than ask your regular team to sort through your data. But that isn’t an ideal solution, either: The typical data scientist in the U.S. makes $113,436 per year, and data entry and cleaning are frankly poor uses of that person’s time. 

ETL services are not free, of course, but they’re magnitudes cheaper than a dedicated data specialist. To make sure you only pay for what your company needs, ETLrobot offers different pricing plans based on data volume, integrations, and support needs. Data analysis can save you serious money down the line, and ETL can facilitate that analysis without costing you in the present.

4. You need help understanding your data.

Even after you’ve gathered all of your data, it’s likely in so many different formats and styles that it looks like hieroglyphics. Using your data to get ahead means understanding it in the first place — something you shouldn’t need an expert to do.

Marrying ETL services with robust visualization and reporting tools allows you to understand all the figures that matter to your business. Think of ETL like the fuel system that supplies those platforms: For your analysis tools to work as they should, the data they ingest must be clean, in a single tank, and in a “burnable” format.

5. You’re worried about data security. 

In the past three years, six in 10 companies have dealt with a data breach. If you’re worried about whether your data is secure, do something about it: Lock down your data in a single, secure repository. 

ETLrobot keeps your data secure all the way from your cloud source to your data warehouse. ETL services like ours are encrypted and retain none of the data they ingest, ensuring that nobody outside of your company can access it. Think of ETLrobot like an armored truck for your data, transporting it safely from start to end.

Your company’s data may be its single most important asset. Don’t let it gather dust or disappear, and don’t risk it falling into the wrong hands. For both of those priorities, ETLrobot is the answer.