Actian DataConnect / AvalancheConnect

Actian DataConnect is a (data) integration offering the intent of which is to allow anyone (that is, multiple personas) to connect anything, anywhere (cloud, on-premises, hybrid), at any time. There are three different options: DataConnect Inside, which is targeted primarily at partners who want to embed connectivity within their own applications; DataConnect Integration Platform, which offers traditional ETL (extract, transform and load) capabilities as well as ELT and other integration options; and DataConnect iPaaS, which is powered by Actian Avalanche to provide access to cloud-based resources.

Fig 01 – Avalanche Connect Marketecture

Avalanche Connect includes Actian DataConnect connectors and the two share a single management console. It is available as a managed service with support for Kafka streaming, and connectivity to semi-structured data such as JSON and RESTful web services, without coding. Its features are illustrated in Figure 1. Actian does not provide change data capture (CDC) itself but instead partners with HVR for this purpose. Note the support for various third-party machine learning technologies though Actian is somewhat late to the party with respect to the use of machine learning within DataConnect, with the automation that derives from it very much on the company’s roadmap, as opposed to something currently within the product.

Customer Quotes

“With Actian, we turned it on and it worked. After months of switching over to NetSuite, the Actian solution took only 8 hours and we were up and running smoothly without errors. All processes are now automated and data flows instantaneously between platforms.”
Netwrix

“We deal with data from disparate insurance clients, the data types are diverse. Files range from small and manageable to complex and large… we needed to pay special attention to the integration process because the more sources, the more complicated the process. Our data model needed to… provide a consistent data structure for any downstream process… The power of Actian DataConnect enabled us to manage all this very efficiently.”

Hannover Life Reassurance
Company of America

DataConnect has four main components, as can be seen in Figure 2. What this doesn’t mention is Actian’s UniversalConnect, which is patented technology for developing and implementing connectors, either those that are available directly from Actian (more than 200 of them) or that you can develop yourself.

Integration Manager is being enhanced (2021) to support containerised deployments via Kubernetes. Its capabilities are illustrated in Figure 3. In addition there is Actian Studio, which is an Eclipse-based environment for developers, while the company should also have released Web Designer by the time this report is published. This is a browser-based no-code interface intended for use by citizen developers that will not require IT input. Finally, Actian plans (2021) the release of an actionable metadata repository with support for streaming data.

Actian DataConnect has been available, under a variety of names, for more than twenty years. It has the sort of reliability that you would expect from a product with this sort of pedigree. It is also one of the few products in this space that has focused, at least in part, in providing embedded capability. Historically – and this does not appear to have changed – it has had significant total cost of ownership benefits when compared to many of its competitors. However, data integration is a mature technology and DataConnect has languished somewhat over the last few years without significant new development. But it is now clear that that has changed and that Actian is putting significant efforts into extending DataConnect’s functionality and reach. This is especially associated with the launch, earlier in 2020, of Actian Avalanche.

In this context it is worth commenting on the potential of Actian Avalanche with Avalanche Connect, which will allow its data integration capabilities, as well as the functionality of the forthcoming Actian DataFlow, to leverage the elastic scaling offered by Avalanche. Moreover, as far as we know, this will represent the only cloud-based data warehouse on the market that also includes its own integration capabilities built into the environment: something that must be appealing to potential users.

The Bottom Line

Actian DataConnect, and particularly Avalanche Connect, have significant potential. The former is a comprehensive and competitive data integration product. Though it appears to be lacking any remarkable feature or functionality, Actian Data Connect has a strong following of ISVs that embed the technology including ADP, Xactly and FICO. The company’s future plans for extending further with its integration hub service, where has been proven in its Healthcare Claims and Service exchanges, make the company a definite “one to watch”.