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Given the rapid AI dominance around the globe, we are sure your objective is to modernize your operations and adopt new technologies in the coming times. This would involve several instances of moving your data from one database or platform to another. And the importance of data migration tools cannot be overstated in such scenarios. In this blog post, we will explore 5 popular data migration tools that you can consider using in 2025.
What is a Data Migration Tool?
A data migration tool is any software solution that helps move data between various sources, formats, systems, and platforms. It mostly handles all the key steps of the data migration process such as data extraction, data transformation, and data loading.
Many tools also provide capabilities to validate your data and ensure that it remains secure while being moved to a new platform or environment. Modern data migration tools come with automation features and user-friendly interfaces that streamline your migration workflows.
List of Tasks Simplified by a Data Migration Tool:
- Consolidate data from different sources.
- Shift from on-premises servers to a cloud environment.
- Replace or upgrade a database server or data storage system.
- Replicate data for disaster recovery.
- Move applications from legacy to SaaS/cloud-based platforms.
- Encrypt data during the modernization of ERP systems.
A good data migration tool scales with evolving business requirements and can handle all sorts of data – unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data. Your data remains secured, and the data processing process is faster.
How to identify if you need a Data Migration Tool
If you want to consolidate your data or move to the cloud or upgrade your database system – you probably require a data migration tool. It is helpful in the circumstances below:
- Your sensitive business data is scattered across multiple spreadsheets or outdated hardware systems.
- You are planning for a merger or acquisition. It involves a lot of data movement and there are chances of data loss or corruption.
- Manual data transfer consumes all your valuable time.
- Your data is growing at a fast rate and your existing database system is unable to handle all the information.
- You want to build a full-fledged cloud ecosystem. This might be challenging without a modern data migration tool.
- AI deployment and advanced analytics are among your top priorities. Data migration tools clean and validate your data and ensure that it’s ready for AI/ML projects.
Types of Data Migration Tools
If you want to consolidate your data or move to the cloud or upgrade your database system – you probably require a data migration tool. It is helpful in the circumstances below:
1. On-Premises Data Migration Tools
These tools are simple and designed to move data from one database server to another. There is no involvement of the cloud. Any on-premises data migration tool will be installed on your organization’s hardware. The best part? Minimal latency and complete control over data privacy and compliance.
If you are an organization looking for simple data server upgrades or database migration within your own infrastructure setup – on-premises data migration tools are for you.
Informatica PowerCenter, Oracle Data Integrator, IBM InfoSphere DataStage are some of the popular examples of on-premises data migration tools.
2. Cloud-Based Data Migration Tools
Cloud-based data migration tools facilitate data movement via the cloud. You can use them to migrate data to large data warehouses or data lakes. These tools are usually available or offered as cloud-based services to perform migration to modern cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and more.
If you want to move data from an on-premises system to the cloud or use cloud for data storage – cloud-based data migration tools can work wonders for you. They have a user-friendly system that allows full control and visibility into your data stored on the cloud servers.
Plus, they are highly scalable and can handle large volumes of data. Examples include Fivetran and Azure Database Migration Service.
3. Open-Source Data Migration Tools
These tools are freely available data migration software solutions that can be customized as per your unique requirements. Open-source data migration tools require technical expertise and are usually handled by developers. One can access their source code through a centralized repository.
Some of the most popular open-source data migration tools include Apache Airflow, Apache Kafka, and Talend Open Studio.
5 Best Data Migration Tools Available in the Market
1. Informatica
Informatica is a leader in enterprise cloud data management. Trusted by 80+ fortune companies, Informatica offers over 250 intelligent data services. It ranks #1 in dynamic data movement, data ingestion, data transformation, master data management, data quality, and more. Informatica provides cloud-native integration service called PowerCenter. It extracts, loads, and transforms data of different types and sources.
Some of Informatica’s best features:
- Zero-code data integration tools with AI-based recommendation engine.
- Real-time data replication and streaming analytics.
- Pre-built rules for data profiling, cleaning, and standardization.
- Scalable data ingestion from databases, applications, files, and more sources
- Data ingestion from streaming and IoT endpoints.
- 100+ pre-built functions and templates for building data pipelines.
Pricing: Consumption-based pricing model. You pay for what you use.
2. Fivetran
Fivetran is an automated data movement platform and is one of the most popular data migration tools that enterprises use. With 500+ connectors, you can move data from different sources including SaaS applications, data warehouses, data lakes, and more. Whether your data resides on legacy systems or the cloud – Fivetran offers different deployment models for all. Fivetran customers have achieved 400%+ average 3-year ROI.
Some of Fivetran’s best features:
- Automated and fully integrated data transformations.
- Data access in minutes without code.
- Supports column hashing, SSH tunnels, and other data security and compliance programs.
- Automatically replicates and syncs files to the cloud.
- Data replication from your destination to other destinations within your organization.
- Data loading to cloud destination with fully managed event and streaming data source connectors.
Pricing: Provides a 14-days free trial. Supports consumption-based pricing model.
3. Snowflake Snowpipe
Snowflake Snowpipe is a serverless data ingestion service that automates data loading into Snowflake from various sources. Snowpipe loads data from files as soon as they are available in a stage. The best part is you can load data in micro-batches. Result? You have data available within minutes.
Some of Snowpipe’s best features:
- Automated and continuous data ingestion.
- Useful for data streaming and real-time data processing.
- Handles different file formats like CSV, JSON, and more.
- Supports cloud platforms like Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3, Microsoft Delta Lake Storage G2, and more.
Pricing: Based on compute resource consumption and file overhead.
4. Matillion
This one is a leading cloud-native data integration and transformation platform. It is a one-stop solution to build and manage data pipelines and transform data with no-code ELT. The platform allows you to enable RAG and enhance data analytics with Gen AI. The best part about Matillion is that it is user-friendly and designed to suit the requirements of both technical and non-technical users. It supports popular cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Google BigQuery, and more.
Some of Matillion’s best features:
- Role-based data security and data governance.
- Built-in AI copilot to support LLM prompts & data processing of unstructured text.
- SaaS platform to build data pipelines in minutes.
- Direct data loading from source systems into your cloud data platform.
- User-friendly interface to build complex data transformations.
- Automated scheduling of data loading and transformation.
Pricing: Pay for what you need.
5. AWS Database Migration Service
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is a cloud-based service that allows you to migrate databases to AWS in no time. Common data migration paths include SQL Server to Amazon Aurora MySQL, Oracle to Aurora PostgreSQL, Oracle to Aurora MySQL, Apache Cassandra Databases to Amazon DynamoDB, and more. AWS Database Migration Service supports both homogeneous and heterogeneous database migrations.
Some of DMS’ best features:
- Self-service migrations to AWS with tools like AWS Schema Conversion Tool.
- AWS professional services for secure migration from legacy infrastructure to AWS.
- Database Migration Programs like Database Freedom to help customers with their database migration.
- AWS Migration Acceleration Program that includes support and training for safe and secure migration
Pricing: Provides you with a pay-as-you-go approach.
Tips to Choose the Right Data Migration Tool for your Business
There are several factors that you must consider before finalizing any database migration tool for your business. Any data migration tool that you select should be:
- Scalable to meet evolving business needs and handle large data volumes efficiently.
- Capable of validating data accuracy, data consistency, and data integrity.
- Compatible with different data sources, data formats, and database target systems.
- Able to map data fields from source to destination systems.
- Capable of facilitating automated data workflows.
- Able to automatically detect missing data values.
- Flexible in terms of pricing models.
- Capable of supporting multi-factor authentication and encryption.
Migrate your data with confidence – The LumenData Advantage
LumenData is the #1 provider of data migration and modernization services with strong partnerships with leading modern data platforms like Informatica, Fivetran, Snowflake, and many others. Our experts can help you with database migration tool selection and deployment, data security, data governance, and compliance.
Our unique data migration utility reduces migration time by two months and enables 95% risk mitigation. Learn how we helped the University of Colorado consolidate 10 million+ constituent records in less than 2 hours here.
We provide you with on-demand & scheduled post-project support for all sorts of database migrations. Our customers get 100% assistance in documenting the tangible benefits and ROI of migrating to cloud data platforms. Connect today to understand how we can accelerate your data migration journey.
About LumenData:
LumenData is a leading provider of Enterprise Data Management, Cloud, and Analytics solutions and helps businesses handle data silos, discover their potential, and prepare for end-to-end digital transformation. Founded in 2008, the company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with locations in India.
With 150+ Technical and Functional Consultants, LumenData forms strong client partnerships to drive high-quality outcomes. Their work across multiple industries and with prestigious clients like Versant Health, Boston Consulting Group, FDA, Department of Labor, Kroger, Nissan, Autodesk, Bayer, Bausch & Lomb, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Cummins, Gilead, HP, Nintendo, PC Connection, Starbucks, University of Colorado, Weight Watchers, KAO, HealthEdge, Amylyx, Brinks, Clara Analytics, and Royal Caribbean Group, speaks to their capabilities.
For media inquiries, please contact: marketing@lumendata.com.
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