If we didn't have the solution, we would have to find another tool because data pipelines are an essential part of our business. 

The biggest advantage to the solution is its integration with the Azure infrastructure that includes the active directory, security, Synapse, Data Lake, Power BI, and the data factory agent. 

All of the integration was a big consideration for us. We had general guidelines that said working with one vendor would provide the best integrations. The guideline was to use Microsoft unless there was an issue. 

We did not look at a third party or open source even though there are similar tools available. 

We're using AWS apart from Azure Data Factory. We're trying out Palantir Foundry as well. They are the leading service providers in the data analytics and ETL world.

We operate only with SSIS today, and it works very well for us. However, looking toward the future, we will need to eventually find a PaaS solution that will have longer sustainability.

We did not evaluate other options because this solution was aligned with out current work environment. 

We looked at some other tools, such as Databricks, AmazonGlue, and MuleSoft.

We already had most of our infrastructure connected to Azure in some way. So the integration of where our data resided appeared to be simpler and safer.

I also use Denodo. Data Factory is like a transformation layer, but we need an additional staging database or a data storage facility, which is very expensive compared to implementing Denodo. So we extracted the data using Data Factory, then created a staging database with Azure SQL, which cost a huge amount since it's a physical data area. In Denodo, we just implement a layer, which is all handled in Denodo, and not a physical storage mechanism. I prefer customizable data solutions because they improve performance, creativity, and are helpful for front end people.

In comparison to Data Factory's drag-and-drop interface, Denodo developers need to create all the unified views by coding, so we have to create SQL queries to execute. With Data Factory, you can quickly drag and drop data or tables, but in Denodo, it takes more time because you need to code and test and all that.

I wanted to compare Azure Data Factory with Fivetran.

We evaluated both Oracle and SAP before choosing Azure Data Factory.

While clients might individually evaluate other options, however, we're not aware of that information. I can't say what other solution clients might consider before ultimately choosing Microsoft. I would say that it is likely Talend and maybe SQL Server Integration Services.

We were looking for a single solution, and Data Factory was the first one that interested us. I don't think we looked at many others. We were pretty set on Azure, and Data Factory seemed to fit our needs, so we didn't make a full comparison with the alternatives.

We also evaluated AWS.

We evaluated a solution by Talend before selecting the Azure Data Factory.

We were looking at certain other projects and products. For example, we were looking at Snowflake that has a data warehouse. But the project wasn't working. That's why we selected Azure. The primary reason is the skills are very easily available for Azure. The second is from our strategy perspective, because we were trying to be a Microsoft shop it fits into our strategy. That's all.

We have another team that is moving to AWS, but for now, we will continue working with Azure Data Factory. Once they have explored the AWS solution fully, we will compare the two.