Hevo vs DMS AWS – 7 Comprehensive Parameters

Migrating data from different sources into Data Warehouses can be hard. Hours of engineering time need to be spent in hand-coding complex scripts to bring data into the Data Warehouse. Moreover, Data Streaming often fails due to unforeseen errors for eg. the destination is down or an error in a piece of code. With the increase in such overheads, opting for a Data Migration product becomes impertinent for smooth Data Migration.

Hevo Data and DMS AWS are two very effective ETL tools available in the market and users are often confused while deciding one of them. The Hevo vs DMS AWS is a constant dilemma amongst the users who are looking for a hassle-free way to automate their ETL process.

This post on Hevo vs DMS AWS has attempted to highlight the differences between Hevo and AWS Database Migration Service on a few critical parameters to help you make the right choice. Read along with the comparisons of Hevo VS DMS AWS and decide which one suits you the best.

Introduction to Hevo Data

Hevo is a Unified Data Integration platform that lets you bring data into your Data Warehouse in real-time. With a beautiful interface and flawless user experience, any user can transform, enrich and clean the data and build data pipelines in minutes. Additionally, Hevo also enables users to build joins and aggregates to create materialized views on the data warehouse for faster query computations.

Significant Features of Hevo 

• Transformation: Hevo provides a drag-and-drop transformation feature, a user-friendly method of performing simple data transformations. Alternatively, you can use the Python interface for specific data transformations. 
• Fully Managed Service & Live Support: Hevo manages the entire ETL process, from data extraction to loading, ensuring flawless execution. Additionally, Hevo provides round-the-clock support for your data integration queries via email, call, or live chat.
• Pre-Built Connectors: Hevo offers 150+ pre-built connectors for various data sources, enabling you to establish an ETL pipeline quickly.
• Live Monitoring: Hevo provides live monitoring support, allowing you to check the data flow at any point in time. You can also receive instant notifications about your data transfer pipelines across devices.

Introduction to AWS DMS

AWS DMS is a fully managed Database Migration service provided by Amazon. Users can connect various JDBC-based data sources and move the data from within the AWS console.

AWS Database Migration Service allows you to migrate data from various Databases to AWS quickly and securely. The original Database remains fully functional during the migration, thereby minimizing downtime for applications that depend on the Database.

Comparing Hevo vs DMS AWS

Feature	Hevo	AWS DMS
Data Source Connectors	Supports JDBC, cloud storage, SaaS, marketing systems, SDKs, and both structured/unstructured data sources; offers secure SSH connection, custom SQL, granular table-level migration control, and incremental loading via SQL & BinLog.	Primarily supports JDBC databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle); complex sources require a two-step migration via S3; incremental loading only via BinLog, no SSH support, or custom SQL features.
Data Transformations	Provides a Python interface for cleaning, filtering, transforming, and enriching data, supporting advanced transformations and real-time previews.	Offers only basic transformations (prefix, uppercase, skip column); lacks advanced transformations and requires manual experimentation on samples or waiting for data to reach the destination to verify transformations.
Schema Handling	Visual schema mapping interface, with automatic schema change detection and notifications.	No interface for schema mapping; if mapping fails, manual engineering intervention is required to fix.
Redshift Integration	Direct Redshift integration without extra setup; allows flexibility with Redshift region and S3 location.	Requires managing S3 bucket permissions and directories; mandates Redshift and DMS regions to match, limiting region flexibility.
Notifications	Exception alerts via CloudWatch, Slack, and Email with detailed information for quick action.	Notifications are sent only to AWS Cloudwatch; email notifications need to be configured separately in Cloudwatch.
Statistics & Audit Log	Provides a detailed audit log with a dashboard overview of all tasks for quick insights and user-level history.	Provides task-level logs only; migration statistics available only through Cloudwatch.
Data Modeling	Supports data modeling and workflows, enabling data joins, aggregations, and materialized views on the destination, improving query response time.	Limited to data migration functions; lacks data modeling capabilities

1) Variety of Data Source Connectors: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• The starting point of the Hevo vs DMS AWS discussion is the number of data sources these two can connect. With Hevo you can migrate data from not only JDBC sources, but also from various sources such as cloud storage (Google Drive, Box, S3) SaaS (Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Asana, etc.), Marketing systems (Google Analytics, Clevertap, Hubspot, Mixpanel, etc.) and SDKs (iOS, Android, Rest, etc.). Hevo supports the migration of both structured and unstructured data.
• Hevo supports all the sources supported by DMS and more.
• DMS, on the other hand, provides support to only sources such as JDBC databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, etc.
• However, if you need to move data from other sources like Google Analytics, Salesforce, Webhooks, etc., you would have to build and maintain complex scripts for migration to bring it into S3. From S3, DMS can be used to migrate the data to the destination DB. This would make migration a tedious two-step process.
• DMS does not provide support to move unstructured NoSQL data.

Other noteworthy differences on the source side:

• Hevo promises a secure SSH connection when moving data whereas DMS does not.
• Hevo also allows users to write custom SQL to move partial data or perform table joins and aggregates on the fly while DMS does not.
• With Hevo users can enjoy granular control on Table jobs. Hevo lets you control data migration at table level allowing you to pause the data migration for certain tables in your database at will. DMS does not support such a setup.
• Hevo allows you to move data incrementally through SQL queries and BinLog. With DMS, incremental loading of data is possible only through BinLog.

2) Data Transformations: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• With Hevo, users can Clean, Filter, Transform and Enrich both structured and unstructured data on the fly through a simple Python interface. You can even split an incoming event into multiple arbitrary events making it easy for you to normalize nested NoSQL data. All the standard Python Libraries are made available to ensure users have a hassle-free data transformation experience.
• DMS allows users to create basic data transformations such as Adding a prefix, Changing letters to uppercase, Skip a column, etc. However, advanced transformations like Mapping IP to location, Skipping rows based on conditions, and many others that can be easily done on Hevo are not supported by DMS.

3) Schema handling: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• Schemas are important for the ETL process and therefore can act as a good parameter in the Hevo vs DMS discussion. Hevo allows you to map the source schema to the destination schema on a beautiful visual interface. DMS does not have an interface for schema mapping. The data starts moving as soon as the job is configured. If the mapping is incorrect the task fails and someone from engineering will have to manually fix the errors.
• Additionally, Hevo automatically detects the changing schema and notifies the user of the change so that he can take necessary action.

4) Moving Data into Redshift: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• Amazon Redshift is a popular Data Warehouse and can act as a judging parameter in this Hevo vs DMS AWS discussion. Moving Data into Redshift is a cakewalk with Hevo. Users would just need to connect the sources to Redshift, write relevant transformations, and voila, data starts streaming.
• Moving data into Redshift through DMS comes with a lot of overheads. Users are expected to manage the S3 bucket (creating directories, managing permissions, etc.) themselves. Moreover, DMS compulsorily requires the user’s Redshift cluster region, the DMS region to be the same. While this is not a major drawback, this becomes a problem when users want to change the region of the Redshift cluster but not for S3.

5) Notifications: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• Hevo notifies all exceptions to users on both Slack and Email. The details of the exceptions are also included in the notification to enable users to take quick action.
• DMS notifies all the anomalies over AWS Cloudwatch only. The user will have to configure Cloudwatch to receive notifications on email.

6) Statistics and Audit log: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• Hevo provides a detailed audit log to the user to get visibility into activities that happened in the past at the user level. DMS provides logs at the task level.
• Hevo provides a simple dashboard that provides a one-stop view of all the tasks you have created. DMS provides data migration statistics on Cloudwatch.

7) Data Modelling: Hevo vs DMS AWS

• Data Modeling is another essential aspect of this Hevo vs DMS AWS dilemma. Hevo’s Modelling and Workflows features allow you to join and aggregate the data to store results as materialized views on your destination. With these views, users experience faster query response times making any report pulls possible in a few seconds.
• DMS restricts its functions to data migration services only.

Conclusion

The article explained briefly about Hevo Data and DMS AWS. It then provided a detailed discussion on the Hevo vs DMS AWS choice dilemma. The article considered 7 parameters to analyze both of these ETL tools. Moreover, it provided you enough information on each criterion used in the Hevo vs DMS AWS discussion.

Hevo Data, understand the complex processes involved in migrating your data from a source to a destination and Hevo has been built just to simplify this for you. With a superior array of features as opposed to DMS, Hevo ensures a hassle-free data migration experience with zero data loss.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and simplify your data integration process. Check out the pricing details to understand which plan fulfills all your business needs.

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