Little Known But Very Influential Data Ingestion Tips!

The data ingestion process is often considered a simple technical step in data management, but in reality, there are many factors that influence its effectiveness. Pulling data from multiple sources, transferring it, and processing it for analysis requires a more thoughtful strategy. There are a few tips that are little-known, but if implemented, can have a huge impact on the efficiency and quality of the data you manage. Here are some hidden tips that can improve your data ingestion process.

1. Prioritize Incremental Data Ingestion

One common mistake in data ingestion is importing an entire dataset at once without considering the size and velocity of the data. By using an incremental ingestion approach, where only new or changed data is pulled from the source, you can reduce system load and maximize efficiency. This approach also helps minimize the risk of errors and data redundancy, especially for projects with very large datasets.

2. Understand Your Business’ Latency Tolerance

Not all processes require real-time data, and this is often overlooked. Understanding your business’ latency tolerance is essential. If your business only needs data that is updated hourly or daily, then you can choose a simpler ingestion solution, rather than having to invest in a much more complex and expensive real-time ingestion system. Focusing on the real needs can save time, money, and resources.

3. Optimize Preprocessing at the Data Source

Often, data taken from various sources is not immediately in a format that is ready to be processed. One important tip that is rarely discussed is to do preprocessing at the data source before the data is ingested into your system. By filtering, converting, or tidying up data at the source side, you can reduce the load on the ingestion pipeline and speed up the data processing process at the receiving end. This is especially useful if you are dealing with unstructured data.

4. Use an Efficient Data Transfer Protocol

Not many people know that data transfer protocols play a significant role in the speed and security of the data ingestion process. Many people only use HTTP or FTP by default, but protocols like Apache Avro or Parquet are specifically designed to transfer data with high efficiency and a smaller footprint. By using a more appropriate protocol, you can increase ingestion speed, especially if you manage a large amount of data.

5. Implement Data Deduplication

Repeated or duplicate data is often a major problem in data management. Implementing data deduplication during the ingestion process can help prevent unnecessary data from entering your system, save storage space, and reduce processing load. This is a small step that can have a big impact on the overall efficiency of your data system.

The tips above can have a significant impact on the quality and efficiency of your data ingestion process. If you need help optimizing your data ingestion system or want a technology solution tailored to your business needs, contact Thrive today! We are ready to help you maximize the potential of your data with the best technology solutions.