How to Implement Change Data Capture with Azure Synapse Analytics?

Updated January 08th, 2024

Share this article

Combining Azure Synapse Analytics with a change data capture tool helps organizations maintain real-time data accuracy and consistency.

Synapse enables fast analytics, while the change data capture tool ensures data updates are captured instantly from multiple sources.

This combination empowers timely, data-driven decisions, reduces risks of outdated information, and enhances competitiveness.

Modern data problems require modern solutions - Try Atlan, the data catalog of choice for forward-looking data teams! 👉 Book your demo today

Table of contents #

Why should you use a change data capture tool with Synapse?
Azure Synapse Analytics overview
What is change data capture?
Steps to implement a change data capture tool with Synapse
Guidelines for effective implementation
Change Data Capture for Azure Synapse Analytics: Related reads

Why should you use a change data capture tool with Synapse? #

Implementing change data capture is essential because it:

Enables real-time data synchronization.
Facilitates timely decision-making.
Enhances data accuracy and integrity.
Supports efficient data replication and analytics.

Azure Synapse Analytics overview #

Azure Synapse Analytics is Microsoft’s limitless analytics service that brings together big data and data warehousing into one unified platform.

It breaks down the barriers between big data and traditional data warehousing, creating a seamless, integrated environment for data processing. This platform is designed to handle large-scale data workloads efficiently, enabling businesses to analyze data at an unprecedented scale.

What is change data capture? #

Change data capture (CDC) is a technology that captures and tracks changes made to data in real-time, ensuring data integrity and enabling real-time analytics and reporting.

Combining Azure Synapse Analytics with a change data capture tool helps organizations in several ways:

Real-time data insights: Enables instant access to up-to-date data for timely decision-making.
Data consistency: Ensures data synchronization across multiple sources, reducing inconsistencies.
Efficiency: Efficiently captures, replicates, and transforms data changes as they occur.
Competitive advantage: Enhances competitiveness by facilitating real-time analytics and reporting, reducing risks associated with outdated or inconsistent data.

Steps to implement a change data capture tool with Synapse #

Implementing a change data capture tool with Azure Synapse Analytics involves the following steps:

1. Define requirements #

Clearly outline your organization’s CDC needs and objectives.
Identify the specific features and functionalities required.

2. Compare features #

Evaluate how each tool addresses your requirements.
Compare their data integration, scalability, performance, and real-time capabilities.

3. Performance testing #

Conduct performance testing to assess how each tool performs under real-world conditions.
Evaluate data processing speed, latency, and resource utilization.

4. Ease of integration #

Consider how easily the tool integrates with your existing systems and technologies.
Assess compatibility with your data sources and data destinations.

5. Scalability and flexibility #

Examine how well each tool can scale to accommodate your organization’s growing data needs.
Evaluate its flexibility to adapt to changing data requirements.

6. Data security and compliance #

Ensure that the selected tool meets your data security and compliance standards.
Assess its ability to enforce data protection, encryption, and governance.

7. Cost analysis #

Calculate the total cost of ownership, including licensing, hardware, and operational expenses.
Consider long-term costs associated with maintenance and scalability.

8. User experience and training #

Evaluate the user-friendliness of each tool and the availability of training resources.
Consider the learning curve for your team.

9. Vendor support and community #

Research the vendor’s reputation for customer support and reliability.
Explore the user community for each tool to gauge available resources and knowledge sharing.

10. Proof of concept (PoC) #

Conduct a PoC with the top contenders to assess their suitability in a real-world environment.
Gather feedback from your team during the PoC.

11. Business case #

Create a clear and comprehensive business case that outlines the benefits of the chosen tool.
Highlight how it aligns with your organization’s goals and delivers value.

12. Final decision #

Based on the evaluation and business case, make an informed decision on the tool that best suits your CDC requirements.

Remember that while evaluating tools, it’s essential to involve relevant stakeholders, consider long-term scalability, and factor in the unique aspects of your organization’s environment and objectives.

Guidelines for effective implementation #

Common pitfalls when implementing a change data capture tool with Azure Synapse Analytics include:

Inadequate planning: Insufficient planning can lead to challenges in aligning CDC strategies with specific business needs.
Data volume ignorance: Not considering data volume impacts can result in performance bottlenecks.
Overlooking data quality: Neglecting data quality issues can lead to inaccurate data replication.
Lack of monitoring: Failing to establish proper monitoring and alerting mechanisms can hinder issue detection.
Ignoring schema changes: Neglecting schema changes may cause data integration problems.

Avoiding these pitfalls requires thorough planning, continuous testing, data quality checks, and vigilant monitoring throughout the CDC implementation process.

Azure Data Factory as a change data capture tool #

Azure Data Factory is a cloud-based data integration service that allows you to create data-driven workflows for orchestrating and automating data movement and transformation. It enables the integration and transformation of large volumes of data from various sources, both on-premises and in the cloud.

As a change data capture (CDC) tool, Azure Data Factory can be used in conjunction with Azure Synapse Analytics to efficiently capture and track changes in data. This is particularly useful for scenarios requiring real-time analytics or data warehousing.

By capturing only the changes in data rather than processing entire datasets, it significantly reduces the volume of data that needs to be loaded and processed. This integration allows for more efficient data pipelines, which can be crucial for businesses that need to make quick, data-driven decisions based on the most current data available.