If you need to query tables in a production database that is on a source system with resource restrictions, use Data Replication to replicate data in near real time to another less expensive system. You can then run read-only queries against the data on the less-expensive system. By offloading query activity, you can reduce the load on a busy source production system to meet its high availability requirements.

For example, you could replicate Oracle data to a PostgreSQL server and run queries against the data on the PostgreSQL system. Data Replication is also useful in many other load-balancing scenarios.

If you need current analytics from transactional applications on a production system to make tactical business decisions or provide business transparency, use Data Replication to replicate data in near real time to an operational data store (ODS) on another system. You can then use the ODS to get detailed information about your customers, business operations, and business trends.

With Data Replication, you can perform near-real-time auditing of a database, which is critical for compliance with regulatory requirements. Audit information includes the before and after images of data, the time at which the data was changed, and the SQL operation type. You can use audit information to identify patterns of user activity or develop an alert tracking system for fraud detection.

Use Data Replication, optionally in combination with Informatica Fast Clone, as a fast database migration solution. Data Replication works in a heterogeneous environment which enables the migration of data from various databases running on different hardware and operating systems. Minimal downtime results in minimal disruption to mission-critical applications and production systems. If necessary, you can replicate data back to an older system for fallback purposes.