Azure Data Factory
by Microsoft · ETL & Data Extraction
Serverless, code-free ETL/ELT service for hybrid data integration across 90+ connectors.
Updated August 2026 · By the ERP Research Editorial Team · Independent and vendor-neutral.
- Works with
SAPSAP S/4HANA
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
Oracle- Deployment
- Cloud, Hybrid
- Pricing
- Consumption-based (pay-as-you-go)
- Founded
- 1975
- Headquarters
- Redmond, Washington, USA
Overview
Azure Data Factory is Microsoft's fully managed, serverless cloud service for hybrid data integration. It lets data engineers build code-free, visually authored data-driven workflows called pipelines that ingest data from disparate on-premises, cloud, and SaaS sources, transform it, and load it into analytics destinations such as Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Database, or Azure Data Lake Storage. It is Microsoft's primary Azure-native ETL/ELT and orchestration service and is billed purely on consumption, with no upfront licensing cost.
A data factory is composed of pipelines, activities, datasets, linked services, integration runtimes, and triggers. Copy Activity moves data between more than 90 built-in connectors at no extra connector charge, including dedicated connectors for SAP ECC, SAP HANA, SAP BW, and SAP Business Suite tables, plus Dynamics 365 (Dataverse/CRM), Dynamics AX/Finance and Operations, Salesforce, Oracle, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and generic REST/OData/ODBC/HTTP endpoints for anything not natively covered. Mapping Data Flows provide a visual, no-code transformation layer that Data Factory executes on managed, autoscaling Apache Spark clusters, so engineers never provision or maintain the underlying compute themselves.
Data Factory also rehosts existing on-premises SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages in the cloud via the Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime, and connects to on-premises and private-network data stores through a self-hosted integration runtime for hybrid scenarios. Pipeline runs are monitored visually (list and Gantt views, per-activity drill-down, consumption reporting, alerting) and pipelines support full CI/CD via Azure DevOps or GitHub.
Screenshots & demo
Screenshots sourced from Microsoft.
Features & capabilities
Pipeline Orchestration
Code-free authoring and scheduling of data-driven workflows.
- Visual, code-free pipeline designer
- Data movement, data transformation and control activities
- Control flow: ForEach, If Condition, Until, Execute Pipeline, Lookup, Wait, Web/Webhook activities
- Parameters and variables for reusable, parameterised pipelines
- Scheduler and event-based (custom event) triggers
- Full CI/CD support via Azure DevOps and GitHub source control
Data Ingestion & Connectivity
Broad, built-in connector library for hybrid data sources.
- 90+ built-in connectors at no additional connector charge
- Dedicated SAP connectors: SAP ECC, SAP HANA, SAP BW (Open Hub and MDX), SAP Table, SAP CDC, SAP Cloud for Customer
- Dynamics 365 (Dataverse/CRM) and Dynamics AX / Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations connectors
- Salesforce, Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud connectors
- Database connectors: Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Teradata, DB2, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery
- Generic HTTP, OData, ODBC and REST connectors for anything not natively supported
- Self-hosted integration runtime for on-premises and private-network sources
Data Transformation (Mapping Data Flows)
Managed, Spark-powered visual transformation layer.
- Code-free mapping data flow canvas (graph, source/sink, configuration panel)
- Runs on Azure-managed Apache Spark clusters that spin up and down automatically
- Schema drift handling and data preview/inspect in debug mode
- Partitioning and cluster-sizing controls (Optimize tab)
- Reusable, parameterised transformation logic
SSIS Migration & Hybrid Integration
Rehosting existing SSIS investments in the cloud.
- Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime for lift-and-shift SSIS package execution
- Reported up to 88% cost savings via Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server
- Virtual network injection for the Azure-SSIS IR
- Self-hosted integration runtime for hybrid on-premises/cloud pipelines
Monitoring, Governance & Security
Operational visibility and enterprise controls.
- Visual pipeline and activity-run monitoring with list and Gantt views
- Per-run consumption reporting and rerun/rerun-from-failure support
- Alerts on pipeline, activity, trigger and integration-runtime metrics
- Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) authentication, managed identities and role-based access control
- Azure Key Vault integration for credentials and secrets
- Data encryption at rest (Microsoft-managed or customer-managed keys) and in transit (TLS)
- Microsoft Purview integration for sensitive-data discovery and classification
Common use cases
- Extracting SAP ECC, SAP HANA or SAP S/4HANA transactional data into a cloud data warehouse for reporting
- Consolidating Dynamics 365, Salesforce and on-premises database data into Azure Synapse Analytics
- Rehosting on-premises SSIS ETL packages in the cloud without rewriting them
- Building code-free ETL/ELT pipelines that blend multiple ERP, CRM and SaaS sources into one destination
- Orchestrating scheduled or event-triggered data movement between hybrid on-premises and cloud systems
- Feeding Power BI or other BI tools from transformed ERP data via Azure Synapse or Azure SQL Database
- Automating pipeline monitoring and alerting for enterprise data-engineering operations
Strengths & considerations
Strengths
- 90+ built-in connectors, including dedicated SAP ECC, SAP HANA, SAP BW, SAP Table and SAP CDC connectors, at no extra connector charge
- Native SSIS package rehosting via the Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime, with up to 88% cost savings cited via Azure Hybrid Benefit
- Code-free visual pipeline authoring plus managed, autoscaling Spark-based Mapping Data Flows with no cluster management required
- Deep native integration with the rest of the Azure data estate (Synapse Analytics, Data Lake Storage, Databricks) and Microsoft Entra ID security
- Pure consumption pricing (pay-as-you-go, no minimum spend) backed by a 99.9% SLA and Microsoft's broad compliance certification portfolio
ERP integrations
Family of dedicated connectors: SAP ECC, SAP HANA, SAP BW Open Hub, SAP BW via MDX, SAP Table, SAP CDC, SAP Cloud for Customer
SAP Table connector explicitly supports SAP S/4HANA in addition to SAP ECC 7.01+ and SAP BW 7.01+
Dynamics AX connector explicitly supports copying data from Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations via its OData endpoint
Also has separate Amazon RDS for Oracle and Oracle Cloud Storage connectors
Pricing
No upfront cost or minimum spend; billed per meter, including pipeline orchestration (per 1,000 activity runs), data movement (per DIU-hour), Mapping Data Flow execution (per vCore-hour, minimum 8-vCore cluster), and Data Factory read/write and monitoring operations (per 50,000 entities). Exact per-unit rates vary by region and are shown only in the interactive Azure pricing calculator. The first 5 low-frequency activities per month are free in both cloud and on-premises variants; a broader Azure free account credit is also available. Get an independent shortlist with pricing guidance below.
Technical & security
- Hosting
- Serverless, multi-tenant PaaS on Microsoft Azure, with a self-hosted integration runtime option for on-premises/private-network connectivity
- Compliance
- ISO 27001:2013, ISO 27017:2015, ISO 27018:2014, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2011, ISO 22301:2012, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, HIPAA BAA, HITRUST, CSA STAR Certification
About the vendor
- Founded
- 1975
- Headquarters
- Redmond, Washington, USA
- Employees
- Part of Microsoft (~228,000)
- Ownership
- Public (Microsoft Corporation; NASDAQ: MSFT)
Alternatives to Azure Data Factory in ETL & Data Extraction
Azure Data Factory — frequently asked questions
Does Azure Data Factory connect directly to SAP systems?
Yes. It ships dedicated connectors for SAP ECC, SAP HANA, SAP BW (via Open Hub or MDX), SAP tables/views/CDS views, and change-data-capture via the SAP CDC connector, which covers SAP ECC, S/4HANA, SAP BW and SAP BW/4HANA. No third-party middleware is required for these scenarios.
Can Azure Data Factory pull data from Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations?
Yes, via the Dynamics AX connector, which Microsoft documents as also supporting Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations through its OData endpoint. The separate Dynamics 365 (Dataverse)/Dynamics CRM connector instead covers the Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Project Service Automation and Marketing applications.
How is Azure Data Factory priced?
It is consumption-based with no upfront cost: you pay per 1,000 pipeline orchestration runs, per DIU-hour for data movement, per vCore-hour for Mapping Data Flow execution, and per 50,000 Data Factory operations. The first 5 low-frequency activities each month are free.
Can Data Factory rehost existing on-premises SSIS packages?
Yes, through the Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime, which lets you lift-and-shift SQL Server Integration Services packages into Azure with minimal changes; Microsoft cites up to 88% cost savings when combined with Azure Hybrid Benefit.
Does Data Factory require managing Spark clusters for transformations?
No. Mapping Data Flows are authored visually and executed on Azure Data Factory-managed Apache Spark clusters that spin up and down automatically, so no cluster provisioning or maintenance is required.
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