Every day, organisations process ever-increasing volumes of data in Microsoft SQL Server databases. At the same time, demands are rising in terms of processing speed, data quality, data protection and the provision of information for business processes and analytics. Conventional database operations can become a bottleneck, particularly when dealing with large tables, complex ETL processes or time-critical analyses.
Using technologies from Innovative Routines International (IRI Inc.), JET-Software GmbH offers high-performance solutions to offload Microsoft SQL Server, accelerate data processing and provide targeted protection for sensitive information. These solutions allow data integration, data migration, data masking and test data generation to be combined.
Boosting SQL Server performance and making ETL processes more efficient:
Processing large data sets is one of the greatest challenges facing modern database environments. Slow loading processes, time-consuming database reorganisations and resource-intensive SQL queries can impair system performance whilst simultaneously incurring high operating costs.
A particularly effective approach is to offload computationally intensive operations from the database and carry them out using specialised data processing tools.
IRI FACT (Fast Extract) enables large SQL Server tables to be extracted efficiently. Subsequent processing is carried out by IRI CoSort, whose SortCL engine performs extensive data operations such as sorting, merging, filtering, grouping and transforming outside the database.
Through parallel data processing and multithreading, existing system resources can be utilised effectively. At the same time, the SQL Server database is relieved of additional processing tasks.
CoSort also offers advantages when loading large volumes of data. If input data is sorted according to the index keys before import, downstream loading and indexing processes can run more efficiently.
Relieving the load on Microsoft SSIS and Power BI through external data processing:
Many organisations use Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) for data integration and ETL processes. However, with growing data volumes and complex transformations, this can result in long processing times.
IRI CoSort and the data management platform IRI Voracity make it possible to execute particularly computationally intensive data processing steps outside the database. Existing ETL processes can thus be supplemented, accelerated or, where necessary, replaced by alternative processing steps.
Microsoft Power BI also benefits from efficient data preparation. If large data sets are cleaned, transformed, aggregated and consolidated before being transferred to the analytics platform, the processing load within the BI environment can be reduced.
The Eclipse-based visual development environment IRI Workbench enables the centralised design and management of such data management processes.
Automating data migration, data quality and SQL Server reorganisation:
In addition to pure performance, the flexible migration and integration of data is becoming increasingly important. Organisations need to transfer, convert or merge data between different databases, applications and platforms.
With IRI NextForm, CoSort and Voracity, data structures can be adapted, formats converted and SQL Server data prepared for new target systems.
Furthermore, the solutions support the improvement of data quality. Incorrect, duplicate or inconsistently formatted information can be identified, cleaned up and standardised.
For traditional offline reorganisation, a dedicated wizard is available within the IRI Workbench. This combines the extraction, sorting and reloading of tables to efficiently reorganise database contents.
SQL Server data masking and GDPR-compliant data processing:
As the processing of personal data increases, so too do the requirements for data protection and data security.
Organisations must ensure that confidential information does not end up in development, test, analysis or cloud environments without proper control.
IRI FieldShield enables the detection, classification and masking of sensitive data in SQL Server tables. This includes, for example, names, addresses, account information and other personal data.
In addition to static and dynamic data masking, techniques such as pseudonymisation, encryption, tokenisation and format-preserving encryption are available. This allows sensitive information to be protected whilst retaining the required data structures and formats.
IRI DarkShield complements these functions by detecting and masking sensitive content in semi-structured and unstructured information, for example within SQL Server FILESTREAM data.
Both solutions can optionally be combined with Azure Key Vault for the management of cryptographic keys.
Data masking thus helps organisations implement technical data protection measures in accordance with the GDPR without unnecessarily restricting the operational use of data.
Realistic SQL Server test data without unnecessary data protection risks:
Modern software development requires large volumes of realistic test data. However, the use of personal production data involves significant data protection risks.
IRI RowGen can be used to generate synthetic test data for SQL Server databases. The software takes existing data models into account and can preserve relationships between tables, enabling even complex application scenarios to be tested realistically.
Alternatively, database subsetting can be used to generate specific subsets of existing production data, which can then be masked using FieldShield.
The integration of FieldShield and RowGen into Azure DevOps also enables the automated provision of test data within modern CI/CD processes.
Centralising data management for Microsoft SQL Server:
IRI Voracity enables various data processing tasks to be consolidated onto a single platform. These include data extraction, ETL, data migration, data quality, data masking and test data generation.
Organisations benefit from the ability to optimise existing SQL Server environments in a targeted manner without having to replace all applications or database structures.
JET-Software supports businesses and public sector organisations in selecting and integrating suitable IRI technologies for Microsoft SQL Server, hybrid IT landscapes, and both on-premises and cloud-based data processing.
The result is more efficient database operations, reduced processing loads and a higher level of protection for sensitive business data!
Efficiency meets experience: For more than four decades, our software solutions have been supporting companies in data management and data protection – technologically leading, reliable in productive use and applicable across all industries.
In use since 1978: Numerous well-known companies, service providers, financial institutions and state and federal authorities are among our long-standing customers.
Maximum compatibility: Our software supports both classic mainframe platforms (Fujitsu BS2000/OSD, IBM z/OS, z/VSE, z/Linux) and modern open system environments such as Linux, UNIX derivatives and Windows.