When it comes down to it, reverse-ETL is just another data pipeline.
Reverse-ETL is a game-changing technology, but it’s nothing new. It’s simply applying the data pipeline concept in reverse: sending data out of the warehouse directly into business tools.
The concept is simple, but there are important technical considerations:
- Data movement differs between event streams and tabular data. It’s easy to think only of tabular data, but reverse ETL as an event stream is equally as important.
- Table sync can be modeled as an event stream. Essentially, syncing a row from your warehouse to a ‘row’ in a cloud application is an ‘event’.
- A single pipe simplifies your stack. Today, the warehouse is king and destinations are becoming sources. Using different pipelines to load data in and out of the warehouse creates unnecessary complexity. That’s why at RudderStack we’re simplifying data management.
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