Equalum CDC Connect embeds change data capture and streaming
The CDC technology vendor expanded the reach of its real-time data integration platform that provides event data streaming to keep data moving to where it's needed.
Change data capture platform provider Equalum is looking to change the way that organizations use and integrate its technology into data platforms with the CDC Connect program it unveiled on Tuesday.
It has been a busy year for Equalum. In April the vendor released version 3.0 of its Continuous Data Integration Platform, which includes change data capture (CDC); extract, transform, load; and real-time data streaming capabilities. In August, Equalum raised $14 million to expand its go-to-market and technology efforts.
Until now, Equalum has sold its technology -- available for on-premises and cloud deployments -- as a standalone service that organizations and vendors could use as part of an existing data workflow for business operations or data analytics. The CDC Connect program will let vendors integrate Equalum inside an existing data or cloud platform as part of another vendor's larger data workflow offering.
Equalum competes against a number of vendors that offer CDC capabilities, including Fivetran, which acquired CDC vendor HVR in 2021; Arcion, which launched a cloud service in April 2022; Oracle, which provides the GoldenGate software platform; and Debezium, which is open source technology.
Until now, Equalum has offered high-performance integration of data in bulk and in real time, building on Spark and Apache Kafka capabilities as well as CDC.
Now Equalum wants to address a new opportunity, offering its core CDC technology as a white-label component to other data integration vendors, said Kevin Petrie, an analyst with Eckerson Research. The approach offers a way for Equalum to increase its addressable market in a crowded landscape for data integration tools, he said.
"CDC helps replicate high volumes of transactional data from traditional databases at low latency and, ideally, with low impact on production workloads," Petrie said. "Many data integration vendors lack strong CDC. So they might benefit by building Equalum CDC Connect into their offerings."
How Equalum has evolved its change data capture technology
The original idea behind CDC technology was to provide a way for organizations to get data out of one database and into another as it changes. It's an approach that can be enabled today by a variety of methods.
One of the most common ways for CDC to work is by connecting to a database log to capture changes that can then be replicated out to an external source.
Many data integration vendors lack strong CDC. So they might benefit by building Equalum CDC Connect into their offerings.
Kevin PetrieAnalyst, Eckerson Research
Equalum's platform uses an approach called binary log parsing, a technology that is able to rapidly read and understand all the changes happening in a database.
Equalum uses event streaming technologies including Apache Kafka to stream data from a source database to a target in real time. Going a step further, Equalum integrates data transformation capabilities so data can be converted into the required format and structure for the target database.
Equalum CEO Guy Eilon said the vendor's goal is to let organizations get data from one location to another in a format that makes the data immediately usable for business operations or data analytics.
Why Equalum wants to embed its technology with CDC Connect
The challenge Equalum's customers face is managing multiple data technologies to enable a data application for business operations, machine learning or data analytics, Eilon said.
With CDC Connect, Equalum's technology can be embedded into a larger data platform. Users will never see the name Equalum.
Eilon declined to immediately disclose the large data platform vendors that he said plan to use CDC Connect.
"The biggest challenge in the data integration world right now is definitely how to move data in real time from legacy and cloud systems towards a single place so users can get answers in real time," Eilon said. "That is what Equalum is all about."
