FAQ
Introduction to TimeXtender
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What is TimeXtender?
TimeXtender is the holistic tool for data integration.
TimeXtender provides all the features you need to build a future-proof data infrastructure capable of ingesting, transforming, modeling, and delivering clean, reliable data in the fastest, most efficient way possible - all within a single, low-code user interface.
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Why do I need TimeXtender if I can build my data warehouse myself?
Building a data warehouse from scratch requires significant resources, including time, money, and a large team of skilled professionals.
TimeXtender offers an intuitive, low-code interface and a range of automation features that can help speed up development time by 10x, and save you up to 70%-80% in build and maintenance costs.
Additionally, TimeXtender provides a holistic approach to data management, including data catalog, data lineage, data quality monitoring, orchestration, and governance that can streamline and optimize your entire data ecosystem.
Ultimately, TimeXtender empowers organizations to focus on data analysis and strategic decision-making, rather than getting bogged down in the complexities of building and maintaining a data warehouse from scratch.
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I've never heard of TimeXtender. Why should I trust you with managing my organization's mission-critical data workflows?
When considering a new technology partner for your organization, it's understandable to have questions and concerns. At TimeXtender, we have a proven track record of success with over 3,300 customers, including top-performing organizations such as Komatsu, Colliers, and the Puerto Rican Government.
We have been optimizing best practices to ensure the highest standards of quality, security, and governance for mission-critical data workflows since 2006. Our commitment to simplicity, automation, and execution is reflected in our Xpeople, powerful technology, and strong community of over 190 partners in 95 countries.
We also provide a range of resources and support to ensure your success, including an online academy, comprehensive certifications, and weekly blog articles. Our hand-selected partners can help you get set up quickly and develop a data strategy that maximizes results, with ongoing support from our Customer Success and Solution Specialist Teams.
Finally, we have an unprecedented 95% retention rate, which speaks to the level of trust and satisfaction that our customers have with us.
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What kind of results have other organizations achieved by using TimeXtender?
Our holistic approach has been proven to reduce build costs by up to 70% and maintenance costs by up to 80%.
Technical Aspects
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How long does it take to implement TimeXtender?
The time it takes to implement TimeXtender can vary depending on the complexity of the data environment, the organisation's size, and the project's specific needs. However, TimeXtender’s focus on automation rapidly accelerates implementation time.
Our customers are typically up and running with a fully-functioning data warehouse in a matter of weeks rather than months or years.
Additionally, TimeXtender provides resources such as training, documentation, and support to help ensure a smooth and efficient implementation process.
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How user-friendly is TimeXtender, and what kind of technical expertise is required to use it effectively?
TimeXtender is designed to be user-friendly with a simple, low-code, drag-and-drop user interface. While some technical expertise is helpful, our tool is designed for those who want to get shit done and does not require extensive knowledge of complex tools and architectures.
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How does TimeXtender integrate with my existing data infrastructure?
TimeXtender seamlessly overlays your existing infrastructure (on-prem, cloud, or hybrid), allowing you to easily change infrastructure when technology changes.
TimeXtender integrates with, accelerates, and leverages your existing data infrastructure, and transformation logic is stored as portable SQL code, so you still have a functioning data warehouse if you decide to migrate to a different data integration solution in the future.
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Does TimeXtender fit into the “Modern Data Stack”?
TimeXtender works within the “Modern Data Stack” by seamlessly integrating with leading cloud data platforms and visualization tools.
However, we offer a holistic solution for data integration that eliminates the challenges and limitations associated with the fragmented approach of the conventional “Modern Data Stack”.
Instead of relying on multiple disconnected tools and systems, we provide a single, low-code user interface for data ingestion, transformation, modeling, and delivery that allows users to build data solutions 10x faster, while reducing costs by 70%-80%.
Instead of implementing a complex and expensive stack of point solutions, our Unified Metadata Framework provides a solid foundation for automatic code generation, data cataloging, data lineage tracking, data quality monitoring, end-to-end orchestration, data governance, and more.
By focusing on agility and simplifying data integration processes, our holistic solution empowers organizations of all sizes to overcome the challenges and limitations of the fragmented "Modern Data Stack," empowering them to unlock the full potential of their data and drive business value in the fastest, most efficient way possible.
You can read more about the challenges and limitations of the “Modern Data Stack” here →
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What is TimeXtender’s Unified Metadata Framework?
TimeXtender's "Unified Metadata Framework" is the unifying force behind our holistic approach to data integration. It stores and maintains metadata for each data asset and object within the platform, serving as a foundational layer for various data integration, management, orchestration, and governance tasks.
The Unified Metadata Framework enables:
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Automatic code generation: Metadata-driven automation reduces manual coding, accelerates development, and minimizes errors.
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Data catalog: The framework provides a comprehensive data catalog that makes it easy for users to discover and access data assets.
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Data lineage: It tracks the lineage of data assets, helping users understand the origin, transformation, and dependencies of their data.
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Data quality monitoring: The metadata framework assists in monitoring data quality, ensuring that the data being used is accurate, complete, and reliable.
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End-to-end orchestration: It helps orchestrate workflows and ensures smooth, consistent, and efficient execution of data integration tasks.
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Data governance: The framework supports holistic data governance, ensuring that data is collected, analyzed, stored, shared, and used in a consistent, secure, and compliant manner.
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And much more!
Utilizing metadata as our solution's backbone, the Unified Metadata Framework enables a more efficient, agile, and automated approach to data integration, management, orchestration, and governance. This ultimately empowers organizations to build data solutions faster and drive business value more effectively.
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What cloud data platforms does TimeXtender support?
TimeXtender supports leading cloud platforms including Microsoft Azure, Snowflake, and AWS, with support coming for additional cloud platforms in the near future. TimeXtender offers a seamless experience on all these platforms.
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What business intelligence and analytics tools does TimeXtender support?
TimeXtender integrates with a wide range of business intelligence and analytics tools, including Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik. TimeXtender allows you to easily deploy semantic models to your choice of visualization tool for fast creation and flexible modification of dashboards and reports.
Additionally, TimeXtender's semantic models provide consistent fields and figures, ensuring all users are consuming a single version of truth, regardless of which visualization tool they are using.
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What types of data sources does TimeXtender support?
TimeXtender provides a directory of over 250 pre-built, fully-managed data connectors, with additional support for any custom data source, including cloud-based and on-premises data sources.
TimeXtender can connect to data sources through five types of data providers:
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Azure Data Factory: TimeXtender’s ADF providers can auto-generate Azure Data Factory pipelines to load data from many common on-premise or cloud based systems making it easily to offload massive amounts of data into a cloud based data estate, while keeping it in sync.
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Cloud application API Connectors: TimeXtender includes over 150 data providers for connecting to specific SaaS applications such as Salesforce, Google Analytics, Facebook, and YouTube.
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Generic API & File Connectors: Data stored in files or APIs? No problem. TimeXtender makes accessing this data easier than ever. Connect directly to any REST API with just a few data points. Alternatively, you can connect to JSON, XML, CSV or Excel documents.
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Cloud or On-Premises Databases: TimeXtender has connectors for nearly any type of database on the planet such as Snowflake, SQL, Synapse, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, Oracle, DB2, Access and more.
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Bring Your Own Driver (BYOD): Any 3rd party OleDB or ODBC providers installed on the system will be easily selectable in the list of TimeXtender’s supported providers.
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Custom Data Source: TimeXtender includes many custom developed ADO.net providers making it easier to connect to common systems such as SQL or SAP.
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Does TimeXtender integrate with code repository solutions like GitHub?
TimeXtender automatically generates code and handles testing and version control internally, eliminating the need for a code repository solution like GitHub.
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How developer-friendly is TimeXtender?
TimeXtender offers a range of tools and features to extend its capabilities. For example, developers can use user-defined functions, stored procedures, reusable snippets, PowerShell script executions, and custom code, if needed. This allows for greater flexibility in data integration workflows and customization to fit specific business needs.
Additionally, TimeXtender supports version control and allows for separate development and testing environments, making it easy for developers to identify and fix bugs before deploying to production.
Overall, TimeXtender aims to automate the development, testing, and orchestration of data projects, while still offering developers the tools they need for greater customization and control.
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How does TimeXtender handle changes in data sources, such as schema or API changes?
Whenever a change in your data sources or systems is made, TimeXtender allows you to instantly propagate those changes across the entire pipeline with just a few clicks - no more manually debugging and fixing broken pipelines.
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How does TimeXtender ensure data quality and reliability?
TimeXtender ensures data quality and accuracy through built-in data profiling and cleansing capabilities that identify and correct errors, missing values, and inconsistencies in data. Our tool also provides automated data quality monitoring and alerts, enabling users to identify and correct data quality issues before they become problems.
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Why doesn’t TimeXtender support real-time data streaming?
In the batch vs. streaming debate, it’s important to remember that any time data is processed to ensure data quality and reliability, a certain amount of lag time is unavoidable. Because of this, stream processing is only suitable for very simple datasets and use cases, such as streaming website traffic, call volumes, stock prices, etc. There are many simple tools that allow you to connect to these data sources to create real-time analytics dashboards.
However, batch processing allows for thorough and accurate data cleansing, transformation, and modeling, which makes it the preferred method for more complex and mission-critical analytics workflows. These are the types of workflows TimeXtender focuses on.
Regardless, the near real-time analytics that TimeXtender’s batch processing provides is more than sufficient to meet an organization’s needs in the vast majority of cases.
Pricing and Discounts
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What is the pricing structure for TimeXtender?
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Does TimeXtender offer discounts for non-profits and educational institutions?
Yes, TimeXtender offers special, discounted for non-profit organizations and educational institutions.
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Can I try TimeXtender for free?
Yes! We offer a free account that allows you to use TimeXtender, with some limitations. The free account includes one user, one data source connection, one ODX instance, one MDW instance, and one SSL instance, but there is no time limit on usage. It's a great way to try out the platform and see if it meets your organization's needs before committing to a paid plan.
Implementation and Support
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Do you have partners that can assist me in implementing TimeXtender inside my organization?
Yes! We have hundreds of partners all across the world who can assist you. You can find a partner here or reach out to us, and we’d be glad to introduce you to one.
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How do I get started with TimeXtender?
Sign up here for a FREE account or watch an on-demand demo here any time.
Alternatively, you can contact one of our partners for assistance in getting started.
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Where can I access training and support?
TimeXtender an extensive variety of support and training options for its users. These include:
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Knowledge base: TimeXtender offers extensive documentation and a knowledge base you can access to help users learn about the product and troubleshoot issues.
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Online community: TimeXtender has an online community you can access where users can connect with each other, share tips and best practices, and ask for help.
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Troubleshooting tips: View tips for troubleshooting most issues.
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Technical support: You can submit a support ticket either by filling out this form or by emailing support@timextender.com
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Partner network: TimeXtender has a network of partners who provide additional support and services, including training, implementation, and ongoing support.
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TimeXtender Training Course: The TimeXtender Course is an online training platform that offers a range of courses and certifications for users to learn about the product and become certified TimeXtender professionals.
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Have more questions?
Just give us a shout, and we'll gladly help!
Fill out the form below and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!
Or feel free to have a chat with our AI data integration co-pilot.