Big data integration firm Fivetran Inc. today promised it will be able to help its customers connect many more information sources to their data warehouses.

It’s doing so with the launch of a new offering known as “Lite connectors,” which are being made available to enterprises on request and can be developed in a fraction of the time it takes to build standard connectors. Fivetran’s connectors are data integration tools that enable the smooth transfer of data from sources such as databases, to cloud data warehouses, where it can be analyzed for business insights more easily.

Although the company offers hundreds of standard connectors for the most popular data sources, it explained that its Lite connectors are designed to help companies connect data from less popular platforms. They’re mainly targeted at the hundreds of niche software-as-a-service applications and tools that only serve specific industries and verticals.

The Lite connectors are a bit different from the standard ones. The company explained that while the standard connectors are built by studying the application’s underlying business workflows, the Lite ones begin with the underlying application programming interface. It’s a new approach that Fivetran says enables it to accelerate the development of new data integration services.

Fivetran said it has already built more than 90 Lite connectors for platforms that include Slack, Okta, Chargebee, Gong and WooCommerce, and it’s willing to create many more. Customers who don’t see the required connector for the platform they’d like to link to their data warehouse can simply request that Fivetran create it through its new “By Request” program.

The company promised it will be able to create new Lite connectors in less than 30 days after receiving a request. With the program, Fivetran hopes to get itself into a position where it can centralize all data movement for all of its customers.

Early adopters have given Fivetran’s Lite connectors the thumbs up. Sigma Data Systems Inc.’s senior manager of Data Platform Jake Hannan said his company had obtained a “ton of value” from using the new Slack Lite connector.

“Our support team was looking to pull channel data to better understand the patterns of questions coming from our users and the internal SMEs who are best able to answer them,” he explained. “The connector set-up was easy and the experience has been the same high quality we’ve seen from other Fivetran connectors. We try to keep the majority of our data ingestion in the Fivetran ecosystem, and are interested in pursuing Lite connectors through the By Request Program for several other applications we use.”

According to Fivetran, its Lite connectors will help to accommodate the growing demand for data integration with SaaS services and tools, which are becoming increasingly popular among enterprises. It said SaaS adoption has exploded over the last couple of years, and the data integration industry has not been able to keep up.

As a result, many companies have been left to struggle with building and maintaining their own data pipelines, increasing the strain on their internal engineering teams. With Fivetran’s pre-built connectors — standard or Lite — that maintenance work is not necessary, since everything is automated.

Fivetran Head of Product Alexander Lovell said customers are under enormous budgetary pressure and looking for ways to streamline operations and cut infrastructure costs. “Developing homegrown connectors and maintaining data pipelines is a heavy economic burden they do not need to take on,” he explained. “Our By Request Program and Lite connectors provide us the opportunity to help solve the challenge of cloud data integration more comprehensively and efficiently than ever before. This new level of responsiveness is a game changer for data teams small and large.”

The company said its standard and Lite connectors are available on a consumption-based pricing model, with customers receiving discounts for higher data volumes. Some customers may also want to take advantage of its recently announced free plan, which is aimed at early-stage startups with lower data volumes.

Image: Fivetran