Get off Informatica.
Keep everything
you've built.
Informatica licence costs are significant — and they compound every year. Two of our clients have already moved to Apache Hop, preserving the logic their teams built over years while eliminating the recurring bill. We don't do the migration for you. Our converter, soon to be open source, turns your PowerCenter mappings and IICS tasks into Apache Hop pipelines, and reports exactly what needs attention. We audit your environment, map the path, and guide your team through every decision so the migration lands right the first time.
The same mapping, in PowerCenter and in Hop
A fixed-width leave file is read, header and trailer records are dropped, each record gets a batch and sequence number, and the rows are sorted into an Oracle table. In Hop the converter keeps the same steps in the same order, plus one it has to add.
FDA_BATCH_SEQ to FDA_BATCH_ID on the link into the Sorter. Hop links can't rename fields, so the converter adds a Select Values before the sort.// Mapping from the US Department of Health and Human Services' public PowerCenter estate · PowerCenter view redrawn from the repository export, which stores no canvas positions · converted with the Informatica converter (preview) and run against Oracle with test data
We make sure your team can migrate.
The people who know your Informatica environment best are already on your team. Our job is to give them the knowledge, the plan, and the confidence to execute the migration without false starts.
How Informatica concepts map to Apache Hop
Your team will need to know these mappings. This is the reference we work through together during the audit and coaching sessions. The last column shows what the converter does with each one today.
| Informatica | Apache Hop equivalent | Converter |
|---|---|---|
| Mapping | Pipeline (.hpl) — the core unit of transformation logic in Hop, laid out left to right in the order the data flows | Automatic |
| IICS task (DSS / DRS) | Pipeline (.hpl), with Hop connections generated from the task's connection files | Automatic |
| Source Qualifier | TableInput with the SQL override, or the query PowerCenter would build from the ports, joins and filter; Text File Input for flat files, including fixed-width COBOL / VSAM records | Automatic |
| Lookup | Database Join on the lookup table or override, with the lookup condition as parameters. An unconnected lookup (:LKP.) becomes a query called from the translated expression | Review |
| Joiner | Merge Join, with both inputs sorted on the join keys first — Merge Join needs sorted input where Informatica's Joiner does not | Review |
| Aggregator | MemoryGroupBy for plain aggregates; a Java transform with one accumulator per group for nested aggregates, conditions and variable ports | Review |
| Expression | Translated, not copied: Formula where it computes exactly what Informatica does, Java otherwise, with the original expression above each line. Flagged so someone checks the Java | Review |
| Filter | FilterRows when the condition maps exactly; a Java filter for conditions with functions | Review |
| Router | One branch per group, each with the group's condition; the default group gets the rows no other group takes | Automatic |
| Sorter | SortRows — configurable memory limit with disk spill; required upstream of Merge Join and GroupBy | Automatic |
| Update Strategy | No direct equivalent. Implemented with FilterRows routing and a TableOutput configured for insert or update, or with Insert / Update | Review |
| Normalizer | Row Normaliser — pivots column values into rows | Review |
| Union | Append Streams — rows from every input, in no particular order | Review |
| Sequence Generator | Add Sequence transform — a counter in the pipeline, not a database sequence | Review |
| Stored Procedure | Call DB Procedure for a connected procedure. Pre- and post-load procedures become a SQL action in a workflow | Review |
| Connected Target | TableOutput, Update or Delete for relational targets; Text File Output, delimited or fixed width, for flat files. PowerExchange targets stay a placeholder | Automatic |
| Mapplet | Expanded into the pipeline: each instance gets its own copy of the Mapplet's transformations, with fields of its own | Automatic |
| Session | Run Pipeline action inside a Hop Workflow — executes a .hpl file with parameters | Manual |
| Workflow | Workflow (.hwf) — orchestrates pipelines, handles branching, error paths, and scheduling | Manual |
| Command task, pre- and post-session commands | Shell action in a Hop Workflow | Manual |
| Parameter file / Variables | Hop environment config — project-scoped variables defined per environment (dev, test, prod) | Manual |
| Connection credentials | Hop connection metadata is generated, with credentials left empty on purpose — you add them through environment variables or the metadata editor | Manual |
| Workflow Scheduler | Putki scheduler — triggers workflows on cron, event, or dependency; includes monitoring and alerting | Manual |
Send us an export, get your conversion report.
Informatica environments vary enormously, and a generic conversion rate wouldn't tell you much about yours. For a sense of what the converter does with a real estate: the US Department of Health and Human Services published its PowerCenter estate, 108 HR and payroll mappings. The converter leaves a placeholder in 6 of them, all PowerExchange targets, and 82 of the 102 we can set up in our test environment run end to end, without edits. Your environment will have its own figures. Share a PowerCenter export or your IICS tasks. We'll run them through the converter, show you what converted, what's flagged and why, and hand your team a plan they can execute with confidence.
Your team's expertise doesn't start from zero
Informatica and Apache Hop use different paradigms — Informatica's port-and-link mapping model versus Hop's row-streaming pipeline — but the concepts are close enough that experienced Informatica engineers ramp up fast. The vocabulary changes. The thinking doesn't.
How a guided Informatica migration unfolds
Every environment is different — timelines depend on what the audit surfaces. But the structure is consistent across every engagement we've run.
The licence cost isn't going down.
Two clients have already made the move. If you're evaluating your options, the audit is the right first step — it costs nothing and gives your team everything they need to plan the migration properly.
Get off Informatica.
Keep everything
you've built.
Informatica licence costs are significant — and they compound every year. Two of our clients have already moved to Apache Hop, preserving the logic their teams built over years while eliminating the recurring bill. We don't do the migration for you. Our converter, soon to be open source, turns your PowerCenter mappings and IICS tasks into Apache Hop pipelines, and reports exactly what needs attention. We audit your environment, map the path, and guide your team through every decision so the migration lands right the first time.
The same mapping, in PowerCenter and in Hop
A fixed-width leave file is read, header and trailer records are dropped, each record gets a batch and sequence number, and the rows are sorted into an Oracle table. In Hop the converter keeps the same steps in the same order, plus one it has to add.
FDA_BATCH_SEQ to FDA_BATCH_ID on the link into the Sorter. Hop links can't rename fields, so the converter adds a Select Values before the sort.// Mapping from the US Department of Health and Human Services' public PowerCenter estate · PowerCenter view redrawn from the repository export, which stores no canvas positions · converted with the Informatica converter (preview) and run against Oracle with test data
We make sure your team can migrate.
The people who know your Informatica environment best are already on your team. Our job is to give them the knowledge, the plan, and the confidence to execute the migration without false starts.
How Informatica concepts map to Apache Hop
Your team will need to know these mappings. This is the reference we work through together during the audit and coaching sessions. The last column shows what the converter does with each one today.
| Informatica | Apache Hop equivalent | Converter |
|---|---|---|
| Mapping | Pipeline (.hpl) — the core unit of transformation logic in Hop, laid out left to right in the order the data flows | Automatic |
| IICS task (DSS / DRS) | Pipeline (.hpl), with Hop connections generated from the task's connection files | Automatic |
| Source Qualifier | TableInput with the SQL override, or the query PowerCenter would build from the ports, joins and filter; Text File Input for flat files, including fixed-width COBOL / VSAM records | Automatic |
| Lookup | Database Join on the lookup table or override, with the lookup condition as parameters. An unconnected lookup (:LKP.) becomes a query called from the translated expression | Review |
| Joiner | Merge Join, with both inputs sorted on the join keys first — Merge Join needs sorted input where Informatica's Joiner does not | Review |
| Aggregator | MemoryGroupBy for plain aggregates; a Java transform with one accumulator per group for nested aggregates, conditions and variable ports | Review |
| Expression | Translated, not copied: Formula where it computes exactly what Informatica does, Java otherwise, with the original expression above each line. Flagged so someone checks the Java | Review |
| Filter | FilterRows when the condition maps exactly; a Java filter for conditions with functions | Review |
| Router | One branch per group, each with the group's condition; the default group gets the rows no other group takes | Automatic |
| Sorter | SortRows — configurable memory limit with disk spill; required upstream of Merge Join and GroupBy | Automatic |
| Update Strategy | No direct equivalent. Implemented with FilterRows routing and a TableOutput configured for insert or update, or with Insert / Update | Review |
| Normalizer | Row Normaliser — pivots column values into rows | Review |
| Union | Append Streams — rows from every input, in no particular order | Review |
| Sequence Generator | Add Sequence transform — a counter in the pipeline, not a database sequence | Review |
| Stored Procedure | Call DB Procedure for a connected procedure. Pre- and post-load procedures become a SQL action in a workflow | Review |
| Connected Target | TableOutput, Update or Delete for relational targets; Text File Output, delimited or fixed width, for flat files. PowerExchange targets stay a placeholder | Automatic |
| Mapplet | Expanded into the pipeline: each instance gets its own copy of the Mapplet's transformations, with fields of its own | Automatic |
| Session | Run Pipeline action inside a Hop Workflow — executes a .hpl file with parameters | Manual |
| Workflow | Workflow (.hwf) — orchestrates pipelines, handles branching, error paths, and scheduling | Manual |
| Command task, pre- and post-session commands | Shell action in a Hop Workflow | Manual |
| Parameter file / Variables | Hop environment config — project-scoped variables defined per environment (dev, test, prod) | Manual |
| Connection credentials | Hop connection metadata is generated, with credentials left empty on purpose — you add them through environment variables or the metadata editor | Manual |
| Workflow Scheduler | Putki scheduler — triggers workflows on cron, event, or dependency; includes monitoring and alerting | Manual |
Send us an export, get your conversion report.
Informatica environments vary enormously, and a generic conversion rate wouldn't tell you much about yours. For a sense of what the converter does with a real estate: the US Department of Health and Human Services published its PowerCenter estate, 108 HR and payroll mappings. The converter leaves a placeholder in 6 of them, all PowerExchange targets, and 82 of the 102 we can set up in our test environment run end to end, without edits. Your environment will have its own figures. Share a PowerCenter export or your IICS tasks. We'll run them through the converter, show you what converted, what's flagged and why, and hand your team a plan they can execute with confidence.
Your team's expertise doesn't start from zero
Informatica and Apache Hop use different paradigms — Informatica's port-and-link mapping model versus Hop's row-streaming pipeline — but the concepts are close enough that experienced Informatica engineers ramp up fast. The vocabulary changes. The thinking doesn't.
How a guided Informatica migration unfolds
Every environment is different — timelines depend on what the audit surfaces. But the structure is consistent across every engagement we've run.
The licence cost isn't going down.
Two clients have already made the move. If you're evaluating your options, the audit is the right first step — it costs nothing and gives your team everything they need to plan the migration properly.