What is Extract Transform Load (ETL)?

ETL stands for Extract Transform Load. It is a terminology used in data pipeline management and data engineering, where data from different sources in different formats is extracted and transformed into one format so that it is seamlessly integrated and loaded into a single database or warehouse.

What is an example of an ETL process?

All data that is pulled from different sources goes through an ETL process. In the mobile application ecosystem, most dashboards are built on data integrated through the ETL processes. For example, in Tenjin, we pull ad spend data from more than 200 ad networks and put them through an ETL process in the back-end so we can show you metrics like Spend, Click and Reported Install data on a dashboard or DataVault table. The data is further transformed to connect to install data from the SDK to show you metrics like X-Day ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), etc.

What is an ETL system tool?

Sometimes there is a need to integrate data stacks from different platforms. An example of this is integrating Tenjin attribution and Mediation data with the App Store or Product analytics data. To do this, users would need to build an ETL system tool that would allow them to see all the data in a single database. Doing this would further enable them to calculate new metrics like X-Day Mediation-based LTV/User by acquisition source.
It is important to note, though, that an ETL system tool is usually time and resource consuming to build, and prone to errors. This is why we partner with Growth Fullstack to help alleviate this issue.

Growth Fullstack is an ETL system tool that helps mobile developers easily build data stack transformations, and get the data they need in one place. They have developed a full system of ETL processes where all ETL jobs are standardized, validated, monitored, and troubleshooted so that the data integration process runs smoothly. Growth FullStack can then help users build dashboards with custom visualizations in the data warehouse of their choice. Learn more about Growth FullStack here.