Conduct a comprehensive audit of your Informatica deployment: all workflows, sessions, mappings, source/target connections, custom transformations, and job schedules. Export metadata via Informatica's repository manager. Create a spreadsheet mapping every workflow to its source, target, frequency, and complexity level.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Informatica's repository can be large; allow time to navigate and extract metadata
- Custom plugins, expressions, and Java transformations are often undocumented—interview team members to surface them
Sort workflows into three categories: (1) Pure data movement (ideal for Airbyte), (2) Light transformation (Airbyte + dbt), (3) Complex transformation (keep in Informatica or refactor to Informatica Cloud). Prioritize Category 1 workflows for early migration. Document the classification rationale.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Misclassifying complex workflows as 'light transformation' leads to rework—err on the side of conservatism
- Some workflows may have implicit dependencies not visible in the UI—trace data flows carefully
Choose between Airbyte Cloud (managed), self-hosted (Docker/Kubernetes), or hybrid. Self-hosted reduces costs but increases operational burden. For a migration, start with Airbyte Cloud to reduce variables. Document your choice and infrastructure requirements.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Self-hosted Airbyte requires PostgreSQL, network access, and ongoing DevOps support—budget for this
- Airbyte Cloud has rate limits; verify they match your data volume expectations
Deploy Airbyte (Cloud or self-hosted). Create workspace and teams. Set up database for metadata storage (if self-hosted). Create destination connections for each warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Postgres). Test connections with sample queries.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Self-hosted setup takes significantly longer than Cloud—plan accordingly
- Network firewall rules must allow Airbyte to reach data sources and destinations
For each workflow, create the corresponding Airbyte source connector. Start with Category 1 workflows (pure data movement). Configure table/stream selection, column filtering, and sync mode (full vs. incremental). Set initial sync parameters. Test with a small subset of data.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Airbyte connector versions vary in maturity—use latest stable releases
- Some sources require additional configuration (cursors, API keys, scopes)—read docs carefully
For workflows with light transformation, create dbt models that build on Airbyte-loaded tables. Write dbt tests for data quality. Set up dbt to run after Airbyte syncs (via webhooks or orchestrator). Validate dbt output matches original Informatica transformations.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- dbt transformation logic must be written from scratch—no auto-conversion from Informatica mappings
- Timing dependencies between Airbyte syncs and dbt runs must be carefully orchestrated
Run your first batch of migrated workflows (Category 1 + Category 2) in Airbyte. Compare outputs with original Informatica runs: record counts, data accuracy, completeness. Run multiple cycles to validate incremental syncs. Document any discrepancies and resolution steps.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Data type conversions (especially JSON, timestamps) can introduce subtle differences—test thoroughly
- Incremental sync cursors may behave differently than Informatica's CDC—validate carefully
For Category 3 workflows (complex transformation), evaluate options: (1) Refactor to Informatica Cloud + Airbyte, (2) Keep in on-premises Informatica, or (3) Rewrite in Informatica Cloud + Airbyte + dbt hybrid. Document the approach for each. Plan the timeline separately from the main migration.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Complex workflows may not be economically viable to migrate—sometimes keeping them in place is the right call
- Hybrid architectures (Informatica + Airbyte) add complexity—document clearly
Keep both Informatica and Airbyte workflows running in parallel for 2-4 weeks. Compare outputs daily. Validate that all metrics (record counts, timestamps, data quality) align. Monitor Airbyte for failures or performance issues. Alert the team to issues immediately.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Timing mismatches between old and new schedules make comparison tricky—sync run times if possible
- Partial failures in Airbyte may surface data quality issues hidden in Informatica—fix these before full cutover
After successful parallel validation, disable Informatica workflows from production. Archive (don't delete) Informatica configurations for 2-4 weeks. Update monitoring, alerting, and SLAs to reference Airbyte. Document the final architecture and lessons learned. Plan for Informatica deprovisioning.
⚠️ Watch Out For:
- Informatica licensing and infrastructure may take time to decommission—coordinate with IT early
- Team may still reference Informatica documentation—proactively update wikis and runbooks
