FME Info Center

Spatial ETL Technology

"Get the right data to the right system, in the right schema, at the right time"

Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) describes in general a process that involves:

• Extracting data from the source system
• Transforming it to fit user needs and to prepare it for the target system
• Loading it into the target system

The term "Spatial ETL" extends this process by integrating spatial data (geodata). Typically the transformation part of a Spatial ETL process consists of an attribute and/or a geometric transformation regarding the projection and the schema of the source and destination data.

Almost every market has an increasing requirement of spatial data to support and expedite business processes and customer needs.

The benefits of a Spatial ETL are:

• Improvement of business processes
• Adding a new dimension into decision making
• Answering every question which starts with "Where"

The FME technology as the only complete Spatial ETL solution provides an almost unlimited flexibility to transform, translate, federate and distribute every kind of spatial data.