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Data Flows

This page provides answers to frequently asked questions about data flows in Nexla.

Use the questions list on the right side of the page to navigate to specific questions.

For additional information or assistance with questions not listed here, contact support@nexla.com.

1. What steps are involved in creating a data flow?​

Usually, three basic steps are required to create any data flow:

  1. Create and activate a data source.

    • A data source is a location from which Nexla will obtain data. Since Nexla's low-/no-code connectors can easily and quickly provide a bi-directional connection to any location, data sources can include databases, data warehouses, cloud storage systems, APIs, FTP/SFTP/FTPS systems, webhooks, and more.

    • For each data source, Nexla provides multiple options that allow users to specify exactly when and how Nexla should ingest data from the source.

    • Once a data source has been created and activated, Nexla will begin to read and ingest data from the source according to the configured settings. Detected data will be organized into a detected Nexset.

  2. Transform and enrich the data in the detected Nexset to prepare it for any destination and application.

    • In the Nexset Designer, users can apply any needed transformation to ingested data—from securing PII data through hashing to string manipulation, performing calcluations and other mathematical operations, applying conditional logic, making changes to the data structure, and much more.

    • Applying one or more transformations to a Nexset produces a transformed Nexset.

    • Nexla includes many pre-built transformations that can be used to easily transform data for most applications with only a few clicks.

    • For use cases requiring specific, customized transformations, users can create custom transforms using Python, JavaScript, and/or JSON code.

  3. Send the data in the Nexset to one or more destinations.

    • Both detected and transformed Nexsets can be sent to any destination—whether a database, cloud storage system, file system, or any other location—to suit any use case.

    • Nexla's bi-directional connectors are also used to send data, making connecting to any data destination simple and quick.