TOBI is equipped with an exclusive EDI tool that provides effective On-Demand Data Integration.
TOBI’s Data Harvester lets you exchange and synchronize data between various databases without requiring any programming skills.
Key Features and Benefits:
Exchange Data with Legacy Systems and Programs
TOBI’s Data Harvester performs data transformation and mapping, as well as database management,
so IT specialists are not needed. Data Harvester quickly exports and imports data to and from
external file formats such as XML, HTML, QuickBooks,
Excel, Access, SQL, Outlook,
dBASE and plain text files, giving you the ability to connect and synchronize
data from all of your business applications.
No Need to Stop Using Your Current Systems
When using TOBI there is no need to get rid of your current systems or even stop using them.
TOBI does not force you into a technological ‘lock in’ because it works concurrently with other
systems and programs. TOBI is the only small business ERM system that offers such remarkable
flexibility. TOBI fills gaps left by current systems, giving you the ultimate tool for integrating
enterprise wide information managed or not managed by TOBI.
Integrate Information Systems without Programming
Data Harvester’s EDI process is intuitive and easy to navigate, so both technical
and non-technical users can easily perform what were once complicated data interchange
functions. The traditional approach to data integration requires hiring system integrators
to develop custom solutions - a process that is tedious and costly.
The typical integration solution requires numerous components, including connector software,
dedicated hardware to run custom applications, specific platforms, monitoring software and an IT
team to maintain the operation during the lifecycle of the integration solution. Data Harvester
achieves the same connectivity among systems with its powerful EDI procedures,
without mounting costs and long timelines.
Import Data from Existing Databases and Programs
Data Harvester’s Import capabilities are used to transfer data from a variety of sources into any or all TOBI
databases. Import procedures automatically analyze and detect columns in the external database or
file and match them with similar columns in TOBI. If Data Harvester is unable to match columns perfectly, users
can manually pair columns from the external database with columns in TOBI using a simple drop-down list.
That’s it. There is absolutely NO CODING involved.
Data Harvester’s import function offers several important benefits, such as data
consolidation and synchronization across multiple TOBI databases, as well as complete TOBI system updating
with information from other systems. The latter further allows for the development of front-end
applications to connect to and operate alongside TOBI. For example, the common use of
Excel to collect weekly timesheets from employees does not have to be abolished;
a simple Data Harvester EDI procedure can be implemented to extract and import the data from
submitted spreadsheets into TOBI.
Export Data from TOBI for Reporting, Archiving, etc.
Data Harvester’s export function is extremely unique; you can export any table or table component in
TOBI to any other database you may require. Data Harvester’s export procedures have many applications,
including data archiving (for backups), generating updated transactions for use by other systems,
and exporting data to other software tools for further analysis and custom reporting.
Schedule Programs to Run Automatically
Data Harvester’s Auto Processing Scheduler and AutoPilot applications allow you to schedule procedures
and/or programs to be queued for execution according to a defined schedule. These two applications are
particularly useful in a multi-database configuration where you need to automate the transfer and updating of
data between various terminals. The AutoPilot application monitors the Scheduler and executes EDI or
other procedures on a regular basis.
In a network environment involving the interchange of large amounts of data between multiple and other databases,
you may run the AutoPilot on a dedicated network PC for better performance. Furthermore, in an intensive
distributed database environment, you may run the AutoPilot utility on multiple network PCs to increase data
interchange performance and reliability.
TOBI's Email Data Dispatch
Create a virtual TOBI network that continuously and automatically updates critical information using
only an email account. Click here to learn more.
Unique Features of TOBI’s Data Harvester:
- Data Harvester + AutoPilot: Any import or export process can be easily recreated and repeated as
needed via Data Harvester’s AutoPilot feature. Using a basic template and the AutoPilot function, an
EDI procedure or report can be created once and repeated, automatically, as frequently as desired:
weekly, daily or by the minute.
- Easy mass-extraction and insertion of data may be scheduled to run at optimum times and at regular
intervals.
- Interface TOBI data with a variety of applications and data formats including
XML, HTML, QuickBooks, MS Excel, Outlook, Access, SQL, dBASE and plain text files.
- TOBI backs up data, checks for mistakes in EDI imports/exports and updates missing fields.
- Data Harvester has a display log that provides immediate knowledge of any mistakes in the import/export process.