Azure data factory can be a useful alternative to SSIS in the data migration life cycle, however, there are some areas where the “current” implementation lets it down sligthly.

Mapping Data Flows

One major difference if you’re used to SSIS is the requirement to pre-create the output tables – no easy click new on a data flow destination here.

Templates

Standard templates can be used for copying multiple sources to their relevant destinations. This is easy to set up but has the downside of being a nightmare to maintain as you then have to edit the JSON that the template creates

Triggers

Again triggers to run the data flow can be set up – either timed, tumbling window or event based e.g. when a file arrives in blob storage start the flow. However, changes to the data flow require the trigger to be set up again doesn’t automatically pick up changes to the data flow.