ETL

Acronym for Extract, Transform, Load

This term refers to a process by which your data is used. First, your data is collected from any number of sources. Then, the raw data is cleaned and transformed: formats are standardized, duplicates are eliminated and the data is verified and sorted. Finally, the data is centralized in a data warehouse. Once ETL is complete, you can leverage your data, for example, with data analysis, BI or decision support system tools.