1. What is Data Monkey?
Data Monkey is a tool designed to simplify routine file processing. Files are often used as an interface between two systems, and wrangling the data into compatible formats can be a time-consuming task. Data Monkey provides a simple, configuration-based approach that lets you quickly decide how an incoming file should be processed. In addition, Data Monkey provides a way to validate, manipulate, and analyze the data in the file itself ― it helps you take the busy work out of business work.
2. How does file processing work?
Once a file template has been created, a file can be processed in one of the following ways:
- Upload your file on the Data Monkey site for quick processing on our high-performance servers. You’ll be able to monitor progress during the run and view / download the output directly.
- Download the free, open-source Data Monkey Python library and process the file locally with just a few simple commands ― your data stays on your servers for complete data privacy.
- Work with our team to host Data Monkey on your corporate intranet or on-premise server farm.
3. Which file formats are supported?
Data Monkey currently supports the following file types: Text (fixed-width format), CSV, Excel, and JSON.
Our monkeys are working hard to support additional formats in the near future, including direct SQL queries, links to external REST APIs, and more. Please let us know if there is a particular format you’d like to see!
4. Is Data Monkey free to use?
Most features of Data Monkey are free to use! However, there are file-size and other limits enforced for free accounts. Please see our pricing page for details.
5. How do I manage my file templates?
You can create, edit, or copy file templates on the dashboard. You can also view the number of times a template has been used, download the template for local processing, or use the template to process a new file upload directly through the Data Monkey site.
6. Where is my data stored?
If you choose to use Data Monkey to process files, your data will be stored on our secure cloud. We take data privacy and security very seriously, and these files will only be accessible by you. You also have the ability to delete any files you've uploaded or processed using our Archive feature.
For local processing, your data will never leave your servers ― Data Monkey does not send any telemetry or relay any information about the files you process.
7. What are example use cases?
- A client delivers an extract from their billing system in an Excel file. You’ve always had issues with data consistency and the fields they send seem to change regularly. You use Data Monkey to create an easy to update file template that validates all of data you expect in the report has been sent, then transform the data to align with your internal company template.
- An internal system is able to provide a JSON file that contains data you’d like to share with leadership. You use a Data Monkey file template to process the file into an Excel spreadsheet for easier consumption. The original JSON contains far more data than necessary, so you limit the number of fields and set filters for the data you know leadership would like to see.
- You were provided with a massive CSV file that contains millions of rows of data. You need to transform this data into a report, but don’t have time to work with a programmer. You create a file template that lets you merge data (e.g. first name and last name) into easier to manage output. You then take advantage of the data modifiers to manipulate your data into exactly what you need ― all without a single line of code.
- You’re a programmer that needs to import a pesky Excel file into your database. You create a file template to process the file directly into a Python dictionary (in memory!). You’ve been burned by bad data before, so you make extensive use of data validators to get a report of any missing values.