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Ever since the data on the web started multiplying in terms of quantity and quality, people have sought out ways to acquire this data for a wide range of applications. Since the scope of acquisition was limited back then, the extraction methods mostly composed of manual methods like copy-pasting text into a local document.
As businesses realized the importance big data acquisition, new technologies and tools surfaced with advanced capabilities to make data extraction easier and efficient.
Today, there are various solutions catering to the data acquisition requirements of companies; DIY tools to managed web scraping services are out there and you can choose one that suits your requirements the best.
Scraping using Google sheets
As we mentioned earlier, there are so many different ways to extract data from the web, although not all of these would make sense from a business point of view. You can even use Google docs to extract data from a simple HTML page if you are looking to understand the basics. You could check out our guide on using google sheets to crawl a website if you want to learn something that might come handy.
However, Google docs and other data extraction tools come with their own limitations. For starters, tools aren’t meant for large-scale extraction which is what most businesses will require. Unless you are a hobbyist looking to extract a few web pages for tinkering with a new data visualization tool, you should steer clear from tools. Tools cannot cater to the requirements of a business as it could be well out of their capabilities.
Limitations of scraping using Google docs and similar methods
- Scale of extraction is limited
- Cannot be automated
- Can only handle simple HTML sites
- Significantly slow
- No easy way to convert the data files
- Processing the data isn’t easy
Enterprise-grade solutions
Web data acquisition is only a common term for the process of saving data from a web page to a local storage or cloud. However, if we consider the practical applications of the data, it’s obvious that there’s a clear distinction between mere extraction and enterprise-grade solutions.
The latter is more inclined towards the extraction of data from the web for real-world applications and hence requires advanced solutions that are built for the same. Following are some of the qualities that an enterprise-grade solution should have:
- High-end customization options
- Complete automation
- Post-processing options to make the data machine-ready
- Technology to handle dynamic websites
- Capability of handling large-scale extraction
Why DaaS is the best solution for data acquisition
When it comes to data for business use cases, there should be a stark difference in the way things are done. The speed and efficiency matter more in the business world and this demands a managed data acquisition solution that takes the complexities and pain points out of the process to provide companies with just the data they need, the way they need it.
Data as a Service is exactly what businesses that are looking to extract data without losing focus on their core business operations need. Web crawling companies like PromptCloud, that work on the DaaS model, do all the heavy lifting associated with extraction and deliver only the needed data to the companies in a ready-to-use format.
How PromptCloud helps
At PromptCloud, we have created a robust web crawling infrastructure specially suitable for large-scale data acquisition by pushing the limits of advanced web technologies. With our dedicated team to handle all the tasks that are part of enterprise-grade solution, we’ve enabled ourselves to extract data from websites of any complexity with ease. If you’re looking to acquire data from the web, you can eliminate the complexities of the process by leaving it to the experts.
