ETL ≠ Data Loader

Let’s say you’re at a company that uses Salesforce, and someone asks:

“Wait, don’t we already have ETL (or iPaaS) ? Why do we need another tool to load data into Salesforce?”

A totally fair question. There are powerful ETL and iPaaS platforms that have been solving complex data problems for years. But here’s the thing: they were built for something else.

ETL/iPaaS: Jack of all trades

These platforms are designed to move data between just about anything—databases, cloud services, APIs, files—no matter the format or protocol. They come packed with hundreds of connectors and transformation rules.

They’re the Swiss Army knives of enterprise integration. Perfect when you’re syncing Workday to Salesforce every week, with a consistent file format and a locked-in mapping. But what if your day looks more like this?

• “Hey, can you load this lead list from this morning’s webinar?”
• “Can you update 20K cases in Service Cloud with this spreadsheet I triaged? Oh, and I forgot to include Record IDs—you can VLOOKUP them in.”

That’s the kind of chaos Marketing Ops managers and Salesforce Admins deal with every day. And that’s exactly where a different kind of tool shines.

DataIAm: Master of one

DataIAm is an AI-powered data loader, purpose-built for Salesforce. Where ETL tools are built for repeatable, engineered pipelines, DataIAm is built for one-off, messy jobs that need to be done right now.

It’s designed to:

• Require zero code, zero prompt engineering
• Fix messy spreadsheets and make them Salesforce-ready

It’s like taking an 18-wheeler truck (ETL/iPaaS) into downtown—powerful, but unwieldy—versus hopping into an autonomous Waymo SUV (DataIAm) that gets you there effortlessly.

TL;DR:

ETL/iPaaS = Jack of all trades
DataIAm = Master of one: Fixing and loading Salesforce data

In our next post, we’ll show how DataIAm tackles these challenges—with a little help from AI.

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About the Author

Zeb Mahmood has spent his career unlocking business value by moving, fixing, and loading data—first as an engineer, then as a product leader, and now as a cofounder.

With 2 decades in product management, 9 years at Salesforce, and hands-on experience in early-stage startups, he’s learned a simple truth: data is the lifeblood of every business. But when it’s messy or trapped in spreadsheets, it can’t drive impact.

That’s why Zeb cofounded DataIAm — a Fix & Load AI built for Salesforce Admins and data handlers who just want their data to work. No frustration. No failed imports. Just clean, reliable data that loads seamlessly into Salesforce and delivers results.

Zeb believes great products don’t win on tech alone — they win through empathy. Empathy for users, buyers, partners, and the people building the product every day.