Data pipelines can vary dramatically for all of the above use cases.
Quite often it's not simply a matter of what application you are using beyond the built-in import functionality of RE. It's also how are you engineering the data through preparation and modeling to get it from location A To location B. Then there is the question of what tool are you actually using to ingest into RE. These two stages have to work hand in hand.
Two popular data ingestion tools are Omatic and Importacular. Of course as RE makes its move to a web only interface, the abilities of these two longtime vendors change. A lot of customers are concerned about the lack of functionality that Blackbaud offers through its SKY API. And that a lot of the features needed for heavy duty work don't exist in web view whereas they did in database view. It will all boil down to what are the specific use cases.
Things you'll need to consider
What are the applications where the data is origin
What shape is the data in and how might it need to be manipulated to be RE-ready.
What tool will accomplish the task of moving from one location to the next
If you have specific use cases, feel free to reach out
Dave Woodley
Unlock*Share*Connect
Chief Data Officer
University of Alaska Foundation