Can DIY Parsing Tools Effectively Serve Enterprises?

When it comes to web data scraping, various collection tools use different approaches. Automated web scraping often uses bots to extract data from multiple web pages of a site. Screen scraping is another technique where the goal is to capture specific pixels selected by the user, rather than diving into the underlying HTML content. Sophisticated scraping mechanisms are used for continuous monitoring of competitor websites to track product prices or other frequently updated information. Both scientists and companies use these systems to obtain the best data source for their evaluations.

If you want to extract a few web pages, the process is fairly simple. You write code and execute it. You need to enter a single URL or a list of URLs, and then the scraping process begins. The script then iterates through all the URLs and retrieves the full HTML content of each page. Based on your code configuration, the parser will extract specific data points, handle certain data adjustments, and generate results for you.

Although all parsers perform the same tasks, they can be divided into several loosely defined categories:

a). Self-built or DIY tools: While self-built tools involve writing code, a DIY scraping tool comes with a graphical user interface and allows you to configure the scraping engine with a few clicks. While the former can be difficult to create without software developers experienced in web scraping, the latter usually comes with certain limitations.

b). Paid software: Most DIY web scraping tools also come with a paid version that offers some additional features and support.

c). Browser extensions: Browser extensions are most commonly used by those who want to extract data from web pages while manually browsing. In this case, you need to select the portion of the web page to be extracted, and the extension should be able to provide it to you in a specific format.

d). Cloud DaaS providers: Cloud DaaS (Data as a Service) providers come to the rescue for enterprises that need a comprehensive solution. Typically, you are charged only for the volume of data to be collected or the number of web pages to be parsed. You need to provide your data requirements and the websites from which you need data. Based on these parameters, data will be collected and cleaned. It will also be provided to you in the format (CSV, JSON, XML, etc.) and means (S3, Dropbox, REST API, etc.) of your choice.

Leaving aside a small niche group that writes their own scraping code, people mainly rely on two methods for obtaining data: a DIY web scraping tool and DaaS (Data as a Service). The former allows people with limited coding knowledge to scrape a website. DaaS, on the other hand, operates on a subscription model like any other cloud service.

DIY Web Scraping Tools

This tool allows you to scrape websites without writing code. However, you will have to set specific configurations for each site from which you want data. If the user interface of any of these sites changes, you will need to make the necessary adjustments to your tool’s configuration.

There are various commercial tools you can purchase and use. Platforms like extract.io, Mozenda are examples of such web scraping tools. You can use these options if the data you want to collect is simple and small in volume. Such tools are better suited for one-off jobs. If you have a site or group of sites from which data needs to be collected, a DIY parser can do the job in a few hours. However, complex functions such as collecting data from the open web and cleaning or normalizing it based on specific parameters cannot be done simultaneously.

Although these tools have their pros, the cons outweigh them. You should consider DIY site scrapers if:

• The site is difficult to scrape—it may be behind a captcha or login page, or have complex Javascript code running in the background.
• You don’t have a business team with extra time to dedicate to a new tool that requires regular adjustments and fixes.
• You need more than just raw data collection—you require some data processing effort before it enters your workflow.

DaaS (Data as a Service)

Under this subscription model, the cloud service provider will deliver data to you in a plug-and-play manner. This ensures minimal disruption to your core business system due to the data flow. The service provider is responsible for maintaining the parser scripts to handle changes in the websites being scraped and debugging error pages. The provider also handles all the cloud infrastructure needed for continuous operation of such a system. For enterprises dealing with large volumes of data, DaaS solutions remove many overheads, thereby helping companies become data-driven businesses.

Advantages of DaaS over DIY Tools

1. Cost-Effective

Self-built site scrapers require a team for regular maintenance and updates. Frequent documentation is also needed to identify bugs that may creep in early on. If your business team spends time and resources learning and using a tool, it can take time away from their core functions. You may also need to assemble a larger team, which in turn can be more expensive than using a DaaS service.

DaaS providers do not require a dedicated in-house team, and data integration is a one-time setup that can be done relatively easily.

2. Flexibility

Enterprises typically require custom scraping solutions. Self-built scrapers cannot be easily customized, and you may end up using multiple tools in a chain to get the job done. This can affect your data quality. Enterprise-level DaaS solutions can accommodate any custom modifications to obtain data in a specific format. This can include updates to data taken from a website.

3. Accurate Results

While DIY site scrapers can obtain the necessary data, they may contain inaccuracies. You never know on which site your DIY parser will pick up wrong data and produce inaccurate results. Some web pages may also cause your DIY scraping tool to throw errors that then have to be debugged manually.

These errors can alter your data analysis insights and create issues in data-driven decision-making. However, professional scraping services ensure you receive accurate datasets in a ready-to-use format.

4. Faster Scraping

Large scraping tasks often cause DIY parsers to run at slower speeds than needed for continuous data feeds. DaaS providers use proper infrastructure and resources, allowing them to extract data faster and more efficiently. This typically includes concurrent data extraction from multiple sources.

5. Data Cleaning

Site scrapers generally collect data into a database. If you use a DIY scraping tool, you will have to clean the data to make it usable. This means you need additional cleaning tools. However, with DaaS, you don’t have to worry about this as you receive the data in a “ready-to-use” format.

6. Site Policies

The sites from which you may want to extract data may have policies prohibiting data collection. Any DaaS provider will extract data in compliance with the rules and policies set on the site. This ensures you don’t face legal issues when using data taken from the web.

What We Offer at ESK Solutions?

Our team at ESK Solutions offers a fully managed enterprise-level scraping service. This end-to-end managed data discovery service will help you leverage data from millions of web pages to grow your business. Instead of each company investing time and resources in personnel, training, tools, and infrastructure, a DaaS service like ours takes care of all your enterprise’s web scraping needs.

Having completed hundreds of scraping projects for companies across Russia, we are proud of our fully customizable data scraping solution that can be tailored to the task at hand. We consider the question you are trying to answer with the data and the problem it needs to solve, so we can also provide you with some “data tips.”