Why the Fivetran x Census Acquisition Signals a New Era for Data Infrastructure
2 MIN READ
JESSICA KENTCH, FOUNDING PARTNER, ABLAZE ANALYTICS & COLLECTIVE
In a major move that signals the next evolution of modern data infrastructure, Fivetran has officially acquired Census, one of the pioneers in reverse ETL and data activation. For those of us deep in the data trenches, this isn’t just another M&A headline—this is a strategic alignment that reflects a broader industry shift: one where data extraction and activation are no longer siloed, but deeply integrated across every stack.
At Ablaze Collective, where we specialize in financial API analytics and help CPA firms and fintech founders extract meaning from systems like QuickBooks, Xero, Plaid, and beyond, this acquisition confirms what we’ve long believed: the future of analytics is bi-directional.
Why This Deal Makes Sense
Fivetran revolutionized the ETL (extract, transform, load) space by offering prebuilt connectors and automated pipelines that make data integration fast, scalable, and low-maintenance. Meanwhile, Census focused on what comes after data lands in your warehouse—making it actionable by sending it back out to operational tools like CRMs, ad platforms, and support systems.
Together, this merger creates a seamless loop between data ingestion and data activation—an end-to-end lifecycle from extraction to insight to execution.
For firms navigating cloud accounting systems, this integration reflects a critical need: APIs aren't just for pulling raw financial data—they're the backbone of real-time strategy, client segmentation, M&A targeting, and automated advisory.
Why We Often Recommend These Platforms
At Ablaze, we build analytics solutions for firms that don’t have enterprise-level budgets but still need enterprise-level insights. Both Fivetran and Census have democratized access to data tooling that was once reserved for billion-dollar teams. They’ve made it easy for lean, data-forward firms to:
✅ Connect to APIs without building custom pipelines
✅ Centralize data from accounting platforms, banking feeds, and billing systems
✅ Activate data by pushing it back into CRMs, marketing tools, or advisory dashboards
This plug-and-play efficiency aligns closely with our vision: to make powerful financial data accessible to the small and mid-market, not just the Big Four.
What It Means for the Market
This acquisition validates the growing demand for full-loop data ecosystems—where firms don’t just look at their data, but act on it in real time. It also sharpens the focus on data trust, data orchestration, and user-level accessibility, especially for industries like accounting and fintech where compliance and clarity are non-negotiable.
For our clients—especially those in Cloud Accounting Services (CAS) or exploring practice acquisitions—this kind of infrastructure is critical. You can’t sell or scale what you can’t measure, and you can’t measure what your tools can’t surface.
With tools like Fivetran and Census becoming more tightly integrated, the path from API mining to revenue-driving insight just got shorter.
Our Take
At Ablaze Collective, we believe this is a net positive for the data community—and a sign of where our industry is headed:
From passive dashboards to active systems
From ETL to full-cycle activation
From siloed insights to embedded intelligence
If you're a CPA firm, fintech founder, or fractional CFO wondering how to build data infrastructure that goes beyond spreadsheets and surface-level KPIs, now is the time to rethink your stack.
Because the future isn’t just data-driven—
It’s data-activated.