The tool may also be used to automate maintenance of SQL Server databases and updates to multidimensional cube data.
Unlike DTS, which was included in all versions, SSIS is only available in the "Standard", "Business Intelligence" and "Enterprise" editions.
A package may be saved to a file or to a store with a hierarchical namespace within a SQL Server instance.
The Bulk Copy Program (BCP), is a command-line tool used to import or export data against a Microsoft SQL Server,[12] or Sybase database.
[13][better source needed] Users may write code to define their own connection objects, log providers, transforms, and tasks.
[14][15] SSIS features a programmable object model that allows developers to write their own hosts for package execution.
Within limits, SSIS packages can load and call CLI assembly DLLs, providing access to virtually any kind of operation permissible by the .NET CLR.