Quick Answer
Amazon AppFlow is the correct choice for ingesting data from SaaS applications like Salesforce and Marketo into Amazon S3 because it is purpose-built to securely transfer data between SaaS platforms and AWS services with minimal configuration. The service handles moderate data volumes efficiently by supporting scheduled, incremental syncs through native connectors, which automatically map fields and handle authentication without requiring custom code. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of managed integration services versus building custom pipelines with tools like Lambda or Glue, which would be overengineered for this use case. A common trap is choosing AWS Glue for its ETL capabilities, but Glue lacks direct SaaS connectors and requires additional components for ingestion. Remember the memory tip: AppFlow is the “app-to-cloud flow” for SaaS-to-S3 syncs, so when you see Salesforce or Marketo plus daily schedules, think AppFlow first.
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer needs to ingest data from multiple SaaS applications (Salesforce, Marketo) into Amazon S3 for a data lake. The data volumes are moderate and the sync needs to be scheduled daily. Which AWS service is most appropriate for this task?
AWS Glue
Why wrong: ETL service, not direct ingestion.
Amazon AppFlow
Designed for SaaS data ingestion.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why wrong: For database replication.
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why wrong: For streaming data.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon AppFlow
Amazon AppFlow is purpose-built for securely transferring data between SaaS applications (like Salesforce and Marketo) and AWS services (like S3). It supports scheduled, incremental data syncs with built-in connectors, making it the most appropriate choice for moderate-volume daily ingestion into a data lake.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
ETL service, not direct ingestion.
Amazon AppFlow
Why this is correct
Designed for SaaS data ingestion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why it's wrong here
For database replication.
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why it's wrong here
For streaming data.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Glue's ETL capabilities with direct SaaS ingestion, overlooking that Glue requires a custom connector or script to pull from APIs, whereas AppFlow provides native, managed connectors.
Detailed technical explanation
Amazon AppFlow uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication with SaaS providers and supports incremental transfers via change data capture (CDC) or filtered queries, reducing data transfer costs. Under the hood, it can handle up to 100 GB per flow and supports private connectivity via VPC endpoints for security. A real-world scenario is syncing Salesforce opportunities daily to S3 for downstream analytics without writing custom API code.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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Data Ingestion and Transformation — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon AppFlow — Amazon AppFlow is purpose-built for securely transferring data between SaaS applications (like Salesforce and Marketo) and AWS services (like S3). It supports scheduled, incremental data syncs with built-in connectors, making it the most appropriate choice for moderate-volume daily ingestion into a data lake.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.
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