Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs FME comparison

Ab Initio and Safe Software are both solutions in the Data Integration category. Ab Initio is ranked #47, while Safe Software is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.7. Ab Initio holds a 1.5% mindshare in DI, compared to Safe Software’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Ab Initio users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Safe Software users who would recommend it.

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Read 3 Ab Initio Co>Operating System reviews

1,635 Views
1,058 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

FME

Read 5 FME reviews

2,503 Views
1,829 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

FME

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Ab Initio Co>Operating System and FME compete in the data integration sector. Ab Initio has an edge in handling large-scale data projects due to its strong data processing capabilities, while FME is preferred for its versatility in spatial data management.

Features: Ab Initio Co>Operating System features parallel processing capabilities, advanced transformation functions, and a solid framework for data analysis and project automation. FME supports over 450 formats, offers spatial data transformation, and provides a user-friendly interface, making it useful for broad data integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Ab Initio Co>Operating System is known for precise deployment, often needing specialized support due to complexity. Its customer service is dependable for resolving issues efficiently. FME has a streamlined deployment process, supported by comprehensive documentation and active community engagement, resulting in quicker adoption and ease of use.

Pricing and ROI: Ab Initio Co>Operating System has a higher setup cost reflecting its extensive processing power, which delivers significant ROI for large-scale projects. FME offers a lower setup cost with flexibility and excellent ROI, particularly in spatial data projects. Its comprehensive integration features contribute to faster ROI realization with less initial investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Ranking in Data Integration

47th

Average Rating

9.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workload Automation (29th)

FME

Ranking in Data Integration

26th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Ab Initio Co>Operating System is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FME is 1.8%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

AlejandroMosso

Senior Solutions Architect at IDS Comercial

Enables creation of sophisticated applications with powerful parallelism and quick, effective support

The most valuable features of Ab Initio Co>Operating System are its performance and the ability to implement parallelism. There are three kinds of parallelism in Ab Initio Co>Operating System, which allow us to create very sophisticated solutions for almost any kind of application. This parallelism is one of the strongest features. Additionally, its scalability offers a unique way to escalate applications that differs from other technologies. In terms of data processing, the emphasis is on understanding the data. Data profiling is fundamental, and Ab Initio Co>Operating System integrates tools to perform this within the GDE, as well as specialized products for this purpose. Data profiling graphs can be implemented when necessary to understand the data sources.

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Alan Bloor

Geographic Information System Developer at Public Sector

Great for handling large volumes of data, but it is priced a bit high

When I do coding, I think about every single function. Some of these functions can be very elementary, like doing a substring or some capitalization. But FME removes all that coding because it's a transformer, so the time to develop an application to get to a point where you're producing results is decreased massively. It used to take weeks and months to develop software, and now I can use something like FME, and within one day, we get results. We can look at and validate data. We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Ab Initio Co>Operating System support is the best I have encountered."

"Co>Operating System's most valuable feature is its ability to process bulk data effectively."

"Ab Initio reaches the highest performance and is very flexible in processing huge amounts of data."

"All spatial features are unrivaled, and the possibility to execute them based on a scheduled trigger, manual, e-mail, Websocket, tweet, file/directory change or virtually any trigger is most valuable."

"It has standard plug-ins available for different data sources."

"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface. There is nothing better. It is very easy to debug because you can see all steps where there are failures. Overall the software is easy to optimize a process."

"We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else."

"It has a very friendly user interface. You don't need to use a lot of code. For us that's the most important aspect about it. Also, it has a lot of connectors and few forms. It has a strong facial aspect. It can do a lot of facial analysis."

Cons

"An awesome improvement would be big data solutions, for example, implementing some kind of business intelligence or neural networks for artificial intelligence."

"Co>Operating System would be improved with more integrations for less well-known technologies."

"To get a higher rating, it would have to improve the price and the associated scalability. These are the main issues."

"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions."

"The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point."

"FME's price needs improvement for the African market."

"Improvements could be made to mapping presentations."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Co>Operating System's pricing is on the expensive end since it tends to be used by big enterprises."

"The product's price is reasonable."

"FME Server used to cost £10,000; now it can cost over £100,000."

"We used the standard licensing for our use of FME. The cost was approximately €15,000 annually. We always welcome less expensive solutions, if the solution could be less expensive it would be helpful."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

38%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

University

Government

30%

Energy/Utilities Company

13%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points

What do you like most about FME?

We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FME?

The pricing is really bad. Last year, they rebranded the whole pricing structure. It used to be moderately priced at about £400 per user per year. Now they've changed the whole thing, and it's expe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FME?

The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point. There must be a technical or comm...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) vs Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Compared 7% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Compared 6% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Alteryx Designer vs FME

Compared 10% of the time

SSIS vs FME

Compared 7% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs FME

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Data Integration

March 2025

Download Ab Initio Co>Operating System product report

Buyer's Guide

FME

April 2025

Download FME product report

Also Known As

Co>Operating System

No data available

Overview

Ab Initio Co>Operating System is used for data integration, ETL processes, and complex data transformations. It is robust in handling large-scale data processing and batch processing, offering scalability, reliability, and performance for managing heavy workloads.

Ab Initio Co>Operating System provides real-time data processing capabilities, an intuitive meta-programming environment, and efficient batch job execution. Users appreciate its flexibility in supporting various data sources and platforms. Primary use cases involve addressing complex data transformations and integration needs, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

What are the key features of Ab Initio Co>Operating System?

Scalability: Efficiently handles large-scale data processing and batch processing.
Robust Parallel Processing: Delivers powerful ETL capabilities with strong performance.
Intuitive Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies creating and managing data workflows.
Flexible Data Integration: Supports diverse data sources seamlessly.
Error Handling and Debugging: Features strong tools for managing and resolving issues.
Automation: Automates repetitive tasks, streamlining operations.
Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with other tools, enhancing workflow efficiency.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Performance: High reliability and performance in managing heavy workloads.
Efficiency: Real-time data processing enhances productivity and decision-making.
Scalability: Efficient scaling to meet growing data processing needs.
Flexibility: Supports a wide range of data sources and platforms.
Usability: Intuitive interface and automation reduce learning curve and improve efficiency.

Industries implement Ab Initio Co>Operating System for its reliable data integration and ETL capabilities. Financial services use it for processing large volumes of transactional data, while retail sectors apply it for real-time analysis of customer data. Healthcare organizations leverage its robust processing for managing patient records and data aggregation.

Ab Initio

FME is the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data. Run workflows on the desktop or deploy them in a server or cloud environment.

Safe Software

Sample Customers

A multinational transportation company

Shell, US Department of Commerce, PG&E, BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Enel, Iowa DoT, San Antonio Water System

Buyer's Guide

Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

April 2025

Free Report: Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

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