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Apache Web Server vs IBM DataPower Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Apache Web Server
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM DataPower Gateway
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (4th), SOA Application Gateways (1st), API Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Apache Web Server is 10.9%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 4.6%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Saurav Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers security features that are reliable
When it comes to Apache Web Server, I don't have any suggestions for improvement because we use it in the UAT environment. For production, my company mainly uses NGINX. There is no direct package provided by the product if I want to use WAF. In NGINX, NGINX Plus has the signature update capability, but in Apache, the same feature is not available, making it an area where improvements are required. If WAF can be introduced in Apache Web Server, it would be a good improvement so that its users can implement either the WAF module or ModSecurity, as they choose. For NGINX, I think it has NGINX Management Suite, which is GUI-based and allows you to manage your configuration via the user interface, but Apache fails to offer such capabilities to users. Apache Web Server should provide users with the same capabilities offered under NGINX Management Suite with the help of a simple GUI so that our company doesn't have to do anything on the terminal while directly getting to use the user interface, which can help us with the configuration part.
Mehdi El Filahi - PeerSpot reviewer
Security features meets compliance needs and offers MPGW (Multi-Protocol Gateway) that simplifies integration efforts
While I like IBM products, I'm not an evangelist. I work with Java, Microsoft ASP.NET, and various technologies. I'm not tied to any specific vendor. However, I do find IBM to be a bit greedy. It's a large, profit-driven company. The support team is mostly based in India, and they follow a very structured process and protocol. Sometimes, it feels like playing ping pong with them – lots of back and forth before the problem gets escalated. You might even have to get your sales rep involved to push things along. For me, the support it could be better. Indian support teams aren't inherently bad, but with IBM, it feels impersonal. They respond, sure. But if it's a complex technical issue, they might ask you a lot of questions that just seem designed to waste your time. Sometimes it feels like they hope you'll get frustrated and solve the problem yourself.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is scalable."
"Most of the features I liked were related to the performance during peak hours."
"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."
"It's reliable, configurable and generally secure."
"It's very stable, and it hosts one of the biggest of many biggest web applications in the world."
"Apache Web Server is free of cost."
"The most significant advantage is the ability to swiftly enable HTTPS services when my DNS is configured correctly."
"The solution's most valuable feature is reporting."
"It is very easy to set up and configure, even for users with no prior experience."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The product is stable...The product is scalable."
"The solution is straightforward and for large organizations, it functions well."
"The solution is scalable, our customers are mostly South African banks and they handle mostly transactions with this solution."
"It's high-speed and it can be remotely administered via an API."
"What I like most is the stability."
"The solution is stable."
 

Cons

"A monitoring interface would be great for this product. The monitoring dashboards for Apache's models are not included in the basic installation. You can install the basic monitoring model, then connect this model to another monitoring system."
"Adding a reverse proxy to Apache Web Server would be a significant improvement."
"I want the user interface to be more user-friendly."
"So far, for us, everything is okay."
"The major issue occurs with ports. So, I would like to see easier port management."
"For NGINX, I think it has NGINX Management Suite, which is GUI-based and allows you to manage your configuration via the user interface, but Apache fails to offer such capabilities to users."
"The interface has room for improvement."
"The product's initial setup process could be easier for users."
"I would like the tool to improve its training."
"The IBM community does not have much engagement from the IT community in Saudi Arabia and developers for this solution are difficult to find."
"For the workloads that are not too high, appliance is a little bit expensive."
"The components that they include in the product that are, in fact, a WTX, really need to be removed from the product because they tend to fail."
"In terms of OEM support, it is poor. If I raise a CBRT one, as per the SLA, they should respond in one hour, however, sometimes it takes four or five hours to respond."
"The DCDR process should be less complex."
"The product's cost for data appliances or hardware is quite high. It needs improvement."
"The two biggest issues of this solution are the complexity and the maintenance procedures."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The apache software is free, open-source."
"There is no licensing cost for the product."
"It is a free-of-cost solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"It's expensive when you compare it with others."
"The solution has a return on investment but is a little expensive."
"This product is a bit expensive as IBM products are costly assets. However, for enterprise customers it is a worthwhile investment."
"As far as I know, they have a perpetual license for this product. They are paying perpetual fees rather than an annual subscription or annual pricing."
"The cost of this product varies from customer to customer and the relationship with IBM, including how many offerings from IBM are already being used."
"Most customers' use case budgets are not inlined with the price of IBM DataPower Gateway. It is too expensive."
"The licensing cost is very expensive."
"The total cost of IBM DataPower Gateway would depend on the configuration, but in my experience, it can amount to 60,000 Euros per box, even for the virtual version. Usually, customers need high availability and a non-production environment, so the total price for IBM DataPower Gateway can be quite a lot. It can be 200,000 Euros or a similar figure."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Web Server?
The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Web Server?
The price of the product is an area handled by the procurement team in my company.
What needs improvement with Apache Web Server?
There isn't a dedicated customer support available for Apache Web Server.
What do you like most about IBM DataPower Gateway?
The MPGW (Multi-Protocol Gateway) is great because it allows you to easily expose services using various protocols – web services, REST (JSON), and others. This flexibility simplifies things.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM DataPower Gateway?
I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being high price, and ten being low price. It's high-priced for smaller companies. But it is okay for enterprises. So, the price could be more fl...
What needs improvement with IBM DataPower Gateway?
The DCDR process should be less complex. AI should improve developer efficiency and effort. Whenever I am writing code, it should give recommendations automatically by incorporating AI so I can wri...
 

Also Known As

Apache HTTP Server
WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco, Intuit, General Electric, Adobe, VMware, PayPal, HP, EMC, eBay, Apple, SAP, Qualcomm, SanDisk, Allstate, FedEx
RBL Bank, Availity
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Web Server vs. IBM DataPower Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.