IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server comparison

IBM Cloud Pak for Data and IBM InfoSphere Information Server are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is ranked #26 with an average rating of 7.0, while IBM InfoSphere Information Server is ranked #34 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM Cloud Pak for Data holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to IBM InfoSphere Information Server’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM Cloud Pak for Data users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM InfoSphere Information Server users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Read 13 IBM Cloud Pak for Data reviews

2,186 Views
2,055 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

IBM InfoSphere Information ...

Read 8 IBM InfoSphere Information Server reviews

1,273 Views
1,031 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

IBM InfoSphere Information ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

IBM InfoSphere Information Server and IBM Cloud Pak for Data compete in the data management and analytics category. IBM Cloud Pak for Data appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and data processing capabilities.

Features: IBM InfoSphere Information Server focuses on data integration, governance, and quality management, ensuring high-quality data management. Its suite is comprehensive for these tasks. IBM Cloud Pak for Data provides advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI, supporting a unified data platform for complete data processing and insight solutions. It emphasizes a scalable analytics approach.

Room for Improvement: IBM InfoSphere Information Server could enhance its analytics capabilities and offer more flexibility in AI integration. It might also improve cloud-native adaptability. IBM Cloud Pak for Data could lower its initial costs, optimize its integration with existing systems, and simplify its feature set for ease of use. Improvements in these areas could enhance user experience and accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM InfoSphere Information Server is valued for its easy deployment and reliable customer service, integrating smoothly with current systems. IBM Cloud Pak for Data supports hybrid cloud deployment, offering scalability across environments and fast service response, which highlights its strength in adaptability.

Pricing and ROI: IBM InfoSphere Information Server provides competitive pricing and a strong ROI, thanks to its efficient data management enhancements. Conversely, IBM Cloud Pak for Data may have a higher initial cost, but it offers significant ROI due to its extensive analytics and AI features, justifying the expense with its technological advancements.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server

September 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

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Ranking in Data Integration

26th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (3rd)

IBM InfoSphere Information ...

Ranking in Data Integration

34th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Metadata Management (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Information Server is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Cloud Pak for Data	1.8%
IBM InfoSphere Information Server	0.9%
Other	97.3%

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie

Data asset management engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Starts strong with data management capabilities but needs a demo database

What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated. There are so many components to data management, and more often than not, people understand one thing really well. They may understand DataStage and how to move data around, but they do not see the impact of moving data incorrectly. They also do not see the impact of everyone understanding a piece of data in the same way. I would love Cloud Pak to come with a demo database that illustrates the different components of data management in a logical way, so I can see the whole picture instead of just the area I'm specializing in. It would be great if Cloud Pak, from a data modeling point of view, allowed us to import our PDMs, for example. It would be ideal to import and create business terms in Cloud Pak. The PEA would be great to create the technical data. The association between the business and the technical metadata could then be automated by pulling it through from your ACE models. The data modeling component is available in Cloud Pak. Additionally, when it comes to Cloud Pak, even though it has the NextGen DataStage built into it, there is Cloud Pak for data integration as well. Currently, I do not think we have a full enough understanding of how CP4D and CP4I can enhance each other.

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Srikrishna Pothukuchi

Project Director at iCAST Analytics

Faced challenges during migration and experienced high resource consumption

For virtualization, we are using ESXi and Vcenter. vRealize is used for migration and dynamic scaling. We are not currently using this solution. Looking at the global picture, IBM is leading because it has Watson and similar technologies. However, other vendors are also catching up. They are using most of the open technologies and open AI tools. It is a neck-tie competition. IBM InfoSphere Information Server is particularly good for big data and unstructured data scenarios where we need to catalog, archive, and maintain metadata and technical data. Some of our customers prefer on-premises solutions, while others opt for cloud deployment. In the Indian context, especially when dealing with banking and financial institutions, they prefer on-premises solutions due to data security concerns. I rate IBM InfoSphere Information Server eight out of ten.

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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

"I love the way that I can start at a very basic level with my data management journey by capturing my policies, justifying my data, and putting them into different categories to say this is data relating to individuals, for example, or data relating to geography."

"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."

"It is a scalable solution, and we have had no issues with its scalability in our company. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."

"Cloud Pak's most valuable features are IBM MQ, IBM App Connect, IBM API Connect, and ISPF."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is the Modeler flows. The ability to develop models using a graphical approach and the capability to connect to various sources, as well as the data virtualization capabilities, allow me to easily access and utilize data that is dispersed across different sources."

"The most valuable features are data virtualization and reporting."

"The most valuable features of IBM Cloud Pak for Data are the Watson Studio, where we can initiate more groups and write code. Additionally, Watson Machine Learning is available with many other services, such as APIs which you can plug the machine learning models."

"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data pros

"IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable."

"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."

"It gives a clear edge over Informatica because its metadata and the lineage of data are extremely good."

Cons

"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."

"The technical support could be a little better."

"One thing that bugs me is how much infrastructure Cloud Pak requires for the initial deployment. It doesn't allow you to start small. The smallest permitted deployment is too big. It's a huge problem that prevents us from implementing the solution in many scenarios."

"There is a solution that is part of IBM Cloud Pak for Data called Watson OpenScale. It is used to monitor the deployed models for the quality and fairness of the results. This is one area that needs a lot of improvement."

"The interface could improve because sometimes it becomes slow. Sometimes there is a delay between clicks when using the software, which can make the development process slow. It can take a few seconds to complete one action, and then a few more seconds to do the next one."

"The product is trying to be more maturity in terms of connectors. That, I believe, is an area where Cloud Pak can improve."

"The tool depends on the control plane, an OpenShift container platform utilized as an orchestration layer...So, we have communicated this issue to IBM and asked if it is feasible to adapt the solution to work on a Kubernetes platform that we support."

"What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data cons

"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."

"It is a complex installation and sometimes it is resource-intensive because it is mostly built on Java."

"IBM InfoSphere Information Server should be more scalable. It should have the option to change the configuration to run on a single, non-multiple node, or multi-threading processing."

"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."

"Their technical support needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have the exact licensing cost for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, as my company is still finalizing requirements, including monthly, yearly, and three-year licensing fees. Still, on a scale of one to five, I'd rate it a three because, compared to other vendors, it's more complicated."

"For the licensing of the solution, there is a yearly payment that needs to be made. Also, since it is expensive, cost-wise, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten."

"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."

"IBM Cloud Pak for Data is expensive. If we include the training time and the machine learning, it's expensive. The cost of the execution is more reasonable."

"The solution is expensive."

"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."

"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."

"It's quite expensive."

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Government

17%

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem.

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What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

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What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

My primary use case for Cloud Pak is that I am the reference Data steward for the Africa regions in the banks where I work. My main objective is to capture the reference data in Caltech or Data and...

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What do you like most about IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

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What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required. In our company, we are presently in the process of doing a PoC phase since we have the solution cu...

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What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

I use IBM InfoSphere Information Server in retail banking for transformation purposes.

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Comparisons

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 44% of the time

Denodo vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 13% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 11% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data Competitors

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Compared 37% of the time

Oracle GoldenGate vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Compared 19% of the time

Qlik Replicate vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Compared 8% of the time

IBM App Connect vs IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM InfoSphere Information Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

October 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Data product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Integration

September 2025

IBM InfoSphere Information Server report

Download IBM InfoSphere Information Server product report

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak® for Data is a fully-integrated data and AI platform that modernizes how businesses collect, organize and analyze data to infuse AI throughout their organizations. Cloud-native by design, the platform unifies market-leading services spanning the entire analytics lifecycle. From data management, DataOps, governance, business analytics and automated AI, IBM Cloud Pak for Data helps eliminate the need for costly, and often competing, point solutions while providing the information architecture you need to implement AI successfully.

Building on the streamlined hybrid-cloud foundation of Red Hat® OpenShift®, IBM Cloud Pak for Data takes advantage of the underlying resource and infrastructure optimization and management. The solution fully supports multicloud environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud™ and private cloud deployments. Find out how IBM Cloud Pak for Data can lower your total cost of ownership and accelerate innovation.

IBM

IBM InfoSphere Information Server is a market-leading data integration platform which includes a family of products that enable you to understand, cleanse, monitor, transform, and deliver data, as well as to collaborate to bridge the gap between business and IT. InfoSphere Information Server provides massively parallel processing (MPP) capabilities to deliver a highly scalable and flexible integration platform that handles a variety of data volumes (big, small, and everything in between).

IBM

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival

Canadian National Railway Company, Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce, Swedish Armed Forces, BG RCI, Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., University of Arizona, Biogrid Australia

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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