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

IBM and Informatica are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM is ranked #26 with an average rating of 7.0, while Informatica is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.8. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to Informatica’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Informatica 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

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

Read 185 Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) reviews

20,563 Views
6,169 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) and IBM Cloud Pak for Data are competitors in the data management and analytics sector. IDMC seems to have the upper hand in deployment flexibility, while IBM Cloud Pak for Data excels in machine learning capabilities.

Features:IDMC provides seamless integration across various data management modules, efficient data cleansing, and flexible architecture options. IBM Cloud Pak for Data offers advanced machine learning capabilities, a modular design, and integration with enterprise solutions, facilitating data governance.

Room for Improvement:IDMC requires an improved UI, better integration with platforms like SAP, and more preconfigured rules. IBM Cloud Pak for Data faces challenges with initial deployment, demands on infrastructure, and connectivity issues, with a need for more integrated connectors.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IDMC supports versatile deployment options providing flexibility but complexity in setup, and is praised for customer support. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is mainly deployed on cloud environments, although its customer service can be slow.

Pricing and ROI:IDMC and IBM Cloud Pak for Data both have high license costs. IDMC offers comprehensive functionality for larger enterprises, providing strong ROI when fully utilized. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is considered expensive, particularly when machine learning modules are added, and shows better ROI for organizations with complex data needs.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

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

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)

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

Ranking in Data Integration

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

185

Ranking in other categories

Data Quality (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (10th), Business-to-Business Middleware (5th), API Management (7th), Cloud Data Integration (3rd), Data Governance (2nd), Test Data Management (3rd), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) Solutions (1st), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (2nd), Data Masking (1st), Metadata Management (1st), Test Data Management Services (3rd), Product Information Management (PIM) (1st), Data Observability (2nd)

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 Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is 3.6%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)	3.6%
IBM Cloud Pak for Data	1.8%
Other	94.6%

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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SaurabhGaonshindhe

Principle Cloud Engineer at Sector 125

Modular structure and AI features stream new reporting processes

One of my clients has a requirement; they want to integrate metadata into the process, which means, for example, if I just want to implement a new field into my database, that field needs to be reflected throughout, let's say, 200 mappings. This highlights the need for a data-driven approach. My experience with technical support from Informatica is quite interesting; I would rate it as nine out of ten for Informatica PowerCenter kind of products or the Informatica integration products, because my team can do some hands-on using their free licenses or one-month kind of products. However, for products Master Data Management or related to MDM or Data Governance, there is no way by which we can directly practice, and my team struggles at that point.

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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

"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."

"What I found most helpful in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is containerization, which means it's easy to shift and leave in terms of moving to other clouds. That's an advantage of IBM Cloud Pak for Data."

"One of Cloud Pak's best features is the Watson Knowledge Catalog, which helps you implement data governance."

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

"IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines are the most valuable features of the solution."

"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."

"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."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data pros

"The technical support services are good."

"I like the connectivity and richness of features for the technical team, the maturity of the product, and that it had a cloud version. There is Informatica Cloud, and it is part of the Informatica Cloud platform."

"It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."

"It is a highly scalable solution."

"Informatica Cloud Data Integration is stable."

"The best part about the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is the modularity; when I say modularity, I mean the things get easier by working into different modules."

"The solution is easier to use compared to the other solutions."

"Informatica Data Quality is a product that is worth the money."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) pros

Cons

"The solution could have more connectors."

"The product must improve its performance."

"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."

"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."

"One challenge I'm facing with IBM Cloud Pak for Data is native features have been decommissioned, such as XML input and output. Too many changes have been made, and my company has around one hundred thousand mappings, so my team has been putting more effort into alternative ways to do things. Another area for improvement in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that it's more complicated to shift from on-premise to the cloud. Other vendors provide secure agents that easily connect with your existing setup. Still, with IBM Cloud Pak for Data, you have to perform connection migration steps, upgrade to the latest version, etc., which makes it more complicated, especially as my company has XML-based mappings. Still, the XML input and output capabilities of IBM Cloud Pak for Data have been discontinued, so I'd like IBM to bring that back."

"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."

"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."

"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."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data cons

"Though EDC has maximum coverage, a few things were not available to scan, but I think EDC is evolving to address this issue."

"The tool could be improved in terms of ease of use, particularly for those without technical expertise. Understanding and extracting data from the table-based structure requires some SQL knowledge and technical skills. Additionally, while Informatica MDM has moved towards a cloud-based MDM with a UI similar to Reltio, I haven't used it, so I can't comment on its effectiveness."

"It is more complicated to extract data using the product compared to Visio. The system could display the details on the screen."

"Its cloud-based version has a few limitations compared to the on-premise version."

"The pricing model is problematic."

"While my company operates on the cloud, we have seen that Informatica Cloud Data Integration has some performance issues causing it to lag."

"New machine learning could be added to Informatica MDM because the solution is outdated and is not moving with the current trends. The solution is good, but it definitely needs a lot of improvement and needs to speed up as per the market."

"The solution doesn't directly connect to any of the analytical tools."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) cons

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."

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

"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."

"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."

"It's quite expensive."

"The product is very expensive"

"It's pretty high for us. It's more on the higher side, like low to middle high."

"I have heard from customers that the product comes with a huge license cost."

"There is no doubt that it is very expensive, but the brand value comes at a cost. Other MDM solutions in the market that haven't proven themselves like Informatica are also pretty expensive. We need to understand that MDM itself is very expensive to implement. So, Informatica is also pretty expensive. I would rate it a two out of five for being pretty expensive."

"The pricing structure is good, but having to pay for extra drivers to be used in an ICS environment makes me a little nervous."

"Cost-wise, I think it is on the higher side, and that is why we are looking for some better options. Licensing costs are huge compared to other players in the market and for my company."

"I rate the product's pricing a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price."

"Informatica Cloud Data Integration is famously known for its high price. The vendor targets large enterprises, and not medium or small companies. These large companies, and organizations, handle large amounts of data. If you go into any large bank, such as American or Canadian banks, these banks use this solution because it is more reliable, secure, and has more functionality."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Insurance 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	42
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	134

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

See all answers

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...

See all answers

How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica Cloud Data Integration?

Azure Data Factory is a solid product offering many transformation functions; It has pre-load and post-load transformations, allowing users to apply transformations either in code by using Power Q...

See all answers

Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?

Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge...

See all answers

What are the biggest benefits of using Informatica Cloud Data Integration?

When it comes to cloud data integration, this solution can provide you with multiple benefits, including: Overhead reduction by integrating data on any cloud in various ways Effective integration ...

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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

Palantir Foundry vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 8% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data Competitors

Informatica PowerCenter vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

Collibra Governance vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 3% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 3% of the time

Reltio Cloud vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 3% of the time

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

October 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Data product report

Buyer's Guide

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

October 2025

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) report

Download Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) product report

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data

ActiveVOS, Active Endpoints, BPM, Address Verification, Persistent Data Masking, Cloud Test Data Management, PIM, , Enterprise Data Catalog, Data Integration Hub, Cloud Data Integration, Data Quality, Cloud API and App Integration

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

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) integrates data quality, governance, and integration with flexible architecture. It supports multiple domains and a data models repository, delivering AI-enhanced data management across cloud-native platforms.

IDMC provides seamless integration and governance capabilities that support diverse data environments. Its comprehensive suite includes customizable workflows, data profiling, and metadata management. AI features, a data marketplace, and performance scalability enhance data management. While its interface poses challenges, its robust matching and cloud-native integration facilities are essential for complex data ecosystems. Users employ IDMC for connecting systems, ensuring data quality, and supporting data compliance but seek better pre-built rules, services, and improved connectivity, especially with platforms like Salesforce. Licensing, cost, and added AI functionalities are areas for potential refinement.

What are the key features of IDMC?

Data Quality and Integration: Seamless integration ensures data accuracy across platforms.
Metadata Management: Comprehensive metadata management supports data governance.
AI Capabilities: AI features enhance automation and decision-making processes.
Data Marketplace: Facilitates easy access to data across the organization.
Performance Scalability: Scales performance efficiently to meet growing data demands.

What benefits should be expected from IDMC?

Enhanced Data Management: Offers robust tools for data governance and quality.
Improved Integration: Connects disparate systems seamlessly, reducing data silos.
Cost Efficiency: Streamlines data processes, potentially reducing operational costs.
Data Compliance: Supports compliance with data privacy regulations.
Agility and Scalability: Adapts quickly to changing data environments.

IDMC is implemented across industries for data integration, metadata management, and governance. Organizations use it to connect systems, migrate data to cloud environments, and maintain data quality. They manage master data and automate business processes, facilitating data lineage and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.

Informatica

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival

The Travel Company, Carbonite

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

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