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IBM DataPower Gateway vs Microsoft Azure API Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
3.8
IBM DataPower Gateway faces criticism for high cost, complexity, limited support, and inadequate DevOps features and programming options.
Sentiment score
4.4
Users want enhancements in Azure API Management versioning, multi-tenancy, security, scalability, integration, documentation, UI, pricing, support, and performance.
The instructions on the district API and the initial stages of working with the solution need to be documented better so that users are more informed and they can have an improved experience.
The service is extensive and expensive, and this added flexibility would make it more manageable and less prone to errors.
Easy exporting of configurations from the Administrator portal.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM DataPower Gateway is scalable, handling large transactions efficiently, but may be costly for smaller enterprises compared to alternatives.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Azure API Management is highly scalable, enabling organizations to seamlessly support thousands of users with cloud-based infrastructure.
I rate the scalability of Microsoft Azure API Management a ten out of ten.
There is no need to dedicate any staff to the maintenance of the solution.
The scalability doesn't seem to be a challenge because it's a cloud-based solution.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
IBM DataPower Gateway offers high stability and reliability, especially favored by financial institutions for secure, continuous performance.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Azure API Management is highly stable, integrating seamlessly with Azure, though some users note performance challenges.
It doesn't crash or freeze.
The stability is great, as mentioned earlier it is backed by Microsoft Azure platform and that brings good stability as it is and being the cloud solution we do not have to worry about scaling either.
There have been no crashes and we haven't experienced bugs or glitches.
 

Customer Service

No sentiment score available
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Azure API Management support is mixed; premium support praised, but challenges include delays and complex issue resolution.
Technical Support: 10/10, as our Microsoft account manager arranged direct contact with members of the API Management Team.
We have a direct line of contact with Microsoft product management's technical support.
They first have to narrow down your requirements, it's not direct access to support with direct feedback.
 

Setup Cost

No sentiment score available
Sentiment score
5.4
Microsoft Azure API Management offers flexible pricing tiers from free to premium, with costs manageable via a pay-as-you-go model.
If a customer wants to expose their internal APIs to the Azure API Management Portal, then they would require a VPN connection which requires the Premium Pricing tier.
According to my experiences in multiple projects, you do get preliminary pricing that is close to or the same as the estimate.
Azure API Management is the most expensive solution on the market.
 

Valuable Features

No sentiment score available
Sentiment score
8.3
Microsoft Azure API Management offers scalable, flexible API handling with robust security, analytics, and competitive pricing, ideal for hybrid solutions.
The most valuable feature is the developer portal, which has source code examples in various programming languages to help developers learn the API.
The way the solution integrates with other Azure services is its most valuable aspect.
The most valuable features are authentication and authorization.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM DataPower Gateway
Ranking in API Management
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (6th), Application Infrastructure (9th), SOA Application Gateways (3rd)
Microsoft Azure API Management
Ranking in API Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 3.8%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure API Management is 20.6%, up from 20.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Allan Møller - PeerSpot reviewer
Transforms internal APIs with secure, manageable cloud compatibility
Microsoft Azure API Management could be improved by enhancing the preview feature, specifically the workspaces. The feature should allow for better delegation of permissions to specific groups without affecting others. The service is extensive and expensive, and this added flexibility would make it more manageable and less prone to errors.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 price could be more flexible for different clients.
How does Apigee differ from Azure API Management?
Apigee offers both cloud-based and on-prem options while Microsoft Azure API Management currently only offers a cloud-based solution. Both solutions are easy to use. Apigee allows for the ability...
Which is better - Azure API Management or Amazon API Gateway?
If you use Azure products, API Management is a great solution. It solves many of the problems of externalizing web services. For example, when you need versioning, establish a developer portal and ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure API Management?
Microsoft Azure API Management is a good, comprehensive solution for enterprise implementation.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower
Azure API Management, MS Azure API Management
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

RBL Bank, Availity
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH, Opensistemas
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM DataPower Gateway vs. Microsoft Azure API Management and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
823,875 professionals have used our research since 2012.