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IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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 InfoSphere Information ...
Ranking in Data Integration
31st
Ranking in Metadata Management
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Informatica Intelligent Dat...
Ranking in Data Integration
3rd
Ranking in Metadata Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
182
Ranking in other categories
Data Quality (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (11th), Business-to-Business Middleware (4th), API Management (8th), Cloud Data Integration (3rd), Data Governance (2nd), Test Data Management (3rd), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) Solutions (1st), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (1st), Data Masking (2nd), Test Data Management Services (2nd), Product Information Management (PIM) (1st), Data Observability (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Information Server is 0.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is 4.8%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

UmeshKumar1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Prompt support, reliable, but lacking scalability
IBM InfoSphere Information Server has multiple tools in that product suite. However, we mainly use it as an integration tool I have been using IBM InfoSphere Information Server for approximately five years. IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable. IBM InfoSphere Information Server should be…
Raj Sethupathi - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers profiling and address standardization but can be complicated
Informatica Data Quality has its data warehouse, primarily using Oracle and some SQL databases. You need a database to host the data. The cleansed version of the data is stored in the data warehouse. It integrates with PowerCenter and other Informatica tools. The integration details can be complex, but a regional setup is involved in this process. Profiling smaller datasets, such as 10,000-50,000 records, worked fine. However, unexpected issues could arise with larger datasets, such as thousands of records or more, especially with tables containing many columns. Handling tables with fifty or more columns can be challenging, even in Excel. A mismatch in data types could cause the entire system to crash. Continual enhancements are being made to address these issues, which can be unique to specific industries like finance and healthcare.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."
"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."
"IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable."
"Informatica is good for integrating data and cloud applications. We have connectors for integrating cloud applications like Salesforce. You can quickly integrate anything with an exposed API or a REST API. The industry is increasingly shifting to the cloud, so we need more products that can connect to cloud-based applications. The integration is seamless and works in real time. It's also secure because you don't need to expose databases or tables."
"It is a very stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The profiling feature in Informatica Data Quality is incredibly effective for data governance."
"The tool does give a good ROI."
"It has a more UI-based tool, and the scripting is good."
"The fuzzy matching capability is a great feature."
"The staging and hierarchical features are the most valuable."
"One of the most valuable features is that I don't need to buy a subscription for any functionality. With Informatica Cloud Data Management, I have all the functionality and features available. If I need to make an integration, I can go to that integration service. If I need to mask, provide, or clean some information, I can easily just pick up that feature and use it. It's very simple, and I have all the functions and capabilities I need to work with data."
 

Cons

"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."
"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."
"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."
"Their technical support needs improvement."
"One thing Informatica could improve is the way IPUs are used. Each customer purchases a certain amount of IPUs per month, but you can use more or less than that defined quantity. The only problem is if you don't use the all your IPUs, they don't carry over into the next month. I think customers should have the ability to transfer unused IPUs into the next month or year. This improvement could help give customers more flexibility, especially since cloud solutions need flexibility in how we use and pay for them."
"The tool should provide a unified user interface to manage the data objects."
"I would like to see support for more data sources."
"This is a costly solution. We have several customers who evaluate it but then look for other solutions because of the cost. At present, Informatica MDM comes as an on-premises or cloud-based solution. I would like to see them offer a SaaS-based MDM model. I think they are working on it."
"With the solution, we had some issues, and we have every day, and we used to open a ticket. Sometimes, there are data issues and transformation issues."
"We currently have issues with real-time integration."
"Certain applications are not being synced with the ION."
"The solution still is a bit manual in its functionality. We want t to be more automation-driven."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."
"It is expensive. That's probably the biggest drawback. The business has heartache paying the license, but that's mainly because they don't realize what value it brings. The key thing about the MDM solution is that it is in the backend, and no one sees what it is actually doing. You don't know it is a problem until it is not there."
"The pricing is quite flexible."
"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."
"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."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest price and ten is the highest 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."
"Informatica Axon is expensive."
"The pricing is high compared to other tools on the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Government
14%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
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...
What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
I use IBM InfoSphere Information Server in retail banking for transformation purposes.
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...
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...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server
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

 

Sample Customers

Canadian National Railway Company, Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce, Swedish Armed Forces, BG RCI, Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., University of Arizona, Biogrid Australia
The Travel Company, Carbonite
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,651 professionals have used our research since 2012.