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Informatica PowerCenter vs Informatica PowerExchange comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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

Informatica PowerCenter
Ranking in Data Integration
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (8th)
Informatica PowerExchange
Ranking in Data Integration
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Informatica PowerCenter is 10.3%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica PowerExchange is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Lars Borchers - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and reliable product that provides a variety of features for data integration
The solution is not for newcomers. It has an old touch. The solution must improve the integration with new services. It was part of the program at Informatica when they moved to their cloud platform. It is integrated. However, from an on-premise perspective, we need to buy licenses for PowerExchange. If we want a native driver to access a special service, we need to extend our license to those services. It is expensive. I don't like that it's not all included in the solution.
Mohammad Faizan Ahmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Helpful in handling areas like complex data sources and data processing but needs improved support services
The major challenge with the tool stems from the fact that if you are implementing it in the cloud, then it has to be within the framework. Another challenge is the large volume of data. Informatica PowerExchange is a product through which we enable connectivity, so it is not an application product or a stand-alone tool, but Informatica's core systems or IICS uses it to connect to multiple systems. The major challenge associated with the tool is on the infrastructure side. The tool's features could be something faster with more connectors. A number of connectors can help connect to a wide variety of applications. The tool should focus on reducing the resilient time, like, if any network disconnectivity happens, then auto-reconnection and the retry method should be more robust so that manual intervention is not required. We communicate with the tool's support team as we need to raise our issues with them. I have already worked with Informatica and have a total experience of around eight to nine years; the one problem with the tool is its support team since they take a lot of time to address a particular issue. If one time you schedule a call and explain the situation to them about the issue, the support team will raise tickets and take notes. They will ask you to share the logs or screenshots of the errors, and you will get no resolution. The support team will randomly give you some documents and expect you to go through them, and if you get back to them with questions, a new person will be allocated, and you will have to start explaining everything again. I would not say it is a pleasant experience.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Informatica PowerCenter is very good for integrating a huge amount of data in a very short duration, such as a minute. It is also very easy to use. After you provide the source and the target, mappings are automatically done, which makes it easy to use for the development team."
"The interface is very clean and clear."
"We have found the PowerCenter and B2B data transformation most valuable."
"The most valuable features are the metadata repository and the data warehouse application console."
"Technical support is great. It's one of the reasons we really like them. When you compare support from IBM and support from Informatica, Informatica is much better."
"Complex transformations can be easily achieved by using PowerCenter. The processing layer does transformations and other things. About 80% of my transformations can be achieved by using the middle layer. For the remaining 15% to 20% transformations, I can go in and create stored procedures in the respective databases. Mapplets is the feature through which we can reuse transformations across pipelines. Transformations and caching are the key features that we have been using frequently. Informatica PowerCenter is one of the best solutions or products in the data integration space. We have extensively used PowerCenter for integration purposes. We usually look at the best bridge solution in our architecture so that it can sustain for maybe a couple of years. Usually, we go with the solution that fits best and has proven and time-tested technology."
"Informatica PowerCenter is a very good ETL tool."
"It is UI friendly and has all the advantages of an ETL tool."
"The product's initial setup phase was not complex. The tool is easy to install onto any of the servers, and you can integrate it."
"This product is easy to install and it can be done in a few hours."
"The main benefit of PowerExchange is its native real-time capabilities. Competing tools are counting on third-party packages or Oracle to offer real-time capabilities. However, Informatica has a native ability to scan the data on the file system level and capture the changes almost instantly when I push it to the consumers. The solution has a powerful built-in replication engine."
"Provides a significant amount of control over the landscape and overall implementation."
"The data transformation is the solution's most valuable feature."
"It is easy to integrate the solution with other tools."
"The agentless RCDC enablement through PowerExchange is a great idea and has worked very well so far."
"Mainstream integration and real-time integration are the best features."
 

Cons

"Improvement is needed in terms of some new transformation because API integration and all those things are very critical nowadays."
"Informatica PowerCenter could improve the data threshold for large sets of data. Additionally, they should add real-time integration."
"It should be more cloud-centric than on-prem-centric."
"I found it is kind of weird that not all of the mapping changes are treated as true changes."
"When I deal with very large amounts of data, there have been performance issues."
"If you want to transfer a ZIP file, it is a pain. You need to use Command-Line. Sometimes we just want to transfer a file. It should be easy to move them from A to B."
"The initial setup is not straightforward. You need expertise to do it."
"Include more instruments for LOGs analysis, interpretation, and job corrections."
"They should make it quick and easy for use of citizen data integration or for people or integrators developing at the customer side. They could be development teams within the business team. For them, the product owners can consider making it a little bit more seamless and a little bit more democratized."
"Informatica is very expensive in all aspects, so the pricing is something that could be improved."
"Integration with the largest number of databases and other systems would be important."
"The solution needs better integration with other tools."
"The product is not suitable for application integration."
"I would like to have easier integration with cloud platforms."
"Technical support can be improved with respect to delays in ticket response time."
"The major challenge associated with the tool is on the infrastructure side."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license model is CPU based."
"Our client has purchased the license, and we are using it."
"The price could be better. It's very expensive. On a scale from one to five, I would give Informatica PowerCenter's price a one."
"A basic setup can be from $100,000 and up annually."
"It is for big enterprises. We have leveraged Informatica for big enterprises but not for small and medium enterprises because it is a very costly product as compared to other products. We propose this solution only for enterprise customers. For small to medium enterprises, we would propose the Microsoft solution. Its licensing is currently bundle-wise. It should be features-wise and not bundle-wise."
"Licensing costs are excessive and pose an obstacle to someone who lacks familiarity with the solution and wishes to have a proper understanding of it."
"The pricing is a little expensive, but in the same range as IBM and other competitors."
"Cost could be improved."
"The product is not very expensive."
"The cost of PowerExchange is reasonable. It does not rely on complicated formulas or unrealistic equations. The pricing model is straightforward. There is one component, and real-time integration is included. Some other solutions require purchasing additional modules or third-party plugins for this capability."
"Many users don't prefer to use the product, considering the high costs attached to the licensing part of the solution."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing cost of the product. It is an expensive product."
"There are licensing and connector costs. Basically, Informatica is pay-as-you-use."
"An annual package license fee is required."
"It's expensive. In fact, nobody would buy any product of Informatica if the price was the only consideration. It costs money, and it doesn't come cheap, but it provides value for money in many ways."
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Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
11%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica PowerCenter?
Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up an...
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Informatica PowerExchange?
There are licensing and connector costs. Basically, Informatica is pay-as-you-use. There is one product cost and then the additional number of connectors or applications to which you are connecting...
What needs improvement with Informatica PowerExchange?
The major challenge with the tool stems from the fact that if you are implementing it in the cloud, then it has to be within the framework. Another challenge is the large volume of data. Informatic...
 

Also Known As

PowerCenter
PowerExchange, Connectors
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
ACH Food, BNSF Railway Company, Illinois State University
Find out what your peers are saying about Informatica PowerCenter vs. Informatica PowerExchange and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.