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IBM DataPower Gateway pros and cons

Vendor: IBM
4.2 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

IBM DataPower Gateway is easy to work with, remotely administered via an API, and supports a wide array of protocols such as web services and REST.
It is recognized for high-speed performance and is resilient with high availability, stability, and no downtime.
The scalability is commendable, supporting large organizations with enterprise-level multiple requests.
Security features are extensive, including data validation, encryption, threat analysis, and internal monitoring and logging of data transactions.
IBM DataPower Gateway is a turnkey, function-rich appliance that easily integrates with other products and requires minimal setup and configuration effort.

CONS

IBM DataPower Gateway requires extensive training manuals for effective use due to its complexity.
Scripting improvements are needed as it presents difficulties for customers.
A lower price point would benefit IBM DataPower Gateway users, as it is considered expensive, especially for smaller firms.
Integration with Postgres and SQL databases needs enhancement, currently limited to Oracle databases.
IBM DataPower Gateway supports only XSLT and Gateway Script, offering limited language support.
 

IBM DataPower Gateway Pros review quotes

AkshaySawant - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 3, 2025
We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes.
Bálint Tóth - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 5, 2022
My company has a good impression of IBM DataPower Gateway. What I like about it is that because it's an appliance, it's a turnkey solution that's very fast and out of the box. Compared to other gateways, I also like that IBM DataPower Gateway is function-rich. For example, for one of the projects, there was a need for specific transformation and security features available in IBM DataPower Gateway out of the box, so my team just needed to configure the appliance. There was no need for separate development, and I found it quite neat. Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products.
Mehdi El Filahi - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 17, 2024
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.
Learn what your peers think about IBM DataPower Gateway. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
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reviewer1145859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 29, 2020
It's high-speed and it can be remotely administered via an API.
AH
Nov 17, 2021
The solution is straightforward and for large organizations, it functions well.
Sathyan K - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 14, 2022
You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present.
Sathyan K - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 5, 2024
If you have an API application in your organization that you want to make safe and secure, in addition to your existing WAF or load balancer, this product comes with all those capabilities:
NJ
Jul 21, 2022
Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features.
NJ
Jan 24, 2025
I like the API Gateway feature.
reviewer1234326 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 3, 2021
I like that it is very stable, and we never experience any downtime.
 

IBM DataPower Gateway Cons review quotes

AkshaySawant - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 3, 2025
From the development perspective, it has limitations because it only supports the XSLT language. It does not support multiple languages.
Bálint Tóth - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 5, 2022
An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product. Sometimes, when the customer use case is just a very small subset of what's being offered in IBM DataPower Gateway, then the product can be expensive, making my company lose some of the opportunities because of the expensive pricing. A lower price point for IBM DataPower Gateway, even if that results in a less feature-rich version, would be appreciated. In terms of additional features that I'd like to see in the next release of IBM DataPower Gateway, nothing specific comes to mind because IBM constantly improves its standards and provides quarterly updates to the product, so it's quite fine.
Mehdi El Filahi - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 17, 2024
DataPower isn't the most user-friendly tool. It is not an easy tool to use. Some things could use better wizards to guide you through processes.
Learn what your peers think about IBM DataPower Gateway. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1145859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 29, 2020
The components that they include in the product that are, in fact, a WTX, really need to be removed from the product because they tend to fail.
AH
Nov 17, 2021
IBM DataPower Gateway is quite big for smaller organizations, looking at different types of clients who are virtually assisted in this, I would say it's not really a good product for smaller firms.
Sathyan K - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 14, 2022
The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better.
Sathyan K - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 5, 2024
Small and medium-sized companies might look for cloud-hosted applications due to the cost.
NJ
Jul 21, 2022
The programming language is only supported in XSLT and Gateway script.
NJ
Jan 24, 2025
The DCDR process should be less complex.
reviewer1234326 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 3, 2021
Traceability could be improved, especially for business operations. The traceability of the transactions could be an improvement point for DataPower to work on. It would be better if they provided JSON support. JSON protocol data has changed format. It started performing internal transformation to JSONx. This might be an additional complexity.