IBM InfoSphere DataStage Reviews

We are using this solution with enterprise customers for ETL (Extract, Transform and Load). The clients are just using it for retail processes.  

The ETL features are the most valuable to our clients.  

The product is pretty complex to set up. I think it is quite expensive. So, the set up could be simplified and the price could be brought in line.  

I have been using IBM Infosphere for 20 years.  

Once you have Infosphere up and running properly, it is stable.  

The product is definitely scalable.  

We previously worked with DataStage Informatica, we worked with Talend, we worked with SSIS, we looked at a lot of things in the course of providing solutions for customers.  

We probably work with SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) more often because it is cheaper and easier to get hold of. More clients run SSIS than most of the others, but then most clients do not have massive workloads that require something more robust.  

It is quite a complex tool to set up properly in any environment. It requires someone who has experience with the product.  

My advice for anyone considering IBM Infosphere Datastage is to use a decent consulting house to help you once you get around to committing to the product. Do not assume that you will be able to go at this alone unless you have an extremely talented staff.  

On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I would rate this product as a seven-out-of-ten.  

I'm an enterprise and information architect, and we're a customer of IBM. I personally don't use the product but assist companies in the market do for making the integration picture and design.

ETL is the most valuable feature, extract, transform and load. 

I think that performance monitoring could be improved. I know that my colleagues don't give good monitoring. I'm not sure if it's because of the product or because they don't do it normally, but performance monitoring is an issue. I also believe integration with the cloud is not so clear. It's typically a heavy system that people install on-premise. You can install it in the cloud, but it's not so straightforward. You don't find a lot of information unless you go to the IBM cloud. I think IBM is behind in cloud strategy, we would like to put it in the cloud, but there isn't much information about that. 

There are three things that could improve - the cloud, monitoring and cloud integration. It's a solid product but not a modern one and of course it depends what you're looking for. 

I've been using this product for 15 years. 

In the company I'm working with now you can see it's scalable.

We've been using the product a long time and hardly need technical support, which is great. We have very few problems.

I've never done an installation but I believe it's relatively complex, IBM usually is. 

I think DataStage is a product that one should look at as a good candidate in this segment.

I would rate this product a seven out of 10.

My customers use it. I don't use this solution. It's used to extract data from several different sources, as well as to store data and load it into a data warehouse.

The most valuable feature is the product's versatility to inject data.

The interface needs improvement. It is really too technical. That is the main problem.

In the next release, they could offer more connectors with the new database, especially cloud databases.

We've been using this solution for five or six years.

It is very stable.

It depends on project and the customer. Mostly, we have three or four developer users. Maybe three people maintain the solution.

Their technical support is very good.

We used Microsoft Talend previously.

The initial setup is quite complex. Actually, it is probably very quick to deploy, but a difficult project. Typical projects about ETL or extracting some information take dozens of days.

Try to do a lot of training before beginning the project.

I would rate this solution as seven out of ten because I think there are some problems with the design of the interface. They should also develop new connectors. The solution is quite complex for people and you need a lot of training to use it.

The most powerful use of this solution is for full delivery integration. Aside from the ETL aspect, it makes data lineage. We are customers of IBM InfoSphere and I'm head of IT integration and finance transformation.

The key feature for me is the flexibility this solution offers. 

The solution is currently lacking virtualization ability. If they were to include it, it could be a good evolution on this framework. I'd like to see an improvement in support and a more customer friendly and knowledgeable support staff.  

I've been using this solution for over 20 years. 

Scalability is a question of licensing, but it can definitely be done.

Technical support could be better - more knowledgeable and customer friendly. 

We outsourced deployment to IBM and didn't have any issues. Implementation took about two weeks. We have between 20 and 30 users in the company and our maintenance is carried out by IBM.

We pay an annual licensing fee. 

Yes, we evaluated other tools, and this tool is competing internally with our PySQL development. It's a battle between code and local.

I rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Anything that is administrative related, as I don't program in this environment.

The recovery feature. We had DS repos in a bad condition, but IBM couldn't recover it.

I've been using it for one year.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

Mostly, I would give 9/10. I did have one bad experience, so that leaves a bad impression.

It's generally good, although sometimes I see a lot of confusion about how to resolve issues.

It was complex.

It was setup by an outside vendor.

No other options were evaluated.

Don't use the Netezza adapter, as it's poor

• Unlimited database connectors and free-of-charge application connectors - Siebel in our case
• Lot of transformation components
• High scalability

It's standardized our batch integration.

It needs a better scheduling mechanism.

I've been using it as a customer for six years.

We had no issues with the deployment.

We had issues with Java on AIX platform (version 8.7) - currently migrated to Linux platform without issues.

It's highly scalable.

We have close contact with support in their Polish lab.

The initial setup is easy as it's done through a web installation process with an HA setup option.

Check the Information Server bundle offering, especially with InfoSphere Information Server for Data Integration.

Our customer checked AbInitio and Informatica PowerCenter – DataStage was best as it could be delivered quickest.

You should also look at Redbooks and DeveloperWorks articles for knowledge gathering.