PowerCenter is the market leader, so more organizations use it than other tools. It's a feature-rich solution, so that's why it's at the top of the market.
Informatica Developer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It's a good tool for on-premise databases
Pros and Cons
- "It provides everything I need. Nothing is missing. PowerCenter is a good tool for on-premise databases."
- "PowerCenter has three clients. I wish they would consolidate everything into one GUI, not three. Also, we had a persistent issue with the Informatica Developer tool but it was solved when we migrated to the newest one."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
PowerCenter has three clients. I wish they would consolidate everything into one GUI, not three. Also, we had a persistent issue with the Informatica Developer tool but it was solved when we migrated to the newest one.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using PowerCenter for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think PowerCenter is stable. Organizations that try Informatica stick with it for a long time. No one uses Informatica and quickly switches to something else. It has been the leader in the market for many years.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Any feature that PowerCenter doesn't provide can be found in IDQ. IDQ covers any missing options, so I think it's PowerCenter's scalability is fine.
How are customer service and support?
There were a few times when Informatica support took a while to solve the issues, but they always fixed the problem in the end. There was only one ticket that took a long time to solve. I rate their support eight out of 10.
How was the initial setup?
I rate PowerCenter eight out of 10 for ease of deployment.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Informatica PowerCenter eight out of 10. It provides everything I need. Nothing is missing. PowerCenter is a good tool for on-premise databases. If you're going to implement PowerCenter, you need to think about your requirements to determine what tools to use.
For example, I need the repository to auto-refresh. When I make changes to a project, workflow, mapping, or session, I want everything to refresh automatically. Otherwise, you must disconnect from the repository and reconnect for the changes you made to be reflected in your project.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Founder at DEN21DS
Modular, good for ETL workflows, and offers good metadata
Pros and Cons
- "I like the completeness of the way I can build ETL workflows."
- "The reputation of Informatica is that it is expensive."
What is most valuable?
I like the completeness of the way I can build ETL workflows. It's not one feature that stands out. Rather, it's the way everything is working together.
On the matter of data lineage and data catalog and metadata, in particular, several new developments are embedded as options you could use or could buy. The modular structure is very helpful.
What needs improvement?
What is not that clear, is the usability in the cloud, for example. That's a little bit fuzzy.
The reputation of Informatica is that it is expensive. There are some things which could improve for the customer so that they have the perception that they get more for their money.
I would say that the transparency towards the cloud is a big area for improvement. For example, Microsoft and Oracle, make it easy since they create a cloud and then integrate all the stuff that way that you always have the possibility to work to optimize with. Informatica is a little bit different.
On-premise should not be eradicated.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for 20 years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a developer and architect. I'm not reselling the product.
I'd rate the product eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Informatica PowerCenter
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Informatica PowerCenter. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
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Team Lead Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Excellent technical support and an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is excellent."
- "There is a need to buy a separate license if one wishes to connect with some kind of SAP system, such as SalesForce."
What needs improvement?
PowerCenter has yet to announce additional features. The face that it has not made improvements is fine, as it is very easy to integrate. We are in touch with the vendors of products other than Informatica PowerCenter.
The reason I chose to rate the solution as a nine out of ten is because there is a need to buy a separate license if one wishes to connect with some kind of SAP system, such as SalesForce.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Informatica PowerCenter for more than 16 years.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is mostly reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I am satisfied with the solution.
I rate Informatica PowerCenter as a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Data Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Cloud-based, good performance, stable, and connects well with multiple sources
Pros and Cons
- "The number of docs has been reduced drastically, which is very good."
- "The real-time database connectivity when getting the real-time data using the VPN is an area that needs improvement."
What is most valuable?
We like that it is cloud-based and the performance is good. The number of docs has been reduced drastically, which is very good.
What needs improvement?
If you were migrating or connecting with multiple sources, initially there were issues that caused network latency. In the latest version, there are fewer bugs.
The real-time database connectivity when getting the real-time data using the VPN is an area that needs improvement.
Being able to generate reports on all of the status of the monitoring tools and the job qualities would be very helpful to provide to the operational team.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Informatica PowerCenter for 12 years.
We are using version 10.4.1, which is the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. It's a solution that has been in place for 20 or 22 years.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is very easy.
When compared with Linux or Windows, it was very easy and simple to install.
It takes two days maximum to implement one nanometer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
What other advice do I have?
When compared with other ETL or ELP tools, Informatica PowerCenter is the best for connecting to multiple sources, which is better when you have large loads.
I would definitely rate Informatica PowerCenter a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Owner at 7Spring Consult
Integrates well and assists with ETL transformation tasks
Pros and Cons
- "The most complex task, in this case, was to read and transform BLOB data, and Java transformation in Informatica Power Center was a great solution."
- "Include more instruments for LOGs analysis, interpretation, and job corrections."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is at a Russian bank.
The goal was to integrate DWH with a banking core system that used Pervasive SQL 2000 DB. The bank as our client in the field of Data Warehousing asked us to extract data from their core banking system and build a Data Mart for preparation of regulatory reports.
How has it helped my organization?
Informatica PowerCenter moved forward the technology level of ETL-process management of the bank with visualization and standardization of ETL development instead of a huge volume of scripting used previously. Moreover, the task of integration of systems based on different technology platforms was successfully solved.
What is most valuable?
The most complex task, in this case, was to read and transform BLOB data, and Java transformation in Informatica Power Center was a great solution. The second task that was solved with Java transformation was the correct transformation of the Amount field (each amount in PSQL 2000 is stored in three different fields). These tasks were solved by using PSQL 2000 Java SDK library imported to Informatica PowerCenter Java Transformation.
What needs improvement?
I hope that the next release of this solution will:
- Work with HADOOP and other BigData solutions.
- Have an ability to compile code to run it quicker.
- Include new features for parallel job execution.
- Include more instruments for LOGs analysis, interpretation, and job corrections.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It works stably but needs a dedicated professional admin in the project team.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable and can be supplemented by a Data Quality solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
We used the vendor's distant support and the expertise was excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As we are a consulting and data management company, the instruments we have to use during the project are chosen by our customers.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of this solution was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented this solution at the customer's site as consultants.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are also using IBM DataStage, Oracle Data Integrator, SAP Data Services. From project to project it's up to the customer.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Lead BI&A Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Stable, easy to install, and has a good graphical user interface
Pros and Cons
- "It has a Data Catalog that uses the Model repository."
- "The pricing could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for ETL processes.
What is most valuable?
It has a very good graphical interface.
It has the possibility to intervene in the automatic ETL.
It has a lot of components.
It has a Data Catalog that uses the Model repository.
What needs improvement?
The pricing could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been providing Informatica PowerCenter since 2005.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Informatica PowerCenter is a very stable product.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support could be faster.
How was the initial setup?
The latest versions are easy to install because it's cloud-based. You needed approximately four hours to install the older versions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's quite expensive.
Our customers pay a licensing fee yearly.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. It is also a question of the purpose and how big the company is. It's an investment.
I would rate Informatica PowerCenter a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Data Architecture/Management at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Stable, reduces your administrative overhead, and the DAC is helpful
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the metadata repository and the data warehouse application console."
- "The only problem with this product is the level of complexity with the number of levels of transformation that you have to go through."
What is our primary use case?
This product is primarily used with an Oracle product called OBI EE, Oracle Business Intelligence. It is used for integration and data visualization.
How has it helped my organization?
This is the best tool that we have.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the metadata repository and the data warehouse application console.
What needs improvement?
The only problem with this product is the level of complexity with the number of levels of transformation that you have to go through. I would say that's the biggest issue.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with Informatica PowerCenter for about seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think that PowerCenter is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have three different instances of this running. There is one for development, one for pre-production, and one for production. As far as having to scale linearly, we haven't had the need by putting additional nodes for high availability or load balancing. It's not something that we've necessarily needed. We have not scaled up, either. So, no vertical and no horizontal scaling. It was pretty much used out of the box.
We have two people who are using this solution and they are developers.
How are customer service and technical support?
Oracle came in and they implemented a lot of the functionality that we needed. Beyond what we received from Oracle, there were very few times where we needed support.
Most of the time, the only thing we needed technical support was with Oracle patches and we ran into a problem, something broke.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Initially, we were doing a custom PL/SQL ETL type of procedure.
We just decided to go to an automated tool, something that was more visual.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. I don't think that there were any problems with it.
What about the implementation team?
We had a lot of assistance from Oracle and the implementation took less than a week.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's much more expensive, almost three times more expensive than most other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
Oracle put Informatica into their product line. They use Informatica fo do the integrations.
The one benefit is that you reduce your administrative overhead by implementing this tool, and you get more functionality out of it versus most other tools.
With a lot of other tools, you have to do a lot of hacking in order to get things to work properly for you, whereas with Informatica, you have a lot of flexibility.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Works at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
UI-based ability to create data mapping
Pros and Cons
- "Reusable definition of data sources and the out-of-the-box availability of a large number maplets for common transformation functions."
- "Easy, scalable, robust platform to integrate heterogeneous source platform's data into the unified data warehouse."
- "UI-based ability to create data mapping."
- "While Informatica is great for data-integration, it does not have any analytics features. Thus, organizations have to always look for another product for their BI needs."
What is our primary use case?
Data Integration: Integrates heterogeneous source platforms data into the unified data warehouse.
How has it helped my organization?
Easy, scalable, robust platform to integrate heterogeneous source platform's data into the unified data warehouse.
What is most valuable?
Data Integration. The UI-based ability to create data mapping. Also, reusable definition of data sources and the out-of-the-box availability of a large number maplets for common transformation functions.
What needs improvement?
Cost!
Also, BI features. While Informatica is great for data-integration, it does not have any analytics features. Thus, organizations have to always look for another product for their BI needs.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: December 2024
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