I implemented this hybrid integration platform for the finance sector at one of the big banks in Egypt. I used it inside the services exposed from the banking sector only, not for the asset management inside the bank. We use the service registry because we have a lot of services that need to be made available for every party.
Governance has streamlined service registry usage but deployment and integration still need work
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The governance is the best value. CentraSite is necessary for the governance and service registry. The governance is powerful, and you can look up services very easily, which may reduce some development cycle time.
Policy management is very good and simple to use. It's easy to make a lot of policy management and create policies from scratch.
It's also good because it's based on Kibana, making it good to use Elasticsearch. This makes the Software AG and CentraSite dashboards different from any other party.
What needs improvement?
There is a big difference in deployment modules and different deployment scenarios. It can be adapted to any environment, not only finance or government. The deployment can be made for each data center.
CentraSite should be integrated with an open-source registry like UDDI.
It would be good to integrate with IBM solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I didn't test it for stability, but it's still working right now, so I can rate it seven or eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The functionality is good. It has support from IBM and support from Software AG as well. I think it's fully supported by IBM right now. If you have a product working with a service registry and repository and supported by the vendor, you can trust the functionality.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
If you compare CentraSite to WSRR, the former IBM WSRR, CentraSite is the best. It's better than WSRR for simplicity and deployment. If you compare it to open sources like UDDI, CentraSite is good because it's supported by IBM and has many more functionalities that don't exist in UDDI.
I also work with WSRR, WebSphere Service Registry and Repository from IBM. It's now retired and out of support.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is mild. It's not so simple and not very difficult. You can make it happen with some configuration, but it's not easy for non-professional people.
What about the implementation team?
I have worked with WSRR, WebSphere Service Registry and Repository from IBM, which is now retired and out of support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
webMethods is better than the webMethods API Gateway from my point of view. The webMethods API Gateway is the best API Gateway for performance and simplicity.
What other advice do I have?
I work with GraphQL, REST API, and SOAP services as well. API Connect works with GraphQL and can deploy GraphQL services. I also work with GraphQL in Software AG webMethods API Gateway.
I'm working with DataPower. I have experience with IBM API Gateway, API Connect, Event Stream, and App Connect, the Cloud platform integration. I didn't involve DataPower with BPM before. I have used the webMethods API Gateway.
I have used an open-source framework that is not a product for a specific vendor. I work with GraphQL in three different products: API Connect, the API Gateway of the webMethods Software AG, and the Java Spring framework.
I work with CentraSite and also work with the Integration Server, webMethods Integration Server, and Universal Messaging. The governance is powerful.
I can recommend CentraSite for any industry working with service registry and repositories. I would rate it eight out of ten.
I have seven years of experience with IBM solutions and rate them nine or ten out of ten. I have one year of experience with webMethods and rate it eight out of ten. I have five years of experience with other solutions.
The overall review rating for this product is seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
IBM
