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BMC AMI DevX vs IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 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

BMC AMI DevX
Ranking in Test Data Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (8th), Database Development and Management (20th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (8th)
IBM InfoSphere Optim Test D...
Ranking in Test Data Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Test Data Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 6.9%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM) is 7.8%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Test Data Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM)7.8%
BMC AMI DevX6.9%
Other85.3%
Test Data Management
 

Featured Reviews

Brian Westerman - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to make mainframe data management process easier and saves manhours
We plan to replace BMC Compuware File-AID due to its price. Two years back, we paid 11,000 dollars. However, the current price is 27,900 dollars. The price has increased to at least eight times its initial cost. We would need to pay around 60,000 dollars to have all three products together. We also encountered issues during version updates.
Ajai Lal - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports both legacy and non-legacy systems
The solution's initial setup is neither complex nor too easy. Around six or seven people, including database administrators, were involved in the solution's deployment. On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a four to five out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The smart editor helps because it will code-complete for me. I can see code working a lot faster and I'm able to get things coded in less time."
"We had parallel development before, but the way ISPW implements it is better. It has more control and oversight of the process, whereas before, it was like the Wild West. Everybody could have their own package with their own version of the component in it... ISPW is constantly aware of it. It notifies when someone else is using or has a different version of that component."
"The product has made our mainframe data management process easier. It has helped us save manhours. The tool's most valuable feature is the ability to edit tape files. Its ability to clone files is beneficial in application development."
"The visual ability to see potential downstream impacts to changes being made assists our developers in understanding the impact associated with their change."
"The most valuable feature of Topaz is Xpediter. It's more flexible than Xpediter through MVS."
"From a user perspective, the GUIs make it easier for people to see and interact with files on the mainframe."
"I like the ability to flow through the source and see what happens to the data as the statements are executed. If there is a fault, it will track the event, and we can then look back to see why it may have caused the fault. You can also reverse engineer your test. You can set it so that you can go backward as well as forward in your test. This is something that I haven't done here at my company. Compuware Xpediter is one of the best debugging tools for mainframe software development. We have currently licensed only the COBOL language for Xpediter, but I know they have other languages, including Assembler, PL/I."
"It helps our staff work by speeding up their documentation process."
"The solution can be used on both legacy and non-legacy systems."
"The platform's ability to generate metrics is the most valuable feature for data management. It is a user-friendly and easy-to-use tool."
"Data masking features are the most valuable, as non-production environments are used by diverse parties and data privacy has to be guaranteed."
"I like the features compared to other tools. This tool is more flexible to use than other tools like an Oracle product or SAP product. I think IBM tools are more flexible, and this tool is also a good product."
 

Cons

"It's a very complicated tool."
"Technical support has gotten better over the years, though there's always room for improvement."
"It often doesn't play well with other plugins in the environment."
"It's not as intuitive as it should be. In terms of navigation, there is a large training curve for using it. For a millennial it might be better, if they're used to Eclipse. But coming from a non-Eclipse environment and using Eclipse, though I have experience with Eclipse, it might be cumbersome."
"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."
"I'm always looking for improvement in things like the documentation, to make things a little bit easier and simpler to understand, a place where people can go to troubleshoot issues."
"When you're setting up the parameters for how ISPW will work in your shop, there are a lot of questions that have to be answered... BMC Compuware should have more in-depth explanations about what the choices in each question mean. If you pick A, what does that mean has to happen? What does that impact? If you pick B, what does that mean? What does that impact?"
"One thing I would really like to see some improvement on is the promotion diagnostic messages. It invokes utilities "under the covers" to copy components, and it does not echo back any of the error messages from those utilities."
"TDM's efficiency in terms of generating reports needs improvement. It could work faster."
"I would like to be able to combine different masking functions on the same column map, making more complex masking without the need of writing an Lua procedure."
"I think it could be more secure. I don't have experience with the security aspects concerning PII data, but I think it can still be streamlined a little more. It could also have some more features, and the initial setup could be more straightforward."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has saved our developers time and effort when working on documentation, which is now more readable and fluent."
"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."
"In terms of pricing, there isn't an extra charge for the parts of it we use. It comes with the licenses we purchased for other products, so no complaints there. The licensing is built in with the other products that you purchase from Compuware."
"The only thing I would mention related to the licensing and/or the pricing, is that they have some visualization features in there that are licensed by concurrent users. We're starting to trip up on that. We're looking to probably increase the number of concurrent licenses that we have. But those types of licensing strategies, where they license by concurrent users or the number of seats is confusing for some people. They don't understand why it works sometimes and doesn't work other times."
"The price point is great."
"In general, Compuware tools are very competitive."
"You have to pay yearly for the license, which comes at a reduced cost. The monthly payment option for a shorter project duration is also good."
"We purchase TDM's yearly license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
37%
Insurance Company
12%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Insurance Company
17%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Compuware File-AID?
The product has made our mainframe data management process easier. It has helped us save manhours. The tool's most valuable feature is the ability to edit tape files. Its ability to clone files is ...
What needs improvement with Compuware File-AID?
We plan to replace BMC Compuware File-AID due to its price. Two years back, we paid 11,000 dollars. However, the current price is 27,900 dollars. The price has increased to at least eight times its...
What do you like most about IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM)?
The platform's ability to generate metrics is the most valuable feature for data management. It is a user-friendly and easy-to-use tool.
What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM)?
TDM's efficiency in terms of generating reports needs improvement. It could work faster.
 

Also Known As

File-AID, Data for Db2, Code Debug, Data Studio, Workbench for Eclipse, Code Pipeline
IBM Optim Test Data Management, Optim Test Data Management, IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Helvetia, The IMT Group, Hapag-Lloyd, Royal Bank of Canada, Chunghwa Telecom
Dignity Health
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC AMI DevX vs. IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management (TDM) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.