IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) comparison

IBM and Informatica are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.0, while Informatica is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.7. IBM holds a 2.0% mindshare in DI, compared to Informatica’s 4.2% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Informatica users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Read 13 IBM Cloud Pak for Data reviews

2,349 Views
1,342 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

Read 185 Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) reviews

7,761 Views
4,961 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) and IBM Cloud Pak for Data are competitors in the data management and analytics sector. IDMC seems to have the upper hand in deployment flexibility, while IBM Cloud Pak for Data excels in machine learning capabilities.

Features:IDMC provides seamless integration across various data management modules, efficient data cleansing, and flexible architecture options. IBM Cloud Pak for Data offers advanced machine learning capabilities, a modular design, and integration with enterprise solutions, facilitating data governance.

Room for Improvement:IDMC requires an improved UI, better integration with platforms like SAP, and more preconfigured rules. IBM Cloud Pak for Data faces challenges with initial deployment, demands on infrastructure, and connectivity issues, with a need for more integrated connectors.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IDMC supports versatile deployment options providing flexibility but complexity in setup, and is praised for customer support. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is mainly deployed on cloud environments, although its customer service can be slow.

Pricing and ROI:IDMC and IBM Cloud Pak for Data both have high license costs. IDMC offers comprehensive functionality for larger enterprises, providing strong ROI when fully utilized. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is considered expensive, particularly when machine learning modules are added, and shows better ROI for organizations with complex data needs.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

June 2025

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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

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Ranking in Data Integration

24th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (3rd)

Informatica Intelligent Dat...

Ranking in Data Integration

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

185

Ranking in other categories

Data Quality (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (10th), Business-to-Business Middleware (5th), API Management (7th), Cloud Data Integration (3rd), Data Governance (2nd), Test Data Management (3rd), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) Solutions (1st), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (2nd), Data Masking (2nd), Metadata Management (1st), Test Data Management Services (3rd), Product Information Management (PIM) (1st), Data Observability (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is 4.2%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie

Data asset management engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Starts strong with data management capabilities but needs a demo database

What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated. There are so many components to data management, and more often than not, people understand one thing really well. They may understand DataStage and how to move data around, but they do not see the impact of moving data incorrectly. They also do not see the impact of everyone understanding a piece of data in the same way. I would love Cloud Pak to come with a demo database that illustrates the different components of data management in a logical way, so I can see the whole picture instead of just the area I'm specializing in. It would be great if Cloud Pak, from a data modeling point of view, allowed us to import our PDMs, for example. It would be ideal to import and create business terms in Cloud Pak. The PEA would be great to create the technical data. The association between the business and the technical metadata could then be automated by pulling it through from your ACE models. The data modeling component is available in Cloud Pak. Additionally, when it comes to Cloud Pak, even though it has the NextGen DataStage built into it, there is Cloud Pak for data integration as well. Currently, I do not think we have a full enough understanding of how CP4D and CP4I can enhance each other.

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Saikat Ghosh

Consulting Principal & Founder at Digital Data Consultancy

Match and merge functionality is still the best but cloud version needs more functionality

There are various areas for improvement in IDMC. Enhancements on basic data management functionality and the UI front, such as multiple templates and improved grid views, would be beneficial. Bulk data management features could be improved from the UI perspective to get to the level of the on prem versions of Informatica MDM. The tool needs to mature but missing small but important features, like restricted dynamic attributes functionality, data inheritance rules in master hierachies, identifiers not being passed in jobs is a drawback.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."

"Cloud Pak's most valuable features are IBM MQ, IBM App Connect, IBM API Connect, and ISPF."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is the Modeler flows. The ability to develop models using a graphical approach and the capability to connect to various sources, as well as the data virtualization capabilities, allow me to easily access and utilize data that is dispersed across different sources."

"IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines are the most valuable features of the solution."

"I love the way that I can start at a very basic level with my data management journey by capturing my policies, justifying my data, and putting them into different categories to say this is data relating to individuals, for example, or data relating to geography."

"What I found most helpful in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is containerization, which means it's easy to shift and leave in terms of moving to other clouds. That's an advantage of IBM Cloud Pak for Data."

"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."

"It is a scalable solution, and we have had no issues with its scalability in our company. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data pros

"The OAuth feature is the most valuable feature for authentication."

"The most valuable feature is the building of mockups and tasks."

"The most valuable feature of Informatica MDM is hierarchy management. It's not something that's typically available and effective within ERPs."

"I rate the technical support a ten out of ten."

"The scalability of the solution is excellent."

"Axon has a marketplace that allows you to showcase all the assets the data owner has, so they can request access. That's one feature we use extensively. Axon also offers great visibility and intuitive searchability, allowing you to easily search data assets. You can check the lineage and see the work EDC does. EDC handles all the classification, cataloging, and lineage. It's integrated with Axon, and anyone can see that."

"The solution's scalability is high."

"The most important features are the mastering of the data and the UI intuitiveness."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) pros

Cons

"The product must improve its performance."

"One challenge I'm facing with IBM Cloud Pak for Data is native features have been decommissioned, such as XML input and output. Too many changes have been made, and my company has around one hundred thousand mappings, so my team has been putting more effort into alternative ways to do things. Another area for improvement in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that it's more complicated to shift from on-premise to the cloud. Other vendors provide secure agents that easily connect with your existing setup. Still, with IBM Cloud Pak for Data, you have to perform connection migration steps, upgrade to the latest version, etc., which makes it more complicated, especially as my company has XML-based mappings. Still, the XML input and output capabilities of IBM Cloud Pak for Data have been discontinued, so I'd like IBM to bring that back."

"The solution's catalog searching or map search needs to be improved."

"The product is trying to be more maturity in terms of connectors. That, I believe, is an area where Cloud Pak can improve."

"The interface could improve because sometimes it becomes slow. Sometimes there is a delay between clicks when using the software, which can make the development process slow. It can take a few seconds to complete one action, and then a few more seconds to do the next one."

"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."

"The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem."

"One thing that bugs me is how much infrastructure Cloud Pak requires for the initial deployment. It doesn't allow you to start small. The smallest permitted deployment is too big. It's a huge problem that prevents us from implementing the solution in many scenarios."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data cons

"Considering internal data from legacy systems, it is quite difficult to know if Informatica Data Quality meets that high level of accuracy criteria."

"Its pricing model can be improved. The response time from technical support can also be improved."

"I would also like to have profiling functionalities and quality transformations in the cloud."

"Permissions, scalability, and connection with other informatic tools are the main areas that need development. Integration with other tools, such as IDQ, is challenging. The management of data discovery is highly challenging because many data points have identical definitions."

"The UI is extremely complex"

"There's certainly room for improvement. One crucial area is generating detailed reports on file statuses. Presently, this is represented visually, often as graphs or charts. Such reporting could offer comprehensive insights into the areas that demand attention and further scrutiny."

"There's no direct way to connect to Amazon APIs from Informatica Cloud."

"The user interface can be a bit more functionality-aligned."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have the exact licensing cost for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, as my company is still finalizing requirements, including monthly, yearly, and three-year licensing fees. Still, on a scale of one to five, I'd rate it a three because, compared to other vendors, it's more complicated."

"IBM Cloud Pak for Data is expensive. If we include the training time and the machine learning, it's expensive. The cost of the execution is more reasonable."

"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."

"The solution is expensive."

"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."

"It's quite expensive."

"For the licensing of the solution, there is a yearly payment that needs to be made. Also, since it is expensive, cost-wise, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten."

"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."

"There is no doubt that it is very expensive, but the brand value comes at a cost. Other MDM solutions in the market that haven't proven themselves like Informatica are also pretty expensive. We need to understand that MDM itself is very expensive to implement. So, Informatica is also pretty expensive. I would rate it a two out of five for being pretty expensive."

"I rate the product's pricing a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price."

"Informatica MDM's pricetag should come down. They have to cut some costs."

"The product is not very pocket-friendly for small and medium-sized businesses, and it is understandable because of the kind of features the tool gives."

"The product has a high price point."

"Cost-wise, I think it is on the higher side, and that is why we are looking for some better options. Licensing costs are huge compared to other players in the market and for my company."

"The platform has a premium cost. I rate the pricing as seven out of ten."

"It is cost effective and an easily accessible tool."

More Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

See all answers

How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica Cloud Data Integration?

Azure Data Factory is a solid product offering many transformation functions; It has pre-load and post-load transformations, allowing users to apply transformations either in code by using Power Q...

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Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?

Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge...

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What are the biggest benefits of using Informatica Cloud Data Integration?

When it comes to cloud data integration, this solution can provide you with multiple benefits, including: Overhead reduction by integrating data on any cloud in various ways Effective integration ...

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Comparisons

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 40% of the time

Denodo vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 12% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 10% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 9% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 5% of the time

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Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 5% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

Reltio Cloud vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

Collibra Governance vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

June 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Data product report

Buyer's Guide

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

April 2025

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) report

Download Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) product report

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data

ActiveVOS, Active Endpoints, BPM, Address Verification, Persistent Data Masking, Cloud Test Data Management, PIM, , Enterprise Data Catalog, Data Integration Hub, Cloud Data Integration, Data Quality, Cloud API and App Integration

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak® for Data is a fully-integrated data and AI platform that modernizes how businesses collect, organize and analyze data to infuse AI throughout their organizations. Cloud-native by design, the platform unifies market-leading services spanning the entire analytics lifecycle. From data management, DataOps, governance, business analytics and automated AI, IBM Cloud Pak for Data helps eliminate the need for costly, and often competing, point solutions while providing the information architecture you need to implement AI successfully.

Building on the streamlined hybrid-cloud foundation of Red Hat® OpenShift®, IBM Cloud Pak for Data takes advantage of the underlying resource and infrastructure optimization and management. The solution fully supports multicloud environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud™ and private cloud deployments. Find out how IBM Cloud Pak for Data can lower your total cost of ownership and accelerate innovation.

IBM

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is a robust platform used by banks, financial institutions, and health sector organizations for data management, governance, and compliance.

IDMC provides comprehensive tools for data discovery, profiling, masking, and transformation. It supports Salesforce integration, real-time data streaming, and scalable data management solutions. Health organizations manage national product catalogs while financial entities focus on data protection and regulatory compliance. Its intuitive interface, flexible features, and robust tools make it valuable across sectors, though enhancements in data integration and human workflow are being sought.

What are the most important features?

Data discovery: Facilitates identifying and understanding data sources.
Data profiling: Analyzes old databases for data quality.
Data and platform masking: Ensures data protection.
Salesforce integration: Seamless connectivity with Salesforce.
Mastering data: Centralizing and standardizing data.
UI intuitiveness: User-friendly interface.
Feature map flexibility: Adapts to user needs.
Business glossary creation: Defines business terms.
Data lineage: Tracks data flow and transformations.
Automation: Streamlines data processes.
Enterprise data cataloging: Organizes extensive data assets.
Scalability: Supports expanding data requirements.
Easy setup: Quick deployment process.
Bulk upload: Efficiently handles large data volumes.
Customizable data management: Tailors data solutions.
Real-time data streaming: Manages live data streams.
Integration with Hadoop and NoSQL: Connects with big data platforms.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Regulatory compliance: Ensures adherence to regulations.
Data protection: Safeguards sensitive information.
Enhanced data quality: Improves accuracy and reliability.
Centralized data: Consolidates data for better management.
Process automation: Reduces manual tasks and errors.

Banks and financial institutions use IDMC for data masking, transformation, and compliance, while health sector organizations leverage it for national product catalogs. Industry applications focus on automating business processes, centralizing data, and managing data catalogs to meet regulatory demands and ensure data protection.

Informatica

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival

The Travel Company, Carbonite

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

June 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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