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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs Talend Data Fabric comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
13
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (3rd)
Talend Data Fabric
Ranking in Data Integration
26th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 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 Talend Data Fabric is 1.1%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
KrishnaBaddam - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports API integrations and enables users to handle data management
Informatica is a well-established product known for its stability. Hardware and configuration can affect its performance, and it's not a lightweight tool that will fail quickly. When purchasing Informatica, you have options based on your needs. A simple data ingestion or integration license is relatively affordable, but the full Data Fabric suite is expensive. The Data Fabric suite includes integration, data quality, API management, big data processing, and real-time capabilities. For those who don't need the entire suite, purchasing individual components, such as data integration or data quality, it is a more cost-effective option. These individual licenses are generally less expensive than the complete Data Fabric suite, offering a more flexible and budget-friendly choice than Informatica's flagship.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are data virtualization and reporting."
"One of Cloud Pak's best features is the Watson Knowledge Catalog, which helps you implement data governance."
"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten."
"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."
"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."
"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."
"Talend can be used for multi-cloud purposes, allowing users to orchestrate data across various cloud platforms without purchasing AWS Glue, Azure Data Factory, or similar cloud-specific tools."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The Talend data integration has been one of the most valuable features."
"Everything in Talend Data Fabric is GUI-based, making it very user-friendly and easy to learn quickly."
"It is a smart tool for us to design data pipelines. It lets us populate our three data lake instances. We like this solution for its connection capabilities, since it is very important to be able to use many different types of software. We tested a lot of SAP sources successfully, including cloud sources with SAP. It is also very easy to anonymize data with TIBCO, as well as populating HDFS files, packet files, and raw files. It is very easy to do that with Talend Data Fabric."
"We've had no issues with the stability so far."
 

Cons

"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The technical support could be a little better."
"The product is trying to be more maturity in terms of connectors. That, I believe, is an area where Cloud Pak can improve."
"The tool depends on the control plane, an OpenShift container platform utilized as an orchestration layer...So, we have communicated this issue to IBM and asked if it is feasible to adapt the solution to work on a Kubernetes platform that we support."
"Talend's architecture is complex to configure, especially due to the various components involved. It requires a more intricate setup."
"We encounter issues getting email notifications. They should provide enough information about the configuration process for email components."
"I would like to see better integration with other tools."
"Deployment can be difficult, but I didn't test the latest version yet. With Talend products, every release brings a lot of new features and functionalities. This is never a small adaptation, because the tool is maturing, but we need to test the latest version and to check its deployment capabilities."
"The support is not very good. The team is not well-trained, and resolving a ticket can require several discussions."
"We are currently using version 7.3.1, but preferred the version before. The problem that we currently have is that Talend are releasing patches for Talend Studio every quarter. Our technical team has to be on top of these patches and constantly ensure everything is updated."
 

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."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."
"It's quite expensive."
"There are no additional licensing fees when you scale"
"There are multiple subscriptions available with Talend, each with its own scope. Subscriptions depend on the number of users you have and how many remote engines you want to install."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources.
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.
What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
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...
What needs improvement with Talend Data Fabric?
Data governance is still not mature. There is not much documentation available for it, and the maturity of the product does not meet my expectations. Master Data Management has been decommissioned,...
What is your primary use case for Talend Data Fabric?
The main use cases for Talend Data Fabric include setting up a data lake to enable the data platform.
 

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Talend Data Fabric and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.