IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM WebSphere Application Server comparison

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. IBM WebSphere Application Server

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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 DataPower Gateway

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (4th), SOA Application Gateways (1st), API Management (11th)

IBM WebSphere Application S...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

4th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 3.8%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 5.0%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IBM WebSphere Application Server	5.0%
IBM DataPower Gateway	3.8%
Other	91.2%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

AkshaySawant

Manager at CSB Bank Ltd

Security features excel but development limitations emerge

We are using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes. As per the development perspective, there are some limitations with IBM DataPower Gateway because it only supports XML and XSLT language, but it does not support the Java language. This is the only limitation of the IBM DataPower Gateway. For the authentication and authorization purpose, we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. It's a very good product. We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes. If we are handling the load for a particular server, then we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. The IBM DataPower Gateway is mostly used for security purposes. If we have some APIs and we are using some security for those APIs, then we can use it. It can also be used as a load balancer. It's also used for certificate management, user management purposes, authentication, and authorization. For routing, the IBM DataPower Gateway has multiple URL-based routing and content-based routing capabilities. If we have multiple URLs, then we can use an XML script. Using the XSLT language, we can configure multiple URLs and implement URL-based routing. Content-based routing means if we have multiple requests, we can route the request to a particular URL. For this, we need to use the XSLT language only. We can't use XML, Java, or other scripting languages. With IBM DataPower Gateway, we are using all the APIs. All APIs have been configured on the gateway. We have configured the particular TLS profile and some TLS client profiles as well. Using that TLS profile, we have configured the APIs and authentication. We have configured some tokens also, including JWT tokens and different types of auth tokens. There is also a rate limiting feature which we use for handling API loads.

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Costica Florea

Senior Manager, MW & DB Automation at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Has worked seamlessly in complex clustered environments and supports long-term development efforts

IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but now they maintain 9.0.5 with different releases. It's based on Java J2EE 7 and Java SDK 1.8. Oracle announced that 2030 will be the last year when Java SDK 1.8 will be supported. Oracle currently deploys Java 2.x in parallel, with the latest being version 25. The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7. I haven't found any white papers or official documentation from IBM outlining their trajectory post-2030.

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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

"Anybody can use it as their security device and as their multi-protocol handling device."

"What I like most is the stability."

"The advantages of IBM DataPower Gateway, which I personally appreciate, are the security features that you can manipulate according to your company policies."

"The solution is very easy to work with."

"The solution is robust, and we use the appliance version, which comes with good security features and troubleshooting tools, so we are happy with IBM DataPower."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the appliance hardware, the software embedded within the hardware appliance machine, making it one of the best security platforms in the market that is easy to use, easy to install, and resilient for high availability."

"We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes."

"The MPGW (Multi-Protocol Gateway) is great because it allows you to easily expose services using various protocols – web services, REST (JSON), and others. This flexibility simplifies things."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pros

"IBM WAS is extremely scalable. It is easy to add additional servers and to divide the load over servers in all kinds of ways."

"Without the Admin Console it would be very hard to configure JVM settings, JDBC datasources, mail session settings, and security providers."

"The scalability of the product is quite good."

"The solution has good performance."

"I would say that the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable, as there is a load balancing feature that uses different nodes, handled by the deployment manager, and this functionality helps with the load balancing of applications."

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is the best in terms of scalability and performance, as well as the support for managing distributed transactions."

"The VPN service is quite useful."

"It integrates well with the Tivoli Federated Identity Management system, which works as a single sign-on mechanism for other e-services that we have shared with other clients."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pros

Cons

"An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product."

"My experience with the pricing of this product is that pricing is too high and should be reduced."

"Additional documentation needs to be provided for complex automations."

"Scripting needs improvement. It's hard for our customers."

"API management launched two years back and we consider it quite unstable because we still face a lot of bugs."

"The solution requires a lot of training manuals in order to get to know it better and to be able to use it effectively."

"We are always looking for more features wherein it could be easily integrated with cloud applications. We are looking for either a cloud solution or a cloud integration option."

"The components that they include in the product that are, in fact, a WTX, really need to be removed from the product because they tend to fail."

More IBM DataPower Gateway cons

"The availability of the solution needs improvement. The product should be more enhanced and responsive."

"WebSphere Application Server doesn't have an automated deployment option, forcing us to use third-party tools like Jenkins UCD and Palo Automated Deployment."

"The solution consumes hardware."

"The security could be better."

"Installing or configuring a WAS server instance as a Windows Service causes a lot of problems, especially when the server needs credentials to stop."

"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."

"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."

"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly. It used to have its own JVM, which presented challenges such as different architecture and memory leaks."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The total cost of IBM DataPower Gateway would depend on the configuration, but in my experience, it can amount to 60,000 Euros per box, even for the virtual version. Usually, customers need high availability and a non-production environment, so the total price for IBM DataPower Gateway can be quite a lot. It can be 200,000 Euros or a similar figure."

"The licensing cost is very expensive."

"The cost is very high and requires all five components in the API management solution."

"This product is a bit expensive as IBM products are costly assets. However, for enterprise customers it is a worthwhile investment."

"IBM DataPower Gateway is quite expensive to get resources to work on this product. If the price could be cheaper, I think that will make it a little bit better and easily accessible to smaller clients. Then it could compete with other solutions that are available in the market. There's a whole lot of other solutions available that work well and are cheaper than IBM's products."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The solution is expensive in comparison to other products."

"The tool's initial costing is expensive for small banks and financial institutions."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pricing and cost advice

"We pay around $200,000 annually."

"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."

"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."

"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."

"My company is on a perpetual or permanent license agreement with IBM WebSphere Application Server. There's also a pay-per-use option, but customers rarely choose that option. Most of the customers are on the perpetual license deal that's all-inclusive. As the license cost is quite expensive, I'm rating it two out of five."

"The pricing is a little expensive."

"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."

"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

25%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM DataPower Gateway?

I don't know if the current licensing cost of IBM DataPower Gateway is high, but I think it's acceptable. I don't have any complaints about it.

What needs improvement with IBM DataPower Gateway?

I noticed that the Gateway Script libraries could be improved, as they are not covering everything I need.

What is your primary use case for IBM DataPower Gateway?

The primary purposes for which IBM DataPower Gateway is used include security purposes, and sometimes you need to put some configurations and mapping into the process.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?

At Royal Bank, which is a major IBM customer with mainframes and numerous IBM products, they have a specific agreement regarding pricing. The pricing structure for large enterprise customers differ...

What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?

What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere Application Server?

I was part of an application where I integrated IBM WebSphere Application Server with Node.js and Blue Prism. I did a lot of REST applications because at my core, I'm a developer. Currently, I'm an...

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Product Reports

IBM DataPower Gateway

Download IBM DataPower Gateway product report

IBM WebSphere Application Server

Download IBM WebSphere Application Server product report

Also Known As

WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower

WebSphere Application Server

Overview

IBM DataPower Gateway provides advanced security, multi-protocol transformation, and API management, ensuring appliance-based stability and performance. It supports enterprise-level traffic, facilitating seamless integration and deployment, though it may pose challenges in terms of pricing and user complexity.

IBM DataPower Gateway integrates as an enterprise service bus and API management platform, effectively securing APIs and managing authentication and authorization. Serving large banks and enterprises, it supports B2B transactions with data security and compliance, especially for sectors requiring GDPR adherence. Users benefit from high performance and stability, despite its premium cost and complex configuration needs. Cloud integration, user-friendliness enhancements, and improved documentation are areas where it can advance. It meets the demands of sectors like BFSI by protecting against security threats and supporting significant traffic volumes.

What are key features of IBM DataPower Gateway?

Advanced security functionalities: Comprehensive tools for authentication, authorization, and certificate management.
Multi-protocol transformation: Facilitates seamless conversions across different protocols.
Appliance-based stability: Provides a stable platform for handling enterprise traffic.
API management: Capable of managing APIs efficiently with rate-limiting and other controls.
Efficient troubleshooting tools: Streamlines issue resolution and system maintenance.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

High performance: Capable of handling large-scale enterprise traffic efficiently.
Easy integration and configuration: Simplifies connecting with existing systems.
Regulatory compliance: Supports adherence to regulations like GDPR.
Protects against security threats: Offers robust security measures for data protection.

IBM DataPower Gateway is prominent in industries requiring rigorous data security and efficient integration, such as BFSI. Large enterprises leverage it for B2B transactions, ensuring regulatory compliance and high-performance standards. It's also implemented in environments demanding robust API security and management.

IBM

IBM WebSphere Application Server guarantees robustness and scalability, offering excellent integration with systems like CICS and supporting high-performance Java-based applications across diverse industries.

IBM WebSphere Application Server is designed for robustness and scalability, providing seamless integration with enterprise systems such as CICS. Known for its stability and security features, including SSL certificates, it ensures reliable application performance. With an intuitive GUI and Admin Console, it facilitates integration and operation even in complex deployments. However, there are user demands for improvements in areas like cost, complexity, and compatibility with non-Java technologies. Enhanced support for modern web servers and cloud services is also sought.

What are the most important features of IBM WebSphere Application Server?

Scalability: Efficiently handles large application loads and complex deployments.
Security: Offers reliable SSL certificates and robust security protocols.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with systems like CICS and supports Java-based applications.
Usability: Features an intuitive GUI and comprehensive Admin Console.
Performance: High stability and strong performance even under heavy loads.

What benefits should users look for in IBM WebSphere Application Server reviews?

Enterprise Capabilities: Known for comprehensive enterprise capabilities.
Support: Offers excellent support across diverse technology platforms.
Flexibility: Adaptability in managing applications in diverse environments.
Ease of Deployment: Facilitates deployment through command-line tools and console interfaces.

IBM WebSphere Application Server plays a significant role in industries such as banking and retail, where it supports enterprise application deployment, e-commerce sites, and financial transactions. It is used in both on-premise and cloud environments, catering to sectors like insurance and public administration.

IBM

Sample Customers

RBL Bank, Availity

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. IBM WebSphere Application Server