

IBM DataPower Gateway and Mule ESB are competing in the integration solutions space, each offering unique strengths. Mule ESB appears to have an edge with superior features and flexibility, enhancing its value for the price.
Features: IBM DataPower Gateway is known for its robust API management, security features, and integration capabilities, making it ideal for secure enterprise environments. Mule ESB stands out with its extensive connectivity options, API-led connectivity approach, and versatile Anypoint Platform, enhancing its ability to meet diverse integration needs.
Room for Improvement: IBM DataPower Gateway could improve with a more user-friendly deployment process and reducing the need for specialized knowledge. Enhanced customization options would benefit users. Mule ESB might enhance its initial cost-effectiveness and streamline licensing options. Better centralized management tools could further simplify user operations.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM DataPower Gateway, with its structured deployment model, suits enterprises but requires specialized skills. IBM’s customer service is comprehensive. Mule ESB offers agile, cloud-based deployment solutions, allowing faster implementations. Its customer service excels in providing accessible resources and smoother experiences.
Pricing and ROI: IBM DataPower Gateway offers competitive setup costs with significant ROI in secure, large-scale environments. Mule ESB may involve higher initial expenses but delivers notable long-term ROI, thanks to its flexibility and feature-rich platform.
I can provide some examples of return on investment by saying that we are running different APIs which we are using, and we are charging customers.
In terms of OEM support, it is poor.
I would evaluate customer service and technical support as a little bit weak, so I give it a seven out of ten.
We have a good relationship with our vendor, and they are ready to help us with any technical issues.
The technical support of Mule ESB can be rated from nine to ten.
The technical support from Salesforce is moderate.
Once you install the product, we can't scale the resources on the IBM DataPower Gateway.
Mule ESB is a scalable solution.
The adaptability of Mule ESB in supporting multiple messaging patterns is pretty decent and pretty good.
When it comes to scalability and the ability to expand, I would rate Mule ESB as an eight or nine.
IBM DataPower Gateway does not handle all the traffic on a single node.
Mule ESB is a stable product, and I have no doubts about its reliability.
Whenever I am writing code, it should give recommendations automatically by incorporating AI so I can write the code in a few minutes or seconds.
However, from the development perspective, it has limitations because it only supports the XSLT language.
My experience with the pricing of this product is that pricing is too high and should be reduced.
Points for improvement in Mule ESB definitely include enhancing the analytics capabilities because currently, they rely on external logging tools such as Splunk or ELK, which is lagging behind compared to other tools such as Workato that offer more analytical features.
More information is needed from MuleSoft.
Pricing is one factor that could be improved about Mule ESB; other than that, I'm pretty fine with it.
I think it costs around 5 Crore in Indian Rupees.
No other Gateway offers this as part of the integration offering.
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.
IBM DataPower Gateway's multi-protocol transformation is important for my integration needs because all the API traffic is coming from this API data gateway.
They have their own language called DataWeave, which helps transform data and is efficient enough to handle any kind of transformation.
It is also reusable, meaning the same service can be used in multiple places simply by adding it, and this comes with the API-led architecture that makes integrations more secure and reliable.
The best features of Mule ESB are that it's very robust and solid; I find that even our legacy systems go well with ESB.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Mule ESB | 15.0% |
| IBM DataPower Gateway | 5.9% |
| Other | 79.1% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 11 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 17 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 23 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 38 |
IBM DataPower Gateway is a robust, secure next-generation enterprise-grade single multichannel API gateway that supplies dynamic access, integration, control, and outstanding security. The solution is available in a broad range of workload capabilities, including application programming interface (API), service oriented architecture (SOA), B2B, cloud, web, and mobile. These dynamic capabilities ensure users are able to quickly increase the reach of an organization's critical IT resources to new channels, which will provide shareholders, team members, and clients with safe, secure access at all times.
DataPower Gateway is very flexible and is widely available in virtual, cloud, traditional, physical, Docker, and Linux form factors.
IBM DataPower Gateway Features
IBM DataPower Gateway has many value-added features. Some of these features are included below:
IBM DataPower Gateway Benefits
IBM DataPower Gateway provides many benefits. Some of those benefits include:
Reviews from Real Users
“My company has a good impression of IBM DataPower Gateway. What I like about it is that because it's an appliance, it's a turnkey solution that's very fast and out of the box. Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products.”- Bálint T., Solution Manager at Intalion
“You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present. From a security point of view, being an appliance in the DMC zone, IBM DataPower Gateway will take care of the entire security angle for the infrastructure.” - Sathyan K., Founder/Director at perfTech Solutions Pvt Ltd
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