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IBM InfoSphere Optim vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 InfoSphere Optim
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (15th)
Informatica Intelligent Dat...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
215
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (1st), Data Quality (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (9th), Business-to-Business Middleware (4th), API Management (18th), Cloud Data Integration (4th), Data Governance (3rd), Test Data Management (4th), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) (1st), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (2nd), Data Masking (2nd), Metadata Management (2nd), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (5th), Test Data Management Services (5th), Product Information Management (PIM) (1st), Data Observability (2nd), AI Data Analysis (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

Kenneth Estanislao - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Designer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Backups become efficient while cost concerns remain
I am still working with IBM and we are transitioning to other tools rather than using IBM InfoSphere Optim. We use other tools, but I cannot recall the name because I am not the one currently handling it. It has transitioned to other architects. For IBM InfoSphere Optim, we are still currently using it, but we have transitioned to the newer version, the latest one with support for AWS S3. I cannot identify a main competitor for IBM InfoSphere Optim because we have transitioned to other architects, and they are the ones looking for other tools. The last comparison I did was almost 4 years ago. I am not using any AI technology with IBM InfoSphere Optim. I rate IBM InfoSphere Optim a seven out of ten. The tool is good, but the price is not favorable as it is the most expensive part. I can recommend IBM InfoSphere Optim for enterprises.
RC
Contractor at Sanlam
Cloud data catalog has streamlined lineage and quality while leaving more automation to improve
I have not explored IDMC's automation capabilities driven by AI and metadata too much at the moment, but it is on the cards. We are basically creating the foundation, as the whole migration has taken place recently and it is still early days. I think Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is evolving, and as the vendors move forward, they pick up new concepts from each other. I have seen that products leapfrog each other, and from my experience over the years, the big players tend to copy features or add enhancements based on industry trends. I feel whatever the tool does not have now, there is a feedback loop allowing us to request new features, and we continually ask for different ways to do things as we have a pipeline into the product management team. It is difficult to say what additional features I would prefer to see in the next release of IDMC. I would appreciate more automation on the lineage front, with more AI to seamlessly join independent sources and create seamless lineage between different technologies, such as from file into database A into a different database and landing up in a reporting system such as Cognos, Qlik, Qlik Sense, QlikView, or Power BI.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like that we can easily restore the database with just a few clicks. The database is linked as well."
"I feel the solution to be a bit faster than the traditional methods, which makes it easy to customize."
"The compression feature is valuable because it achieves around 80% compression."
"It is very useful for testing purposes and designing mappings for small projects. If you go for IDQ in the mapping itself, you can see the data. You can then correct it, and test it so easily. It is working fine. It is also stable, scalable, and easy to deploy."
"In the latest version, I like the outlay of the business roles creation. I like seeing that visualization as you're building it, as opposed to going through metatables or XML mappings. We liked that piece, and it makes it more intuitive for the business."
"We are able to set rules, establish a data quality management platform, and monitor the quality."
"I am a fan of Informatica and it is definitely a product that I recommend because of its inbuilt capabilities."
"The data quality component is very good."
"The advanced features like task flow and conditional integration are particularly useful."
"The profiling features are much better than the on-premise version."
"The reusability factors are nice. The Cloud Data Quality is much better. A major flaw in the previous version was integration with the catalog, which is now seamless."
 

Cons

"While the solution is very supportive of Db2, it is not so friendly when it comes to IMS databases."
"We're looking for a solution that can be implemented on AWS. IBM InfoSphere Optim can be implemented on AWS, but it costs more than double what we're currently paying. So, it's not really of good value for us."
"The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive."
"While masking PII information in huge tables [more than 500 million record count with more than five PII columns present] the Extract-Convert-Load [ECL] process becomes extremely slow and can take a huge amount of time."
"They have too many diversified products. If you don't know Informatica, it's very confusing and feels very idiotic."
"The major area of improvement is its GUI front end."
"The cloud version of Axon is far behind the on-prem, and many of my clients want to go fully to the cloud. However, Axon has to be an on-prem installation. I would like to see their cloud products catch up with their on-prem capabilities."
"The pricing model is problematic."
"The product's pricing is definitely an area where a bit of improvement is needed."
"The integration process is not easy."
"I think they should work really hard on UI."
"Informatica should simplify the rules for setting classifications and user access management permissions. It's too complex to define, configure, and make work."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM InfoSphere Optim is a very expensive solution. Actually, it's the most expensive archiving solution that we have."
"We have licenses, and we are provided with certain particular services in the solution."
"The solution is very expensive."
"It's an expensive solution."
"It is expensive. That's probably the biggest drawback. The business has heartache paying the license, but that's mainly because they don't realize what value it brings. The key thing about the MDM solution is that it is in the backend, and no one sees what it is actually doing. You don't know it is a problem until it is not there."
"Informatica Cloud Data Integration is famously known for its high price. The vendor targets large enterprises, and not medium or small companies. These large companies, and organizations, handle large amounts of data. If you go into any large bank, such as American or Canadian banks, these banks use this solution because it is more reliable, secure, and has more functionality."
"Informatica MDM is very expensive. Apart from licensing fees, they have broken down their products into multiple products, and they charge for each and every product. If the data is huge, they charge for the data. At times, we have to use third party services for data cleaning, and they charge for that as well."
"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."
"I'm not sure about the most recent pricing trends, but I don't believe it's significantly different from PowerCenter. I believe it is nearly the same."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Retailer
8%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business51
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise155
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Optim?
The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive. Currently, there are no issues with IBM InfoSphere Optim; the only problem is the cost, whic...
What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim?
My current use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim is just for doing backups. We are using IBM InfoSphere Optim specifically for backup purposes.
What advice do you have for others considering IBM InfoSphere Optim?
I am still working with IBM and we are transitioning to other tools rather than using IBM InfoSphere Optim. We use other tools, but I cannot recall the name because I am not the one currently handl...
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...
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...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Optim, Optim
ActiveVOS, Active Endpoints, Address Verification, Persistent Data Masking
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Continental, KCE Electronics Public Company Limited, The University of Adelaide, Migros Zurich, COPROB
The Travel Company, Carbonite
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), SnapLogic, Informatica and others in Cloud Data Integration. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.