We use IBM DataPower Gateway for securing APIs using AAA policies. It helps us impose security, such as versions 1.0 and 2.0, available for SSL. It allows us to isolate APIs as needed, ensuring they communicate directly without issues, improving security and control.
Integration Specialist - Solution Architect at LTIMindtree
Scalable platform with good security features
Pros and Cons
- "The product's most valuable features are AAA policies and security features."
- "The product's cost for data appliances or hardware is quite high. It needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The product's most valuable features are AAA policies and security features.
What needs improvement?
The product's cost for data appliances or hardware is quite high. It needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using IBM DataPower Gateway for five years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product's stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable platform. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team takes three to four months to respond to the queries.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complex. The process involves deploying hardware on the server and installing software as well. It takes four to five days to complete.
What was our ROI?
The product is worth the investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate IBM DataPower Gateway an eight out of ten. The product is reliable and efficient for both internal and external gateway. Additionally, it is a highly expandable platform.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Solution Manager at Intalion
An out-of-the-box solution that's feature-rich, fast, and easy to integrate with other products
Pros and Cons
- "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. Compared to other gateways, I also like that IBM DataPower Gateway is function-rich. For example, for one of the projects, there was a need for specific transformation and security features available in IBM DataPower Gateway out of the box, so my team just needed to configure the appliance. There was no need for separate development, and I found it quite neat. Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products."
- "From a technical point of view, IBM DataPower Gateway performs quite well, so my team had no concerns at all in terms of performance, reliability, and stability."
- "An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product. Sometimes, when the customer use case is just a very small subset of what's being offered in IBM DataPower Gateway, then the product can be expensive, making my company lose some of the opportunities because of the expensive pricing. A lower price point for IBM DataPower Gateway, even if that results in a less feature-rich version, would be appreciated. In terms of additional features that I'd like to see in the next release of IBM DataPower Gateway, nothing specific comes to mind because IBM constantly improves its standards and provides quarterly updates to the product, so it's quite fine."
- "An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product."
What is most valuable?
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.
Compared to other gateways, I also like that IBM DataPower Gateway is function-rich. For example, for one of the projects, there was a need for specific transformation and security features available in IBM DataPower Gateway out of the box, so my team just needed to configure the appliance. There was no need for separate development, and I found it quite neat.
Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products.
What needs improvement?
An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product. Sometimes, when the customer use case is just a very small subset of what's being offered in IBM DataPower Gateway, then the product can be expensive, making my company lose some of the opportunities because of the expensive pricing.
A lower price point for IBM DataPower Gateway, even if that results in a less feature-rich version, would be appreciated.
In terms of additional features that I'd like to see in the next release of IBM DataPower Gateway, nothing specific comes to mind because IBM constantly improves its standards and provides quarterly updates to the product, so it's quite fine.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with and supporting IBM DataPower Gateway locally for six years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
From a technical point of view, IBM DataPower Gateway performs quite well, so my team had no concerns at all in terms of performance, reliability, and stability. When deploying IBM DataPower Gateway for banks and other financial institutions here in Hungary, I've observed that you can almost forget about it because it's a good product with no issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
IBM DataPower Gateway is a scalable product, but Hungary is a relatively small market, so even the smallest size is sometimes too big for the customer. Scaling the product downwards would be better because it's more suitable for small businesses. IBM DataPower Gateway is less applicable to mid-size and large businesses.
How are customer service and support?
We had no issue with the technical support for IBM DataPower Gateway. In the past few years, we had to open just very, very few tickets that were answered promptly. There was even one case where the physical appliance had a hardware issue. The power supply had to be replaced, and the replacement came automatically within the promised timeframe, so support was okay.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for IBM DataPower Gateway was straightforward. The hours and effort dedicated to the implementation of the product were quite low compared to other products, though not necessarily gateways. You can do most of the implementation steps, and IBM DataPower Gateway requires a relatively easy configuration, and as it's out of the box, you can just customize it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
IBM DataPower Gateway is still in an early phase with us, especially because of its price point. As some of our customers need a less functional and less costly solution, we're looking at other alternatives on their behalf, such as Kong API Gateway and WSO2, but we don't have too much experience with those solutions.
What other advice do I have?
My company is a system integrator for IBM DataPower Gateway and other solutions in Hungary. My company also provides customer-side consultancy for some projects, particularly providing expertise for customer deployments and other related areas.
Just a few people use IBM DataPower Gateway within my company. There's a team of ten people that covers other solutions and competency levels as well. Only one or two people utilize IBM DataPower Gateway full-time.
What I'd tell others who want to implement IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's a reliable product.
My rating for IBM DataPower Gateway is nine out of ten. Technically, it's okay. It's only the price point that needs improvement because it's a bit expensive in some cases.
My company is an IBM partner.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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IBM DataPower Gateway
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about IBM DataPower Gateway. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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Middleware Administrator at Pronteff IT Solutions
Many security features, easy to use and not much development is needed
Pros and Cons
- "Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features."
- "Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features."
- "The programming language is only supported in XSLT and Gateway script."
- "API management launched two years back and we consider it quite unstable because we still face a lot of bugs."
What is our primary use case?
We use both cloud and on-premise solutions. We focus on the BFSI, one of India's largest banks, as well as the financial sector and telecommunications.
How has it helped my organization?
We implement the solution for our clients and currently have more than 70 staff members on our team.
What is most valuable?
Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features. It's also easy to use with not much development needed. We can deploy mostly with the drag-and-drop policies.
What needs improvement?
Right now, the programming language is only supported in XSLT and Gateway script. Offering another programming language like Python would be better for all. We had one difficulty with signing and encryption, which it doesn't support in the data pool but does in Java programming language. It wasn't contained in the latest algorithm, so that's an issue we faced with one customer.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using it for the last five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The data pool product is stable and we did not find any bugs. API management launched two years back and we consider it quite unstable because we still face a lot of bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is best for medium to large companies and is easy to scale.
How are customer service and support?
We are in yearly contact with technical support. We have reported every bug and they try to fix them within a short span of time. If they can't fix bugs quickly, they include them in new releases and give an ETA to us. Knowledge base and response time could be improved.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This is the solution we currently implement for our customers.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is very easy. If you go with container deployment, it can be a little bit tricky. The first time you install a container you will face issues, but the next time will be easier.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution for our clients. We also provide maintenance every quarter to give support to the production environment. If the client needs extra features, the project is more complex and takes more development time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost is very high and requires all five components in the API management solution, such as API Portal, Analytics, and App Connect. But with MuleSoft, everything is with a single vendor.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We want to explore MuleSoft and introduce it to our company. We are not going to replace IBM right now, but we want to be able propose either IBM or MuleSoft based on customer requirements such as features and cost.
What other advice do I have?
We are a gold partner with IBM. DataPower Gateway is quite cool but API Manage needs to be more stable. Without testing, they released the product into the market. This is what we have observed. Sometimes, even small features in the big product do not work.
I would rate this product an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Chief Executive Officer at Customersoft Innovation
Stable solution with good technical support service.
Pros and Cons
- "It is a scalable solution."
- "The solution's technical support is excellent."
- "They should add features to manage API integrations."
- "It is challenging to understand the solution's design and support skills."
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable features are security and consistent availability.
What needs improvement?
It is challenging to understand the solution's design and support skills. We have to keep importing skills all the time. It requires a technical person to understand multiple operating systems environments. They should make it more accessible for entry-level developers. Also, they should add features to manage API integrations.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for over 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is excellent. They have created data centers where we can raise queries.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup process is easy. It takes two weeks to build custom-specific prototypes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution has a return on investment but is a little expensive. One of its licenses costs $10,000. The additional costs depend on the pricing models for technology support.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the solution to enterprise companies. It is an excellent product if you have to set it up on the cloud. Although, hosting it on the existing cloud is complicated. I rate it as an eight.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Consultant at Gtc
A scalable and secure solution that has all functionalities integrated in one platform
Pros and Cons
- "I like the tool's security. Also, all functionalities are integrated within on platform."
- "I would like the tool to improve its training."
What is most valuable?
I like the tool's security. Also, all functionalities are integrated within on platform.
What needs improvement?
I would like the tool to improve its training.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the product's stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the tool's scalability a ten out of ten. We have many users for the tool in our company. We have plans to increase the software's usage in the future.
How was the initial setup?
We found the tool's deployment simple because we had developed many tools to implement it automatically.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool's initial costing is expensive for small banks and financial institutions.
What other advice do I have?
You need to develop tools to improve the deployment of the solution.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Founder, Director at perfTech Solutions Pvt Ltd
Is easy to implement, maintain, and scale, and does not need a separate DMC proxy
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "If you are an enterprise customer, I would definitely advise that it is better to go for IBM DataPower, because you won't need to have a proxy or any other security measures required in the DMC, and it is easy to implement and easy to maintain and scale."
- "The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better."
- "The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better."
What is our primary use case?
We have a global banking customer who uses IBM DataPower Gateway to expose their APIs for customer use.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this product for more than five years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, and the performance is good as well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easy to scale as the product itself has the capability to install it as a cluster. So it can be scaled vertically or horizontally.
We have a team of about 10 developers and 10 to 15 enterprise customers globally.
How are customer service and support?
For this particular product, the technical support is good.
I would give them an eight out of ten because there are some stability issues related to new features that have been added. They could have tested them and released them later rather than releasing them right now.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward because it's an appliance, so you don't have much complexity from an installation and configuration perspective. I would give the setup process a five out of five.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it in-house. It hardly takes any time; perhaps a day or two.
The only maintenance you need to be worried about is upgrading the patches, and you need to make sure that you apply those on time. We have two people who are responsible for the maintenance and administration.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product is a bit expensive as IBM products are costly assets. However, for enterprise customers it is a worthwhile investment.
The licensing cost is based on the PVU and will depend upon the number of CPUs used for the virtual appliances.
If you are buying the license based on the PVUs, then you won't have any additional costs because all of the features will be available. However, if you are not going with the product with the PVU and you're going with certain features, then you will need to add those features, specifically security features, and pay for them. That is, there are certain features that are on a pay-per-feature basis if you are not going with a PVU license.
I would give pricing a rating of three out of five.
What other advice do I have?
If you are an enterprise customer, I would definitely advise that it is better to go for IBM DataPower. You won't need to have a proxy or any other security measures required in the DMC, and it is easy to implement and easy to maintain and scale.
Overall, I would rate IBM DataPower Gateway at ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Group CEO at Mmusi Group
Quick deployment, exceptional support, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is scalable, our customers are mostly South African banks and they handle mostly transactions with this solution."
- "The support for IBM DataPower Gateway has been exceptional."
- "IBM DataPower Gateway is a great solution but when based on utilizations in the different streams others feel that this is an expensive product for one simple use case."
What is our primary use case?
IBM DataPower Gateway helps to provide security and control integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used IBM DataPower Gateway within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable, our customers are mostly South African banks and they handle mostly transactions with this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support for IBM DataPower Gateway has been exceptional.
They help you depending on your severity and how you log the ticket. If it's a Tier-1 support ticket then it will get their attention. Or you can send it to your account manager for the relevant accounts to receive the help, or you escalate the ticket and you receive extra attention. They help you resolve the problem as they arise. Support with IBM and Microsoft have been more or less identical. You can receive the help you need as long as you know how to start.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation of IBM DataPower Gateway was very quick.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
BM DataPower Gateway is a great solution but when based on utilizations in the different streams others feel that this is an expensive product for one simple use case. They can achieve the same result with something cheaper.
Most customers' use case budgets are not inlined with the price of IBM DataPower Gateway. It is too expensive.
What other advice do I have?
The previous CIO in IBM wanted to move away from DataPower Gateway. We are currently using ACE Platform because it does the bulk of the workload and Connect Direct. IBM was wondering why they were having IBM DataPower Gateway if they also have Connect Direct to do file transfers. They are currently re-evaluating the situation.
I would recommend the solution to others.
I rate IBM DataPower Gateway a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Yapı Kredi şirketinde Application Infrastructure Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
A robust solution with good security and troubleshooting features
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is robust."
- "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."
- "For the workloads that are not too high, appliance is a little bit expensive."
- "For the workloads that are not too high, appliance is a little bit expensive, especially in the development test and UAT environment, where we can use the virtual version of the product."
What is our primary use case?
Initially, we used IBM DataPower XI52, but have since switched versions. The operating system versions were different. We are using the appliance version.
We primarily use the solution for the integration and security gateway for opening the services outside company.
What is most valuable?
The solution is robust. We use the appliance version, which comes with good security features and trouble shooting tools. So, we are happy with the IBM DataPower. We are currently evaluating the CA product, especially as it concerns the API management. As such, we may choose to use the API management modules of the CA Gateway.
What needs improvement?
For the workloads that are not too high, appliance is a little bit expensive. This is especially true in the development test and UAT environment, in which we can use the virtual version of the product. For live environments, we can continue to use the appliances.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using IBM DataPower Gateway for eight years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The appliance is a bit on the expensive side for the workloads that are not too high. This is especially true in the development test and UAT environment.
What other advice do I have?
Improvements have already been made to the solution. For example, we wish to use the virtual version of the DataPower next year and will likely do so with all of our applications within a few years.
When it comes to the deployment, we use the appliance version of the product with IBM DataPower. Yet, with other applications, are cloud-based.
I rate IBM DataPower Gateway as a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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