MuleSoft Anypoint Platform Reviews

So what we are trying to do is help a customer create a platform where they can integrate multiple business applications. Previously, they were using point-to-point integrations, but now they want to leverage Mule Anypoint Platform as the integration layer. They have about 60+ applications and close to 300+ endpoints that they want to connect through Mule. They are gradually migrating from SnapLogic and Workato, including data integration currently handled by Talent, to Mule as the unified platform. Our role is to assist in building these integrations. We are retrofitting some of the existing ones into Mule and ensuring a smooth transition from other integration solutions to MuleSoft. Additionally, for new businesses, they plan to build integrations directly on top of Mule Anypoint Platform.

In terms of improving our organisation, the first thing is cost management because there are a lot of licensing costs that people incur. There has been a significant improvement in business processes with a lot of increments because now, every integration request flows through the new platform. A 20% increase in all the connectivity from the enterprise applications. The shift from peer-to-peer or point-to-point integrations to Mule Anypoint Platform enabled this improvement.

The most valuable features for us are flexibility, all the features related to connectivity with multiple connectors to the business, and the flexibility of on-premises and cloud deployments. And the new things for the CI/CD process that MuleSoft is coming up with, like App Connector or Connected Apps, are something that we like. We are actually not using it yet, but we are exploring Connected Apps.

One area we'd like to see improvement in is the error logging and troubleshooting process. Handling errors can sometimes be challenging, but if Mule Anypoint Platform could allow defining user-defined errors and provide better management for them, that would greatly enhance the platform.

Another aspect is the support from MuleSoft. We don't find it easy to get support from their product support team. I'm not sure if it's an issue with our specific team, but the responsiveness from MuleSoft support should be better. We rely on their product for our work, so that's something we hope could be improved.

I have been working with this solution for nine years. We began with Mule Anypoint Platform for Cisco in 2014. Then we upgraded to version 3.4, and now it's coming up for nine years.

We are currently using version 4.3.

We haven't experienced any downtime. I would rate the stability of the solution design, considering that Mule supports the solution. It's around eight out of ten because it's stable for now. However, we haven't looked at the concurrency at this point, but the volume of transactions going via Mule is relatively low. So, for now, it's stable. But we have to consider stability when we have huge volumes of more endpoints and applications onboarded and in use. But for now, it's stable.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten; it is a highly scalable solution.

We have around 200 end users using this solution in our company. We use it to its maximum capacity. However, it's not for P1 applications, but definitely for severity two cases (P2 level). It integrates critical applications, but it's not a platform that, if it stops, the entire system would come down. So, it's more like a severity two level.

However, it has the potential to eventually become a P1 platform. Not exactly P1 applications, but a P1 platform. Because now we are still in the transition to migrate everything, all the integrations to Mule Anypoint Platform. But once it's done, then this platform becomes critical. Because even now, we have point-to-point connections.

Getting help from the support team takes time. When we log a ticket, nobody acknowledges it for a few days. Once they acknowledge, it takes more time to get things done.

Neutral

I would rate my experience with the initial setup on-premises an eight out of ten, where one being difficult and ten being difficult to set up. 

The initial setup is very easy. However, I only deal with application deployment using Anypoint Platform, which is easy.

Deployment was mostly handled by the infrastructure team for security reasons.

The solution does require maintenance. Currently, we have a team of 17 engineers working on all the integration applications we have, both onshore and offshore.

We are still actively using Mule Anypoint Platform. We also do a competitive analysis to understand how it stacks up against other IPaaS providers like Microsoft and others in the Magic Quadrant or Gartner reports. Players like Dell Boomi, SnapLogic, and Workato are among the new competitors in the IPaaS space that we analyze.

In the current environment, we used to have point-to-point integrations with tools like Talent, but since I've been working at my current company, I'm exclusively working with Mule due to my expertise. 

I would say it depends upon the business. For small and medium businesses, there might be some restrictions as Mule is more of an enterprise middleware. However, I would still recommend they explore MuleSoft, even for small and medium businesses. But for enterprises, I would highly recommend it because of its scalability, high availability, and robust platform. These are features that you can typically find only in enterprise middleware like MuleSoft. 

Additionally, Salesforce is making it even better by introducing a lot of components. I've also heard that they are incorporating AI into MuleSoft for automated decisions, as mentioned by Salesforce. So, I would definitely highly recommend MuleSoft.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I started using it as a developer. Essentially, we use it for application integration. For example, in one organization where I worked, we had an SAP ERP application, and several other applications were integrated with it. It acts as an integration layer for SAP, leveraging APIs rather than traditional methods like SAP's API for scheduled jobs. This allowed us to integrate ERP applications, document management systems, and web applications more efficiently.

Initially, we faced challenges managing numerous scheduled jobs and duplicate entries in our SAP system. To address this, we developed a reusable component in Mule that all applications could use to interact with SAP. This streamlined our integrations, consolidating multiple channels into one. Now, any modifications or updates to SAP only require changes to this single integration channel, reducing complexity and making upgrades smoother. This approach not only improved stability but also simplified our system architecture.

One of the most valuable aspects was its impact on reducing time and effort during upgrades. Previously, SAP upgrades required significant coordination with multiple teams. Now, thanks to our streamlined integration approach, the SAP team interacts primarily with the integration team. When changes are needed, we simply create a new version. This allows application teams to migrate gradually from the old version to the new one, without extensive involvement from the SAP team.

Moreover, our approach has improved reliability by eliminating duplicated efforts. Previously, different teams would often duplicate data sets due to inefficiencies in data naming conventions. We centralized data integration, ensuring that all applications use the same data set.

Over the years, Mule Anypoint Platform has undergone significant improvements. When I first started using it, the API gateway capabilities were fairly basic. However, they have evolved into a mature API gateway solution. In fact, they are well-regarded in Gartner's evaluations of API gateways.

While Anypoint Platform has made strides in monitoring and reporting functionalities, there is still room for improvement in this area. Enhanced reporting and more robust monitoring capabilities would further strengthen the platform's usability and appeal.

I have been using Mule Anypoint Platform for seven years.

MuleSoft is highly flexible whether you're using the on-premises or cloud version. With the on-premises edition, it's straightforward to scale up by adding clusters. Each cluster consisting of multiple nodes of MuleSoft deployment. This setup ensures a scalable environment to handle varying workloads effectively.

Another option is their 'Runtime Fabric' offering, which allows you to replicate the cloud deployment model within your own cloud or data center. This gives you the capability to manage both infrastructure and applications autonomously, similar to the capabilities offered in the cloud. It's a robust solution for maintaining control over your deployment environment while ensuring scalability.

Support is pretty much responsive.

Positive

It's easy to set up. You simply unzip the package and you're ready to go. I haven't encountered any issues with the setup process. The addition of their cloud offering has made deployment even simpler. You can deploy applications to the cloud without needing to manage setup. It automatically spins up containers or allocates resources as needed for the applications

We've automated our deployment process. Once developers finish their development work, we initiate testing. Our testing team conducts tests in the development environment, and upon successful testing, we move the application to the staging environment for user acceptance testing. Once approved, we promote it to production. Our deployment pipeline handles this process seamlessly, minimizing manual intervention except for approval after testing.

The pricing of MuleSoft is on the higher side. Comparatively, it may appear more expensive than some other integration platforms. However, in the two organizations where I've used MuleSoft, the challenge was that they didn't adopt it as the sole enterprise integration platform. Instead, they had multiple integration platforms including MuleSoft. If MuleSoft had been adopted as the primary integration platform, the cost could have been spread across different business teams, leading to economies of scale.

Currently, each team often compares the cost of MuleSoft with other platforms they use. Consolidating to MuleSoft as the primary integration platform could potentially reduce overall costs and streamline integration efforts across the organization.

For every new product, there's typically a learning curve, when you're new to the technology. MuleSoft has simplified the development process with drag-and-drop integration for most simple to medium-level tasks. This approach minimizes the need for extensive coding initially. As integrations become more complex and require detailed data transformations, you may need to familiarize yourself with MuleSoft's data transformation language, DataWeave. While learning DataWeave isn't overly complex, it does require some initial learning. 

I would recommend MuleSoft based on my experience with other integration platforms, particularly Oracle, where I worked extensively for several years before transitioning to MuleSoft. One of the key advantages of MuleSoft is its lightweight nature. Setting up MuleSoft is straightforward. Simply unzip an archive and you're ready to go. In contrast, Oracle requires installation and extensive configuration, making it more complex and time-consuming to set up their integration platforms.

While platforms like Microsoft may initially appear cheaper than MuleSoft, in the long run, the total cost of ownership often balances out between them. MuleSoft allows for scalability, so you can start small and expand as your integration needs grow. This flexibility means you don't need to invest heavily upfront. While the initial cost comparison may favor other platforms, the overall cost efficiency over time can be comparable between MuleSoft and competitors.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The primary use case associated with the product is that it helps enable integrations and expose them to the front-end channels. Our company is in the process of evaluating products which can seamlessly integrate with our head office and back office systems. Also, my company has to do you with some use cases associated with the front-end part. Basically, my company is probably planning to extend the services and products in our channels.

In terms of API management, the product offers ease of API creation while exposing it as another thing. The product is also very compatible. My company is trying to create an API catalog for different services, and I think for it you need a product which offers seamless API creation and exposing capabilities.

With GenAI coming into the picture, it can be used to focus on specific setups and use cases. If you want to have an end-to-end solution, more AI infusion into the product will be beneficial. For example, when it comes to an industry-based solution, and someone approaches our company and states that they want to focus on healthcare or some financial services, we have some specific end-to-end solutions where Anypoint can be used as a backbone. If you are able to enable some AI on top of the functionalities provided by the product, it would be beneficial for users. The inclusion of GenAI in the tool can be good since it is an area that is currently unavailable in the solution. Mule Anypoint Platform can serve as a backbone when trying to build up an end-to-end solution using AI.

I have been using Mule Anypoint Platform for a year.

I think it is a scalable product, but my company has not been going for a large implementation or where there was a need to scale up. To be honest, my company has not tried out the scalability features offered by the product.

The product can be recommended to companies that are mid-sized to large-sized. As my company has not had the opportunity to test out the scalability features of the product, it won't be appropriate for me to comment on whether the product would be suitable for large enterprises, but I believe that for mid-sized enterprises, the product should be good.

My company works with an iPaaS platform like Dell Boomi. My company also uses TIBCO along with Google Apigee API Management. In the past, my company has used a product named Kong for API management and integration.

In terms of the advantages offered by Dell Boomi over Mule Anypoint Platform, I would say that it offers out-of-the-box connectors for different systems, including SAP systems, Salesforce systems, and other tools like CRM systems and ERP systems. I think Dell Boomi comes with a set of connectors, which are already in the form of a plug-and-play process. If the connectors are there, you just need to point out the source data, and in some cases, the source can be in a Salesforce system. If you ask me about Dell Boomi, it offers more in terms of its abilities related to connectors, which you can seamlessly connect to Salesforce, PeopleSoft, or any other systems. The aforementioned area consists of the details associated with Dell Boomi and the areas where it offers a differentiator.

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

The product's price seems to be competent in comparison to other products in the market. I don't think that prices are the issue associated with the solution since most of the other products are offered at a similar price point, so I don't see any difference in terms of cost or pricing.

There are multiple ways in which my company is trying to evaluate some products in the market against Mule Anypoint Platform. Google Apigee API Management is one of the products my company is considering against Mule Anypoint Platform.

When evaluating other products in the market, my company wants to be as product agnostic as possible, so in this context, I am looking at different and specific use cases that can be dealt with Mule Anypoint Platform. Some other tools may be useful in other cases. My company is trying to bring in a product-agnostic solution so t that if tomorrow a customer wants to use a tool, we need to have a clear and deep understanding of each of multiple products so that we can, when conceptualizing the solution, we will consider the best platforms based on the use cases. From a consulting standpoint, finding multiple products is a way of looking at things while not necessarily comparing a solution to another one and stating that it is a tool we want to use. It is more of an agnostic solution that we want to develop.

Speaking about whether the product has significantly improved our company's data exchange processes, I would say that at this point in time, we are trying to deal with the concerns associated with the front-end part. For me, seamless exposure is what I was looking for in a product, and so my company is still evaluating multiple solutions apart from Mule Anypoint Platform.

The platform's cloud integration capabilities are good.

In the current scenario, most of the products have to be on the cloud for multiple reasons. It is not only Mule Anypoint Platform but also other platforms that seamlessly integrate with the cloud services. My company was also looking at Dell Boomi for cloud integration since my company wants to use an iPaaS solution. Mule Anypoint Platform's cloud integration is fine and does not have any issues.

Rather than as a data transformation tool, it is more about the seamless connectivity that the product of the head office and back office systems provides, as well as the clear exposure of APIs the solution provides. The aforementioned features of the product will translate to fast time to market, so I can see how fast I can seamlessly integrate and expose. It is beneficial to my business agility, where you can seamlessly connect and expose. If I want to roll out new products and services, the benefits from the time spent on the market because of the seamless access will crop up.

Considering the factors associated with product-agnostic solutions, I would recommend the Mule Anypoint Platform to other people, especially if it matches their use cases. When it comes to some use cases, like Salesforce-specific use cases or SAP-specific use cases, we can have a look at different platforms.

I rate the overall tool an eight and a half out of ten.

We are a global company, and Mule Anypoint Platform is at the center of all our e-commerce applications.

The most valuable feature of Mule Anypoint Platform is rapid development.

The solution's licensing methodologies could be improved.

I have been using Mule Anypoint Platform for six years.

Mule Anypoint Platform is a stable solution.

Mule Anypoint Platform is a scalable solution. Around 2,000 users are using the solution in our organization.

We need to provide a lot of information to get technical support, so it's not quick.

Neutral

The solution's initial setup is easy.

Two people can deploy the solution in two days.

Mule Anypoint Platform is an expensive solution.

The solution's maintenance is easy and can be done by one person.

Overall, I rate Mule Anypoint Platform an eight out of ten.

With the Mule Anypoint Platform, we have addressed several integration scenarios. For example, when integrating systems like Workday, Oracle, ADS, and QAD, Mule Anypoint Platform has significantly improved API connectivity using its experience API system.

In another case, in the healthcare industry in North America, we faced issues with VDA transactions that occurred over two weeks. We migrated to Mule Anypoint Platform-based APIs, which included scheduling and API connectivity.

The most beneficial features for handling data integration with Mule Anypoint Platform include its ability to integrate seamlessly with other popular platforms like IBM, Dell Boomi, and Microsoft Azure. MuleSoft stands out due to its unique one-point solution for various integration problems, including application and network integration, and its iPaaS services. The

Design Center allows for designing APIs that can be made into reusable assets. Additionally, MuleSoft's capability to handle various technologies, such as Python and Java Spring Boot APIs, and monitor them using the Flex Gateway is valuable.

Regarding API management, MuleSoft offers a gateway facility, including Flex Gateway, which supports API management with robust governance capabilities. Policies like rate limiting, blocklisting, allowlisting, and client ID enforcement can all be managed through the API Manager, providing comprehensive control over API operations.

Mule Anypoint Platform should improve its pricing. In my experience, a customer using the sandbox version couldn't upgrade to the final version because it exceeded their budget.

Another area for improvement is the login mechanism. We need to integrate with third-party products for strong authentication, but it would be better if MuleSoft had its own robust login mechanism.

I have been using the Mule Anypoint Platform for the past seven years.

In terms of stability, the Mule Anypoint Platform is generally stable. Issues arise only when external factors like unstable storage or excessive database loads exist. The platform is reliable and robust, depending on how well our organization manages its resources.

Scalability is crucial in our ability to grow and manage new integrations. With both horizontal and vertical scaling options available in the cloud-based solution, it efficiently handlesincreasing workloads and processing power, supporting our growth.

Customer support from MuleSoft is essential to our operations. They provide crucial assistance post-deployment, ensuring our applications run smoothly.

Positive

The platform is easy to deploy and typically takes about three months to implement.Deployment or maintenance usually requires one architect and one DevOps person for scaling and ongoing maintenance.

Regarding pricing, I believe there could be room for improvement to align with user expectations.

Regarding AI capabilities, the Mule Anypoint Platform is evolving in that direction. While they've made strides with RPA and other AI-related features, I believe there's still progress.

Overall, I would rate Mule Anypoint Platform as nine out of ten. My recommendation to thoseconsidering it would be that if you're looking to scale your business efficiently without extensiveR&D, the Mule Anypoint Platform offers a robust solution ready for deployment, whether on-premises or in hybrid environments.

The most important thing that I have seen is it has removed the data silos because of the three-tier architecture that Mule Anypoint Platform follows.

The most valuable feature is their integrations and very good API management.

I think in the next release if they could work with the low-code platform that developers are struggling with that would be helpful. I would like to see some data integration and automation.

I have been using Mule Anypoint Platform for the past five years.

The current stability is excellent.

There is scalability but not automatic scalability. We have about one hundred and fifty individuals using the solution. We do plan to increase our current usage.

Technical support is fantastic.  

Positive

We migrated from TIBCO.

I would say the initial setup is somewhere between straightforward and complex.

We did our implementation in-house.

There is no question at all that there is a return on investment.

We checked Boomi but found that Mule Anypoint Platform was better.

I would rate Mule Anypoint Platform a nine out of ten.

We are using the Mule Anypoint Platform for multiple clients. One of our clients is the largest retail chain in the US and we are using the solution for integration with E-commerce and for the largest logistics and cloud company in the US for integrating their transport management system. Additionally, we have many manufacturing organizations, where we are integrating their legacy applications, SaaS-based application, SAP database, et cetera.

The most valuable features of the Mule Anypoint Platform are the Flex Gateway, API management, easy-to-use, and connectors. Additionally, they are coming out with improvements to the solution when required.

Mule Anypoint Platform could improve by having better integration with MDM. There are challenges when doing the interaction at this time.

I have been using the Mule Anypoint Platform for approximately three years.

The stability Mule Anypoint Platform is good. It is highly reliable.

Mule Anypoint Platform is a scalable solution.

We have approximately 100 people using this solution in my company.

This solution is suitable for medium to large-sized companies.

The support from the Mule Anypoint Platform is good. They have a dashboard where you can see all the APIs. In case of any issues, you can send them different alerts, but there is some improvement needed in error handling and log inquiries.

I rate the support from the Mule Anypoint Platform a four out of five.

Neutral

I have previously used Dell Boomi. One of the main differences in features when comparing the Mule Anypoint Platform to other solutions is the availability of connectors. 

Dell Boomi has a slight edge in MDM because it can easily connect. On the EPM side, they are much stronger, whereas, on the data integration side, the Mule Anypoint Platform is much stronger. If you are doing a complex integration, I would give higher marks to the Mule Anypoint Platform. However, if you are doing a medium-scale integration or a simple integration, then Dell Boomi has the edge.

The initial setup of the Mule Anypoint Platform is straightforward. We have done the setup in the cloud and on-premise, and if you follow the steps that are recommended then it is easy.

I have not done deployment myself, but if you start from scratch on a blank server, it can take approximately two to three days for everything to be completed.

I rate the initial setup of the Mule Anypoint Platform a four out of five.

Depending on the agreement that we have with the clients, we sometimes take care of the maintenance, and other times we jointly work with MuleSoft's professional services team.

The pricing of the Mule Anypoint Platform is totally different than Dell Boomi. The Mule Anypoint Platform works on the basis of the volume, whereas Dell Boomi charges on the basis of the connectors that you buy.

The price of the Mule Anypoint Platform works on the basis of volume. For example, there is an API, and based on how much data the API will process the price is calculated on the processing units required. 

For our laptops or personal computers, we have RAM. Similarly, the Mule Anypoint Platform has vCores. The vCore size is calculated on the basis of the number of transactions that API has to process, such as 50,000, 500,000, or 1 million. Based on the transition size, they will tell you how many vCores are required. This could be any amount, such as 0.2, 10, or 50. We are then given a price, and along with that, there are many other factors, other than how many vCores are you purchasing. For example, there could be other additional solutions that need to be purchased and connectors that are not free. 

You could need other licenses, such as ones for Salesforce, there are multiple factors that they don't share.

Mule Anypoint Platform pricing is slightly higher compared to Dell Boomi.

I rate the price of Mule Anypoint Platform a three out of five.

They do not share enough information regarding the full costs.

There is cloud maintenance required for some customized setups based on the client's needs and their network.

My advice to others thinking about implementing this solution is the benefits of the solution depend on the architecture they have. The Mule Anypoint Platform is one of the best integration solutions and they come up with new updates which are required, whereas other solutions, do not have the latest updates. Dell Boomi has not come up with an update in the last year. Mule Anypoint Platform keeps on updating itself with newer versions every four to six months. They have a lot of free connectors. They have bundles so you don't have to buy different licenses. It's easy to use, very easy to configure, easy to install, easy to maintain, very stable, and secure.

I would recommend this solution to someone who is looking for API management and integration with one single license.

I rate Mule Anypoint Platform a nine out of ten

Our company's clients are all from different domains. We use the platform for integration and API management.

I have a background in Java and in the past, there were some issues whenever we had to integrate with the applications. You had to get the business logic and sometimes it took months to integrate the record. With Anypoint Platform, it is very easy to do that. You just need to do a small drag-drop and a small transformation which saves a lot of time.

The most valuable feature is the variety of characters Anypoint Platform has. It is very scalable and customizable.

In terms of improvement, the deployment time could be a little shorter. Other platforms such as Boomi or SnapLogic are much faster to develop. Anypoint Platform has added the option to generate flow online, but it still needs some improvement. It should give better control over account management. Mule Anypoint Platform includes an API Manager and it has a strong ESB. However, the API management capabilities of Apigee offer more advanced and dynamic features for managing APIs. 

Additionally, Mule should work on reducing the complexity of their platform and providing more flexibility for users. Those who are not well-versed in Java will have a hard time with the development of Anypoint Platform. While it offers connectors, the connectors have limitations. It should offer features that can be customized by users, allowing for greater adaptability, and offer customization options within these connectors, to make it easier for users to tailor them to specific needs. Platforms such as Dell Omni and SnapLogic already provide solutions for these problems and allow users to easily plug them in and start working.

I have been using Mule Anypoint Platform for eight years.

I would rate the stability of the platform a seven out of ten. There were situations where specific solutions or connectors were not available, and the support team suggested using workarounds. They advised me to create my own ideas and come up with a solution. This lack of immediate solutions can be a limitation of the platform.

I would rate the scalability of the platform an eight out of ten. There are approximately 300 users of Anypoint Platform at our company and we plan on expanding.

The technical support is good. I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Positive

I have previously used Apache Camel and Dell Boomi but I am also currently using Ab Initio due to client requirements and the need for a faster time-to-market for clients' projects or products. Using a team of ten members, it took around 24 months to complete the migration of approximately 2,000 APIs with Anypoint Platform. Ab Initio only required nine months to accomplish a similar task.

I would give a seven out of ten for the easiness of the initial setup. The deployment takes about two minutes which is acceptable. We handle deployment ourselves. We use tools such as Jenkins or Bamboo and it can be time-consuming since it initially involves scripting.

In terms of pricing, Anypoint Platform is on the expensive side. I would rate the costliness an eight out of ten.

I would definitely recommend Anypoint platform to anyone who is considering using it. Its main flaw is the costliness. Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten.