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Altova MapForce vs. IBM DataStage vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Altova MapForce

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AAltova MapForce is a graphical data mapping tool for any-to-any conversion and integration. Its data mapping tools convert data instantly and provide multiple options to automate recurrent transformations.

    $315

    one-time fee

    IBM DataStage

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AIBM® DataStage® is a data integration tool that helps users to design, develop and run jobs that move and transform data. At its core, the DataStage tool supports extract, transform and load (ETL) and extract, load and transform (ELT) patterns. A basic version of the software is available for on-premises deployment, and the cloud-based DataStage for IBM Cloud Pak® for Data offers automated integration capabilities in a hybrid or multicloud environment.N/A

    IBM InfoSphere Information Server

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AIBM InfoSphere Information Server is a data integration platform used to understand, cleanse, monitor and transform data. The offerings provide massively parallel processing (MPP) capabilities.N/A
    Pricing
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Editions & Modules
    Altova® MapForce 2025 Basic Edition
    From $315
    one-time fee
    Altova® MapForce 2025 Professional Edition
    From $619
    one-time fee
    Altova® MapForce 2025 Enterprise Edition
    From $999
    one-time fee
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Free Trial
    NoYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Considered Multiple Products
    Altova
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Data Source Connection
    Comparison of Data Source Connection features of Altova MapForce and IBM DataStage and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Altova MapForce
    -
    Ratings
    IBM DataStage
    7.7
    11 Ratings
    8% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    8.7
    4 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Connect to traditional data sources00 Ratings7.911 Ratings9.94 Ratings
    Connecto to Big Data and NoSQL00 Ratings7.610 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Data Transformations
    Comparison of Data Transformations features of Altova MapForce and IBM DataStage and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Altova MapForce
    -
    Ratings
    IBM DataStage
    7.6
    11 Ratings
    7% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    9.6
    4 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Simple transformations00 Ratings8.011 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Complex transformations00 Ratings7.311 Ratings9.24 Ratings
    Data Modeling
    Comparison of Data Modeling features of Altova MapForce and IBM DataStage and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Altova MapForce
    -
    Ratings
    IBM DataStage
    7.2
    11 Ratings
    10% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    8.0
    4 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Data model creation00 Ratings7.18 Ratings8.72 Ratings
    Metadata management00 Ratings5.010 Ratings7.74 Ratings
    Business rules and workflow00 Ratings7.410 Ratings8.44 Ratings
    Collaboration00 Ratings7.411 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Testing and debugging00 Ratings6.711 Ratings7.14 Ratings
    Data Governance
    Comparison of Data Governance features of Altova MapForce and IBM DataStage and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Altova MapForce
    -
    Ratings
    IBM DataStage
    5.3
    10 Ratings
    42% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    9.7
    4 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Integration with data quality tools00 Ratings5.310 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Integration with MDM tools00 Ratings5.310 Ratings9.53 Ratings
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    Medium-sized Companies
    DBeaver
    Score8.6 out of 10
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Score10 out of 10
    Informatica PowerCenter (legacy)
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    DBeaver
    Score8.6 out of 10
    SolarWinds Task Factory
    Score8.3 out of 10
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    User Ratings
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.8
    (11 ratings)
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Altova MapForceIBM DataStageIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    DataStage is somewhat outdated for an ETL. I guess that's what makes it a bit lagged behind its competitors. It can be used for data processing, sure, but its performance seems to be lagging behind or quite slow given the server it is running from. I won’t depend on this application if it's handling a lot of mission-critical banking and business data.
    Read full review
    IBM
    Information Server is extremely useful to replace manual developments that require a lot of coding effort. It significantly increases the productivity of the initial development and the future maintenance of the processes since it has a visual development environment with self-documentation.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    • Connect to multiple types of data-sources including Oracle, Teradata, Snowflake, SQl Server.
    • Powerful tool to load large volumes of data.
    • Transformation stages allow us to reduce the amount of code needed to create ETL scripts.
    • Allow us to synchronize and refresh data as much as needed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • IIS best for ETL ,not ELT , and many and diffrent source systems.
    • It also can process big data , unstuctured data
    • It is not only DWH , you can use infosphere for analys and see the bigger architecture of your OLTP systems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    • Technical support is a key area IBM should improve for this product. Sometimes our case is assigned to a support engineer and he has no idea of the product or services.
    • Provide custom reports for datastage jobs and performance such as job history reports, warning messages or error messages.
    • Make it fully compatible with Oracle and users can direct use of Oracle ODBC drivers instead of Data Direct driver. Same for SQL server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • I would be nice to have a new web development environment for DataStage.
    • Connectivity Packs such as Pack for SAP Application are a little pricey.
    • It is confusing for new developers the possibility of developing jobs using different execution engines such as Parallel or Server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    • Scale of implementation
    • IBM techsupport
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Because it is robust, and it is being continuously improved. DS is one of the most used and recognized tools in the market. Large companies have implemented it in the first instance to develop their DW, but finding the advantages it has, they could use it for other types of projects such as migrations, application feeding, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    It could load thousands of records in seconds. But in the Parallel version, you need to understand how to particionate the data. If you use the algorithms erroneously, or the functionalities that it gives for the parsing of data, the performance can fall drastically, even with few records. It is necessary to have people with experience to be able to determine which algorithm to use and understand why.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    IBM offers different levels of support but in my experience being and IBM shop helps to get direct support from more knowledgeable technicians from IBM. Not sure on the cost of having this kind of support, but I know there's also general support and community blogs and websites on the Internet make it easy to troubleshoot issues whenever there's need for that.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    With effective capabilities and easy to manipulate the features and easy to produce accurate data analytics and the Cloud services Automation, this IBM platform is more reliable and easy to document management. The features on this platform are equipped with excellent big data management and easy to provide accurate data analytics.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    DataStage is more robust and stable than ODI The ability to perform complex transformations or implement business rules is much more developed in DS
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Altova
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    • It’s hard to say at this point, it delivers, but not quite as I expected. It takes a lot of resources to manage and sort this out (manpower, financial).
    • Definitely, I don’t have the exact numbers, but given the data it processes, it is A LOT. So props to the developer of this application.
    • Again, based on my experience, I’d choose other ETL apps if there is one that's more user-friendly.
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Productivity of the development of integration processes.
    • Better documentation and governance.
    • Reduce training costs of various technologies.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots