Likelihood to Recommend Message brokering across different systems, with transactionality and the ability to have fine tuned control over what happens using Java (or other languages), instead of a heavy, proprietary languages. One situation that it doesn't fit very well (as far as I have experienced) is when your workflow requires significant data mapping. While possible when using Java tooling, some other visual data mapping tools in other integration frameworks are easier to work with.
Read full review I love the IBM API Connect features, performance, and security level for all our business data. The workload balancing and integration with other third-party products are very simple. The data migration speed is beneficial, especially for time management, and creating process reports through IBM API Connect is incredible.
Read full review Pros Camel has an easy learning curve. It is fairly well documented and there are about 5-6 books on Camel. There is a large user group and blogs devoted to all things Camel and the developers of Camel provide quick answers and have also been very quick to patch Camel, when bugs are reported. Camel integrates well with well known frameworks like Spring, and other middleware products like Apache Karaf and Servicemix. There are over 150 components for the Camel framework that help integrate with diverse software platforms. Camel is also good for creating microservices. Read full review High security with multiple types of authentication so no need to worry about security. API creation, automation and management all can be done form a single interface which guarantees security and increases efficiency. Highly rated among it's competitors which proves it has given a good service over the years. Read full review Cons didn't work well when our developers tried to transform heavy data sets Apache Camel's whole logic is based on java so team needs to have a great skill set in java if there are a handful of workflows then Apache Camel's full potential can't be realized Read full review The first thing challenge we faced with the product was that if you deploying it to a third party cloud, that was very challenging and we need IBM team help at every step of the way and as well all know IBM support doesn't come cheap. A reason for that is that there isn't enough documentation done on the subject from IBM side. The upgrade process is not that seamless and involves a lot of hassles. You really need to have our requirements sorted out clearly because it is not very easy to customize the UI according to your needs, So you need to involve IBM from the start and give them clear requirements and then work with them to achieve it. Read full review Usability IBM API Connect may be less appropriate for small-scale projects with minimal API management requirements, where simpler and more cost-effective solutions suffice. Organizations lacking the necessary technical expertise or resources to harness its full potential may face implementation challenges. In static environments with infrequent API changes or limited developer engagement, the platform's comprehensive features may be excessive for the task at hand.
Read full review Alternatives Considered If you are looking for a Java-based open source low cost equivalent to webMethods or
Azure Logic Apps , Apache Camel is an excellent choice as it is mature and widely deployed, and included in many vendored Java application servers too such as Redhat JBoss EAP. Apache Camel is lacking on the GUI tooling side compared to commercial products such as webMethods or
Azure Logic Apps .
Read full review There are two main reasons for choosing IBM over others. 1) Pricing 2) The conversation during the sales stage. The team at IBM understood our requirements and acted as consultants instead of sales people. They genuinely focused on providing a solution to our pain points which reflected during the implementation and continued after go-live in the form of technical support
Read full review Return on Investment Very fast time to market in that so many components are available to use immediately. Error handling mechanisms and patterns of practice are robust and easy to use which in turn has made our application more robust from the start, so fewer bugs. However, testing and debugging routes is more challenging than working is standard Java so that takes more time (less time than writing the components from scratch). Most people don't know Camel coming in and many junior developers find it overwhelming and are not enthusiastic to learn it. So finding people that want to develop/maintain it is a challenge. Read full review I consider IBM API Connect as a business capability enabler - the ROI level is practically secondary. With this platform at the core, associated architectural framework and guardrails ensure that we can progress with distributed development and automation in autonomous teams - a key factor to deliver required time to market performance. At this time, security and trust is key. A flexible yet secure API manager layer is necessary to ensure our relationships with partners and customers. Read full review ScreenShots