Azure Service Bus vs. IBM MQ

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Service Bus
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft offers Azure Service Bus as a reliable cloud messaging as a service (MaaS) and simple hybrid integration solution.N/A
IBM MQ
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
IBM MQ (formerly WebSphere MQ and MQSeries) is messaging middleware.N/A
Pricing
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Best Alternatives
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Anypoint Platform
Anypoint Platform
Score 7.9 out of 10
Apache Kafka
Apache Kafka
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Anypoint Platform
Anypoint Platform
Score 7.9 out of 10
Apache Kafka
Apache Kafka
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.9
(47 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.8
(6 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(29 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(27 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Service BusIBM MQ
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
If you need a cloud-based service bus or a simple to use queue/topic/routing/pub-sub service, then Azure Service Bus is a very good choice at a reasonable price and performance. Typically on-premise we'd use RabbitMQ because it "just works", but if you're building a "cloud-first" application, then this is the one to go with. It's especially easy to integrate with if you're already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem.
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IBM
In the context of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, IBM MQ plays a pivotal role in managing the substantial data streams emanating from interconnected devices. Its primary function is to guarantee the dependable transmission and processing of data, catering to a diverse range of IoT use cases, including but not limited to smart city initiatives, healthcare monitoring systems, and industrial automation solutions. In the telecommunications sector, IBM MQ is employed for message routing, call detail record (CDR) processing, and network management to ensure real-time data exchange and fault tolerance. When managing the supply chain and logistics, IBM MQ is used to ensure timely and accurate communication between different entities, including suppliers, warehouses, and transportation providers. IBM MQ can be cost-prohibitive for smaller organizations due to licensing and maintenance costs. In such cases, open-source or lightweight messaging solutions may be more appropriate. For scenarios requiring extremely low-latency, real-time data exchange, and high throughput, other messaging technologies, like Apache Kafka, may be more suitable due to their specialized design for such use cases.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Acting as a basic queuing service it works very well.
  • One of the best parts is that Azure Service Bus can work over HTTPS which helps in strict firewall situations. There is a performance hit if you choose to use HTTPS.
  • The routing capabilities are quite good when using topics and subscriptions. You can apply filters using a pseudo-SQL-like language though the correlation filters are quick and easy options.
  • Costs are very reasonable at low-ish volumes. If you're processing 10's of millions of messages a month... it may be a different story.
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IBM
  • The documentation is very clear,It is understandable and the support helps to configure it in the best way.
  • Server guidelines make it possible to get the most out of work management. It's broad, we can work with different operating systems, I really recommend using linux.
  • It is highly compatible with systems, brockers, applications, and data accumulation programs, it is possible to configure everything so that after the installation of programs, they can communicate with each other and then throw data to an external program that accumulates it and represents in clear details of steps to follow and make business decisions.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • The SqlFilter could be a little easier to use, but it's not terrible.
  • The performance while using HTTPS for the connection is a little slow compared to direct connections using AMQP ports.
  • There is a size limit to the message - unlike RMQ for instance, Azure Service Bus caps messages to 256kb on the standard tier.
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IBM
  • There is limitation on number of svrconn connections you can have to MQ on the mainframe which has been an major issue for us. This has been an issue for us for over 4 years and still no fix although I am aware IBM have been working on a solution over the last year.
  • When upgrading to MQ V9.3 on our MQ appliances there is no fall-back option. This was the same for MQ V9.2 upgrade from MQ V9.0. For production upgrades this I believe is not acceptable.
  • AMS is not supplied as part of the standard mainframe MQ licence. You need an extra licence. IBM tell customers how important security and protecting data is yet they still want to charge for this software. The cost of MQ on the mainframe is not cheap so I would expect AMS to be part of the base product.
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Usability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
IBM
I give it a nine because it has significantly improved my team's data reliability and operational efficiency. Its great security features give us peace of mind, knowing our sensitive data is well protected. While the setup might initially be complex, I believe the long-term benefits far outweigh this hurdle.
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
IBM
The messages are delivered instantly with this software and it integrates with our technology stack, in terms of availability we only had one failure when we were doing some testing and integration with third parties, the features of this software make it always available and its deployment is easy for the company, it does not generate expenses due to failures
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
IBM
There are very specific things that must be elevated to more specialized areas of support, but the common support is very agile when receiving questions or when we leave concerns in real time. I recommend the support of the program in this regard.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
RabbitMQ is simple and awesome... but so is Azure Service Bus. Both accomplish the same thing but in different environments. If you're building a cloud-native application - especially one that is serverless by design - Azure Service Bus is the only real choice in Azure. It works well, it's performance, and it's reasonably priced in the Standard tier. From our testing, RMQ is more performant, but it's hard to compare service-based implementations vs RMQ installed on VMs.
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IBM
We found IBM MQ very easy to get started and quick to learn by the new users with a short learning curve and seamlessly integrates with IBM products, and quick to perform self-service analytics and make informed business decisions. IBM MQ is also very straightforward in creating simple and best reports, which are very profitable and productive.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Compared to open-source free software like RMQ, Azure Service Bus does have some costs to it. But the cost is reasonable.
  • Also unlike RMQ, Azure Service Bus doesn't require you to stand up any hardware - so it's very easy to use and saves time/money from that perspective.
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IBM
  • Positive- Message Reliability and Reduced downtime, increases the ROI many times.
  • Positive- Increased stability and enhanced customer experience
  • Negative- cost is very high - Both licensing and integration cost
  • Negative- Learning and training cost of IBM MQ is high as its complex to use and integrate
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ScreenShots