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Currently, we are using TIBCO EBX for MDM purposes. We get data from different sources and perform sanity checks on this data. Then we store and publish the data.

The features of TIBCO EBX are highly customizable, which is something I appreciated. We can customize every part of it. We can set where the labels appear, how they appear, and their order. We have all of these capabilities readily available.

We can implement rules, regulations, and constraints that are highly customizable. Everything is in Java, which could be considered a drawback. Currently, they are implementing some normal use-on-the-go rules, but most functionality remains in Java.

TIBCO EBX really helps because not everyone uses the same structure. Some use similar models, while others use different ones or might need changes in the future. We can have any sort of data model, any kind of data structure, table format, and we can reuse them. For instance, instead of a single country field, some might need multiple variables such as primary country and secondary country.

We can import data directly from files. If not, we can use SQL views or queries for importing. These are the main integration capabilities in TIBCO EBX.

The workflow functionality is excellent in TIBCO EBX, including the UI. In workflow, we can have multiple steps and implement rules and regulations within the workflow itself. If something is incorrect, specific actions can be triggered. This helps data stewards by implementing sanity checks that can throw errors or redirect the flow, preventing incorrect data from being populated.

The UI has improved, and while the matching scenario still has some challenges, it performs better than before.

TIBCO EBX can be challenging to handle due to its customizability. While it is good to use, it is not particularly easy to use. We still somewhat struggle to implement new features or use something on the go, though things are improving gradually.

TIBCO EBX has performance issues, particularly with speed. Replicating data can take several hours even with normal median data. When multiple users are accessing data and if a particular table contains more than 15 million records, the system struggles. These issues might be resolved by increasing RAM or improving performance, but there is still room for improvement. It was worse in version 5.9, but version 6 shows some improvement.

Previously, there was a relational model in data spaces directly connected to TIBCO EBX and the UI. Now that has been removed and replaced with a semantic model where everything is encrypted by TIBCO EBX by default. For replication, we need to use an additional module.

However, they are making positive changes regarding permissions and the UI has significantly improved compared to previous versions. They have announced plans to introduce new features such as parallel import and parallel jobs.

I have been working with TIBCO EBX for four years.

The initial setup of TIBCO EBX presents challenges when there are multiple modules that need to be transferred between environments. There is no straightforward method for transferring permissions and configurations. We need to use staging modules for this purpose. While this setup process can be time-consuming, it is typically a one-time task per environment.

TIBCO EBX is stable, though there are occasional bugs. When these are reported to the company, they work on resolving them and release new versions.

TIBCO EBX requires additional RAM for scaling, and performance can be slower when scaling up.

I would rate the technical support and customer service of TIBCO EBX 3.5 or 4 out of 5.

Positive

We have been using TIBCO EBX from the beginning, starting with version 5.9 before upgrading to version 6.

The initial setup of TIBCO EBX presents challenges when there are multiple modules that need to be transferred between environments. There is no straightforward method for transferring permissions and configurations. We need to use staging modules for this purpose. While this setup process can be time-consuming, it is typically a one-time task per environment.

I cannot provide a proper comparison as I am not familiar with other products.

TIBCO EBX can be challenging to handle due to its customizability. While it is good to use, it is not particularly easy to use. We still somewhat struggle to implement new features or use something on the go, though things are improving gradually.

I am working with the on-premises version of TIBCO EBX. While I am not familiar with the exact pricing, I know that TIBCO EBX is positioned in the higher end of the market.

I would recommend TIBCO EBX for organizations that require extensive data customizations. However, if the data structure is simple without complex requirements, TIBCO EBX might not provide significant additional value.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate TIBCO EBX an 8.

My basic role in this entire process is in terms of QA, and ours is a data management use case. TIBCO EBX is moreover for a data management tool. It is the master data management tool, MDM tool. We work with different tabular structures, and the basic benefit that I could see was that normally we use databases for all those tabular related details. In terms of TIBCO EBX, it gave us a UI representation of the same.

Normally, if you have to do the same thing in SQL or Oracle or any of the DBs, you need to write those queries for inserting, for creating, for deleting, and all those things. But here in TIBCO EBX, it was much easier because it was all UI representation. Even for business users, it was quite easier; you don't need so much technical skills to work in that particular application. You can just have a plus icon where you can create, then you have an option to delete, save, and all those functionalities.

It also provided flexibility in terms of multiple out-of-the-box functionalities, for example, exporting the files in different formats. It's not only specifically Excel; you can have it in CSV format and many other formats that we have in the tool. This was one of the good features when you compare it with the normal database and when you see it in the UI representation format. It also has some customized perspectives to be built. As per the business requirement, you can build the perspective. If there are certain views that the business wants to see, they can build their own perspective and see it. Similarly, they can make their own customized views. All this flexibility was being provided which made it quite helpful for both the business and IT. I work from the IT point of view, but being a QA, I need to understand the entire functionality of the products. It kind of brought my understanding closer to the business points as well. From the business perspective, it was quite helpful to them.

I have been working with TIBCO EBX for close to five years now. I have worked with different versions because when I joined the organization, I was working with 5.8 version. Then later we switched to 5.9 and then recently we were working on the migration task of 5.9 to 6.1.

I normally have had complex data requirements in my organization where the customizable data model feature of TIBCO EBX has been specifically beneficial. We used to have this kind of parent-child relation creation, and we had also included an Angular framework where the parent-child relation hierarchy pattern was being discussed. We used to have some hierarchy views, and these hierarchy views are inbuilt or out of the box functionality of EBX itself. You can just go to any table, click on the hierarchy view, and it will give you a hierarchy structure of that particular table. If you have a parent-child relation with ten levels below, you can see the complete structure in that hierarchy view. If you go from the tabular format, you won't understand it as easily. If A is a parent of B, B is a parent of C, C is a parent of D, you won't get a clear view to understand the hierarchy deep down. But if you switch your view from tabular view to the hierarchy view, you can see these views very clearly, and it gives an easier understanding to the user to see how deep the hierarchy is.

Regarding improvements or enhancements in TIBCO EBX, when it comes to 5.8 to 5.9, there was a really good feature added, which is the hyperlink. When you click on a table, you navigate to deeper tables. If there is a table with ten fields, those ten fields are taken from a second table and interrelated to a third table, you can keep clicking on each field and go deeper and deeper. To come each level above, there is a hyperlink created on the top. You just need to click on the hyperlink and keep navigating back, similar to certain websites.

However, there were some drawbacks I noticed with the latest version 6, particularly in terms of performance, where in a few cases, the performance was impacted, necessitating work to get things sorted. Additionally, the logout from the application happened randomly or sometimes it wasn't logging out, which is a compliance issue since users expect to log out after a certain time.

Version 6 introduced a strong filtration logic. All EBX versions have a separate section for filters that offer text search and advanced search options. In EBX 6, they enhanced the search feature deeply, including conjunctions and, or, else, allowing you to create your own logic for how you need the filter to work. They also introduced a top-level search feature, where you enter some text, and it searches the entire table.

With the latest update of TIBCO EBX, there are a few issues with the workflow that need improvement. When going through a workflow, there are functionalities to upload files, and sometimes you need to attach files for evidence. That section of EBX had certain issues. We dropped the plan to switch to EBX 6 due to other technical limitations on our side. Those were a few pending items we had raised to them, and they were working on resolving them. From a usage point of view, those were the main concerns, but they introduced a good idea about the side panel. The pagination concept was introduced to navigate among different domains, and in the left panel, you have search capabilities and pagination functionality.

I have been working with TIBCO EBX for close to five years now.

In terms of evaluating TIBCO technical support, it has been good for us because we have been using their product for a long time. We haven't faced many challenges requiring tickets to be raised. The relationship you build over time also affects this; when you've been with their product for ten years, the support improves as it becomes a personal network you've created throughout your support interactions.

We didn't face many challenges with technical support. We raised tickets via the specific path they established, and someone gets assigned to it to resolve issues and provide solutions. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate TIBCO technical support somewhere around seven to eight, with 10 being the highest.

In terms of measurable benefits and return on investment from using the TIBCO EBX solution, I find it an effective solution. Being an MDM and working with this particular solution for the last five years, I have seen many advantages. For example, working with the database and the UI front makes a huge difference. It brings a lot of flexibility for the business users; they don't need to wait for IT personnel to make some changes because a few things are sufficiently easy; as long as they have the required role, they can log in and make the change.

There are admin-related tasks that could be done easily, and many things could be configuration-based. There are also some role-based access configurations, where if a user has a certain role, they should have specific access levels to the tables or the overall application. The first level of access things can be configured, and they can take backups or snapshots of the data. They also have functionalities to forward data to different sources. Hence, TIBCO EBX saves a lot of time and gives considerable flexibility to business users who might not be completely technical but can work on it in specific areas.

Based on my experience with the TIBCO EBX solution, I advise users considering this solution to give it a try. They should explore it further and see if it fits into their requirement. If it does, then surely, it would be a great solution overall for them. I rate this solution 8 out of 10.

The collaborative workflows where we have collaboration of different teams working at the same workflow helps to centralize our work within the organization. Our central team works on different workflows and with the business users. My application doesn't face the direct outside customer, but it deals with internal bank employees, where the four-eye principle needs to be implemented. All those validations and everything in the workflow from an end-to-end process can be configured in the EBX application itself. As an admin user, you can configure everything, including which step needs to come after which step and all configuration details from the development standpoint.

Regarding the integration capabilities of TIBCO EBX, we normally transfer certain data. For instance, if you want to integrate, you can have data from the upstream because in a nutshell, EBX is the master data management tool. It could get data from some interface or deliver data to a certain interface; in the middle, it could enhance the data and implement various logic. You can schedule different kinds of jobs via EBX, and based on your scheduled jobs which you have triggered, it will run. If you schedule it for every day overnight or say a monthly batch job, then accordingly it gets triggered and delivers the data to the required interface.

In terms of evaluating the performance of TIBCO EBX, particularly related to enhanced data quality or governance, when you trigger certain kinds of jobs, you can take a copy of the data and store it. However, it depends completely on the requirement. If the data size is too big and continues to store, it impacts the performance. After a certain time, it somehow impacts the performance due to the bulk of data in your table. But if you want to keep the basic details about when the job was triggered, it works efficiently. You can connect it with the database where you can store the basic details, replicate the tables and store them in the database as well, which you can use for any kind of SOX compliance or data governance matters.