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I am using Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) as a consultant providing technical support for the platform.

I have been dealing with the product for approximately 20 years, starting with the PowerCenter tools and then moving to the Data Quality side. We used the on-premises Data Quality, the Enterprise Data Catalog, and Axon for the business metadata and glossary components, and we have migrated all of those on-premises solutions into the cloud solution.

Regarding IDMC's real-time data streaming capability, we do not use it for any sort of replication as we have other tools that do that, such as Qlik for replication. Those tools were already established, and the biggest driver for us is a catalog, glossary, and data quality—those are the three primary areas that are our biggest use at the moment.

My specialization in Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) really focuses on the lineage side and the cataloging. I do a bit of development, but I am focusing on actually implementing the end-to-end lineage, creating the custom lineage, and creating custom resources.

We do utilize IDMC's data integration features, and we use the CAI component and have integrated it into other applications, such as Jira and the Confluence tool. Our company landscape is quite broad, so we have a lot of different technologies because as the company has grown over the years, we have acquired other companies with their own technology suites that we have had to integrate to, which presents challenges.

Regarding IDMC's data catalog, I am still fairly new to it, having used it for approximately the last month, so I am getting to grips with it. There were some features I thought were better on-premises, but it feels a catch-up game. What I do appreciate about the cloud is the transparent update cycles with minimal downtime, all managed within the cloud environment, which definitely provides a better user experience.

We have a huge footprint on the data quality side with IDMC. Many of our subsidiaries are using that, and it is becoming increasingly important with the AI component, understanding data quality before leveraging it for any AI initiative. Many business units are now mandated, as part of their key performance indicators, to ensure data quality on all sources.

I have not explored IDMC's automation capabilities driven by AI and metadata too much at the moment, but it is on the cards. We are basically creating the foundation, as the whole migration has taken place recently and it is still early days.

I think Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is evolving, and as the vendors move forward, they pick up new concepts from each other. I have seen that products leapfrog each other, and from my experience over the years, the big players tend to copy features or add enhancements based on industry trends. I feel whatever the tool does not have now, there is a feedback loop allowing us to request new features, and we continually ask for different ways to do things as we have a pipeline into the product management team.

It is difficult to say what additional features I would prefer to see in the next release of IDMC. I would appreciate more automation on the lineage front, with more AI to seamlessly join independent sources and create seamless lineage between different technologies, such as from file into database A into a different database and landing up in a reporting system such as Cognos, Qlik, Qlik Sense, QlikView, or Power BI.

I rate the technical support for IDMC at an eight out of ten as any issues that we raise are dealt with fairly speedily.

We also have a support partner in South Africa that deals directly with Informatica. We log our calls with our support partner, who in turn logs it with Informatica, facilitating all of the interaction.

The interface of Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is fine, and I appreciate the browser interface. There is no thick client needing constant upgrades, and I am enjoying the fact that the software is quite seamless to actually use.

Regarding the pricing of IDMC, that is not really in my domain as it is more at the management level.

I rate this product a seven out of ten overall.

My main use case for Qlik Talend Cloud is often for creating REST services, SOAP services, and rarely for doing ETL.

Let's say we want to launch a project where the client has to go through a menu with options, then enter the amount, then enter the recipient's number for the credit or the bundle. On our side, we create a service that we expose and can call, for example, 'purchase bundle.' This 'purchase bundle' service will take as input the bundle ID and the recipient's number as a GET service. In the service flow, it will be a REST service which in the flow will first call a backend to check whether the initiator has sufficient credit, then a second backend to check whether the sender's number is a valid number, then a third backend to check whether this product is a valid product. After all these checks, it then gives the product to the recipient and returns a response. Since it's a GET service, the response could be in XML or JSON. In that response, there will be a 200 status code. Then, in the payload of the response, it will depend on what we want to give. We can for example put 'successful,' 'the request was processed successfully,' or just put 'OK.' In any case, it will be something where, when you see it, you'll know that this is a success.

Generally, that's it. I gave you a practical case. There are many cases and several cases, but in all cases, it revolves around REST or SOAP services.

In my opinion, the best features that Qlik Talend Cloud offers are excellent for me within the scope of my use, as I use it to create REST and SOAP services. For me, that's excellent and top-notch. I've been using it for 7 years and haven't switched to use another technology. That means it's fine. The fact that we also do drag and drop is great and works well. Another thing is the fact that it offers the possibility to create routines. If you want to do something that doesn't exist as a component, then you can even create it yourself as a routine with Java code. I use Java as a routine to do whatever I want and integrate it into my flow. That too is great.

The features of drag and drop make my daily work easier by providing speed of execution. Regarding the flow, it also allows readability. As for creating routines, I had a case where what I wanted to do did not have a component to do it, so I created a routine. I still stay on Qlik Talend Cloud because today, if this platform were limited only to components and drag and drop, and if I had another service that I wanted and these components didn't allow for it, then I would have left Qlik Talend Cloud to use another platform. But fortunately, whatever I want to do, I can stay on Qlik Talend Cloud to do it there.

Before, when we wanted solutions and REST APIs, we handed it over to an external company, so it took time, back and forth and all that. Now, when we got Qlik Talend Cloud, when we want a service, we create it. In at most one or two days, the service is in production and usable. So we save a lot of time.

Let's say that if before it took us 10 days to create a service, deploy it in production and all that, today it takes us 3 days. So we save 7 days, which is a 70% saving.

In terms of benefits, I would say that I see savings and time gain. Time gain, I talked about it when I gave the example of creating an API, what it took us and so on. As for savings as well, we can talk about that because before, if you gave all the applications and services work to an external integrator, indeed, managing it in-house allows you to save money.

I would really like today, since we're talking about AI, to be able to integrate it into Qlik Talend Cloud studio, so that we can explain the flow or describe the flow and then it creates it.

Knowing that my team works based on documentation provided by the architects, that means we will define a specific type of documentation for Qlik Talend Cloud, so that as soon as the architect provides the documentation, we—whether it's, for example, a chat window in the studio—as soon as we copy and paste the documentation with all the possible details, the URLs of the backends, the IPs of the databases, the table names and all that, and if we normally have all the details, the creation could be very easy. Since we have experience with Qlik Talend Cloud, we know exactly how to use the components.

The only risk is that you will have to test the flow properly and do a thorough review. That's it. It's not exactly a risk, but since I know it's a risk, that means I'll anticipate it.

In my experience, Qlik Talend Cloud is stable if it's properly sized. You have to size it properly. You need to know the load you're going to receive and adapt it.

Regarding scaling, since we have Qlik Talend Cloud on-premises, it adapts based on increasing volumes or needs.

In any case, on-premises, we have to manage it manually. We've set up alerts, so if we have an increasing volume and so on, it's up to us to increase CPU, increase RAM, and all those details.

Regarding Qlik Talend Cloud's customer support, it's fine.

Often, when you need help, you open a ticket. Then they ask you for the logs and all that, you give them the logs, they troubleshoot. Sometimes, if it takes time, you ask for a live session, that is a live troubleshooting session, you share your screen and you go through it together.

We weren't using one before; we just outsourced. So Qlik Talend Cloud is the first integration solution we use.

I would say we just prepared ourselves because before, we did a benchmark. We just prepared ourselves. There's not too much impact, since it was already planned.

In terms of benefits, I would say that I see savings and time gain. Time gain, I talked about it when I gave the example of creating an API, what it took us and so on. As for savings as well, we can talk about that because before, if you gave all the applications and services work to an external integrator, indeed, managing it in-house allows you to save money.

The setup cost is very expensive.

I looked at Oracle's OSB and Qlik Talend Cloud.

I chose Qlik Talend Cloud rather than another solution because there are advantages regarding the ease of use and the cost. On the cost side, it's cheaper.

My advice for a company that is considering using Qlik Talend Cloud is that they need to know the load, size it properly, and also train the developers properly, because some components are more optimized than others, and the rest will follow. I would rate this product as an 8 overall.