IBM DataPower Gateway Reviews

We are currently using the latest version of the IBM DataPower Gateway, 10.0.6.0.

We are using the IBM DataPower Gateway for authentication purposes. We also developed a firewall for our purposes. When we develop a web application and require security for that particular web application, we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. We also use SOAP services. If we want to deploy on the IBM DataPower Gateway, then we can utilize it. It's also used for authentication and authorization. It also has a rate limiting feature. If we handle multiple loads on this server, then using the rate limit function, we can handle the traffic load and API traffic load.

We are currently using the IBM DataPower Gateway only for API purposes. If we have a rate-limiting purpose and we deploy multiple APIs, then an issue will occur on the IBM DataPower Gateway. A rate-limiting issue will occur. For that type of feature, we also require some support from IBM.

We are using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes. As per the development perspective, there are some limitations with IBM DataPower Gateway because it only supports XML and XSLT language, but it does not support the Java language. This is the only limitation of the IBM DataPower Gateway. For the authentication and authorization purpose, we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. It's a very good product.

We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes. If we are handling the load for a particular server, then we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway.

The IBM DataPower Gateway is mostly used for security purposes. If we have some APIs and we are using some security for those APIs, then we can use it. It can also be used as a load balancer. It's also used for certificate management, user management purposes, authentication, and authorization.

For routing, the IBM DataPower Gateway has multiple URL-based routing and content-based routing capabilities. If we have multiple URLs, then we can use an XML script. Using the XSLT language, we can configure multiple URLs and implement URL-based routing. Content-based routing means if we have multiple requests, we can route the request to a particular URL. For this, we need to use the XSLT language only. We can't use XML, Java, or other scripting languages.

With IBM DataPower Gateway, we are using all the APIs. All APIs have been configured on the gateway. We have configured the particular TLS profile and some TLS client profiles as well. Using that TLS profile, we have configured the APIs and authentication. We have configured some tokens also, including JWT tokens and different types of auth tokens. There is also a rate limiting feature which we use for handling API loads.

I have significant experience with the IBM DataPower Gateway. As a security product, it is very good. However, from the development perspective, it has limitations because it only supports the XSLT language. It does not support multiple languages. We can't modify it because this is a custom OS. We can't customize the given product. Whatever feature is available on the IBM DataPower Gateway, that feature is the only one we can use. If we require additional features, we can't configure them on the IBM DataPower Gateway.

We do not utilize IBM DataPower Gateway's caching capabilities.

I have been working on the IBM DataPower Gateway for the last 5.8 years.

For the IBM DataPower Gateway, if we require a production environment or a development environment, for production, we definitely require three nodes in the cluster node. Because if there is multiple traffic on a single node, then it will definitely cause some damage or issues will occur. If we have multiple nodes for the IBM DataPower Gateway, then it will handle the multiple traffic. For a development environment, only a single node will be enough to handle the traffic.

If we have multiple servers and a multiple cluster for the IBM DataPower Gateway, then there will be no issue handling the traffic. However, if we have multiple traffic and only a single node, then issues will definitely occur. IBM DataPower Gateway does not handle all the traffic on a single node. If we have multiple nodes, then they can handle a large amount of traffic.

At the VM level, we can modify the RAM and the hard disk. However, it will impact the server. IBM does not recommend increasing the resources to increase the scalability once you install the product. It will be very risky. Once you install the product, we can't scale the resources on the IBM DataPower Gateway. This is also a limitation of this product.

Before IBM DataPower Gateway, we had used some .NET services. We had deployed them on the particular platform. Once IBM DataPower Gateway came into the picture, we started using it only for security purposes.

The installation process is very easy. We require 18 GB RAM and a four CPU processor and one particular server. Using that server, you can install it easily. There is also IBM documentation available on Google. Using that documentation, you can easily install the IBM DataPower Gateway.

The installation requires some large resources. However, the installation is easy. If we face any issue, then the IBM team will be available for our support.

This product is definitely expensive because if any issue occurs in the live environment or production environment, and our organization faces some issue with the IBM DataPower Gateway, then the IBM team will provide support. That's why the product is expensive.

Regarding pricing, I don't have much information because my management team manages the licensing. In my point of view, I think it costs around 5 Crore in Indian Rupees.

We can use Apigee, which is one of Google's gateways. However, as per the security purpose and implementation purposes, IBM DataPower Gateway is a very good product for implementation and configuration purposes. Some other organizations are also using the Apigee product.

In the previous version, there were some limitations, but in the upgraded versions, IBM has fixed some bugs. Currently, we don't have many limitations. It only supports the XSLT language from a development perspective. It does not support Java or Python. Other than XSLT, the IBM DataPower Gateway does not support other languages. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this solution a 7.

My main use case for this product is purely API management.

In my opinion, IBM DataPower Gateway's best features are the analytics as well as a developer portal.

IBM DataPower Gateway's multi-protocol transformation is important for my integration needs because all the API traffic is coming from this API data gateway.

IBM DataPower Gateway has positively impacted my organization by allowing me to implement rate limits on the different API usage, which is the benefit.

The developer portal should be an integrated part of IBM DataPower Gateway to improve it.

I think it is fine as is, and maybe no other additional features should be included in the next release.

My experience with the pricing of this product is that pricing is too high and should be reduced.

I have been using this product for around three years or more.

IBM DataPower Gateway is stable and it is running very smoothly, which is good in this product.

In my opinion, IBM DataPower Gateway's scalability is good and it is fine.

I would evaluate customer service and technical support as a little bit weak, so I give it a seven out of ten.

Positive

I evaluated WSO2 before choosing IBM DataPower Gateway, and I found it to be basically open source, so IBM DataPower Gateway is better than that.

The initial setup of IBM DataPower Gateway was done by the partner, which took a very long time to mature. Once it was done, it is working fine, but the partnership should be engaged and should be trained.

The initial setup of IBM DataPower Gateway was done by the partner.

I have seen ROI with this product.

I can provide some examples of return on investment by saying that we are running different APIs which we are using, and we are charging customers. We count the number of hits and can say we earn and actually get the benefit from it.

I have experience with API management and using API management tools effectively. We are using IBM DataPower Gateway, not just IBM DataPower. We do not use caching abilities. IBM DataPower Gateway's intelligent routing and load balancing features have not helped manage my workload since we are using a load balancer from another provider. I am using security features, but they are not from IBM.

I would rate IBM DataPower Gateway's traffic management as absolutely fine, a nine out of ten. Overall, I would scale IBM DataPower Gateway as eight out of ten. I do not give it a ten just because of the support team.

My company does not have any business relationship with IBM except being a customer. I would rate this product overall as eight out of ten.

The primary purposes for which IBM DataPower Gateway is used include security purposes, and sometimes you need to put some configurations and mapping into the process.

The advantages of IBM DataPower Gateway, which I personally appreciate, are the security features that you can manipulate according to your company policies. IBM DataPower Gateway excels in security, though other monitoring features and transformation capabilities are not its primary focus.

I do use IBM DataPower Gateway's caching abilities, which help me enhance my application speed.

IBM DataPower Gateway's multi-protocol transformation helps me with my integration needs.

The load balancing feature helps me manage my workloads more efficiently.

I noticed that the Gateway Script libraries could be improved, as they are not covering everything I need.

I have been using IBM DataPower Gateway for approximately three or four years.

I assess the impact of IBM DataPower Gateway's traffic management on system reliability as pretty reliable.

Installation-wise, IBM DataPower Gateway was straightforward.

I would rate the technical support of IBM as an eight on a scale from one to ten.

Positive

I needed my team lead to support me with the installation of IBM DataPower Gateway.

Two people from my side took part in the deployment.

I don't know if the current licensing cost of IBM DataPower Gateway is high, but I think it's acceptable. I don't have any complaints about it.

If you consider the domain, I am mainly using it in BFSI, banking and financial sector.

I like the API Gateway feature. I use it the most along with the MPGW, multi-protocol gateway. It is a very good feature under the protocol-to-protocol transformation I have here. No other Gateway offers this as part of the integration offering. DataPower is different compared to other gateways; they do not have these features.

The DCDR process should be less complex. AI should improve developer efficiency and effort. Whenever I am writing code, it should give recommendations automatically by incorporating AI so I can write the code in a few minutes or seconds. The monitoring and troubleshooting should be improved. 

The backups cannot be made automatically and should be improved. I have to use external tools to trigger automatic backups, the secure backup of the DataPower device, and this should be improved. At least I should configure SAP Defender to set automatically. 

There are other backup locations that need improvement. For API Connect, API Connect only supports S3, object storage, for analytics backup. But all remaining components, like management portals, support the SFPB backup. Most of my Indian customers or other customers are unwilling to take backup to the object storage in the cloud. So there should be some improvement. At least there's a workaround, some workaround to take analytics backup to SAPTPUR local, any other thing that has to be improved. It only integrates with others, however, it does not allow anybody to install the cloud on us. Answering the customers on these issues is difficult. They have their own compliance, however, DataPower asks us to install CloudStrike or some other antivirus tools and monitoring tools, but it will not allow any agent installation.

I have used the solution for eight years.

The stability is fine.

The scalability is okay.

In terms of OEM support, it is poor. If I raise a CBRT one, as per the SLA, they should respond in one hour, however, sometimes it takes four or five hours to respond.

Negative

The initial setup only takes only a few days.

This depends on VM versus OpenShift. If it is OpenShift, then I require two skill sets: one for OpenShift and one for the CP4L.

Most of my customers say that IBM is very costly.

Overall rating for the solution from one to ten is eight based on its stability and scalability. I would advise considering the stability and scalability features when choosing this solution.

It functions as a gateway. We use it mainly as a security appliance, as a gateway for web services (including REST services), and for data transformation.

We didn't directly use it for mobile/web integration, but we have used it extensively with SAP middleware.

I was working for Volkswagen at the time, and Goodyear uses SAP middleware. We used DataPower to expose web services. This allowed us to connect our system with their SAP middleware to exchange tire orders, handle refunds, and other similar processes.

The security aspect is the best part. 

The security features helped meet compliance needs. You can manage your SSL keys within the appliance. It also provides monitoring and reminders. For example, you can get a notification three months before a key expires to prevent unexpected problems due to expired certificates.

The MPGW (Multi-Protocol Gateway) is great because it allows you to easily expose services using various protocols – web services, REST (JSON), and others. This flexibility simplifies things.

DataPower isn't the most user-friendly tool. It is not an easy tool to use. Some things could use better wizards to guide you through processes. 

Also, the SSL key management is a bit convoluted because keys need to be managed in multiple places. It can be tough at times. Better organization there would be nice.

I have been using it for eight years. 

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. It's really quite stable. If there are issues, they're usually the result of user error.

It wasn't very scalable. Our setup wasn't very scalable because it used a hardware appliance.

You can achieve better scalability with solutions like Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, or even VMs. But at the time, the focus was on a hardware appliance. 

If you want to scale using appliances, it's horizontally scalable – meaning you'd need to buy more appliances and set up load balancing. That wasn't planned due to the expense involved.

While I like IBM products, I'm not an evangelist. I work with Java, Microsoft ASP.NET, and various technologies. I'm not tied to any specific vendor. However, I do find IBM to be a bit greedy. It's a large, profit-driven company. 

The support team is mostly based in India, and they follow a very structured process and protocol. Sometimes, it feels like playing ping pong with them – lots of back and forth before the problem gets escalated. 

You might even have to get your sales rep involved to push things along. For me, the support it could be better. Indian support teams aren't inherently bad, but with IBM, it feels impersonal.

They respond, sure. But if it's a complex technical issue, they might ask you a lot of questions that just seem designed to waste your time. Sometimes it feels like they hope you'll get frustrated and solve the problem yourself.

Neutral

We haven't extensively used the load-balancing features of DataPower. Our setup was primarily using a single appliance.

Our setup involved a different team working with an IBM expert. They handled the installation, and then we started using it through the web interface.

The pricing was not cheap, it was quite expensive. However, the pricing landscape might be different now. The market is more competitive, with players like F5, Cisco, and Siemens entering the space. IBM might have adjusted pricing in response.

My recommendation depends on a few factors. If the client is already invested in IBM solutions like MQ or mainframes, then DataPower could be a great fit, budget permitting. 

But, if they're not tied to IBM and have budget constraints, there might be more cost-effective alternatives on the market – things like API gateways from F5 or others. 

It also depends on specific needs and architecture. Ultimately, it's a decision best made by an enterprise architect who can evaluate the whole picture.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

IBM DataPower Gateway helps us integrate our backend services with our application and software, as well as other authentication areas.

For example, we use it to integrate our backend services with our CRM system. This allows us to have a single view of our customers and their interactions with our company.

The most valuable feature for us is the ability to integrate with a wide range of different systems and services. This makes it easy for us to connect our different systems and applications together and to get the data we need in one place.

One area that could be improved is the integration with Postgres and SQL databases. Currently, IBM DataPower Gateway only integrates with Oracle databases.

So it doesn't integrate with Postgres.

I have been using this solution for six years. 

There are around seven end users using this solution in our company. I would say the scalability is very high. We have over two million users and are able to handle a large volume of traffic without any problems.

If we face any issue, we raise a ticket with IBM support.

Positive

I would rate my experience with the initial setup of IBM DataPower Gateway as a ten out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy. 

It is very easy to set up and configure, even for users with no prior experience.

We use DevOps tools for deployment, so it doesn't take much time.

I would say the pricing is normal. It is not the cheapest, but it is not the most expensive either.

I would recommend using IBM DataPower Gateway because it is easy to use, highly secure, and highly capable.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Our company uses the solution to build integration security models for APIs and proxies that connect internal and external services to on-premises or public cloud platforms. 

The appliance has great security and reliability. 

Support for PCA and non-PCA services is valuable.

The monitoring and auditing logs are good. 

The API is good so it is easy to script and automate. 

Additional documentation needs to be provided for complex automations.

I have been using the solution for fifteen years. 

The solution is stable and performs well. 

Technical support is good. 

The setup is not that complex because onboarding documentation is good. 

We implemented the solution in-house. 

The solution is expensive in comparison to other products.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

We use IBM DataPower Gateway for securing APIs using AAA policies. It helps us impose security, such as versions 1.0 and 2.0, available for SSL. It allows us to isolate APIs as needed, ensuring they communicate directly without issues, improving security and control.

The product's most valuable features are AAA policies and security features.

The product's cost for data appliances or hardware is quite high. It needs improvement.

We have been using IBM DataPower Gateway for five years.

I rate the product's stability a nine out of ten.

It is a scalable platform. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.

The technical support team takes three to four months to respond to the queries.

Neutral

The initial setup is complex. The process involves deploying hardware on the server and installing software as well. It takes four to five days to complete.

The product is worth the investment.

The product is expensive.

I rate IBM DataPower Gateway an eight out of ten. The product is reliable and efficient for both internal and external gateway. Additionally, it is a highly expandable platform.

My company has a good impression of IBM DataPower Gateway. What I like about it is that because it's an appliance, it's a turnkey solution that's very fast and out of the box.

Compared to other gateways, I also like that IBM DataPower Gateway is function-rich. For example, for one of the projects, there was a need for specific transformation and security features available in IBM DataPower Gateway out of the box, so my team just needed to configure the appliance. There was no need for separate development, and I found it quite neat.

Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products.

An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product. Sometimes, when the customer use case is just a very small subset of what's being offered in IBM DataPower Gateway, then the product can be expensive, making my company lose some of the opportunities because of the expensive pricing.

A lower price point for IBM DataPower Gateway, even if that results in a less feature-rich version, would be appreciated.

In terms of additional features that I'd like to see in the next release of IBM DataPower Gateway, nothing specific comes to mind because IBM constantly improves its standards and provides quarterly updates to the product, so it's quite fine.

I've been working with and supporting IBM DataPower Gateway locally for six years now.

From a technical point of view, IBM DataPower Gateway performs quite well, so my team had no concerns at all in terms of performance, reliability, and stability. When deploying IBM DataPower Gateway for banks and other financial institutions here in Hungary, I've observed that you can almost forget about it because it's a good product with no issues.

IBM DataPower Gateway is a scalable product, but Hungary is a relatively small market, so even the smallest size is sometimes too big for the customer. Scaling the product downwards would be better because it's more suitable for small businesses. IBM DataPower Gateway is less applicable to mid-size and large businesses.

We had no issue with the technical support for IBM DataPower Gateway. In the past few years, we had to open just very, very few tickets that were answered promptly. There was even one case where the physical appliance had a hardware issue. The power supply had to be replaced, and the replacement came automatically within the promised timeframe, so support was okay.

The initial setup for IBM DataPower Gateway was straightforward. The hours and effort dedicated to the implementation of the product were quite low compared to other products, though not necessarily gateways. You can do most of the implementation steps, and IBM DataPower Gateway requires a relatively easy configuration, and as it's out of the box, you can just customize it.

The total cost of IBM DataPower Gateway would depend on the configuration, but in my experience, it can amount to 60,000 Euros per box, even for the virtual version. Usually, customers need high availability and a non-production environment, so the total price for IBM DataPower Gateway can be quite a lot. It can be 200,000 Euros or a similar figure.

IBM DataPower Gateway is still in an early phase with us, especially because of its price point. As some of our customers need a less functional and less costly solution, we're looking at other alternatives on their behalf, such as Kong API Gateway and WSO2, but we don't have too much experience with those solutions.

My company is a system integrator for IBM DataPower Gateway and other solutions in Hungary. My company also provides customer-side consultancy for some projects, particularly providing expertise for customer deployments and other related areas.

Just a few people use IBM DataPower Gateway within my company. There's a team of ten people that covers other solutions and competency levels as well. Only one or two people utilize IBM DataPower Gateway full-time.

What I'd tell others who want to implement IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's a reliable product.

My rating for IBM DataPower Gateway is nine out of ten. Technically, it's okay. It's only the price point that needs improvement because it's a bit expensive in some cases.

My company is an IBM partner.

We use both cloud and on-premise solutions. We focus on the BFSI, one of India's largest banks, as well as the financial sector and telecommunications.  

We implement the solution for our clients and currently have more than 70 staff members on our team. 

Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features. It's also easy to use with not much development needed. We can deploy mostly with the drag-and-drop policies. 

Right now, the programming language is only supported in XSLT and Gateway script. Offering another programming language like Python would be better for all. We had one difficulty with signing and encryption, which it doesn't support in the data pool but does in Java programming language. It wasn't contained in the latest algorithm, so that's an issue we faced with one customer. 

We have been using it for the last five years.

The data pool product is stable and we did not find any bugs. API management launched two years back and we consider it quite unstable because we still face a lot of bugs. 

The solution is best for medium to large companies and is easy to scale. 

We are in yearly contact with technical support. We have reported every bug and they try to fix them within a short span of time. If they can't fix bugs quickly, they include them in new releases and give an ETA to us. Knowledge base and response time could be improved. 

Neutral

This is the solution we currently implement for our customers. 

Initial setup is very easy. If you go with container deployment, it can be a little bit tricky. The first time you install a container you will face issues, but the next time will be easier. 

We implement the solution for our clients. We also provide maintenance every quarter to give support to the production environment. If the client needs extra features, the project is more complex and takes more development time. 

The cost is very high and requires all five components in the API management solution, such as API Portal, Analytics, and App Connect. But with MuleSoft, everything is with a single vendor. 

We want to explore MuleSoft and introduce it to our company. We are not going to replace IBM right now, but we want to be able propose either IBM or MuleSoft based on customer requirements such as features and cost. 

We are a gold partner with IBM. DataPower Gateway is quite cool but API Manage needs to be more stable. Without testing, they released the product into the market. This is what we have observed. Sometimes, even small features in the big product do not work.

I would rate this product an eight out of ten.