Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs FME comparison

Ab Initio and Safe Software are both solutions in the Data Integration category. Ab Initio is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.3, while Safe Software is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.0. Ab Initio holds a 1.3% mindshare in DI, compared to Safe Software’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Ab Initio users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Safe Software users who would recommend it.

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Read 5 Ab Initio Co>Operating System reviews

2,513 Views
1,633 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

FME

Read 7 FME reviews

2,569 Views
2,004 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

FME

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Ab Initio Co>Operating System and FME compete in the data integration sector. Ab Initio has an edge in handling large-scale data projects due to its strong data processing capabilities, while FME is preferred for its versatility in spatial data management.

Features: Ab Initio Co>Operating System features parallel processing capabilities, advanced transformation functions, and a solid framework for data analysis and project automation. FME supports over 450 formats, offers spatial data transformation, and provides a user-friendly interface, making it useful for broad data integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Ab Initio Co>Operating System is known for precise deployment, often needing specialized support due to complexity. Its customer service is dependable for resolving issues efficiently. FME has a streamlined deployment process, supported by comprehensive documentation and active community engagement, resulting in quicker adoption and ease of use.

Pricing and ROI: Ab Initio Co>Operating System has a higher setup cost reflecting its extensive processing power, which delivers significant ROI for large-scale projects. FME offers a lower setup cost with flexibility and excellent ROI, particularly in spatial data projects. Its comprehensive integration features contribute to faster ROI realization with less initial investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

Ranking in Data Integration

24th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workload Automation (19th)

FME

Ranking in Data Integration

26th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Ab Initio Co>Operating System is 1.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FME is 1.3%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Ab Initio Co>Operating System	1.3%
FME	1.3%
Other	97.4%

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

AlejandroMosso

Senior Solutions Architect at IDS Comercial

Enables creation of sophisticated applications with powerful parallelism and quick, effective support

The most valuable features of Ab Initio Co>Operating System are its performance and the ability to implement parallelism. There are three kinds of parallelism in Ab Initio Co>Operating System, which allow us to create very sophisticated solutions for almost any kind of application. This parallelism is one of the strongest features. Additionally, its scalability offers a unique way to escalate applications that differs from other technologies. In terms of data processing, the emphasis is on understanding the data. Data profiling is fundamental, and Ab Initio Co>Operating System integrates tools to perform this within the GDE, as well as specialized products for this purpose. Data profiling graphs can be implemented when necessary to understand the data sources.

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Gert Booysen

Software Solutions Leader at GE Vernova

Extensive format support and reliable integration enhance data management while new pricing model requires reassessment

I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the model changes that they've implemented a while back, it actually made it more expensive to use, especially on the server side. They changed the licensing model, and that made customers think it is overpriced. Some customers were actually looking at alternatives. Pricing with the model changes was perceived negatively. I work primarily with enterprise customers, Vodacom, Eskom, so it's tier-one customers. For small customers, this solution is a bit too expensive. They don't really use it and just do direct integration on smaller implementations. This is basically used by tier-one customers. FME is still able to save time and money for clients. It's still a good investment. Regarding similar products to FME, GE developed a product called Data Fabric. That is a real-time operational integration platform, Data Fabric Network Connect, which is a GE Grid OS product. It is actually more expensive than FME, but the purpose is different as it's operational. The vendor in this case is GE, and it's a company that we bought that used to be called Greenbird. In current use scenarios, FME is still leading compared to Data Fabric. The GE product has a different application.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Ab Initio Co>Operating System excels at providing data lineage regardless of the type of data I have."

"Ab Initio reaches the highest performance and is very flexible in processing huge amounts of data."

"Ab Initio Co>Operating System support is the best I have encountered."

"The graphical interface of Ab Initio Co>Operating System is very easy to understand and allows me to visualize the data flow effectively."

"Co>Operating System's most valuable feature is its ability to process bulk data effectively."

"It has standard plug-ins available for different data sources."

"From my reseller perspective, the best features in FME are the ease of operation and the fact that it works."

"We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else."

"It has a very friendly user interface. You don't need to use a lot of code. For us that's the most important aspect about it. Also, it has a lot of connectors and few forms. It has a strong facial aspect. It can do a lot of facial analysis."

"All spatial features are unrivaled, and the possibility to execute them based on a scheduled trigger, manual, e-mail, Websocket, tweet, file/directory change or virtually any trigger is most valuable."

"FME is spatially aware and understands how to deal with the conversion of spatial objects and their attributes."

"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface. There is nothing better. It is very easy to debug because you can see all steps where there are failures. Overall the software is easy to optimize a process."

Cons

"Co>Operating System would be improved with more integrations for less well-known technologies."

"While Ab Initio Co>Operating System has positive attributes, I find that certain features can sometimes be difficult to understand."

"An awesome improvement would be big data solutions, for example, implementing some kind of business intelligence or neural networks for artificial intelligence."

"Ab Initio Co>Operating System is a very expensive product."

"FME's price needs improvement for the African market."

"Improvements could be made to mapping presentations."

"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions."

"The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point."

"We are looking at the possibility of using Glue instead of FME, using the native AWS product."

"To get a higher rating, it would have to improve the price and the associated scalability. These are the main issues."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Co>Operating System's pricing is on the expensive end since it tends to be used by big enterprises."

"FME Server used to cost £10,000; now it can cost over £100,000."

"The product's price is reasonable."

"We used the standard licensing for our use of FME. The cost was approximately €15,000 annually. We always welcome less expensive solutions, if the solution could be less expensive it would be helpful."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

31%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Government

32%

Energy/Utilities Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Ab Initio Co>Operating System?

While Ab Initio Co>Operating System has positive attributes, I find that certain features can sometimes be difficult to understand. When I have too many import feeds opened, they can conflict wi...

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What is your primary use case for Ab Initio Co>Operating System?

The flexibility of data type and source integration for my IT ecosystem is excellent because Ab Initio Co>Operating System uses metadata, so it doesn't actually access the data; it takes the dat...

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What advice do you have for others considering Ab Initio Co>Operating System?

I have not been involved in the security access of the platform's data security features, but I know that Ab Initio Co>Operating System is very careful because it doesn't access any customer dat...

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What needs improvement with FME?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for FME?

The use cases for FME are mainly integration to the GE Smallworld product. GE Smallworld is a GE product, and we are using it to integrate with other third-party products into GE Smallworld and ADM...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering FME?

The overall rating for FME is eight out of ten, and I prefer the feedback to be anonymous. My job title is Senior Solutions Architect.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Data Integration

December 2025

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Buyer's Guide

FME

January 2026

Download FME product report

Also Known As

Co>Operating System

No data available

Overview

Ab Initio Co>Operating System offers powerful data processing capabilities, catering to big data needs with robustness and flexibility. Its architecture is designed for high performance, efficient data management, and advanced analytics, making it suitable for tech-savvy industries.

Ab Initio Co>Operating System provides an integrated platform that simplifies data processing tasks, from data validation to complex data transformations. It's engineered to handle large data volumes with efficiency, featuring an intuitive design and consistent performance. This makes it indispensable for industries requiring seamless integration and processing power, supported by tools for debugging, metadata management, and data profiling.

What are the key features of Ab Initio Co>Operating System?

Graphical Development Environment: Provides a user-friendly interface for designing data transformations.
Parallel Processing: Enables efficient handling of large datasets by leveraging parallelism.
Data Quality Management: Offers comprehensive tools for ensuring data accuracy and consistency.
Metadata Management: Facilitates easy access and management of data lineage and metadata.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Easily adapts to increasing data and processing demands, minimizing additional costs.
Time Efficiency: Reduces development and processing time, enhancing productivity.
Cost Savings: Lowers operational expenses through efficient resource use.
Data Accuracy: Ensures reliable data quality, critical for decision-making processes.

In industries like telecommunications and finance, Ab Initio Co>Operating System is implemented to streamline data workflows and provide real-time analytics. Its role in these sectors involves batch processing, complex event processing, and integrating diverse sources, addressing the demands for agility and performance excellence.

Ab Initio

FME is the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data. Run workflows on the desktop or deploy them in a server or cloud environment.

Safe Software

Sample Customers

A multinational transportation company

Shell, US Department of Commerce, PG&E, BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Enel, Iowa DoT, San Antonio Water System

Buyer's Guide

Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

December 2025

Free Report: Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

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