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 #27 with an average rating of 8.5, while Safe Software is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.5. Ab Initio holds a 1.6% mindshare in DI, compared to Safe Software’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% 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 4 Ab Initio Co>Operating System reviews

2,213 Views
1,416 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

FME

Read 7 FME reviews

2,587 Views
2,018 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Ab Initio Co>Operating System

FME

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Ab Initio Co>Operating System vs. FME

September 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

27th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workload Automation (17th)

FME

Ranking in Data Integration

23rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Ab Initio Co>Operating System is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FME is 1.6%, 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 (%)
FME	1.6%
Ab Initio Co>Operating System	1.6%
Other	96.8%

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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Alan Bloor

Geographic Information System Developer at Public Sector

Great for handling large volumes of data, but it is priced a bit high

When I do coding, I think about every single function. Some of these functions can be very elementary, like doing a substring or some capitalization. But FME removes all that coding because it's a transformer, so the time to develop an application to get to a point where you're producing results is decreased massively. It used to take weeks and months to develop software, and now I can use something like FME, and within one day, we get results. We can look at and validate data. 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.

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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 support is the best I have encountered."

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

Cons

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"The product's price is reasonable."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Comms Service Provider

Government

34%

Energy/Utilities Company

12%

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?

If Ab Initio Co>Operating System could provide an environment that allows users to practice or use it on their own computers, it would be beneficial. Additionally, having more accessible online ...

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

I am primarily in charge of building applications using Ab Initio Co>Operating System.

See all answers

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

If Ab Initio Co>Operating System provided an environment for users to practice on their own computers, it would be preferable. I sometimes recommend it based on company needs. I rate it eight or...

See all answers

What do you like most about FME?

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FME?

The pricing is really bad. Last year, they rebranded the whole pricing structure. It used to be moderately priced at about £400 per user per year. Now they've changed the whole thing, and it's expe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FME?

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 mod...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Data Integration

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

FME

October 2025

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

September 2025

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