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BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs Informatica PowerCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

BMC Data Management for IMS...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (20th)
Informatica PowerCenter
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (4th), Data Visualization (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS and Informatica PowerCenter aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS is designed for Database Development and Management and holds a mindshare of 0.5%, up 0.4% compared to last year.
Informatica PowerCenter, on the other hand, focuses on Data Integration, holds 8.9% mindshare, down 11.7% since last year.
Database Development and Management
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

RS
Improves disaster recovery processes and offers an efficient CPU cycle optimization
Using BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS has greatly improved our database administration tasks. Although we don't test the database before production, we have experienced benefits in disaster recovery situations and capacity management. For instance, when facing capacity issues during peak transaction times, I've been able to quickly allocate additional resources to ensure smooth operations. This has been crucial, especially during times when the demand surges, such as peak flight hours.
Deepak Shiv - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides multiple transformations in one toolset and helpful when extracting data from multiple sources
Error handling capability is quite good in Informatica PowerCenter because it provides a very detailed session log, which is really helpful to identify errors. In addition, there are KB articles published by Informatica that are really helpful. So, error handling and the KB articles provided by Informatica are very helpful. Even if you face any issues or errors, we can usually resolve them. If the error cannot be solved with Informatica PowerCenter, we can raise a case with Informatica, and their support team will help us address that issue. If it cannot be solved with that particular version, they will consider it and try to solve it with the next patch or hotfix. AI Initiatives: Our company also has organizational AI or machine learning initiatives. However, Informatica PowerCenter doesn't fit into AI-related things because it's an on-premise tool. It doesn't have a significant role in the field. It is just a small ETL on-premises tool. So basically, in the AI field, Informatica PowerCenter is not going to be that impactful. Informatica has launched IICS and IDMC (Informatica Data Management Cloud and Informatica Cloud), where their AI comes into the picture. But for Informatica PowerCenter, AI does not come into the picture at all.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have worked with DB2's great features in the last five years. The IDAA feature transformed the vision of warehousing, business analytics, and big data at my bank. Besides the mainframe, I saw that this solution was evolutionary. It gives real-time information."
"BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it."
"What I like most about Informatica PowerCenter is that it's the best tool in the market for data integration. Currently, I work in L'Oréal, where a new system from SAP is used. Informatica PowerCenter integration with SAP is very, very fast and very, very simple, so you have the server flow from SAP, and through Informatica PowerCenter, you can ingest the data and make that data available for the business more quickly."
"I would recommend that others considering the solution go ahead and use it for any batch and high volume loads with complex transactions."
"The technical support is excellent."
"The number of docs has been reduced drastically, which is very good."
"Informatica PowerCenter is very good for integrating a huge amount of data in a very short duration, such as a minute. It is also very easy to use. After you provide the source and the target, mappings are automatically done, which makes it easy to use for the development team."
"The performance and design of Informatica have been very valuable. I find the performance faster than, say, Oracle Data Integrator or DataStage."
"It's a very powerful tool you can use to load data, get data, do the drawing between the tables, and put into the packet in a very fast way."
"The most valuable feature of Informatica PowerCenter is the flow designer functionally. It is the best out of any ETL tool. Additionally, the solution is reliable and trustable in dealing with large data sources anytime. When we're using billions of data transactions, it's smooth."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."
"DB2 is a hard tool to grasp. It's hard for users to learn how to use it. It's not easy to see how it works."
"The licensing is difficult."
"The UI is a little outdated."
"I would like to see improvements made to the custom transformations. It should be more open for users that want to write their own code and use cases."
"Include more instruments for LOGs analysis, interpretation, and job corrections."
"With all these no code/low code platforms, Informatica still forces us to use the ANSI format of SQL for joins, especially left outer join."
"Informatica PowerCenter is outdated and would benefit from modernization. They should have a very good migration strategy from Informatica PowerCenter to AACF. Informatica PowerCenter there is no point in using it, you have to use a cloud version."
"Lacks ability to calculate cost of the product."
"It would be good to recreate the entire interface to make it easier for users to build workflows."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten. The price is very high, and it doesn't understand the market now."
"We have found the pricing very cost-effective. The licensing is CPU and data source-based."
"The licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The pricing is a little expensive, but in the same range as IBM and other competitors."
"Licensing is a one time cost. But maintenance costs depend on what you want, how long you need it. Maintenance is a kind of insurance. With health insurance, you don't know whether you will get sick or need to go to hospital or not but you have to have insurance. It's the same thing with support. If you have that expertise in resolving issues, if you have enough experience in your IT department, I would say you don't need the support. But in practice, they recommend you go with the support. If you want support you have to pay for it."
"I rate the product's price a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"We have a site license, but we do pay by the division."
"Since the solution's cost is higher, I rate the pricing as a five out of ten."
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Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
8%
Logistics Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?
BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it.
What needs improvement with BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?
One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution. As someone involved in managing infrastructure, understandi...
What advice do you have for others considering BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?
From my perspective as an infrastructure guy, the most valuable aspect of BMC's data management solutions was their ability to optimize CPU cycles, improving IMS performance without directly impact...
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica PowerCenter?
Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up an...
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?
Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge...
 

Also Known As

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS, Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS
PowerCenter
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Airline Tariff Publishing Co (ATPCO), AtTask, MetaScale
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Informatica PowerCenter and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.