CA Datacom vs Foglight for Databases comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Broadcom and Quest Software are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. Broadcom is ranked #26, while Quest Software is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6. Broadcom holds a 1.2% mindshare in DDM, compared to Quest Software’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

CA Datacom

Read 7 CA Datacom reviews

1,269 Views
1,155 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Foglight for Databases

Read 26 Foglight for Databases reviews

4,899 Views
4,850 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

CA Datacom

Foglight for Databases

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

CA Datacom and Foglight for Databases compete in the database management and monitoring category. Foglight for Databases seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features, offering significant advantages in monitoring capabilities across platforms.

Features: CA Datacom provides stable performance for transactional environments, supports high-volume transaction rates with thousands of users, and offers VSAM-Transparency for file conversion. Foglight for Databases provides extensive performance analysis tools, supports multiple platforms including SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB, and includes advanced monitoring with real-time screens and adaptive baseline technology.

Room for Improvement: CA Datacom could enhance its real-time monitoring functionalities, expand its platform compatibility, and offer more proactive alert systems. Foglight for Databases might refine its user interface for easier navigation, improve the depth of its alert features, and provide more customization options for integration with other systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CA Datacom employs a traditional deployment model with strong technical support tailored for complex configurations. Foglight for Databases offers flexible deployment options, including cloud-based solutions, with a robust support system that accommodates various user needs through different platforms.

Pricing and ROI: CA Datacom typically offers a lower initial cost, focusing on cost-effective solutions for transaction efficiency. Foglight for Databases, while potentially having a higher upfront cost, promises a higher long-term ROI by reducing database management expenses with its rich monitoring and diagnostic features, offering a strategic advantage for comprehensive database oversight.

To learn more, read our detailed CA Datacom vs. Foglight for Databases Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

CA Datacom vs. Foglight for Databases

September 2026

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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

CA Datacom

Ranking in Database Development and Management

26th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Foglight for Databases

Ranking in Database Development and Management

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA Datacom is 1.2%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Foglight for Databases is 3.7%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Foglight for Databases	3.7%
CA Datacom	1.2%
Other	95.1%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

it_user489183

IT Admin at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees

Scalability and the online maintainability of definitions are definite advantages for us

We've had it for so long, so it's status quo. But we've added all sorts of functionality to our applications and there are no issues with databases. Anything developers request, we're able to accomplish. Also, we deal a lot with government regulation - and not to talk about what the company does - but anything that they require of us, because we transmit data back and forth with them, we're able to do that with no problems. And there have been a lot of changes over the past five years that our government dictated regarding what we actually end up doing. So, we're able to be extremely flexible with that.

Read full review

AkshayChaudhari

Data Specialist at TCS

Centralized monitoring has reduced troubleshooting time and improves visibility across databases

I would improve the user interface of Foglight for Databases, as I feel it is somewhat complex, especially when using the specific troubleshooting view, particularly for new users. I would also appreciate more flexibility when customizing the dashboards and alerts, so better prioritization based on impact would be beneficial. Reporting could also be more straightforward with more ready-made reports and easier customization. Clearer recommendations during troubleshooting would help users move from identifying a problem to understanding the likely root cause. There is still room for improvement in the user interface, reporting, and alert customization, but overall Foglight for Databases has been valuable.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a solid product."

"It has cut down on our support, especially after hours, and it is a solid product that just works most of the time."

"They provide the best support compared to other providers I have used previously."

"It does its job very well."

"Scalability is definitely one thing. The size of the database can grow without any issues. We've got one database table that's got over a billion rows in it; quite a bit of data, and it handles access like a champ."

"Nowadays, CA is doing a lot of improving as far as online maintainability of definitions, which is a huge improvement over the past. I'm able to do a lot of changes without any outage."

"The initial setup is fairly straightforward for a mainframe product."

"It definitely cuts down on our support costs. I do not get woken up in the middle of the night very often for a problem with Datacom."

More CA Datacom pros

"Foglight definitely saves us time when it comes to root cause analysis."

"Foglight is also able to help the DBAs proactively fix problems before they become an issue. It provides them with real-time activity screens that help in this regard. The DBAs are able to go to these screens and look at what's happening in real time, and that buys them time. It helps them see problems ahead of time and find solutions to them."

"It's a great product, it's probably one of the best in this class and people should not hesitate getting on board with the product."

"The PI module allows [my colleague] to identify which new indexes or modified indexes are going to make the biggest impact."

"Foglight for Databases has helped us reduce the time we spend monitoring and troubleshooting database issues."

"Foglight for Databases provides real-time data that is invaluable for analyzing ongoing issues with database servers."

"The alarms alert proactively if there are any potential or ongoing issues with the databases that we support. That means we can take preventive or corrective action before the issue becomes a big issue. And the SQL PI features enable us to drill down into performance issues in our databases so that we can improve performance, which is important."

"The ability to monitor multiple database platforms streamlines our database operations. The single pane of glass is what we were really after when we picked Foglight. We knew we wanted something that could monitor cross-platform because it does save a lot of time to use the same tool. The one thing that I like with Foglight is that we don't have to install anything locally, like agents, directly on the database servers. That was also a big seller because it simplifies things."

More Foglight for Databases pros

Cons

"There are still some things - and I know they are working on some of them - but for the "no-outage maintainability" of things, they are making improvements as we speak, but there is definitely still room for more of that."

"There are a lot of features that come out with each upgrade, but our application that runs on it has been around for a long time; they sort of decommissioned this application."

"The only minor issue that we have had with Datacom is in the installation guide: Some of the sizings for the databases have not really worked out for us, so we had to go in and resize them."

"I had trouble with an upgrade once but, when I have trouble with the upgrade there's always someone there to support me and get me through it really quickly."

"Something that we would like to see is for them to develop integration with open distribution systems."

"Quest must release a Spanish version. That's critical because not everyone speaks English in Latin America. It's an excellent product, so it's super important that they offer the application and customer service in Spanish."

"Overall, I am happy with the product, but there are a few areas where it could be improved."

"Foglight for Databases is useful for database monitoring and troubleshooting, but there are a few areas where it could be improved."

"With the latest version, we have had many crashes, sometimes it stops working entirely, and it can take days to restart the service."

"I would like the rule development code to be made available so we don't always have to be referred to professional services for custom solutions. For example, if we want to exclude certain databases from a particular rule, we shouldn't have to go to support and to professional services for that solution. If the code and syntax were available, we have resources that could quickly turn something like that around."

"The tool could be somewhat more user-friendly, as proper knowledge is required to set up servers and use it effectively."

"Over this past weekend I had 400 emails from Foglight. That's a lot. And at least 395 of them were white noise."

"When we decided to go with Foglight, a lot of people stopped using the diagnostics part because it was very intimidating... They still won't use it because they feel it's too intimidating. They will open something up and not know what to do. It's not very user-friendly. You have to click on a lot of stuff to find the information."

More Foglight for Databases cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It is cost-effective. With our EA, it is really based on the scale of our database environment. We found the Quest team to be reasonable and flexible when it comes to pricing and scaling of licenses."

"The price is worth it, if you have the time to go through the information."

"The price of Foglight could be a little more competitive in Chile, and it should be lowered for long-time customers— at least by 20 percent. Sometimes the price is a limitation. We have seven instances and nearly 5 million users. If Quest Foglight could reduce its prices for the clients that have been with it for a long time, we would be able to have more instances."

"Compared to the other tools on the market, Foglight is okay in terms of pricing and licensing."

"This is like the "Cadillac" of performance monitoring software. It's not cheap... I am currently with a company that I was able to convince that the product is worth the cost."

"Pricing is very reasonable. We were able to construct a pretty easy contract with Quest, who were very easy to work with and very amenable to what we are trying to do. It worked out well for us."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

15%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Foglight for Databases?

I have had a good experience with the licensing costs of Foglight for Databases, as we have a provider who has given us good prices, and so far we have not had any cost problems. Regarding configur...

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What needs improvement with Quest Foglight for Databases?

Overall, I am happy with the product, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. First, I think the user interface could be more modern and intuitive, especially for new users. Some dash...

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What is your primary use case for Quest Foglight for Databases?

My main use case is database performance monitoring and troubleshooting. As a developer, I use Foglight for Databases to understand whether database performance is contributing to an application is...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

August 2026

Download CA Datacom product report

Buyer's Guide

Foglight for Databases

September 2026

Download Foglight for Databases product report

Also Known As

DATACOM

No data available

Overview

CA Datacom is a robust database management system engineered to meet complex data processing requirements, ensuring high availability and reliability for mission-critical applications. It supports extensive data transactions and customization to cater to specific enterprise needs.

Renowned for its performance and stability, CA Datacom serves industries that demand high-speed transactions and consistent uptime. It is built to handle high-volume data processing and offers seamless integration with other applications. The flexibility in its configuration allows businesses to optimize their database environments for enhanced performance.

What are the key features of CA Datacom?

High Performance: Engineered to handle substantial data transactions efficiently.
Scalability: Easily adjusts to accommodate growing data needs.
Security: Implements advanced security protocols to safeguard data.
Customizability: Offers configuration options to tailor environments.
Reliability: Ensures consistent uptime for critical operations.

What benefits should businesses seek in CA Datacom reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Delivers significant savings due to its minimal resource requirements.
Improved Data Handling: Handles intense workloads effectively.
Enhanced Productivity: Reduces system downtime, allowing uninterrupted business processes.
Simplified Maintenance: Streamlines updates and management activities.

CA Datacom is particularly effective in financial services, where secure and rapid data transactions are necessary. Retail industries benefit from its scalability and reliability, managing large-scale databases without compromising performance. It is also integral in telecommunications by supporting vast data exchange and retrieval processes seamlessly.

Broadcom

Foglight for Databases offers comprehensive monitoring with real-time activity screens and adaptive baselines. It provides a 360-degree overview and efficient UI, requiring no custom scripts, aiding in proactive issue identification and resolution before impacting end users.

Foglight for Databases is a robust tool for monitoring across multiple platforms, including SQL and Oracle. It provides features like the "Morning Coffee" dashboard and SQL Performance Investigator, enabling effective workload analysis and historical investigation. Despite some challenges with sluggish performance on large data volumes and excessive non-critical alerts, it remains a preferred choice for its ability to support proactive management and resource planning. Users appreciate its centralized view of extensive database systems, enabling swift detection and resolution of issues in real-time.

What are the key features?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Provides cross-platform real-time monitoring, ensuring effective database management.
Adaptive Baselines: Adjusts to various workloads, enhancing monitoring accuracy.
SQL Performance Investigator: Offers detailed workload analysis without server impact.
Proactive Alerts: Delivers timely notifications, aiding in immediate issue resolution.
Efficient UI: Streamlines user interaction, minimizing the need for custom scripts.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Time Saving: Reduces time in root cause analysis, enhancing productivity.
Proactive Management: Detects issues before they affect end users, minimizing downtime.
Resource Planning: Aids in effective allocation planning for enterprise and cloud platforms.

Foglight is extensively implemented in industries managing extensive database systems, handling numerous servers to ensure availability and performance. It assists businesses in resolving blocking and locking deadlocks, crucial for maintaining smooth operations in production and development environments.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.

CommitDBA

Buyer's Guide

CA Datacom vs. Foglight for Databases

September 2026

Free Report: CA Datacom vs. Foglight for Databases

Find out what your peers are saying about CA Datacom vs. Foglight for Databases and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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