CA IDMS vs Quest Spotlight comparison

Broadcom and Quest Software are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. Broadcom is ranked #28, while Quest Software is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Broadcom holds a 1.1% mindshare in DDM, compared to Quest Software’s 6.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

CA IDMS

Read 5 CA IDMS reviews

116 Views
92 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Quest Spotlight

Read 5 Quest Spotlight reviews

1,262 Views
797 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

CA IDMS

Quest Spotlight

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

CA IDMS and Quest Spotlight are competing products in the realm of data management and optimization. Quest Spotlight demonstrates a competitive edge with its diverse features and superior performance monitoring tools.

Features: CA IDMS is highly recognized for its high-performing integrated transactional database management, focusing on mainframe compatibility, making it suitable for businesses reliant on legacy systems. Its stability and robust processing capabilities are paramount. Quest Spotlight stands out with real-time performance diagnostics, intensive monitoring, and alert systems specifically designed for SQL environments. Its feature variety is tailored for modern database needs.

Room for Improvement: CA IDMS may benefit from enhancements in its deployment procedures and user interface to cater to evolving IT infrastructures. More intuitive documentation and support for non-mainframe systems would increase its flexibility. Quest Spotlight could improve its database integration capabilities further to support more diverse environments. Additionally, enhancing its data governance features and simplifying its alert configuration could provide added value to users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Quest Spotlight offers a flexible deployment model paired with top-notch customer support, allowing for smoother integration into modern IT workflows. Its adaptable approach facilitates quick deployments. CA IDMS, dedicated to mainframe environments, involves more tailored deployment processes, often requiring extended integration times. Its technical support and comprehensive documentation are particularly beneficial for legacy users.

Pricing and ROI: CA IDMS generally incurs higher setup costs due to its focus on mainframe environments, offering significant ROI for businesses with deep integration in those systems. Quest Spotlight is more cost-effective, providing favorable ROI through performance optimization for SQL monitoring. The contrast lies in CA IDMS as a substantial long-term venture versus Quest Spotlight’s quick returns on investment.

To learn more, read our detailed CA IDMS vs. Quest Spotlight Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CA IDMS vs. Quest Spotlight

April 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

CA IDMS

Ranking in Database Development and Management

28th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Quest Spotlight

Ranking in Database Development and Management

6th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest Spotlight is 6.8%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

it_user558606

Application Development Manager at Aetna

We get network database performance. It supports our back office.

I don't have anything to add. I've heard about web services. We might be looking at a Java connection or web services in the future. It's serving our purpose right now. We're not looking for anything new. For what we do, it meets all our needs. We have to use DB2 when we need more relational constructs, expanded inquiry and reporting; so it's not perfect in that regards. We use it really for our transaction processing, not as much for reporting. For transaction processing, it's doing the job we need. To go into more in-depth, high-volume reporting, we offload a lot of the data to DB2.

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Seha R

Group Product Manager at Uop Ipl

Good tool for the design and development of public APIs

The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well.

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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

"The most useful feature is the governance feature, because it can show us and help us to manage user profiles very quickly and using it in assertive way."

"It is a really stable platform. It has been around for many years. We trust it implicitly. "

"Technical support is very good. They are very knowledgeable, very quick to respond, and very nice people, too."

"I consider the solution very scalable."

"The tool is a SaaS product where I just need to type a URL and start with the design process. I can integrate all elements of source control like GitHub, GitLab, etc. The tool also supports authentication-related provisions like SSH."

"Its dashboards are most valuable. The drill-down of the dashboards is useful."

"Spotlight provides valuable features such as the ability to get alerted and drill down to a very granular level to find out where actual problems are coming from."

Cons

"I would like to see it made simpler to operate and maintain."

"Right now, it's not easy to start using this solution. You have to take long course and train people. It's not an easy path."

"One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer."

"Some customizations of the dashboard, such as having backup reports, would be useful."

"The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well."

"There's no reporting with this tool, and there really should be. They should add that into future releases."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Do not hold back on asking questions about the maintenance and continued support of the product."

"Its cost was somewhere in the middle."

"The tool is cloud-based. It is priced well."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Government

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Healthcare Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points

What do you like most about Quest Spotlight?

The tool is a SaaS product where I just need to type a URL and start with the design process. I can integrate all elements of source control like GitHub, GitLab, etc. The tool also supports authent...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Quest Spotlight?

One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Quest Spotlight?

I primarily use Spotlight for on-the-spot troubleshooting and alerting to see if there are any issues. The drill-down features allow me to pinpoint problems, whether they are indexing, long-running...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 78% of the time

CA Datacom vs CA IDMS

Compared 22% of the time

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Quest Foglight for Databases vs Quest Spotlight

Compared 44% of the time

SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer vs Quest Spotlight

Compared 23% of the time

Oracle Enterprise Manager vs Quest Spotlight

Compared 10% of the time

Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials vs Quest Spotlight

Compared 9% of the time

SQL Sentry vs Quest Spotlight

Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

April 2025

Download CA IDMS product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

April 2025

Download Quest Spotlight product report

Also Known As

IDMS

Dell Spotlight

Overview

CA IDMS is a reliable, high-performance, web-enabled Database Management system (DBMS) for IBM z Systems that provides business value for hundreds of enterprises and government organizations. CA IDMS provides high-performance database management and transaction processing performance for existing and new workloads, helping you consolidate business functions on a central data repository, as needed.

Broadcom

Quest Spotlight ensures peak performance around the clock with unmatched monitoring, diagnosis and optimization of SQL Server environments. Spotlight provides access to the details you need for optimal fitness of your SQL Server databases. Get overviews of health and performance, automated alerts and actions, and mobile device support.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.

Jenkon

Buyer's Guide

CA IDMS vs. Quest Spotlight

April 2025

Free Report: CA IDMS vs. Quest Spotlight

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