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CA IDMS vs Spotlight comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

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
29th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Spotlight
Ranking in Database Development and Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Spotlight is 4.3%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Spotlight4.3%
CA IDMS1.2%
Other94.5%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

AS
ALiBS Solutions at ALiBS Solutions
Helps us to manage user profiles very quickly and in an assertive way
I would rate this solution 9 out of 10. I would advise that they should evaluate other possibilities because this is a very quickly changing environment and there are other possible providers that have good solutions. I would do some kind of test. I would test other possible solutions too and compare them.
BC
Sr. Database Administrator at Comcast Business
Facilitating on-the-spot troubleshooting with detailed root cause analysis
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. The drill-down feature helps with isolation, root cause analysis, and determining next steps. It aids in preventing potential issues by allowing us to make correctable changes internally within SQL Server. When needed, it also helps address external influences affecting system design. Additionally, the historical data analysis is helpful for long-term capacity planning.

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.​"
"Its dashboards are most valuable. The drill-down of the dashboards is useful."
"I consider the solution very scalable."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Some customizations of the dashboard, such as having backup reports, would be useful."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Do not hold back on asking questions about the maintenance and continued support of the product."
"The tool is cloud-based. It is priced well."
"Its cost was somewhere in the middle."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Healthcare Company
13%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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.
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...
What advice do you have for others considering Quest Spotlight?
I would rate Spotlight probably an nine out of ten. My advice would be to consider its cost-effectiveness and ease of use in smaller environments.
 

Also Known As

IDMS
Dell Spotlight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.
Jenkon
Find out what your peers are saying about CA IDMS vs. Spotlight and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.