CA IDMS vs SQL Sentry comparison

Broadcom and SQL Sentry are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. Broadcom is ranked #28, while SQL Sentry is ranked #14. Broadcom holds a 1.3% mindshare in DDM, compared to SQL Sentry’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of SQL Sentry users who would recommend it.

CA IDMS

Read 5 CA IDMS reviews

676 Views
352 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SQL Sentry

Read 2 SQL Sentry reviews

812 Views
796 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

CA IDMS

SQL Sentry

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

CA IDMS and SQL Sentry are competing products in database management and monitoring. SQL Sentry has the upper hand due to its advanced features and robust performance.

Features: CA IDMS offers a reliable environment for database management, strong data integrity, and high availability. SQL Sentry provides real-time SQL Server performance monitoring, advanced analytical capabilities, and comprehensive monitoring options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CA IDMS involves a more complex installation process but provides stable support for legacy systems. SQL Sentry offers a more straightforward deployment model and proactive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: CA IDMS comes with lower initial setup costs, making it an economical solution for long-term infrastructure investments. SQL Sentry may have higher setup costs but delivers substantial ROI through efficient SQL Server performance handling.

To learn more, read our detailed CA IDMS vs. SQL Sentry Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

CA IDMS vs. SQL Sentry

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 885,311 peers since 2012

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

SQL Sentry

Ranking in Database Development and Management

14th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Sentry is 2.8%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SQL Sentry	2.8%
CA IDMS	1.3%
Other	95.9%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

Alfredo Silva

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.

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Steve McCubbin

Sql Db Administrator at a non-tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Lets you know when your jobs are taking longer than average and allows you to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times

To be able to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times is the most valuable feature of the product. Another thing that's good about the product is that it will let you know when your jobs are taking longer than average so that you can foretell that there's going to be an issue coming up. Your SQL agent job is taking longer.

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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

"Stability is perfect! It is a really stable platform; it has been around for many years, and we trust it implicitly."

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

"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."

"We've been able to fine tune it over the years to get really good performance out of it, and maintain some database network support."

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

"The solution is the community - a tightly knit group of experts who have been working on the product set for many years."

"The most valuable feature is the performance of the database; it's very efficient at what it does, quite reliable, and provides us with a very stable platform that we've been running for many years."

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

"This solution has identified blocking, deadlock, memory pressure, and high CPU consumption issues."

"To be able to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times is the most valuable feature of the product."

"The blocking and deadlock report feature is very convenient to use in pinpointing which query is causing something and what other queries are waiting for it."

"To be able to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times is the most valuable feature of the product."

Cons

"We have to use DB2 when we need more relational constructs, expanded inquiry and reporting; so it's not perfect in that regards."

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

"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."

"I'd like to see some of the installation, maintenance, and support functions simplified so that some of our younger, newer members can take advantage of the product and maintain it to the same standard that the older members have in the past."

"We need to make it much easier to support and maintain, because the skills required are quite specialized and we're not going to have people in the future who've got the necessary experience and knowledge."

"There could be some more metrics on the high availability to let us know when there are issues synchronizing between the hosts."

"If we can get details on wait types from system views, it will help identify a more detailed root cause."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"It's fairly expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

University

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Comparisons

IBM IMS vs CA IDMS

Compared 42% of the time

CA Datacom vs CA IDMS

Compared 18% of the time

BMC AMI DevX vs CA IDMS

Compared 17% of the time

Spotlight vs CA IDMS

Compared 16% of the time

Adabas vs CA IDMS

Compared 7% of the time

More CA IDMS Competitors

SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer vs SQL Sentry

Compared 35% of the time

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server vs SQL Sentry

Compared 15% of the time

Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials vs SQL Sentry

Compared 12% of the time

Foglight for Databases vs SQL Sentry

Compared 12% of the time

Spotlight vs SQL Sentry

Compared 11% of the time

More SQL Sentry Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

March 2026

Download CA IDMS product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

March 2026

Download SQL Sentry product report

Also Known As

IDMS

No data available

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

SentryOne is the most capable, scalable platform for enterprise data performance management, from development through production. We empower Microsoft database professionals with the best solutions for developing, testing, documenting, and monitoring the Microsoft Data Platform.

SQL Sentry

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.

Coeo, Stack Overflow, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation, Hawaiian Airlines, Hennepin County Medical Center, Racing Victoria, Citrix, Insight, Shi, Woodforest National Bank, Telular

Buyer's Guide

CA IDMS vs. SQL Sentry

March 2026

Free Report: CA IDMS vs. SQL Sentry

Find out what your peers are saying about CA IDMS vs. SQL Sentry and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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We monitor all Database Development and Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.