IBM API Connect vs Perforce Acana comparison

IBM and Perforce are both solutions in the API Management category. IBM is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while Perforce is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 5.8% mindshare in APIM, compared to Perforce’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Perforce users who would recommend it.

IBM API Connect

Read 77 IBM API Connect reviews

6,620 Views
6,421 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Perforce Acana

Read 3 Perforce Acana reviews

585 Views
585 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

Perforce Acana

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 8, 2025

Perforce Acana and IBM API Connect are competing in the API management space, addressing different enterprise needs. IBM API Connect appears to have the upper hand with its advanced functionalities and robust lifecycle management features, appealing to enterprises needing comprehensive solutions.

Features: Perforce Acana focuses on straightforward integration capabilities, allowing quick setup and collaboration tools essential for agile teams. IBM API Connect offers comprehensive API lifecycle management, enabling robust API creation along with enhanced security. Perforce Acana's ease of operation highlights simplicity, while IBM API Connect provides detailed analytics tools to better understand API usage.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Perforce Acana supports fast deployment with an intuitive process and reliable customer service, beneficial for businesses with limited IT resources. IBM API Connect involves complex integration due to its extensive feature set, making it suited for large enterprises that require comprehensive supporting resources. While IBM focuses on detailed deployment, Perforce Acana emphasizes simplicity combined with excellent service.

Pricing and ROI: Perforce Acana offers an appealing pricing structure for budget-conscious enterprises, ensuring strong ROI through lower setup costs. IBM API Connect, with a higher price point, delivers significant ROI over the long term with its advanced scalability and feature set. Perforce Acana's approach is cost-effective, whereas IBM API Connect balances its expensive options with extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM API Connect vs. Perforce Acana Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. Perforce Acana

September 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

IBM API Connect

Ranking in API Management

8th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (9th)

Perforce Acana

Ranking in API Management

30th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 5.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Acana is 0.6%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM API Connect	5.8%
Perforce Acana	0.6%
Other	93.6%

API Management

Featured Reviews

Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan

Solutions Architect at Synechron

Offers basic API orchestration and provides robust security and governance features

While Azure API Management offers configurable scalability, IBM API Connect relies on Kubernetes clusters. This might seem manual and require defining cluster instances upfront, but it's completely customizable and not on-the-fly scaling. It's completely custom-driven, not on-the-fly scaling, which some may consider cumbersome. Overall, I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Almost all applications we've been exposing lately go through this middleware, so it's used extensively. There are around sixty applications directly using it, but six Kubernetes clusters serve those applications. It's heavily used for integration, including system-to-system integration and product integrations. Our usage has been increasing year-on-year based on our needs.

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Saurav Krishna

Data Engineering and AI Intern at .3Lines Venture Capital

Authentication mechanism is easy to implement but improvement is needed in documentation

For API security purposes, we use the tool to host all our APIs. This allows us to take advantage of the security features provided by the platform. With the solution, we can implement rules such as rate limiting and restricting the number of API calls for each user. It acts as a secure gateway…

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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 valuable feature is the security we get from this solution. I know of a bank that uses it to ensure that everything is secure. The second feature I like is the retail environment, where we actually want to be able to provide as many suppliers and consumers with APIs as possible. If you are well-trained in the writing of RESTful API's, you can actually publish an API in a matter of minutes, test it, and publish it."

"Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules."

"API Connect is a good product, and everything works fine. All the analytics are good, and it is easy to follow up. I like it in that sense. I'm more focused on following up on analytics by seeing how many API calls we are getting and where we see a lot of problems. I was working on that API level."

"The most valuable feature of IBM API Connect is the security of the protocol."

"Easy to configure security and generate API keys."

"Policy configurations are pretty easy."

"The solution offers a pretty good SLA."

"The main benefits of IBM API Connect for our API life cycle management are the core API functionalities, the developer's portal, and robust security capabilities. IBM API Connect's security protocols enhance our data protection strategies by offering end-to-end security, mechanisms to counter common attacks like DDoS, and the ability to define policies for API groups to control traffic and prevent unwanted access to our systems."

More IBM API Connect pros

"The tool's authentication mechanism is easy to implement. We had to define a few parameters."

"It allowed us to publish and replace pre-essential transactions in one place, with a uniformity in terms of control and policies."

"Good interface, intuitive solution."

Cons

"IBM API Connect could improve the security of the application and the integration."

"The solution is overly complex."

"The installation was difficult with the IBM toolkit."

"In the next version, I don't know if they've already been included it or not, but the designer and all the tools should be on the cloud. I don't want any external installation or local installation."

"Our main pain points are in these two areas: creating a better developer portal and improving stability in terms of synchronization and monetization."

"The design time setup has a lot of customizable fields, but we need certain standard fields to be added, such as what all of the consuming systems are. This needs to be very clearly articulated during the design time."

"It should be cheaper."

"We've had some issues upgrading to the latest version of the solution."

More IBM API Connect cons

"The product has new features that we are going to implement in the next few months, such as API management and analytic reporting."

"Lacks an integrated billing feature."

"Akana API Management needs to improve its documentation."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing for IBM API Connect varies, e.g. it could be subscription-based. Deploying it on private cloud also means you have to own most of the software licensing."

"It can be quite expensive. It's okay for large-scale usage but quite expensive for smaller-scale implementations."

"There was a need to purchase an upfront license or a one-time license or upfront license, but I cannot remember the details about it clearly."

"It should be cheaper. It has a yearly licensing."

"We pay for the IBM API Connect monthly. We only need to pay the standard licensing fee."

"The pricing is too expensive with IBM. Sometimes, we prefer to go with an open source or something more lightweight."

"I haven't seen anyone go from on-premise to the cloud. In fact, I am seeing people go from the cloud to on-premise because the costs can quickly grow on the cloud."

"API Connect was highly expensive for us, but the decision to switch was made before I joined the company. It seems like the company bought it, but they didn't know how to use it. After two years, they decided to reevaluate and conduct some cost estimates."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

"For us, the pricing and licensing policies were for an on-premise installation with a fixed cost structure, that matched our budgeting policies."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Insurance Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	59

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM API Connect?

Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?

Pricing depends on how many instances run across environments. I don't deal with licensing, but compared to other IBM products, the licensing is not significantly higher.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?

When comparing API Gateway with DataPower Gateway, several features in DataPower Gateway are absent in the APIC layer. Examples include the lack of connectivity to MQ ( /categories/message-queue-mq...

See all answers

What do you like most about Akana API Management?

The tool's authentication mechanism is easy to implement. We had to define a few parameters.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Akana API Management?

Akana API Management needs to improve its documentation.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Akana API Management?

I rate Akana API Management an eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 27% of the time

Apigee vs IBM API Connect

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 13% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Apigee vs Perforce Acana

Compared 38% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Perforce Acana

Compared 33% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Perforce Acana

Compared 28% of the time

More Perforce Acana Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

API Management

October 2025

Download Perforce Acana product report

Overview

IBM API Connect is an API management tool providing robust security, seamless REST and SOAP conversion, and flexible deployment options for diverse cloud environments. It aids organizations in securing and monetizing their APIs while streamlining the development process.

IBM API Connect offers features like a security gateway, API lifecycle management, and integration with DataPower. Its intuitive interface enhances ease of use, supporting extensive analytics and traffic management. However, there are areas for improvement in automation, system integration, and user configuration. Organizations can deploy API Connect on-premises or in the cloud, delivering secure access control and analytics for banking, financial services, and government sectors. Compliance with standards like PSD2 ensures secure external API exposure and integration with multiple systems.

What are the most important features of IBM API Connect?

Security Gateway: Provides robust protection and data security for APIs.
Seamless Conversion: Facilitates easy conversion between REST and SOAP protocols.
API Management: Supports full API lifecycle management for efficient development.
DataPower Integration: Integrates seamlessly with DataPower for enhanced functionality.
Developer Portal: Offers a user-friendly interface for managing APIs and developers.
Analytics: Delivers powerful insights through comprehensive API analytics.
Flexible Deployment: Supports deployment on different cloud platforms for versatility.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from IBM API Connect?

Traffic Management: Efficiently manages high volumes of API traffic without compromising performance.
Data Protection: Ensures data is protected during API communication.
API Monetization: Facilitates API monetization strategies to drive revenue.
Scalability: Provides scalable solutions to handle growing demands seamlessly.

In specific industries like banking, financial services, and government sectors, IBM API Connect plays a crucial role in API management, orchestration, and regulation tasks. It provides secure access, control, and compliance with industry standards, serving as an essential gateway for data exchange and integration across multiple systems.

IBM

Perforce Acana optimizes workflows with robust functionality designed for efficient file versioning and collaboration. It offers reliable features suitable for organizations requiring performance and scalability.

Leveraging powerful version control, Perforce Acana enables teams to manage large codebases and complex projects with ease. Its distributed architecture supports concurrent editing, ensuring developers collaborate effectively without workflow interruptions. Integration with popular development tools streamlines operations, making it a preferred choice for high-demand environments needing adaptability alongside stringent compliance standards.

What are Perforce Acana's key features?

Version Control: Offers advanced capabilities for managing large-scale projects with ease.
Scalability: Supports expansive teams and growing codebases efficiently.
Integration: Syncs seamlessly with numerous development tools and platforms.
Concurrent Editing: Facilitates simultaneous collaboration among developers.

Which benefits should users consider from reviews?

Enhanced Productivity: Streamlined operations that improve team efficiency.
Reduced Downtime: Reliable architecture minimizing workflow disruptions.
Cost-Effectiveness: Long-term savings through improved resource management.
Scalability: Growing projects accommodated without sacrificing performance.

Perforce Acana is widely adopted in industries such as gaming and finance, where robust version control and collaborative capabilities are essential. It ensures large teams operate seamlessly, supporting intense development cycles while adhering to industry-specific regulations.

Perforce

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank

British American Tobacco, Credit Suisse, Daimler, eBay, FOX, Liberty Mutual, Marriott, Mayo Clinic, Skandia, Tata communications

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. Perforce Acana

September 2025

Free Report: IBM API Connect vs. Perforce Acana

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