IBM API Connect vs SAP Cloud Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM API Connect and SAP Cloud Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed IBM API Connect vs. SAP Cloud Platform Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules.""Since it runs on top of Datapower, all Datapower based custom policies can be utilized and exported to API connect but its not straightforward/simple process.""It's quite flexible and easy to deploy, especially for beginners. It has almost all the features that an API gateway should have.""Scalable and stable API platform for creating and managing APIs.""API Connect's data gateway is one of the strongest in the market.""It is a very scalable solution.""The technical support is good. Whenever we need anything, we have our IT team work with IBM to change whatever requirement is needed.""This solution is ready to scale and already supports our agile CICD."

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"SAP Cloud Platform's most valuable features are its exhaustiveness, scalability with minimum maintenance, and functionality.""The maintenance part can be outsourced easily.""The solution has a lot of great features.""The most valuable features of the SAP Cloud Platform are the extensions and integrations. Additionally, there are a lot of AI-based microservices.""The integration flows are the most valuable feature of this solution.""Feature-wise, I like it since it allows you to integrate with multiple applications. There are available connectors that allow you to integrate.""Scalability is one of the benefits that we have in using the product.""The ability to build custom applications on the BTP platform, reducing customization on the SAP HANA system and improving performance and management."

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Cons
"Documentation for the CLI is not very complete. Also, the support could be improved, and we have had several problems with backing up and restoring the product.""Firstly, the pricing model, when compared to other open sources, is high. Secondly, the availability of resources in the market, specifically the developers available in the market, is not so much.""Business applications could be exposed to users.""Support for this platform could still be improved. It also needs to have more levels of versatility. Its compatibility and integration with different platforms also need improvement.""The documentation needs to be a bit better.""One thing about API Connect that could be improved is the security schemes. There are so many security schemes, and from a product perspective, IBM could improve the user experience of the configuration security scheme.""It is expensive within this class of products.""It would be nice to have a SaaS solution that can be deployed into the cloud."

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"The product needs improvement for serverless native integrations. They should opt for serverless features as all the customers worldwide choose cloud-based products.""The areas I think this solution should improve are monitoring and adapting.""The price of the solution could improve.""The solution requires more flexibility overall.""Lacks flexibility in its licensing structure.""In person, when the development happens, we were told that it's flexible and customizable. However, sometimes, it's challenging to customize.""In the next release, I would like to see improvements with the price and the licensing.""Shows errors without providing any analysis."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "API Connect is quite pricey."
  • "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."
  • "It would be a good idea to bring down the pricing by at least 20 to 30 percent."
  • "The pricing is too expensive with IBM. Sometimes, we prefer to go with an open source or something more lightweight."
  • "It is expensive when compared to other products in this class. There were no extra fees for add-ons or technical support."
  • "It's an expensive product."
  • "IBM API Connect could be cheaper."
  • "It is quite an expensive product."
  • More IBM API Connect Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Licensing costs for this solution are based on the number of users and the bandwidth."
  • "SAP's pricing is usually high compared to the competition. But this is also justified because they hold their products and services to quite high standards."
  • "The pricing can be negotiated."
  • "The cost when it comes to monitoring can be difficult."
  • "SAP offers yearly, subscription-based, and pay-as-you-use licensing."
  • "Cost-wise, I'm unsure of how expensive the SAP Cloud Platform is."
  • "SAP Cloud Platform costs $2 to $5 per hour, while I found other platforms way more affordable. You have to pay per use, though that's fine because that means the cost is flexible."
  • "The price of the solution depends on the package that is purchased. There are many packages to choose from. The packages are not overly expensive."
  • More SAP Cloud Platform Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules.
    Top Answer:I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price.
    Top Answer:The platform’s integration with the payment gateway needs enhancement. The setup process and support services could be improved.
    Top Answer:One of the best features of SAP Cloud Platform is that it is web-based and you can log in from anywhere in the world. SAP Cloud Platform is suitable for companies of any size; it works well with both… more »
    Top Answer:How is SAP Cloud Platform different than Amazon AWS Amazon AWS offers options both in terms of upgrading and expanding capabilities as well as acquiring greater storage space. These upgrades can be… more »
    Top Answer:The entire SAP ecosystem is a valuable feature. It provides access to SAP S/4HANA, ACG systems, and their Fiori launchpad, making it easy to navigate between them. This makes the enterprise very… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    263
    Comparisons
    227
    Reviews
    21
    Average Words per Review
    536
    Rating
    7.9
    Views
    2,326
    Comparisons
    1,814
    Reviews
    24
    Average Words per Review
    532
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    SAP HANA Cloud Platform
    Learn More
    Overview

    IBM API Connect is an enterprise-grade platform that provides a comprehensive solution for creating, securing, managing, sharing, monetizing, and analyzing APIs. Designed for cloud and on-premises deployment, it integrates seamlessly with various systems, ensuring robust security and enabling efficient API lifecycle management. The user feedback underscores its efficiency, user-friendly aspects, and practical customer support, making it a reliable choice for enterprises seeking to optimize their API strategies.

    IBM API Connect provides end-to-end management of APIs, facilitating the creation, security, management, sharing, monetization, and analysis​​. It allows the creation of custom APIs, exposing the full capabilities of applications and ensuring thorough testing before deployment.​ The platform offers robust security features, applying out-of-the-box and custom gateway policies to protect back-end data and services. Users can manage the entire lifecycle of their APIs, including publishing, replacing, migrating, deprecating, and retiring.

    API Connect includes a customizable portal for sharing APIs with developers, complete with built-in communication tools like blogs and forums​​. The solution offers comprehensive analytics for managing service levels, setting quotas, establishing controls, and analyzing trends.

    IBM API Connect stands out as a versatile and robust API management solution. It is well-suited for organizations looking for a comprehensive tool to handle the entire lifecycle of their APIs with a focus on integration, security, and analytics.

    SAP Cloud Platform is an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) and PaaS cloud tool. It powers applications that deliver real-time insights to contribute to more effective and timely decision-making. Customers all over the world from different-sized companies use SAP Cloud Platform to build application extensions, integrate landscapes, or extend existing enterprise applications in the cloud.

    The platform incorporates innovative technologies, including big data, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). SAP Cloud Platform supports native services and products by SAP, as well as partners with popular platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon AWS, and Alibaba Cloud.

    Users of the product can extend, integrate, and develop applications on premises and in the cloud. The product offers flexibility, agility, and scalability, as it enables easy integration and connection of different applications within the platform. The solution is based on open standards and provides a wide range of development tools.

    SAP has announced that they are removing SAP Cloud Platform as a brand name and moving its capabilities within SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). The features of SAP Cloud Platform will be integrated into SAP BTP to assist with data management and analytics, alongside other components of the platform. Existing customers of SAP Cloud Platform will continue to benefit from its products under SAP Integration Suite and SAP Extension Suite.

    SAP Cloud Platform Capabilities

    The solution offers a wide variety of tools, application capabilities, services, and application programming interface (API). These can be categorized in the following ways:

    • Enterprise extensions: The features of SAP Cloud Platform in this category include SAP Localization Hub, Tax Service, Data Enrichment for SAP S/4HANA, SAP Data Quality Management, SAP Business Application Studio, ABAP environment, and SAP Web IDE.

    • Intelligent BPM: This set of features includes SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Process Visibility, Business Rules, and Workflow.

    • Integration Suite: The features of SAP Cloud Platform in this category include Open Connectors, OData Provisioning, API Management, Cloud Integration, and Smart Data Integration.

    • Digital experience: Features in this category include SAP Conversational AI, Mobile Services, Document Service, Portal, SAP Build, SAPUI5, and SAP Fiori Cloud.

    • Data-driven insights: This category of capabilities includes SAP Leonardo Internet of Things, SAP Data Intelligence, SAP Edge Services, IoT, SAP HANA Cloud, SAP Web Analytics, SAP Streaming Analytics, SAP ASE Service, and SAP Analytics Cloud.

    • Platform foundation: Alert Notification, Application Logging, Data Retention Manager, Job Scheduler, Java Server, and Transport Management are included in this group of capabilities.

    SAP Cloud Platform Benefits

    The platform has many benefits which improve their client’s workflows. They include the following:

    • SAP Cloud Platform facilitates the seamless integration of existing solutions and hybrid system landscapes.

    • The solution assists companies to deliver tailored end-to-end interfaces for improved user experience through software development kits (SDKs).

    • It simplifies application interface management through the option of building apps in the Kubernetes environment.

    • SAP Cloud Platform simplifies the development of native business applications through the various development tools and capabilities it offers.

    • It provides companies with a wide range of pre-configured business services.

    • Companies are offered the possibility to streamline the integration of new apps with a lowered overall cost of ownership.

    • The product can reduce costs for organizations, as it does not require an up-front investment in software or hardware.

    • The solution can increase productivity for developers through its supported open programming standards.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Shylaraj AK, a senior architect at a construction company, describes SAP Cloud Platform as easy to maintain, great features, and helpful support, which attributes to his high rating for the product.

    Ehab-El H., chief executive officer at Asis, likes SAP Cloud Platform because it is easy to use with a fast deployment and straightforward setup.

    Sample Customers
    Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
    Siemens, Shell & Volkswagen, Still, EarlySense, Roche, National Football League, Heidelberg University Hospital, In Mind Computing, The Timken Company, OPAL, EnterpriseJungle, Groupe Danone, Accenture, T-Systems, Sailing Team Germany, Sloan Valve
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm41%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Retailer9%
    Insurance Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Educational Organization17%
    Insurance Company10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company30%
    Computer Software Company25%
    Pharma/Biotech Company15%
    Construction Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise67%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business13%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise63%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise62%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise67%
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM API Connect vs. SAP Cloud Platform
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about IBM API Connect vs. SAP Cloud Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    IBM API Connect is ranked 7th in Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) with 73 reviews while SAP Cloud Platform is ranked 4th in Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) with 37 reviews. IBM API Connect is rated 7.8, while SAP Cloud Platform is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of IBM API Connect writes "Good speed and performance, but it's based on a bit dated architecture". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SAP Cloud Platform writes "Provides seamless integration with CTI for streamlined data synchronization but complexity and challenges in migrating existing applications to the low-code model for custom application development". IBM API Connect is most compared with IBM DataPower Gateway, Apigee, Microsoft Azure API Management, MuleSoft Anypoint API Manager and webMethods API Portal, whereas SAP Cloud Platform is most compared with Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Mule Anypoint Platform. See our IBM API Connect vs. SAP Cloud Platform report.

    See our list of best Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) vendors.

    We monitor all Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) 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.