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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs Informatica Enterprise Data Lake comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Cloud Pak for Data
Ranking in Data Integration
26th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (3rd)
Informatica Enterprise Data...
Ranking in Data Integration
39th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica Enterprise Data Lake is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Cloud Pak for Data1.8%
Informatica Enterprise Data Lake0.4%
Other97.8%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie - PeerSpot reviewer
Starts strong with data management capabilities but needs a demo database
What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated. There are so many components to data management, and more often than not, people understand one thing really well. They may understand DataStage and how to move data around, but they do not see the impact of moving data incorrectly. They also do not see the impact of everyone understanding a piece of data in the same way. I would love Cloud Pak to come with a demo database that illustrates the different components of data management in a logical way, so I can see the whole picture instead of just the area I'm specializing in. It would be great if Cloud Pak, from a data modeling point of view, allowed us to import our PDMs, for example. It would be ideal to import and create business terms in Cloud Pak. The PEA would be great to create the technical data. The association between the business and the technical metadata could then be automated by pulling it through from your ACE models. The data modeling component is available in Cloud Pak. Additionally, when it comes to Cloud Pak, even though it has the NextGen DataStage built into it, there is Cloud Pak for data integration as well. Currently, I do not think we have a full enough understanding of how CP4D and CP4I can enhance each other.
SB
Have built an enterprise-level cloud data pipeline with reliable governance and integration
People use Informatica Enterprise Data Lake because we can create the whole journey from data migration projects from the legacy system to AWS and to the Lake architecture, covering the entire journey from the source to the landing zone, then to the curated zone, and finally consumed by both downstream and upstream applications. The main benefit of Informatica Enterprise Data Lake is that it allows you to use different types of data types, including blobs and storage; all types of data—structured, unstructured, and semi-structured—can exist in the Data Lake architecture, making it robust for retrieving data based on your filtration needs. Its value is actually governed by the client, who combined with our company and AWS, so we all work together to use the workspace and all these things for Informatica Enterprise Data Lake.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is a scalable solution, and we have had no issues with its scalability in our company. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."
"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is the Modeler flows. The ability to develop models using a graphical approach and the capability to connect to various sources, as well as the data virtualization capabilities, allow me to easily access and utilize data that is dispersed across different sources."
"I love the way that I can start at a very basic level with my data management journey by capturing my policies, justifying my data, and putting them into different categories to say this is data relating to individuals, for example, or data relating to geography."
"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."
"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."
"What I found most helpful in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is containerization, which means it's easy to shift and leave in terms of moving to other clouds. That's an advantage of IBM Cloud Pak for Data."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten."
"The process of using the tool's scalability option is well documented."
 

Cons

"What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated."
"The technical support could be a little better."
"The product is trying to be more maturity in terms of connectors. That, I believe, is an area where Cloud Pak can improve."
"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."
"One challenge I'm facing with IBM Cloud Pak for Data is native features have been decommissioned, such as XML input and output. Too many changes have been made, and my company has around one hundred thousand mappings, so my team has been putting more effort into alternative ways to do things. Another area for improvement in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that it's more complicated to shift from on-premise to the cloud. Other vendors provide secure agents that easily connect with your existing setup. Still, with IBM Cloud Pak for Data, you have to perform connection migration steps, upgrade to the latest version, etc., which makes it more complicated, especially as my company has XML-based mappings. Still, the XML input and output capabilities of IBM Cloud Pak for Data have been discontinued, so I'd like IBM to bring that back."
"The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem."
"The product must improve its performance."
"The interface could improve because sometimes it becomes slow. Sometimes there is a delay between clicks when using the software, which can make the development process slow. It can take a few seconds to complete one action, and then a few more seconds to do the next one."
"Informatica Enterprise Data Lake's setup process was complex since it doesn't support a lot of real-time systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite expensive."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."
"IBM Cloud Pak for Data is expensive. If we include the training time and the machine learning, it's expensive. The cost of the execution is more reasonable."
"For the licensing of the solution, there is a yearly payment that needs to be made. Also, since it is expensive, cost-wise, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten."
"I don't have the exact licensing cost for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, as my company is still finalizing requirements, including monthly, yearly, and three-year licensing fees. Still, on a scale of one to five, I'd rate it a three because, compared to other vendors, it's more complicated."
"The solution is expensive."
"The licenses attached to the solution are highly priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem.
What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated. There are so many components to data...
What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
My primary use case for Cloud Pak is that I am the reference Data steward for the Africa regions in the banks where I work. My main objective is to capture the reference data in Caltech or Data and...
What do you like most about Informatica Enterprise Data Lake?
The process of using the tool's scalability option is well documented.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Informatica Enterprise Data Lake?
Informatica Enterprise Data Lake's cost is higher, but it provides good value for the price. It comes at a reasonable price, which I would rate at eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Informatica Enterprise Data Lake?
Improvement depends upon how we can faster showcase our data in our reports, whether in Power BI, Tableau, or other formats. Improving the speed of data showcasing and filtration would be better, a...
 

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
Informatica Intelligent Data Lake, Intelligent Data Lake
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Informatica Enterprise Data Lake and other solutions. Updated: October 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.