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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs MuleSoft Composer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
24th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (3rd)
MuleSoft Composer
Ranking in Data Integration
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Integration (14th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MuleSoft Composer is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
Prince Barai - PeerSpot reviewer
The prebuilt connectors save a lot of time and money, but the customer support and price must be improved
Our customer’s system is very old. We are trying to upgrade it. We are extracting data from the system and sending it to Salesforce. The product is a good option if we want to build process automation for data. It can be done quickly through the tool. We need not do coding and waste our time and efforts. The ease of learning depends on the person who is learning the product. It depends on whether they come from a developer background. It would be easy to learn if they have some experience in coding and have worked on integrations. I haven’t faced many challenges while scaling our integration solutions with MuleSoft Composer. The drag-and-drop interface has not impacted our project deployment time much. The customer support and price can be improved. Overall, I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten."
"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."
"IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines are the most valuable features of the solution."
"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."
"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."
"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."
"Its data preparation capabilities are highly valuable."
"Cloud Pak's most valuable features are IBM MQ, IBM App Connect, IBM API Connect, and ISPF."
"The advantage of using MuleSoft as part as the Salesforce ecosystem is that anything new they build is guaranteed to work with the new features that are coming from the other side."
"The prebuilt connectors have saved our customers a lot of time and money."
"The solution invokes some RPS from Composer and then sends emails and flat notifications. It helps us integrate with any third-party SAPE or integration tools."
"The way Composer organizes and manages integration processes is most beneficial. We can easily monitor what's running and what isn't and troubleshoot any data integration issues."
"The product is easy to use. You don't need programming skills to use it."
"The functionality of MuleSoft to connect with any database is the most important feature."
 

Cons

"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."
"The product is trying to be more maturity in terms of connectors. That, I believe, is an area where Cloud Pak can improve."
"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."
"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 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."
"One thing that bugs me is how much infrastructure Cloud Pak requires for the initial deployment. It doesn't allow you to start small. The smallest permitted deployment is too big. It's a huge problem that prevents us from implementing the solution in many scenarios."
"The solution could have more connectors."
"There are some challenges with API sharing in Composer."
"MuleSoft Composer needs to improve its interface and scalability."
"The technical support team's response time must be improved."
"This solution could be improved by offering more integrations with other platforms."
"One additional feature they could add might be something like regional prices. Since we're based in Brazil, we pay in dollars but earn in Brazilian Real."
"There is also one limitation. We cannot see logs, latencies, or request counts."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite expensive."
"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."
"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."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"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."
"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 tool is a bit expensive."
"Salesforce is licensed by user and by products and so pricing depending on what your requirements are."
"MuleSoft Composer is affordable, and I rate its pricing a five to six out of ten."
"It's costly, especially for Indian clients."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources.
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 do you like most about MuleSoft Composer?
The way Composer organizes and manages integration processes is most beneficial. We can easily monitor what's running and what isn't and troubleshoot any data integration issues.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MuleSoft Composer?
It's costly, especially for Indian clients. Reducing the price would help them penetrate the Indian market. A two-year license costs around seventy lakhs rupees. It's a considerable amount.
What needs improvement with MuleSoft Composer?
Configuration could be easier, but we were able to handle it. It seems that juniors find it challenging, but seniors like me know how to configure it properly. There are no issues. There is also on...
 

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
MuleSoft Composer for Salesforce
 

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. MuleSoft Composer and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.