IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs SSIS comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM is ranked #26 with an average rating of 7.0, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.8. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to Microsoft’s 5.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Read 13 IBM Cloud Pak for Data reviews

2,186 Views
2,055 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SSIS

Read 75 SSIS reviews

13,185 Views
10,812 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

SSIS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

SSIS and IBM Cloud Pak for Data are competing in the data integration and analytics category. IBM Cloud Pak for Data has the upper hand due to its advanced analytics capabilities and scalability, while SSIS offers benefits like lower setup costs and seamless Microsoft integration.

Features: SSIS provides strong ETL capabilities, seamless integration with SQL Server, and flexibility to add custom code through its scripting component. IBM Cloud Pak for Data offers extensive AI and machine learning features, data virtualization, and data governance with Watson Knowledge Catalog.

Room for Improvement: SSIS could improve in handling large data volumes, further enhancing cloud integration, and simplifying work with non-Microsoft environments. IBM Cloud Pak for Data can enhance user-friendliness, reduce high pricing for smaller firms, and streamline initial setup processes to be less complex.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SSIS is easier to deploy for those familiar with Microsoft systems, providing straightforward integration with SQL Server. IBM Cloud Pak for Data caters to enterprise needs with a scalable, hybrid-cloud-friendly model. IBM's customer service is adept at handling complex, diverse environments, offering tailored support.

Pricing and ROI: SSIS offers a cost-effective solution, especially for businesses already invested in Microsoft products, with affordable setup costs. IBM Cloud Pak for Data, although more expensive, promises higher ROI via deep data insights and analytics. The pricing models vary, with SSIS being budget-friendly initially, while IBM presents higher strategic value over time.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 869,566 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

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Ranking in Data Integration

26th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (3rd)

SSIS

Ranking in Data Integration

2nd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

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 SSIS is 5.7%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SSIS	5.7%
IBM Cloud Pak for Data	1.8%
Other	92.5%

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie

Data asset management engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

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.

Read full review

Chris Farris

Manager, Data Operations at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

User-friendly interface facilitates efficient data migration and reduces operational overhead

Its usability and ease of use are standout features. It is really easy to use - almost too easy at times. Users don't have to be experts to use their tool set and utilize the clicking mechanisms, drop down boxes, and other features to build a package and run it. The configuration is very easy and the system is very stable. I would rate it at a 10 as it is highly reliable; we have never had any problems with it. Very little maintenance is required on my side. While you need to keep the product up to date, the maintenance requirements are minimal. SSIS integrates with all Microsoft tools seamlessly. We have used it against Oracle, DB2 and SQL. It integrates and can move data around from any data platforms, making it very diverse in that standpoint. It is a very robust tool that can work with many data sources, and its main strength is that it is extremely easy to use.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"The most valuable features of IBM Cloud Pak for Data are the Watson Studio, where we can initiate more groups and write code. Additionally, Watson Machine Learning is available with many other services, such as APIs which you can plug the machine learning models."

"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."

"Its data preparation capabilities are highly valuable."

"IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines are the most valuable features of the solution."

"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."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten."

"One of Cloud Pak's best features is the Watson Knowledge Catalog, which helps you implement data governance."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data pros

"It's a competent product."

"Data Flows are the main component we use. These can range from a simple source to sink ETL, to many source to many sink dataflows."

"The most valuable thing is that it is easy to connect with Microsoft tools. In Europe, particularly in France, a lot of companies use Excel, SQL Server, and other Microsoft tools, and it is easier to connect SSIS with Microsoft tools than other products."

"I like that this solution is very scalable, accommodating large datasets and various types of servers. It integrates with most common database servers and allows for customization through coding, including complex scripts. Compared to Alteryx Designer, SSIS offers more customization. Its data cleaning capabilities are highly accurate because we can run tests as data is loaded, ensuring it meets all requirements before reaching the final destination. The ability to write custom SQL and C# code within SSIS packages is its greatest feature."

"The debugging capabilities are great, particularly during data flow execution. You can look into the data and see what's going on in the pipeline."

"The reporting on the solution is perfect. I didn't expect to see reporting features, but they are great."

"We like that this solution includes a developer edition, free of charge, to allow for training."

"In SSIS, the scope is not only to handle ETL challenges, but it will allow us to do so many other tasks, such as DBA activities, scripting, calling any .exe or scripts, etc."

More SSIS pros

Cons

"The solution could have more connectors."

"The technical support could be a little better."

"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."

"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 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."

"The product must improve its performance."

"The tool depends on the control plane, an OpenShift container platform utilized as an orchestration layer...So, we have communicated this issue to IBM and asked if it is feasible to adapt the solution to work on a Kubernetes platform that we support."

"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."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data cons

"Options for scaling could be improved."

"SSIS is cumbersome despite its drag-and-drop functionality. For example, let's say I have 50 tables with 30 columns. You need to set a data type for each column and table. That's around 1,500 objects. It gets unwieldy adding validation for every column. Previously, SSIS automatically detected the data type, but I think they removed this feature. It would automatically detect if it's an integer, primary key, or foreign key column. You had fewer problems building the model."

"SSIS has a difficult learning curve when dealing with complex transformations."

"SSIS doesn't have a very good user interface, but if you can work with it, it'll provide you with almost all of the functionality."

"SSIS can improve by the minimum code requirements in stored procedures and exporting data is difficult. They could make it easier, it should be as easy as it is to import data."

"In terms of its performance, it could be better. That could be something that would be easy and welcomed as an upgrade."

"SSIS can improve in handling different data sources like Salesforce connectivity, Oracle Cloud's connectivity, etc."

"It hangs a lot of the time."

More SSIS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The solution is 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."

"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."

"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."

"It's quite expensive."

"The solution comes free of cost."

"The solution is available at a lesser price than that of Informatica."

"This solution has provided an inexpensive tool, and it is easy to find experienced developers."

"Our license with SSIS is annual."

"t's incredibly cost effective, easy to learn the basics quickly (although like all ETL tools requires the traditional learning curve to get good at) and has an immense user base."

"This solution is a free of charge addition to our SQL licence. However, the only way this tool can be utilized is as a feature of the SQL licence, which may make it unattractive to organizations who don't wish to purchase the wider-ranging licence."

"Depending on the arrangement that a certain company has with Microsoft, it may supply the permanent license that is included in the SQL server license, or it may be a time-bound license if it is a partner license or other enterprise license."

"SSIS is fairly well-priced - I would rate it at four out of five."

More SSIS pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Integration solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Comparison Review

it_user90069

BI Expert at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Feb 20, 2014

Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities

Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	57

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?

SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...

See all answers

What do you like most about SSIS?

The product's deployment phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SSIS?

It was included in our licensing for SQL server, and our licensing for SQL server was extremely cheap, making it a very good price point for us.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 44% of the time

Denodo vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 13% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 11% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data Competitors

Informatica PowerCenter vs SSIS

Compared 12% of the time

Talend Open Studio vs SSIS

Compared 8% of the time

dbt vs SSIS

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) vs SSIS

Compared 7% of the time

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs SSIS

Compared 6% of the time

More SSIS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

September 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Data product report

Buyer's Guide

SSIS

September 2025

Download SSIS product report

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data

SQL Server Integration Services

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak® for Data is a fully-integrated data and AI platform that modernizes how businesses collect, organize and analyze data to infuse AI throughout their organizations. Cloud-native by design, the platform unifies market-leading services spanning the entire analytics lifecycle. From data management, DataOps, governance, business analytics and automated AI, IBM Cloud Pak for Data helps eliminate the need for costly, and often competing, point solutions while providing the information architecture you need to implement AI successfully.

Building on the streamlined hybrid-cloud foundation of Red Hat® OpenShift®, IBM Cloud Pak for Data takes advantage of the underlying resource and infrastructure optimization and management. The solution fully supports multicloud environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud™ and private cloud deployments. Find out how IBM Cloud Pak for Data can lower your total cost of ownership and accelerate innovation.

IBM

SSIS is a versatile tool for data integration tasks like ETL processes, data migration, and real-time data processing. Users appreciate its ease of use, data transformation tools, scheduling capabilities, and extensive connectivity options. It enhances productivity and efficiency within organizations by streamlining data-related processes and improving data quality and consistency.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival

1. Amazon.com 2. Bank of America 3. Capital One 4. Coca-Cola 5. Dell 6. E*TRADE 7. FedEx 8. Ford Motor Company 9. Google 10. Home Depot 11. IBM 12. Intel 13. JPMorgan Chase 14. Kraft Foods 15. Lockheed Martin 16. McDonald's 17. Microsoft 18. Morgan Stanley 19. Nike 20. Oracle 21. PepsiCo 22. Procter & Gamble 23. Prudential Financial 24. RBC Capital Markets 25. SAP 26. Siemens 27. Sony 28. Toyota 29. UnitedHealth Group 30. Visa 31. Walmart 32. Wells Fargo

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SSIS report.

See our list of best Data Integration vendors.

We monitor all Data Integration 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.