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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs Toad Data Point 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)
Toad Data Point
Ranking in Data Integration
28th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Data Preparation Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Toad Data Point is 0.5%, up from 0.4% 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.
Aaron Payne - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers power developers the tooling they need
I am not the end user of this solution. I am not close enough to it because I manage the platform that it runs against. The end users who use the Toad tool come against the database that my team manages, so it is hard for me to provide any area for improvement when it comes to the Toad tool. However, in the administration case, cost is a significant issue. The Mac license is incredibly expensive. It is 1,600 dollars each, which is more than the Windows version. Scalability is difficult when it is that costly.

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 features are data virtualization and reporting."
"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."
"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."
"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."
"Its data preparation capabilities are highly valuable."
"One of Cloud Pak's best features is the Watson Knowledge Catalog, which helps you implement data governance."
"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."
"With Toad Data Point, I can automate most steps automatically."
"The best thing about it is its automation features."
"The most valuable features of Toad Data are you could write a parameterized query and it wouldn't error out, it would give you the parameters that you could input. The auto-formatting feature is useful because it was great for keeping your queries neat and understandable. The auto comment, and uncomment toggles that you could do were convenient."
"I have never experienced any issues with customer service."
"The Connectivity and Connection Manager supports a broad number of connection types, and it is trivial for end-users to set up their own connections to sources."
"It provides better SQL development tooling than SQL Developer, which is not a sufficient tool for all development use cases. It offers power developers the tools they need."
"We love it."
"One of the greatest features is that you can get data from anywhere to anywhere with Toad Data Point."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"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."
"There is a solution that is part of IBM Cloud Pak for Data called Watson OpenScale. It is used to monitor the deployed models for the quality and fairness of the results. This is one area that needs a lot of improvement."
"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."
"The product must improve its performance."
"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."
"The solution's catalog searching or map search needs to be improved."
"It's not user-friendly. Once you start using it, you eventually get to know the features."
"I used their report writing a little bit, however, it could improve since it's not a really good report writer and it's a little clunky."
"The Mac license is incredibly expensive. It is 1,600 dollars each, which is more than the Windows version. Scalability is difficult when it is that costly."
"It's not user-friendly. Once you start using it, you eventually get to know the features."
"On the scheduling server, some scheduled reports just sit there and never execute for the first time. After manually executing the first time, they run with no issues."
"The Mac license is incredibly expensive. It is 1,600 dollars each, which is more than the Windows version."
"Toad Data could improve by having additional features, such as query prediction. This could help someone who's not the strongest programmer. If the software could help them write queries correctly it would be very helpful, especially for small development teams or teams that lack the input skills necessary to write and program efficiently."
"I used their report writing a little bit, however, it could improve since it's not a really good report writer and it's a little clunky."
 

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."
"The solution is expensive."
"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."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"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."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"The cost of this product is reasonable."
"The Mac licenses are expensive, costing 1,600 dollars each. This is much higher than for the Windows version. I maintain a very limited number of licenses due to this cost."
"The price of Toad Data Point was approximately $500 annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Healthcare Company
12%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Toad Data Point?
The pricing for Toad Data Point is where it gets into trouble. Microsoft is free, so if you get SQL Server, you get all the other stuff with it. You have to use several Microsoft tools that don't a...
What needs improvement with Toad Data Point?
I used their report writing a little bit, however, it could improve since it's not a really good report writer and it's a little clunky.
What is your primary use case for Toad Data Point?
When I use it, I'm using it for writing SQL or testing SQL code. I used to use it for moving data, loading files into database tables, from tables to other tables.
 

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival
Concordia University
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. Toad Data Point and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.