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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs Upsolver 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
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (3rd)
Upsolver
Ranking in Data Integration
37th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.1%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Upsolver is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Cloud Pak for Data1.1%
Upsolver0.7%
Other98.2%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Raman Shihan - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Unified data workflows have transformed how I manage sensitive analytics and end-to-end AI
One of the things that IBM Cloud Pak for Data does well is the data privacy and security that it offers. Since most of my data is very sensitive, IBM privacy framework helps me secure it very conveniently. In my experience, some of the best features that I encounter in IBM Cloud Pak for Data are the AI and Watson Assistant, which is very good. The analytics dashboard featuring all the recent history is very good with IBM. Searching for data through the unified search option is super cool. Among those features, the artificial intelligence that solves everything automatically stands out as most valuable in my day-to-day work, saving a lot of time. I can also store my data in many clouds with all the desired data. The customer service system is excellent and always willing to help. I would also add that the project analytics dashboard, ability to manage data across different cloud platforms, and end-to-end AI lifecycle are very great. IBM Cloud Pak for Data has positively impacted my organization by helping me see some return on investments. I have the ability to access all my data much quicker through the unified search option. It has also improved data security and governance in my organization very well. I've seen a 30% increase in productivity through the introduction of AI with IBM Cloud Pak for Data, which has really simplified a lot of operations that were manually tackled.
reviewer2784462 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Streaming pipelines have become simpler and onboarding new data sources is now much faster
One of the best features Upsolver offers is the automatic schema evolution. Another good feature is SQL-based streaming transformations. Complex streaming transformations such as cleansing, deduplication, and enrichment were implemented using SQL and drastically reduced the need for custom Spark code. My experience with the SQL-based streaming transformations in Upsolver is that it had a significant positive impact on the overall data engineering workflow. By replacing custom Spark streaming jobs with declarative SQL logic, I simplified development, review, and deployment processes. Data transformations such as parsing, filtering, enrichment, and deduplication could be implemented and modified quickly without rebuilding or redeploying complex code-based pipelines. Upsolver has impacted my organization positively because it brings many benefits. The first one is faster onboarding of new data sources. Another one is more reliable streaming pipelines. Another one is near-real-time data availability, which is very important for us. It also reduced operational effort for data engineering teams. A specific outcome that highlights these benefits is that the time to onboard new sources is reduced from weeks to days. Custom Spark code reduction reached 50 to 40 percent. Pipeline failures are reduced by 70 to 80 percent. Data latency is improved from hours to minutes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would advise others looking into using IBM Cloud Pak for Data that it is a very great tool that is an all-in-one, real-time data analytics solution that provides a phenomenal user experience."
"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 are data virtualization and reporting."
"IBM Cognos is very stable and has been around for many years, with many users familiar with it, making it a reliable solution for our institution."
"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."
"For us, IBM Cloud Pak for Data is the best option on the market at the moment."
"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."
"IBM Cloud Pak for Data has enabled us to access diffuse data quickly across hybrid networks and given our teams an edge in data management through automation while adhering to compliance regulations."
"It was easy to use and set up, with a nearly no-code interface that relied mostly on drag-and-drop functionality."
"Customer service is excellent, and I would rate it between eight point five to nine out of ten."
"A specific outcome that highlights these benefits is that the time to onboard new sources is reduced from weeks to days, custom Spark code reduction reached 50 to 40 percent, pipeline failures are reduced by 70 to 80 percent, and data latency is improved from hours to minutes."
"I have saved 50 to 60% on maintaining pipelines since using Upsolver."
"The most prominent feature of Upsolver is its function as an ETL tool, allowing data to be moved across platforms and different data technologies."
 

Cons

"Areas within IBM Cloud Pak for Data that have room for improvement include user interface design and integration capabilities."
"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."
"More out-of-box integration."
"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 could have more connectors."
"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 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 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."
"Upsolver excels in ETL and data aggregation, while ThoughtSpot is strong in natural language processing for querying datasets. Combining these tools can be very effective: Upsolver handles aggregation and ETL, and ThoughtSpot allows for natural language queries. There’s potential for highlighting these integrations in the future."
"I think that Upsolver can be improved in orchestration because it is not a full orchestration tool."
"I would say Upsolver's scalability is eight out of 10 because of pricing."
"There is room for improvement in query tuning."
"On the stability side, I would rate it seven out of ten. Using multiple cloud providers and data engineering technologies creates complexity, and managing different plugins is not always easy, but they are working on it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"The solution is expensive."
"It's quite expensive."
"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."
"Upsolver is affordable at approximately $225 per terabyte per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
5%
Real Estate/Law Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Retailer
11%
Construction Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Large Enterprise20
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the cost of the product can be a bit higher, especially for a company working on a tight budget.
What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
One of the improvements I think should be made to IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that the cost of the product is a bit higher. Besides cost, I think something that is needed for improvement is that more...
What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
My main use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that it is fully scalable and a scalable platform for data. I use it to provide data solutions for my customers. I also use it to provide various indu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Upsolver?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is nine out of 10.
What needs improvement with Upsolver?
I think Upsolver can be improved with deeper integration with external orchestration out of the box. I would appreciate more clear dashboards with billing in real time as a needed improvement.
What is your primary use case for Upsolver?
My main use case for Upsolver is to operate with changes in the structure of new data without a pipeline disrupting. I write SQL queries in Upsolver, and the platform takes care of the data itself,...
 

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
No data available
 

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. Upsolver and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.