IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs Palantir Foundry comparison

IBM and Palantir are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.9, while Palantir is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.6. IBM holds a 5.2% mindshare in DI, compared to Palantir’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Palantir users who would recommend it.

IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Read 42 IBM InfoSphere DataStage reviews

6,850 Views
5,826 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Palantir Foundry

Read 16 Palantir Foundry reviews

5,616 Views
2,943 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Palantir Foundry

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

IBM InfoSphere DataStage and Palantir Foundry compete in the data integration and analytics category. DataStage appears to have an edge in ETL and data warehousing due to its scalability and transformation capabilities, while Foundry excels in real-time integration and comprehensive analytics.

Features: IBM InfoSphere DataStage offers robust ETL capabilities and scalability, making it suitable for handling large datasets and complex data transformations. Its strong metadata management and ease of integration allow for seamless operation in diverse environments. Palantir Foundry is noted for its powerful data visualization and real-time integration features, simplifying complex data workflows and providing comprehensive analytics within a single platform.

Room for Improvement: IBM DataStage could improve its scheduling mechanisms and enhance native support for modern technologies like Spark and HBase. The lack of cloud integration and complexity in setup are noted drawbacks. Palantir Foundry faces challenges with a steep learning curve and high costs. Enhancements in frontend capabilities and support for semi-structured data could improve its efficiency and user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM DataStage primarily relies on on-premises deployment with some hybrid capabilities, offering flexibility but posing setup challenges. Palantir Foundry is cloud-tailored, providing easy deployment and integration. Both products have similar customer service ratings, though DataStage receives mixed reviews due to regional discrepancies, while Foundry often requires additional clarification during use.

Pricing and ROI: Both are high-end solutions with pricing generally leaning toward the higher side. DataStage may be more cost-effective due to traditional licensing with comprehensive support. Foundry's price might be justified for simplifying data management in enterprises. ROI varies widely based on specific project scopes, with larger enterprises likely to benefit more from these investments.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs. Palantir Foundry Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs. Palantir Foundry

May 2025

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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 InfoSphere DataStage

Ranking in Data Integration

6th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Palantir Foundry

Ranking in Data Integration

14th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Operations Analytics (8th), Supply Chain Analytics (1st), Cloud Data Integration (12th), Data Migration Appliances (3rd), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (1st), Data and Analytics Service Providers (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere DataStage is 5.2%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palantir Foundry is 2.8%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Rahul Saxena

Manager - Business Technology Solutions at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

A helpful and cost-effective tool that performs well and is very easy to use

I deal with companies from the healthcare industry. The solutions are largely cloud-based. In data-rich industries like telecom or BFSI, such tools are extensively used. Healthcare also has a lot of data. I will encourage people to use the solution. It is quite an easy tool. Every stage has a help guide. It’s an extensive documentation. We can understand the purpose of a stage, how the connection has to be set up, how to set up a username and password, and whom we should contact. New users must start using the tool and explore it. They might have to invest ten days or two weeks to understand the workflows and options. It is easy to learn. My company is a partner with IBM. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

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Rama Subba Reddy Thavva

Solution Architect at Mercedes-Benz AG

A low-code/no-code platform with a user-friendly UI

We couldn't implement or use some of the latest functionalities, like Spark. Palantir Foundry is scalable, but it is costly compared to other cloud providers. The solution is more suitable for small and medium businesses. It might be difficult for large enterprises. I rate the solution’s scalability a seven out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It works with multiple servers and offers high availability."

"We can view what we want to do. We can transform data and put them on tables."

"In IBM DataStage, the Transformer is the most valuable feature for me. It enables me to apply complex transformations, generate the gateway key, and map source tables into the session table."

"The product is a stable and powerful data management solution that can run in parallel mode for enhanced speed."

"The solution is stable."

"We like the flexibility of modeling."

"Once you have Infosphere up and running properly, it is stable."

"It's a robust solution."

More IBM InfoSphere DataStage pros

"The AI engine that comes with Palantir Foundry is quite interesting."

"It is easy to map out a workflow and run trigger-based scripts without having to deploy to another server."

"The virtualization tool is useful."

"The data lineage is great."

"It's scalable."

"The security is also excellent. It's highly granular, so the admins have a high degree of control, and there are many levels of security. That worked well. You won't have an EDC unless you put everything onto the platform because it is its own isolated thing."

"Palantir Foundry is a robust platform that has really strong plugin connectors and provides features for real-time integration."

"Live video sessions enhance the available documentation and allow you to ask questions directly."

More Palantir Foundry pros

Cons

"We would be happy to see in next versions the ability to return several parameters from jobs. Now, jobs can return just one parameter. If they could return several parameters, that would be great."

"I'd like to be able to do more with the data and metadata, including copy and pasting, et cetera."

"I really like this tool, but the administration should be on the same client application because a lot of administration features are not on the client-side, and they usually need to have administrative access. It's quite complicated to force IT teams to have separate administrative access from the developers."

"Improvements for DataStage could include better integration with modern data sources like cloud solutions and documents, along with enhancing its capability to handle non-structured data."

"The template mapping could be easier."

"Currently, the solution does not support cloud migration."

"The interface needs work to be more user-friendly."

"It takes a lot of time to actually trigger your job and then go into the logs and other stuff. So all of this is really time-consuming."

More IBM InfoSphere DataStage cons

"The solution's visualization and analysis could be improved."

"If you want to create new models on specific data sets, computing that is quite costly."

"The frontend capabilities of Palantir Foundry could be improved."

"Difficult to receive data from external sources."

"There is not a wide user base for the solution's online documentation so it is sometimes difficult to find answers."

"Cost of this solution is quite high."

"It would be helpful to build applications based on Azure functions or web apps in Palantir Foundry."

"The data lineage was challenging. It's hard to track data from the sources as it moves through stages. Informatica EDC can easily capture and report it because it talks to the metadata. This is generated across those various staging points."

More Palantir Foundry cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"High-cost of ownership: They could take a page from open source software."

"The cost is too high."

"Pricing varies based on use, and it is not as costly as some competing enterprise solutions."

"I have no information on the exact pricing for IBM InfoSphere DataStage because the solution is usually procured by the clients my company works with, though the pricing is higher compared to other solutions, so many clients choose to go with a different solution rather than IBM InfoSphere DataStage."

"The price is expensive but there are no licensing fees."

"The pricing depends on the setup. However, we paid $100,000 as a one-time cost for an on-premises setup."

"Small and medium-sized companies cannot afford to pay for this solution."

"Our internal team takes care of group licensing and cost. We don't have individual licenses. We have group licensing at the company level. Usually, IBM doesn't charge anything separately on the licensing side. For storage and everything else, we are paying around $6,000 per month, which is not very high. It includes Linux data storage, execution, and licensing. They're charging $40 for one-hour execution. Based on that, we are spending around $2,000 on the production environment and $1,000 on the lower environment for testing and development-side executions. For the mainframe, we are using the Db2 mainframe database, and we are spending around $1,000 on the Db2 mainframe database as well. All this comes out to be around $6,000. We, however, would like to have some cost reduction."

More IBM InfoSphere DataStage pricing and cost advice

"Palantir Foundry has different pricing models that can be negotiated."

"It's expensive."

"Palantir Foundry is an expensive solution."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Would you upgrade to more premium versions of IBM InfoSphere DataStage?

My company currently uses the free version of the product, and we are definitely switching to a paid one. We needed a tool that can help us not only integrate our data but use it effectively. For ...

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Is IBM InfoSphere DataStage more difficult to use compared to other tools in the field?

I think the tool may cause some difficulties if you have not used other data integration solutions before. I have worked at companies that used different tools for data integration, and they work ...

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Do you rely on IBM Cloud Paks for your data? Have you utilized this product, or do you use IBM InfoSphere DataStage without it?

IBM Cloud Paks makes a big difference in your data integration. My company has been using it alongside IBM InfoSphere DataStage and while the main product is good on its own, this one truly expands...

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What do you like most about Palantir Foundry?

Palantir Foundry is a robust platform that has really strong plugin connectors and provides features for real-time integration.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Palantir Foundry?

Palantir Foundry is missing marketing, which could help it grow. Additionally, the startup pricing is high, causing concern despite being cost-effective in terms of total cost of ownership. Palanti...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Palantir Foundry?

I am getting into the ontology space using Palantir Foundry. The primary use case is for developing a common business model that includes data, people, and processes, essentially describing how bus...

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Compared 13% of the time

SSIS vs IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Compared 12% of the time

Talend Open Studio vs IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Compared 11% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Compared 9% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM InfoSphere DataStage Competitors

Azure Data Factory vs Palantir Foundry

Compared 8% of the time

Palantir Gotham vs Palantir Foundry

Compared 5% of the time

SAP Data Services vs Palantir Foundry

Compared 4% of the time

Aera vs Palantir Foundry

Compared 4% of the time

Domo vs Palantir Foundry

Compared 4% of the time

More Palantir Foundry Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM InfoSphere DataStage

April 2025

Download IBM InfoSphere DataStage product report

Buyer's Guide

Palantir Foundry

May 2025

Download Palantir Foundry product report

Overview

IBM InfoSphere DataStage is a high-quality data integration tool that aims to design, develop, and run jobs that move and transform data for organizations of different sizes. The product works by integrating data across multiple systems through a high-performance parallel framework. It supports extended metadata management, enterprise connectivity, and integration of all types of data.

The solution is the data integration component of IBM InfoSphere Information Server, providing a graphical framework for moving data from source systems to target systems. IBM InfoSphere DataStage can deliver data to data warehouses, data marts, operational data sources, and other enterprise applications. The tool works with various types of patterns - extract, transform and load (ETL), and extract, load, and transform (ELT). The scalability of the platform is achieved by using parallel processing and enterprise connectivity.

The solution has various versions, catering to different types of companies, which include the Server Edition, the Enterprise Edition, and the MVS Edition. Depending on which version a company has bought, different goals can be achieved. They include the following:

Designing data flows to extract information from multiple sources, transform the data, and deliver it to target databases or applications.
Delivery of relevant and accurate data through direct connections to enterprise applications.
Reduction of development time and improvement of consistency through prebuilt functions.
Utilization of InfoSphere Information Server tools for accelerating the project delivery cycle.

IBM InfoSphere DataStage can be deployed in various ways, including:

As a service: The tool can be accessed from a subscription model, where its capabilities are a part of IBM DataStage on IBM Cloud Park for Data as a Service. This option offers full management on IBM Cloud.
On premises or in any cloud: The two editions - IBM DataStage Enterprise and IBM DataStage Enterprise Plus - can run workloads on premises or in any cloud when added to IBM DataStage on IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service.
On premises: The basic jobs of the tool can be run on premises using IBM DataStage.

IBM InfoSphere DataStage Features

The tool has various features through which users can integrate and utilize their data effectively. The components of IBM InfoSphere DataStage include:

AI services: The tool offers services such as data science, event messaging, data warehousing, and data virtualization. It accelerates processes through artificial intelligence (AI) and offers a connection with IBM Cloud Paks - the cloud-native insight platform of the solution.
Parallel engine: Through this feature, ETL performance can be optimized to process data at scale. This is achieved through parallel engine and load balancing, which maximizes throughput.
Metadata support: This feature of the product uses the IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog to protect companies' sensitive data and monitor who can access it and at what levels.
Automated delivery pipelines: IBM InfoSphere DataStage reduces costs by automating continuous integration and delivery of pipelines.
Prebuilt connectors: The feature for prebuilt connectivity and stages allows users to move data between multiple cloud sources and data warehouses, including IBM native products.
IBM DataStage Flow Designer: This feature offers assistance through machine learning design. The product offers its clients a user-friendly interface which facilitates the work process.
IBM InfoSphere QualityStage: The tool provides a feature that automatically resolves data quality issues and increases the reliability of the delivered data.
Automated failure detection: Through this feature, companies can reduce infrastructure management efforts, relying on the automated detection that the tool offers.
Distributed data processing: Cloud runtimes can be executed remotely through this feature while maintaining its sovereignty and decreasing costs.

IBM InfoSphere DataStage Benefits

This solution offers many benefits for the companies that utilize it for data integration. Some of these benefits include:

Increased speed of workload execution due to better balancing and a parallel engine.
Reduction of data movement costs through integrations and seamless design of jobs.
Modernization of data integration by extending the capabilities of companies' data.
Delivery of reliable data through IBM Cloud Pak for Data.
Utilization of a drag-and-drop interface which assists in the delivery of data without the need for code.
Effective data manipulation allows data to be merged before being mapped and transformed.
Creating easier access of users to their data by providing visual maps of the process and the delivered data.

Reviews from Real Users

A data/solution architect at a computer software company says the product is robust, easy to use, has a simple error logging mechanism, and works very well for huge volumes of data.

Tirthankar Roy Chowdhury, team leader at Tata Consultancy Services, feels the tool is user-friendly with a lot of functionalities, and doesn't require much coding because of its drag-and-drop features.

IBM

Palantir Foundry is an enterprise data management platform offering comprehensive tooling for working with big data. Because it is an operating system made for modern enterprises, it is highly available and a continuously updated platform.

Palantir Foundry is a fully managed SaaS platform that spans from cloud hosting and data integration to flexible analytics, visualization, model-building, operational decision-making, and decision capture. It equips technical and non-technical users to make data-driven operational decisions.

Palantir Foundry includes tools to integrate data of any scale, format, or structure, and also has granular, flexible access controls for individual datasets. In addition, it has an open, modular architecture with multiple RESTful APIs, it has native applications for developing machine learning and artificial intelligence, it provides sophisticated data science applications for users of all technical abilities, and much more.

Palantir Foundry Features

The most valuable Palantir Foundry features include:

Security, flexibility, interoperability, easy deployment, built-in role classification, purpose-based access controls, interoperable architecture, model integration, AI modeling tools, ontology, custom workflows, team-specific applications, self-serve analytics, lineage system, operational application building, 200+ data connectors, data versioning, change management framework, sand decision orchestration, and custom dashboard and report building tools.

With Palantir Foundry You Can:

Accelerate development & operations
Collaborate globally
Save time on security
Reduce costs

Palantir Foundry Benefits

Some of the many Palantir Foundry benefits include:

Modular: Because Palantir Foundry is modular, it can integrate with existing infrastructure.
Granular governance: Robust data governance controls help ensure seamless compliance, auditability, and security.
Secure data sharing: The security infrastructure allows you to share data securely, within organizations and with chosen partners.
Rapid integration: Palantir Foundry can rapidly integrate models and data from data platforms into an operational ontology, and can also fuel existing data platforms.
Stand-alone deployment: Palantir Foundry can be deployed standalone and can provide all necessary capabilities for data connection, data integration, and model building.
Prevent lock-in: The data and model integration suites are designed to prevent lock-in, and assume that tools will be interoperating with Palantir Foundry as an organization grows.
No SQL necessary: Users do not have to use SQL queries or employ engineers to write strings in order to search petabytes of data. With Palantir Foundry, natural language is used to query data and results are returned in real-time.
Excellent data integration: Palantir Foundry provides secure, scalable, and resilient integration of all data sources.
Availability: The Palantir platform uses DNS routing, gateways and elastic load balancing to ensure availability. Dedicated accounts and virtual resources are used on a per customer basis.
Multiple metrics types: The Palantir platform provides hundreds of metrics. Some include average session length, drop-off rate, number of logins per user, number of accounts, and search speed.

Reviews from Real Users

PeerSpot users like Palantir Foundry because it has many advantages:

“It is user-friendly, good automation, and allows you to do a better job of data governance.” - Associate, Inhouse Consulting at a pharma/biotech company

“Works seamlessly with good end-to-end capabilities and the capability to scale.” - Wallace H., Sr. Director at a tech services company

Palantir

Sample Customers

Dubai Statistics Center, Etisalat Egypt

Merck KGaA, Airbus, Ferrari,United States Intelligence Community, United States Department of Defense

Buyer's Guide

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs. Palantir Foundry

May 2025

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