IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs Quest Data Intelligence comparison

IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. Quest Data Intelligence

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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 Information ...

Ranking in Metadata Management

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Integration (33rd)

Quest Data Intelligence

Ranking in Metadata Management

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Governance (17th), AI Governance (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Metadata Management category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Information Server is 2.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest Data Intelligence is 7.5%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Metadata Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Quest Data Intelligence	7.5%
IBM InfoSphere Information Server	2.7%
Other	89.8%

Metadata Management

Featured Reviews

MOHAMMAD-IQBAL

Senior Data Engineer at Mohammed Mansour Alrumiah

Faced challenges with customer support and documentation but have benefited from reliable data integration over the years

As for utilizing the platform's metadata management feature, I have not worked on that feature yet, but personally, I have done that. To evaluate the effectiveness of IBM InfoSphere Information Server's data integration capabilities, if IBM is providing all the solutions we are using, then it is definitely a helpful thing. Mostly, the other thing is that it is a big area including data governance, data lineage, data management, and metadata, but every customer is not putting that much effort and money on that. They mostly migrate the data, use it, and forget it, but slowly things are changing. I am working in Saudi Arabia, so here also data governance, data management, and those kinds of things are getting attention. Regarding how scalable IBM InfoSphere Information Server is, I need to learn how to tune performance and scalability on the cloud. I am familiar with localized hardware, but on the cloud, I still have to do the work around it. In the beginning, we estimate the load and based on that, we put the hardware, but if there is continuous increase, I believe IBM also faces problems. Scalability needs to be improved because once the demand comes, you should be able to improve it, but for that, documentation on how to add hardware or resources to the software needs to be proper. I do not have much hands-on experience with that.

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Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Automated lineage and business glossaries have improved data understanding and collaboration

I am open to answering a few questions about erwin Data Intelligence and sharing my opinion about the product. Regarding the analytic part of the product, I find it very interesting that erwin Data Intelligence has its own inbuilt reporting toolset, with a new version coming out in January that will be AI-powered. This means you will be able to write analytical reports and questions based on the metadata and data lineage, making it more powerful than the current version, as AI will assist in creating those reports and performing analysis on the metadata. I find that the time taken to realize value from erwin Data Intelligence can be quite long. Creating a data catalog and developing data lineage takes significant time, and I expect that AI will help accelerate the process of creating data products by streamlining the steps involved. I can recommend erwin Data Intelligence to other users. I would rate this review as an eight out of ten overall.

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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

"This solution has reduced the time it takes for ETL. We took an existing Teradata ETL application from three days to eight minutes."

"Reduces the loading and development time for Datawarehouse ETL."

"Data connections, data partitioning, flexibility, and performance are the most valuable features."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Over the years of working with IBM InfoSphere Information Server, I see basically the strength of the tool, capability, and load balancing, which I see is really good."

"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."

"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."

"Deploying the solution is straightforward for me."

More IBM InfoSphere Information Server pros

"Erwin DI checked all the boxes for us."

"The data catalog feature is pretty good."

"Data Intelligence allows us to automate multiple tasks we had previously done manually, such as restructuring the metadata for our purposes, setting up ETL flows, and defining the data tables we create. It also enables us to standardize our approach and our technical processes."

"Overall, DI's data cataloging, data literacy, and automation have helped our decision-makers because when a source wants to change something, we immediately know what the impact is going to be downstream."

"When you combine it with data lineage, every time you need to make a change, it allows you to do impact analysis on any changes and then connect to the end-users or data stewards so that they can be aware that a change is coming. That's one of the main benefits we use it for."

"The biggest benefit with erwin DI is that I have a single source of truth that I can send anybody to. If anybody doesn't know the answer we can go back to it. Just having a central location of business rules is good."

"The interface is easy to use. I also like Erwin's automatic data classification and data quality checks."

"Data Intelligence creates a single source of truth for all of our metadata. This solution is better for data warehousing, but the metadata features speed up our development work. It's easy to create and manage mappings because we can export them to Informatica and pick up the work where we left off."

More Quest Data Intelligence pros

Cons

"Their technical support needs improvement."

"Unlike other tools, IBM tools do not provide much help from the internet, so additional support should be available."

"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."

"IBM InfoSphere Information Server should be more scalable. It should have the option to change the configuration to run on a single, non-multiple node, or multi-threading processing."

"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."

"Customer Service: It's poor."

"Heavy use of scratch disk which sometimes leads to failure."

"We have decided to decrease the usage of metadata management because we did not see any significant advantages."

"There was a huge learning curve, and I'd been in software development for most of my career. The application itself, and how it runs menus and screens when you can modify and code, is complex. I have found that kind of cumbersome."

"We still need another layer of data quality assessments on the source to see if it is sending us the wrong data or if there are some issues with the source data. For those things, we need a rule-based data quality assessment or scoring where we can assess tools or other technology stacks. We need to be able to leverage where the business comes in, defining some business rules and have the ability to execute those rules, then score the data quality of all those attributes. Data quality is definitely not what we are leveraging from this tool, as of today."

"The fact that I sometimes have to go in and out of different applications, even though it's all part of the whole erwin suite, perhaps means it could be architected a little bit better. I think they do have some ideas for improvements there."

"The metadata ingestion is very nice because of the ability to automate it. It would be nice to be able to do this ingestion, or set it up, from one place, instead of having to set it up separately for every data asset that is ingested."

"There may be some opportunities for improvement in terms of the user interface to make it a little bit more intuitive."

"The data quality assessment requires third-party components and a separate license."

"There are always ways to improve things. For example, we can use AI to be able to find out something. When we are typing something, if we don't know the exact term, Artificial Intelligence would be useful to find terms that are phonetically or syntactically similar. Instead of having to type in the exact name, they can provide those in the list. So, they can provide AI support for the search because when you have thousands and thousands of terms, it is hard to remember all the names."

"The integration with various metadata sources, including erwin Data Modeler, isn't smooth in the current version."

More Quest Data Intelligence cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."

"The price is reasonable, and a subscription is required."

"You buy a seat license for your portal. We have 100 seats for the portal, then you buy just the development licenses for the people who are going to put the data in."

"We operate on a yearly subscription and because it is an enterprise license we only have one. It is not dependent on the number of users."

"The licensing cost is around $7,000 for user. This is an estimation."

"Erwin Data Catalog is very expensive."

"The whole suite, not just the DI but the modeling software, the harvester, Mapping Manager — everything we have — is about $100,000 a year for our renewals. That works out to each module being something like $8,000 to $10,000."

"Smart Data Connectors have some costs, and then there are user-based licenses. We spend roughly $150,000 per year on the solution. It is a yearly subscription license that basically includes the cost for Smart Data Connectors and user-based licenses. We have around 30 data stewards who maintain definitions, and then we have five IT users who basically maintain the overall solution. It is not a SaaS kind of operation, and there is an infrastructure cost to host this solution, which is our regular AWS hosting cost."

"The licensing cost was very affordable at the time of purchase. It has since been taken over by erwin, then Quest. The tool has gotten a bit more costly, but they are adding more features very quickly."

More Quest Data Intelligence pricing and cost advice

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916,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Construction Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Government

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	16

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

We are using the on-premises version of IBM InfoSphere Information Server, but we feel that all new development is mainly for the cloud. We receive corrections of errors, but we do not see new func...

What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

My usual use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server is ETL, where we take data from one source to another data warehouse solution.

What advice do you have for others considering IBM InfoSphere Information Server?

We are about to change our platform from IBM AIX to SUSE Linux, as our whole platform is changing, so everyone should change from IBM to SUSE Linux. It would be very difficult for us to have a diff...

What needs improvement with erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

In my opinion, the analytics part of erwin Data Intelligence is not satisfactory. The name 'Intelligence' is not related specifically to analytics; it is focused on data governance with no advanced...

What is your primary use case for erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

My main use case for erwin Data Intelligence is applying it and the DQ Labs in a financial institution.

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The integration of business glossaries has significantly helped improve collaboration in our organization. We define the business glossaries first during meetings with the business, and then we bul...

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Product Reports

Data Integration

Download IBM InfoSphere Information Server product report

IBM InfoSphere Information Server report

Quest Data Intelligence

Download Quest Data Intelligence product report

Also Known As

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server

erwin DG, erwin Data Governance, erwin Data Catalog

Overview

IBM InfoSphere Information Server integrates seamlessly with both structured and unstructured data environments, offering advanced ETL capabilities and efficient data handling for large-scale enterprise applications.

IBM InfoSphere Information Server is designed for enterprise-level data integration with a focus on efficient ETL processes. It excels in moving data between sources and data warehouses, particularly valuable in sectors such as retail banking. Users leverage its robust Parallel Extender for improved processing efficiency and DataStage administration for comprehensive task management. However, areas like technical support and scalability require growth, especially for cloud-based deployments. While the Cloud Pak for Data enables acceleration on the cloud, the on-premises approach often remains tied to traditional hardware configurations.

What are the crucial features?

Parallel Extender: Enhances data processing efficiency.
DataStage Administration: Facilitates comprehensive management of ETL tasks.
Change Capture: Monitors and tracks data modifications effectively.
Handling Partitioned Databases: Enables efficient data management across partitions.
Metadata Management: Despite limitations, offers basic insights and tracking.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Cloud Pak for Data: Accelerates data transformation in cloud environments.
ETL Capabilities: Provides robust extraction, transformation, and loading processes.
Versatility: Handles both structured and unstructured data efficiently.
Bulk Loads Parameter Sets: Enhances loading efficiency with bulk operations.

IBM InfoSphere Information Server is widely implemented in industries that require heavy data transformation, such as retail and financial services. Its robust ETL processes are essential for moving critical data between systems, ensuring streamlined data flow and integration across various platforms.

IBM

erwin Data Intelligence is a comprehensive platform for metadata management, data cataloging, and governance. It enables organizations to gain insights, improve traceability, and streamline compliance through its advanced features.

Focusing on data lineage, metadata repositories, and seamless integrations, erwin Data Intelligence provides a unified perspective of enterprise data. Its robust capabilities include Smart Data Connectors for automation, efficient data visualization with mind maps, and adaptable metadata properties. While the platform integrates well into existing systems, areas for improvement include automation, SDK inconsistencies, and the need for better data quality assessments. Use cases highlight its importance in enhancing business data models and regulatory compliance.

What are the key features of erwin Data Intelligence?

Single Source of Truth: Centralizes data for consistent information across the organization.
Smart Data Connectors: Automate connections to data sources, enhancing efficiency.
Data Lineage: Tracks data pathways for better traceability and understanding.
Business Glossaries: Enables clear definitions and shared vocabulary for all users.
Metadata Management: Streamlines metadata organization and retrieval.
Impact Analysis: Assesses implications of data changes rapidly and accurately.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Efficiency: Automation scripts reduce manual processes and increase productivity.
Improved Data Visualization: Mind maps facilitate an intuitive understanding of complex data.
Customizable Properties: Adapt metadata attributes to fit specific organizational requirements.
Unified View: Offers a comprehensive perspective of data governance practices.

Industries implementing erwin Data Intelligence often focus on mapping data sources and integrating governance with ETL tools. This supports comprehensive data management strategies, enabling business teams to better locate, understand, and utilize data effectively. Its application in metadata management and automated reporting is particularly valuable in sectors requiring stringent regulatory compliance.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Canadian National Railway Company, Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce, Swedish Armed Forces, BG RCI, Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., University of Arizona, Biogrid Australia

Oracle, Infosys, GSK, Toyota Motor Sales, HSBC

IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. Quest Data Intelligence