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IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs SSIS 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 InfoSphere Information ...
Ranking in Data Integration
33rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (7th)
SSIS
Ranking in Data Integration
2nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Information Server is 0.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SSIS is 3.6%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SSIS3.6%
IBM InfoSphere Information Server0.9%
Other95.5%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

MI
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.
Chris Farris - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial IBM InfoSphere Information Server is straightforward and you can choose what type of installation you want, such as a customized installation, with clear-cut documentation that, if followed, works fine and the installation has not given us issues."
"Deploying the solution is straightforward for me."
"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."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Data connections, data partitioning, flexibility, and performance are the most valuable features."
"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."
"This solution has reduced the time it takes for ETL. We took an existing Teradata ETL application from three days to eight minutes."
"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."
"We can connect with multiple data sources easily using an external connector in SSIS."
"The setup is straightforward. It's very easy to install."
"I have found its most valuable features to be its package management capabilities and the flexibility it offers in designing workflows."
"The most important features are it works well and provides self-service BI."
"You can get data from any data source with SSIS and dump it to any outside source, and getting, extracting, converting, and dumping data doesn't require much effort because we can do everything in the user interface where you just drag and drop and then give the required input, so it's intuitive."
"I have never had a situation where a particular transformation was not possible in SSIS."
"The return on investment has been very high; the tool has made us tremendously more efficient and saved us a significant amount of money, though I cannot put an exact figure on it."
 

Cons

"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."
"Heavy use of scratch disk which sometimes leads to failure."
"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."
"We have decided to decrease the usage of metadata management because we did not see any significant advantages."
"Customer Service: It's poor."
"Their technical support needs improvement."
"The UI could use refinement."
"Generic processes should be used instead of custom code for each table."
"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."
"Upgrading is usually painful and time consuming despite what MS says"
"Sometimes, there are compatibility issues with some features."
"Performance could be better."
"Again it failed a lot and by a lot I mean every day. The failures were false alarms and caused many sleepless night for our company that I used to work for."
"Microsoft's technical support has decreased in quality over the last few years, becoming less responsive and tending to pass problems on instead of solving them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."
"My advice is to look at what your configuration will be because most companies have their own deals with Microsoft."
"This solution has provided an inexpensive tool, and it is easy to find experienced developers."
"SSIS is a cheaper option compared to the cost of other ETL tools."
"People have to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model."
"SSIS' licensing is a little high, but it gives good value for money."
"If you don't want to pay a lot of money, you can go for SSIS, as its open-source version is available. When it comes to licensing, SSIS can be expensive."
"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."
"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."
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Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
8%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise57
 

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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SSIS?
Pricing is pretty reasonable, so I would rate it at a 5. However, it could be a bit cheaper.
What needs improvement with SSIS?
SSIS could be integrated with more services, such as Power BI, to make the reporting structures more user-friendly. The initial setup for SSIS is somewhat complex in the beginning, but once you und...
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server
SQL Server Integration Services
 

Overview

 

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
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
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. SSIS and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.