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IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs TIBCO Spotfire 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 InfoSphere Information ...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (29th), Metadata Management (6th)
TIBCO Spotfire
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM InfoSphere Information Server and TIBCO Spotfire aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. IBM InfoSphere Information Server is designed for Data Integration and holds a mindshare of 1.0%, up 0.8% compared to last year.
TIBCO Spotfire, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 1.0% since last year.
Data Integration Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM InfoSphere Information Server1.0%
SSIS4.0%
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)3.7%
Other91.3%
Data Integration
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
TIBCO Spotfire1.1%
Microsoft Power BI9.4%
Tableau Enterprise6.7%
Other82.8%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

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.
reviewer2774796 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Governance System Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Clinical teams have transformed trial data into real-time, governed insights for faster decisions
Our client was a biotech company whose clinical pipeline was expanding with teams across clinical operations, biometrics, safety, and translational sciences. All these organizations and departments were drowning in data. Every week, teams stitched together different PowerPoint decks, SAS listings, spreadsheets, and extracts from central labs, CTMS, and warehouses. The problem was not a lack of data but a lack of timely insights. We were constantly asked which sites were falling behind, whether there was any worrying safety drift, or which biomarkers were correlating with response. Analysts would manually rerun scripts or pull static listings, which resulted in delays ranging from two weeks to a month. There were also many inconsistencies in definitions between ORR, PFS censoring rules, and protocol deviation categories, causing confusion and rework. Our client wanted a single analytic environment to serve as a one-stop place where their teams could explore, visualize, and collaborate in real time while maintaining security and regulatory expectations. TIBCO Spotfire became their live analytics workspace. Previously, teams had to collect emailed spreadsheets and various documents. By having one combined place, teams could open dynamic dashboards that were directly governed by curated datasets. The data canvas showed every transformation step, which helped the client maintain traceability for audits. Data functions written in R or Python allowed statisticians to encode and have approved analytic methods that could be used everywhere. Before implementing the tool, we built a framework and strategy. First, we mapped their high-value pain points including trial enrollment forecasting, safety drift monitoring, protocol deviation detection, and biomarker response analysis. Based on these priorities, we defined common language and common rules by aligning calculations with CDISC standards and creating shared data functions for lab shift rules and biomarker classifications. This prevented inconsistent interpretations across studies. We then built the technical foundation by connecting TIBCO Spotfire securely to their EDC, R environment, data lake, and row-level security to ensure adherence to PHI, PII, and regulatory compliances. Clinical operations dashboards provided real-time insights into enrollments and deviations. Safety dashboards were deployed to visualize patterns, biomarker distributions, and tumor burden changes for their cancer-related drug studies. The business validated the dashboards based on GxP principles, and we trained the study teams and built new templates so that trials could launch analytics much faster.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."
"IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable."
"The ability to connect to many different data sources is one of the key features. The other would then be the different ways in which that data can be visualized."
"One of the main features is integrated statistical analysis."
"The flexibility, data preparation, and data wrangling abilities of the platform are exceptional."
"It allows users to quickly analyze data from a variety of sources and visualize it with powerful, interactive graphs, and charts."
"TIBCO Spotfire offers excellent features, including flexibility and the ability to do much better compared to other analytical tools."
"The solution is an affordable one."
"TIBCO Spotfire integrates with R and Python, offering a differentiator from the competition."
"Live Query data on demand, R and Python integration, and the ability to write HTML and JavaScript text areas are all valuable features."
 

Cons

"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."
"Their technical support needs improvement."
"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."
"Unlike other tools, IBM tools do not provide much help from the internet, so additional support should be available."
"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."
"I would like to see the visualization library in this solution expanded, so that I can increase what I can offer to our clients."
"The web client of TIBCO Spotfire lacked the full authoring capabilities available in the analyst client."
"Compared to competitors, the UI is quite dated."
"I would like more easy-to-implement analytical algorithms. At the moment they include things like forecasts and regressions. They need to add a lot more of these types of things to the product because not everyone is a data scientist."
"TIBCO Spotfire can be improved in several areas. The UI can be enhanced, and the usage and flexibility need to be better compared to other analytical tools."
"The initial setup is complicated and needs experience and knowledge."
"We would like an easier way to get the product to the cloud. Right now, we have the on-premise version, and we would like to find a way to make it easier to migrate it over to the cloud."
"One aspect where Spotfire could improve is its global recognition, especially in terms of support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."
"The price-point for this solution is negotiable depending on usage levels."
"I would describe TIBCO Spotfire as an averagely-priced product."
"The pricing seems competitive and reasonable. The value delivered by the product far exceeds the cost."
"The cost of TIBCO Spotfire could improve. It should be less expensive. It's the most expensive visualization tool in our company."
"This product carries a monthly licensing charge, with the amount depending on the features that are to be included. This costs also covers the use of technical support."
"The solution is affordable one."
"The Tibco sales teams have been very difficult to work with - ignoring requests, misrepresenting level of demand, etc."
"The cost is a few hundred dollars per user per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
18%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Insurance Company
8%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise42
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
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 Ser...
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?
Currently, IBM InfoSphere Information Server is deployed on-premises in my organization. Mostly it is on-premises only, but slowly things are changing towards pro-cloud. It will not be a public clo...
What do you like most about TIBCO Spotfire?
TIBCO Spotfire is easy to use. We initiated Spotfire as POC, with support from a tech team based in South Africa. While they assisted with the setup, we conducted the POC ourselves.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Spotfire?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for TIBCO Spotfire appears fair, and I think they are fairly priced as far as the features are concerned.
What needs improvement with TIBCO Spotfire?
TIBCO Spotfire can be improved in several areas. The UI can be enhanced, and the usage and flexibility need to be better compared to other analytical tools.
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server
Spotfire
 

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
Allergan, ASSS de Montreal, Avantium, Blue River, Bank of Montreal, Citibank, FrieslandCampina, Hellmann Logistics, Merck, Novartis
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. TIBCO Spotfire and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.