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IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs TIBCO Spotfire comparison

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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
9
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (33rd), Metadata Management (8th)
TIBCO Spotfire
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (10th)
 

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 0.8%, down 0.9% compared to last year.
TIBCO Spotfire, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 1.3% mindshare, up 1.1% since last year.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM InfoSphere Information Server0.8%
SSIS4.0%
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)3.8%
Other91.4%
Data Integration
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
TIBCO Spotfire1.3%
Microsoft Power BI7.6%
Tableau Enterprise6.3%
Other84.8%
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.
reviewer2835996 - PeerSpot reviewer
Operations Analyst at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Interactive dashboards have transformed reporting and now support real-time data-driven decisions
One area that could improve in TIBCO Spotfire is performance with very large data sets. I use the advanced scripting feature less often, but the visualization and dashboard features are very useful in my daily work with TIBCO Spotfire. TIBCO Spotfire can be improved in handling very large data, faster dashboard loading, simpler advanced scripting, and better customization options for visualizations. Integration with some external tools in TIBCO Spotfire can be smoother, and the user interface for advanced features could be more beginner-friendly. A more intuitive navigation system, a cleaner interface, and an easier drag-and-drop option for report building would also make it more useful.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Deploying the solution is straightforward for me."
"IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Reduces the loading and development time for Datawarehouse ETL."
"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 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."
"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."
"We used it pretty heavily in gathering data, which goes to our VPs. They are able to base their next revenue planning based on this metric. So, it has been invaluable."
"One of the main features is integrated statistical analysis."
"ROI can also be measured by the fact that Spotfire can integrate with existing IT infrastructure and existing IT expertise."
"The advanced settings in the dialog box for visualization options are comprehensive and easy to use."
"Live Query data on demand, R and Python integration, and the ability to write HTML and JavaScript text areas are all valuable features."
"It is a great tool."
"Technical support is exceptional."
"With a bit of experience, end users will find Spotfire wonderful for ad-hoc analysis."
 

Cons

"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."
"Unlike other tools, IBM tools do not provide much help from the internet, so additional support should be available."
"We have decided to decrease the usage of metadata management because we did not see any significant advantages."
"Heavy use of scratch disk which sometimes leads to failure."
"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."
"Their technical support needs improvement."
"The layered features within Spotfire can make it a bit complicated sometimes as compared to Power BI."
"The initial setup is complex when you use Spotfire Server."
"I would like to have event-based automation (without integrating with other tools), e.g., send an email only if some event has occurred."
"TIBCO Spotfire and ClickView need improvement in scheduling, which is critical yet lacking in quality."
"The support is not very good in Indonesia."
"The initial setup is complicated and needs experience and knowledge."
"The initial setup of TIBCO Spotfire is in the middle range of difficulty. The initial setup of Power BI is easier."
"The user interface could be more graphical, it would make it more user friendly and flexible."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."
"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 ROI is nearly impossible to calculate."
"The cost of TIBCO Spotfire could improve. It should be less expensive. It's the most expensive visualization tool in our company."
"In comparison to other solutions such as IBM Cognos, TIBCO Spotfire is more affordable."
"The price-point for this solution is negotiable depending on usage levels."
"The solution is affordable one."
"The pricing seems competitive and reasonable. The value delivered by the product far exceeds the cost."
"The Tibco sales teams have been very difficult to work with - ignoring requests, misrepresenting level of demand, etc."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare 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 Business20
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise44
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Spotfire?
I really had no control in the area of pricing, setup cost, and licensing as I was just the end-user of the product.
What needs improvement with TIBCO Spotfire?
I think TIBCO Spotfire could be improved by having better training, as the setup is probably the hardest aspect to get familiar with. Once you do, it becomes straightforward. Better training and ea...
What is your primary use case for TIBCO Spotfire?
My main use case for TIBCO Spotfire is to showcase and visualize large bodies of data in charts and categorize them to identify trends and determine what works and what does not work from an analyt...
 

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 Informatica, Palantir, Microsoft and others in Data Integration. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.