IBM InfoSphere Optim vs IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server comparison

IBM and IDERA are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. IBM is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.0, while IDERA is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 2.6% mindshare in DDM, compared to IDERA’s 4.3% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of IDERA users who would recommend it.

IBM InfoSphere Optim

Read 4 IBM InfoSphere Optim reviews

635 Views
533 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manage...

Read 9 IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server reviews

840 Views
622 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM InfoSphere Optim

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manage...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

IBM InfoSphere Optim and IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server compete in data management and SQL server monitoring. IDERA holds the upper hand in terms of features and SQL server-specific capabilities, although IBM offers better pricing and support.

Features: IBM InfoSphere Optim offers data archiving, test data management, and data privacy solutions, providing data lifecycle management. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager delivers real-time performance monitoring, alerting, and diagnostic tools tailored for SQL Servers, enhancing efficiency. The SQL server-specific features in IDERA attract database administrators seeking specialized tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager has straightforward deployment with helpful customer support, simplifying integration into existing systems. IBM InfoSphere Optim may require more complex integration and setup, making IDERA preferable for companies needing quick deployment.

Pricing and ROI: IBM InfoSphere Optim is competitively priced with incremental ROI through its data management capabilities. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager, although more costly initially, offers rapid ROI by improving system performance and reducing downtime. The choice depends on whether the priority is cost-effectiveness or performance gains.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM InfoSphere Optim vs. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM InfoSphere Optim vs. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server

July 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 Optim

Ranking in Database Development and Management

16th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manage...

Ranking in Database Development and Management

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Event Monitoring (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Optim is 2.6%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server is 4.3%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

Kenneth Estanislao

Solutions Designer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

Backups become efficient while cost concerns remain

I am still working with IBM and we are transitioning to other tools rather than using IBM InfoSphere Optim. We use other tools, but I cannot recall the name because I am not the one currently handling it. It has transitioned to other architects. For IBM InfoSphere Optim, we are still currently using it, but we have transitioned to the newer version, the latest one with support for AWS S3. I cannot identify a main competitor for IBM InfoSphere Optim because we have transitioned to other architects, and they are the ones looking for other tools. The last comparison I did was almost 4 years ago. I am not using any AI technology with IBM InfoSphere Optim. I rate IBM InfoSphere Optim a seven out of ten. The tool is good, but the price is not favorable as it is the most expensive part. I can recommend IBM InfoSphere Optim for enterprises.

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reviewer2317098

Assistant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Offers effective monitoring of resources but lacks the ability to connect to an AWS instance and write custom queries.

We use it mainly for monitoring, including CPU, memory, and disk space, and for troubleshooting purposes We've set up alerts to notify us when performance deviates from the baseline we've configured for each resource. So, whenever that happens, we get an alert and can investigate immediately. So,…

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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

"I feel the solution to be a bit faster than the traditional methods, which makes it easy to customize."

"The compression feature is valuable because it achieves around 80% compression."

"We like that we can easily restore the database with just a few clicks. The database is linked as well."

"The most valuable features are disk space projections for planning, and also the Snapshotting ability, to look back in time, to see what was going on the server at a particular time. It's basically the output of an sp_who2."

"Monitors and alerts on our mission critical instances in real-time on a 24/7 basis."

"SQL DM made troubleshooting much easier and allowed multiple people to look into an issue with confidence."

"The best part of SQL DM is the ability to customize alerts and counters. This allows our team to find an issue then alert on the issue at a granular level."

"Memory and CPU utilization features are good."

"The ability to go back and look at historical data is the most valuable feature."

"We're able to diagnose issues prior to their actually becoming issues. Without the alerting, we wouldn't have a clue as to what was going to happen. With the alerting, it gives us a heads-up that a specific threshold has been met, and we need to take specific action."

Cons

"The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive."

"While the solution is very supportive of Db2, it is not so friendly when it comes to IMS databases."

"We're looking for a solution that can be implemented on AWS. IBM InfoSphere Optim can be implemented on AWS, but it costs more than double what we're currently paying. So, it's not really of good value for us."

"We don't find that it helps us with performance monitoring and diagnostics. We find that SentryOne does that better. Also, in terms of alerts, we had to customize them dramatically so that we didn't get alerted on every little thing."

"They can improve checking the status of the CPU, memory, and IO utilization from each task."

"I'm going to do an upgrade which may resolve my issues, but one area for improvement is its ability to handle the amount of data that we collect with it. We're likely one of the largest installations, with over 300 servers being collected with this product, and sometimes there are gaps. That would really be my only concern, in terms of how the data is collected and stored, for consistency."

"The initial setup gives too many user rights to the server, so you have to put a user that is part administrator's group - that's the preferred way - on each server, which is kind of a risk. You want to do least privilege and you're not doing that."

"I would absolutely love to create customized dashboards but, unfortunately, they don't provide me the information that I need to create the report. The report I need is the detail or the transaction detail that's happening on those Snapshots. I'd like to be able to go back through time and search for things. I don't have that functionality, which is very disappointing. That's pretty bad and frustrating because I could query it and find out so much information about what's hitting my environment and when, but instead, they want control over it and to not give me that information. So it's encrypted. I can't pull it out and that is really bothersome."

"One thing I'd like to see is the ability to view the execution plan and have the system automatically recommend potential query optimizations, especially at the query level."

"It would helpful if SQL DM could mark when changes are made within the program."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM InfoSphere Optim is a very expensive solution. Actually, it's the most expensive archiving solution that we have."

"The pricing is reasonable, it's comparable with the competitors."

"We were upgraded to Premium Support without their actually asking us, when we were quoted. Then I asked for Standard Support and that they had to re-quote us that. But they don't do that by default. They upcharge you by default, which I didn't think was very nice, without even asking."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

24%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Optim?

The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive. Currently, there are no issues with IBM InfoSphere Optim; the only problem is the cost, whic...

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What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim?

My current use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim is just for doing backups. We are using IBM InfoSphere Optim specifically for backup purposes.

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What advice do you have for others considering IBM InfoSphere Optim?

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What do you like most about IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server?

The ability to go back and look at historical data is the most valuable feature.

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What needs improvement with IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server?

One thing I'd like to see is the ability to view the execution plan and have the system automatically recommend potential query optimizations, especially at the query level. In future releases, I w...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server?

We use it mainly for monitoring, including CPU, memory, and disk space, and for troubleshooting purposes.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

June 2025

Download IBM InfoSphere Optim product report

Buyer's Guide

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server

July 2025

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server report

Download IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server product report

Also Known As

IBM Optim, Optim

IDERA SQL DM, IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager

Overview

IBM Optim solutions manage data from requirements to retirement. They boost performance, empower collaboration, and improve governance across applications, databases and platforms. By managing data properly over its lifetime, organisations are better equipped to support business goals with less risk.

IBM

SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server helps database administrators to find and fix SQL Server performance problems in physical, virtual, and cloud environments. Unlike its competition, it provides effective scalability, advanced SQL query analysis and optimization, prescriptive analysis with corrective SQL scripts, powerful automated alert responses, broad PowerShell integration, complete customization, and extensive support for current and legacy SQL Server and Windows.

IDERA

Sample Customers

Durham Police Department, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Continental, KCE Electronics Public Company Limited, The University of Adelaide, Migros Zurich, COPROB

Padnos, University of Notre Dame, D4, Infeon Technologies, Chevron, LC Waikiki, Sisters of Saint Francis Health Services, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, CVE, Colorado State University, St. Charles, Chaucer PLC, 1-800-Flowers, Ancoris, Money Management, National Opinion Research Center, California Department of Health, Plexus; Aviva, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CBS, Comcast, Google, Merck, Regions Financial, Schneider Electric, Tata Consultancy Services, Verizon Communications, Zurich Financial Services

Buyer's Guide

IBM InfoSphere Optim vs. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server

July 2025

Free Report: IBM InfoSphere Optim vs. IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server

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