IBM InfoSphere Optim vs Terracotta comparison

IBM and Software AG are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. IBM is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.0, while Software AG is ranked #21 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 2.4% mindshare in DDM, compared to Software AG’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Software AG users who would recommend it.

IBM InfoSphere Optim

Read 4 IBM InfoSphere Optim reviews

834 Views
767 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Terracotta

Read 1 Terracotta review

308 Views
283 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM InfoSphere Optim

Terracotta

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM InfoSphere Optim and Terracotta based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix, Quest Software, Oracle and others in Database Development and Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Database Development and Management Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

January 2026

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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

15th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Terracotta

Ranking in Database Development and Management

21st

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Optim is 2.4%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Terracotta is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM InfoSphere Optim	2.4%
Terracotta	0.9%
Other	96.7%

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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reviewer2727468

Senior Application Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

Enhancing User Experience with Clustering While Potential Exists for Better Customization

My total experience with Terracotta is installing it in the architecture to do the clustering in WebMethods Integration Server. This provided to tackle the memory and the processes of those servers in the same pool. Terracotta, as per my understanding, is used for caching. The first function is used for clustering the requests. Regarding improvements, I cannot imagine what could be improved because my actual work in Integration Server is not totally restricted to Terracotta. The main function was restricted to developing services using integration servers in Software AG. The use of Terracotta is just for implementing caching. In this part, I create a cache manager for this response, and from a UI perspective, I am unable to suggest improvements.

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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

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

"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."

"The impact of Terracotta's high availability and failover capabilities on the organization's data consistency and reliability is significant."

Cons

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

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

"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."

"I know that we have many other solutions that do the same functionality as Terracotta. I don't recall the names of the products now, but I believe there are many products that may be better than Terracotta."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Insurance Company

Retailer

Outsourcing Company

No data available

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 needs improvement with Terracotta?

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What is your primary use case for Terracotta?

Terracotta is actually a product used for clustering. It is not used standalone in architecture but is used in the Software AG architecture to cluster the request or state the request data between ...

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What advice do you have for others considering Terracotta?

I may not be the best one to provide advice, but during my experience with Terracotta, I didn't face major issues with this product. I recommend this product to be used in any architecture. On a sc...

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Comparisons

BMC AMI DevX vs IBM InfoSphere Optim

Compared 22% of the time

Oracle Enterprise Manager vs IBM InfoSphere Optim

Compared 15% of the time

Solix Enterprise Data Management vs IBM InfoSphere Optim

Compared 13% of the time

SAP Replication Server vs IBM InfoSphere Optim

Compared 11% of the time

CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS vs IBM InfoSphere Optim

Compared 11% of the time

More IBM InfoSphere Optim Competitors

Oracle Coherence vs Terracotta

Compared 52% of the time

VMware Tanzu Data Solutions vs Terracotta

Compared 28% of the time

Terracotta BigMemory vs Terracotta

Compared 19% of the time

More Terracotta Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

January 2026

Download IBM InfoSphere Optim product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

January 2026

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Also Known As

IBM Optim, Optim

No data available

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

Clock the fastest performance for operational and analytical workloads. Only with Software AG's Terracotta DB can you use one store for transactions and analytics - that's just smarter for real-time business. You no longer need to duplicate and move data for computations. And by moving data off the mainframe to in-memory, not only can you access data lightening-fast, you also can drastically reduce MIPS costs.

Software AG

Sample Customers

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

Kiabi, Wipro Technologies, CERN, Essent, Nielsen

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

January 2026

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