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Henok Tsegaye - PeerSpot reviewer
BDM/Chief Information Officer at Afcor PLC
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A digital payment solution with Cloud Pak for Integration feature
Pros and Cons
  • "The Cloud Pak for Integration is a useful feature."
  • "The solution’s pricing could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for a digital payment system.

What is most valuable?

The Cloud Pak for Integration is a useful feature.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s pricing could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Integration Bus for five years. We are the solution provider.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable. There are four customers using this solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex, but you should have a good understanding of programming. Installation depends on the project. For some projects with a limited interface, it takes two to three months, but for a bigger and complex one, installation can take up to six months.

In banks, it is deployed on both Cloud and On-premise.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Principal Architect and Advisor at Synechron
Real User
Top 10
Has efficient technical support services, but the connectors need to compatible with specific domains
Pros and Cons
  • "The product helps efficiently work with different connectors from different back-end systems."
  • "They should add connectors to banking applications and other specific industries."

What is our primary use case?

We use IBM Integration Bus within a finance domain.

What is most valuable?

The product helps efficiently work with different connectors from different back-end systems.

What needs improvement?

IBM Integration Bus needs to be more compatible with stable connectors for specific domains. For instance, it has two protocols: ISO 8583, a legacy protocol, and ISO 2022, which works on XML for the finance sector. Similarly, they should add connectors to banking applications and other specific industries.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using IBM Integration Bus for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Being in the market for quite some years, IBM is a very stable and mature product. I rate its stability a seven out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support services are good.

How was the initial setup?

Primarily, our customers have the product deployed on-premises to follow protocols. Some customers deploy on private clouds as well. The product’s installation and configuration process is straightforward. It takes six months to two years, depending on the complexity of specific requirements.

What other advice do I have?

I rate IBM Integration Bus a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementor
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IBM Integration Bus
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM Integration Bus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
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Mohamed Nagah - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Giza Systems
Real User
A strong and scalable solution that can be deployed easily
Pros and Cons
  • "IBM Integration Bus is a very strong tool."
  • "We have to stop the integration server to start the debugging process."

What is our primary use case?

We used the solution for opening new accounts for a banking system. Our client used some old techniques and didn’t have an integration layer. I created an account opening application for our client.

What is most valuable?

IBM Integration Bus is a very strong tool. It helps in integrating the front-end and back-end systems.

What needs improvement?

We have to stop the integration server to start the debugging process. The debugging mechanism of other products is better than that of IBM.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not face any issues with the solution’s stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy, but the database is quite heavy for the local DC. It was also a little bit complex to connect to some databases.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment of the solution is very easy. We just add the integration server and drag and drop the services to the integration server. We deployed the solution in-house. We do not face any trouble in the maintenance of the product.

What other advice do I have?

I am a system integrator. In Software AG, debugging does not intervene with any other process. I also use Software AG webMethods and TIBCO. Software AG webMethods is the best product because it is very easy to develop and flexible. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Avinash-Arepaka - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
An excellent solution for transformation and routing with a responsive support team
Pros and Cons
  • "The features I have found most valuable in this solution are transformation and routing."
  • "The product does not provide API management."

What is our primary use case?

The product helps us develop integration applications. It also enables communication between applications from different environments.

What is most valuable?

The features I have found most valuable in this solution are transformation and routing.

What needs improvement?

IBM Integration Bus doesn’t provide some features that MuleSoft provides. These features should be added to the solution.

The product does not provide API management. We have to use a separate tool called API Connect for our needs. It would be good if IBM could combine these tools.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the past nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the stability an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The people in our organization who faced scalability issues deployed the product on the cloud, where they could make it scalable. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

I have spoken with the support team about a couple of issues. They were really helpful, and the response was very fast.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. We did not face any challenges.

What about the implementation team?

It took us a couple of minutes to deploy the product. We deployed the solution with our in-house team. A team of two to three administrators usually monitors the product in the production environment.

What other advice do I have?

I am using the latest version of the solution. We use Jenkins to deploy the applications we build on IBM Integration Bus. My organization is one of the largest IT service providers, with hundreds of customers across the globe.

We depend on IBM for patches when there are some issues in the production environment. I am a developer, and I work in solution development. I have worked with multiple organizations for multiple accounts. I would recommend the solution to others. IBM Integration Bus is a leading product.

Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Richard Whyte - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at Responsiv
User
Offers secure and consistent data access with resilient communication management
Pros and Cons
  • "It allows us to avoid the need for consumers to understand multiple API protocols and security arrangements, and in some circumstances can reduce the impact of systems being unavailable."
  • "The next versions are moving toward container use. It would be a shame to make the product highly complex just to support one pattern of deployment. It is my hope that IBM continues to focus on practical functionality that is simple and cost-effective."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for synchronizing data across the enterprise and opening data to extend its use by simplifying and making it consistent regardless of its source. 

It's for installing a line of indirection between data source and consumer to reduce contention at the source, and to add security, audit, and combine data from multiple places.

With it, we are implementing GDPR rules on data use, compensating for systems being unavailable, and delivering low latency for website users.

I have designed solutions for payment processing, Service-Oriented Architectures, micro-service architectures, data sharing and synchronization, and point to point data sharing using this product across banking, retail, and many other industries.

How has it helped my organization?

Many projects absorb a great deal of time and budget to find data and understand how to access it. This product allows data to be found and cataloged, allowing multiple projects to create a full directory of data in the enterprise over time.

The introduction of a mediation component allows data to be combined from multiple sources and for those sources to change or expand without impacting the consumers. In some settings, the number of consumers can be significant (100+) making adapter patterns rather expensive to maintain.

Having a single (logical) place to go for information reduces the responsibilities of the consumer for navigation - in turn allowing systems to move, update, and be replaced with reduced risk and cost. 

The cost reductions are significant but rely on proper architecture and design.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable aspects include:

Data enrichment and consistent access. It reduces the need for programmers of consumer applications to understand where data is sourced, or how it is combined. It allows us to avoid the need for consumers to understand multiple API protocols and security arrangements, and in some circumstances can reduce the impact of systems being unavailable.

Data mediation and secure access. It reduces programmer error and hides the underlying systems, making it simpler to change them. It imposes a line of control between consumer and source, reducing the scope of testing needed for new consumers, and avoiding tests on consumers when the source changes.

High-performance data management for data in motion. The product supports clustering and can be tightly integrated into IBM MQ, making it a perfect platform for payment processing and high-performance data processing (50,000 tx/sec and above). For those that do not need the performance, this translates to cloud consumption savings.

Resilient communication management. The product can use transactional integrity to assure consistent data and non-loss communications (especially when combined with IBM MQ). This means that when processing large numbers of transactions no time is lost trying to discover what was lost.

What needs improvement?

The product has been well managed and continually improved throughout the time I have used it. 

There is very little that can be improved. It already contains adapters for MS-Dynamics and other enterprise packages and supports many protocols and transmission structures. 

The next versions are moving toward container use. It would be a shame to make the product highly complex just to support one pattern of deployment. It is my hope that IBM continues to focus on practical functionality that is simple and cost-effective.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used the solution for 20 years - since it was previously named MQ System Integrator.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM ACE is very well engineered and very stable. We have several customers running old versions that have been 100% reliable for their operational lives.

If an installation does encounter a failure, for example power failure, the product is good at reporting useful messages, and in combination with IBM MQ to protect data running through the system. The product can be installed in a clustered configuration to remove single points of failure, and to scale to accommodate higher loads.

It's very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is highly scalable and resilient. It's combined with MQ or load balancers for fault tolerance and highly parallel processing.

It's highly scalable.

How are customer service and support?

In my experience, support has always been very good for this product. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used databases to store and forward and C-programs to manipulate data. When this could no longer cope (sometime in the 1990s), I discovered IBM MQ and other messaging products, which are designed to do what we were building. The MQSI product of the time was simply magic and the latest incarnations (App Connect Enterprise) are far beyond anything that could be done with a database. 

I have reviewed other technologies, including Microsoft, open-source, and others. It remains my opinion and experience that this product delivers quicker development and more reliable outcomes.

What about the implementation team?

A was working as part of the vendor team, as part of the implementation consulting organization.

What was our ROI?

Very much depends on the industry and project.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Installation of the base product has been simplified over the last five years or so, and is now fairly straight forward. 

You need an infrastructure design for the product deployment and an integration architecture and design documented and agreed to get the best from this software. It is relatively easy to program (Extended SQL, Java, and other options are available), however, it's important to think and take advice before you start.

The product is generally priced per processor core.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I am the CEO of Responsiv Solutions (responsiv.co.uk), an IBM business partner. We choose to use this product because it does what it says on the package. Our services include integration architectures and design, as well as business automation.
PeerSpot user
Ismail Aboulezz - PeerSpot reviewer
Ismail AboulezzChief Executive Officer at LeaseWeb
Top 5Real User

I strongly agree.

AvinashArepaka - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Helps in integrating different applications from different platforms and has all the required features
Pros and Cons
  • "We can have multiple endpoints, and we can integrate different applications from different platforms. In a large-scale enterprise setup, it becomes so easy to establish communication between applications. You can connect an application to other applications, other legacy applications, and databases. You can also connect with those applications that are in the cloud. You can connect with other well-known applications, such as Salesforce, SAP, and Workday, by using IBM Integration Bus."
  • "It provides all the features that are required for day-to-day work. So far, I haven't seen any major issues that impact our work. I have been told that IBM App Connect Enterprise, which is the next version of IIB, is really good. It is better than IIB, and it gives you more coverage in terms of application integration."

What is our primary use case?

We use IBM Integration Bus for application integration. For example, when application A needs to communicate with application B, if Application A is sending the message data in XML format but application B understands the data in JSON format, there needs to be a tool that helps to transform the message data and route the data from one endpoint to another. In such a use case, we use IBM Integration Bus.

I'm working on version 10.0.0.12 of IIB, but we will be migrating the project that I'm currently working on to IBM App Connect Enterprise. It will most probably happen in the summer of this year.

It is deployed on-premises. After the migration to IBM App Connect Enterprise, we're planning to migrate to the cloud from on-premises.

How has it helped my organization?

In our project, we are using IBM Integration Bus for doing the payments. We have developed some applications in IBM Integration Bus that help with payment transactions from one client to another.

What is most valuable?

We can have multiple endpoints, and we can integrate different applications from different platforms. In a large-scale enterprise setup, it becomes so easy to establish communication between applications. You can connect an application to other applications, other legacy applications, and databases. You can also connect with those applications that are in the cloud.  You can connect with other well-known applications, such as Salesforce, SAP, and Workday, by using IBM Integration Bus.

What needs improvement?

It provides all the features that are required for day-to-day work. So far, I haven't seen any major issues that impact our work. I have been told that IBM App Connect Enterprise, which is the next version of IIB, is really good. It is better than IIB, and it gives you more coverage in terms of application integration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale the product depending upon the flux of data into your application.

How are customer service and support?

It depends upon the issue we are working on. I would rate them a four out of five.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup was not that tough or challenging. We could easily do the setup without any challenges.

What about the implementation team?

Usually, we have the support team of a project. The support team takes care of such installations.

Its maintenance is easy. It doesn't take a lot of effort to maintain the product. The Infra team usually does some patching of the environment, but we haven't seen any outage of our application that impacts the business in real-time.

What other advice do I have?

It is a really good product to use if there are lots of applications that need to be integrated in your enterprise. It is a very good solution for enterprise application integration and exposing your product's features to the external client through APIs. 

I have worked with other tools related to IIB, such as API Gateway and API configuration tools, in the past. They do provide a very good solution for your business if you are planning to expose your business assets by creating APIs. You can develop an API in IIB and configure it in API Connect. You can have that gateway on top of the solution. This is another feature you can leverage using IIB.

Based on my experience with this product, I would rate it an eight out of 10. This reduction of two points doesn't mean that it is not as good as other products.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior J2EE Developer at DataServe
Real User
Top 5
Used internally to integrate isolated solutions and manage traffic overload
Pros and Cons
  • "The Aspera feature for high-speed transfer is highly effective."
  • "I believe there is room for improvement in the pricing structure to make it more accessible."

What is our primary use case?

We use IBM Integration Bus with IBM DataPower for IT integration. It’s the most used and essential component. For data security and governance, we use it with HiSphere. It’s also integrated with Outlook for handling video files.

What is most valuable?

The Aspera feature for high-speed transfer is highly effective. For DataPower, we use it to export our servers and integrate with government sectors. It's also used internally to integrate isolated solutions and manage traffic overload.

What needs improvement?

IBM Integration Bus is a reliable solution that helps us handle performance challenges effectively. However, I believe there is room for improvement in the pricing structure to make it more accessible. As far as IBM Integration Bus is considered for other organizations, it has strong performance capabilities and integration features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Integration Bus for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Integration Bus is quite stable, I would rate it at eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, it's a solid ten. IBM's technical support is good, I'd rate it at an eight.    

How was the initial setup?

The installation was manageable, although it required specific skills in the Open-Sec environment. It took us about two weeks to install and configure everything, depending on the environment complexity and the number of servers. Currently, around thirteen technical users are working with IBM Integration Bus in our organization.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I recommend IBM Integration Bus with a rating of nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Group CEO at Mmusi Group
Real User
Flexible, highly stable, quick technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of the IBM Integration Bus are flexibility. It's also an alternative for integrating it with other projects, which we are not ready at this time to do, such as switching to tunnels. The tunnels would be used with other partners to make sure everything is secured."
  • "IBM Integration Bus could improve by having a more lightweight installation. Additionally, automation could improve."

What is our primary use case?

IBM Integration Bus can be deployed in many ways, such as on-premise, cloud, and hybrid. 

The current customer that we have wants to have a hybrid deployment. We're investigating how they can manage to do it. For the hybrid deployment, they will have an instance running in a docker image, or in an Amazon AWS. The heavy operations will be done by the on-premise version. Which is what we currently have.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the IBM Integration Bus are flexibility. It's also an alternative for integrating it with other projects, which we are not ready at this time to do, such as switching to tunnels. The tunnels would be used with other partners to make sure everything is secured.

What needs improvement?

IBM Integration Bus could improve by having a more lightweight installation. Additionally, automation could improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Integration Bus for approximately 13 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM Integration Bus is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately four clients using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very good, they have a fast response.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of the IBM Integration Bus was straightforward. The time frame that it takes for the deployment depends on the environment the customer has. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing model of IBM Integration Bus is good. It's a yearly subscription. However, the price is depending on the model that you choose. If it's a Cloud version, then you can pay per month or you can pay it annually upfront. There are three-year options available, but it depends on what deployment you have.

As more people are moving operations toward the Cloud. The Clouds are offering subscriptions. They will charge you based on what they're processing. Whereas the on-premise version, the vendors offer a perpetual license. It doesn't have those limitations that the subscriptions models have for the number of transactions. What most of the vendors are doing is they will more or less charge you for a small, medium, or large package based on the number of transactions and they will bill your account.

What other advice do I have?

IBM Integration Bus is a very good solution and they have come a long way with improvements over the years.

I rate IBM Integration Bus a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM Integration Bus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM Integration Bus Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.