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?
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.
I strongly agree.