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Dinesh Patri - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jul 21, 2022
Speeds up active communication but pricing is high
Pros and Cons
  • "IBM MQ's flexibility has sped up our active communication."
  • "IBM MQ's pricing is higher than its competitors'."

What is our primary use case?

Primarily, I use IBM MQ for microservices, modeling, and communications.

How has it helped my organization?

IBM MQ's flexibility has sped up our active communication. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using IBM MQ for five and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM MQ's stability is good.

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IBM MQ
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

IBM MQ can scale, but there are some challenges with it.

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

IBM MQ's pricing is higher than its competitors'.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate IBM MQ seven 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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reviewer1164303 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Feb 20, 2022
Secure, no data loss, and it is easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "This product has good security."
  • "The licensing fees should be more cost-effective so that we can better pitch the product to our clients. With the pricing as it is, they tend to move away from IBM products."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

The primary use case for IBM MQ is handling the transportation of messages between applications.

This is being used in a mainframe environment.

How has it helped my organization?

Our clients complain about the price of this solution but otherwise, they have not had any problems with it. They are very happy with the quality of the product.

What is most valuable?

This product has good security.

There is no data loss while transporting messages.

What needs improvement?

The licensing fees should be more cost-effective so that we can better pitch the product to our clients. With the pricing as it is, they tend to move away from IBM products. They look for other solutions, such as open-source products.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with IBM MQ for fifteen years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This product is used on a daily basis and it is quite stable. In terms of reliability, I would rate it a five out of five.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not found any issues related to scalability.

We have multiple clients that use IBM MQ.

How are customer service and support?

We handle the support that initially comes in from our clients. If we have any problem, then we take it to IBM using a PMR (Problem Management Report). When there is an issue then we feel that we can go to them.

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

We did not use another similar solution prior to IBM MQ.

How was the initial setup?

IBM MQ is not at all difficult to set up.

There is no deployment, per se. A broker will handle the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

We handle the implementation and maintenance in-house. The number of people required for maintenance depends on the team. Our team members support multiple accounts.

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

The problem with this product is that it's a little bit expensive. This is one of the main challenges that we face with our clients. The charges are high and there should be a less costly solution available. This is especially true when you consider it in comparison to open-source tools that are available.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I am very happy with this product and my only complaint is that the price is high. I definitely recommend it.

I would rate this 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. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
IBM MQ
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM MQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
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reviewer1037130 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Talent Acquisition Specialist at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jan 7, 2022
Simple to deploy, low maintenance, and technical support is always reachable
Pros and Cons
  • "This initial setup is not complex at all. Deploying it was very easy."
  • "The user interface should be enhanced to include more monitoring features and other metrics. The metrics should include not only those from the IBM MQ point of view but also CPU and memory utilization."

What is our primary use case?

Our use cases for IBM MQ involve share markets.

In this organization, we are not using many of the features because we have a very small infrastructure. In my previous organizations, I used many of the components including AMS. However, here, we are just using it as a messaging solution and not any of the other components.

What is most valuable?

The MQ appliance has very good performance.

What needs improvement?

The user interface should be easier to use.

The user interface should be enhanced to include more monitoring features and other metrics. The metrics should include not only those from the IBM MQ point of view but also CPU and memory utilization. These kinds of features would be really helpful when we have a large infrastructure. Right now, this limits us from using the product.

In general, the user interface should be more catchy, to entice users.

IBM should promote the use of the MQ appliance because the speed and performance are superior when compared to traditional ways of using the product.

If IBM were to release as least some limited features for MQ as open-source, then it would be great because people will migrate to this solution instead of choosing open-source products like Apache Kafka or RabbitMQ.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with IBM MQ for almost 13 years across different organizations. I began working with version 5.3 and am currently using version 9.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is absolutely perfect when it is running on AIX. However, I have experienced some issues with certain Linux distributions. With AIX, I have not had any problems with IBM MQ. With other flavors of Linux, there is some instability whereby the MQ configuration parameters are not giving the proper information. From this, I have concluded that the stability of MQ depends on the Linux distribution that it is running on.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The number of users in my current organization is six or seven. This is the number of applications that we have. This is not an extensive use of the product but we do plan to increase usage in the future.

In my previous organization, our use was more extensive. We had between 700 and 710 users.

This product scales and the number of users depends on the industry, as well as the financial strengths that the organization has.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support from IBM is always reachable.

Internally, we provide technical support to our users. This is possible because our team is only six or seven users.

How was the initial setup?

This initial setup is not complex at all. Deploying it was very easy.

What about the implementation team?

Limited staff is required to maintain this solution because of its stability.

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

The licensing fees are paid quarterly and they are expensive. This is something that I have heard from all of the organizations that I have worked with.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Apache Kafka and RabbitMQ because of the open-source features and benefits. The open-source aspect is an advantage. I have found that not many users choose IBM MQ, even though it is stable, because of financial constraints.

If IBM were to release MQ or at least some limited version as open-source, it would become more popular. People would choose it instead of implementing other products, or other streaming solutions. This is what people are trying to do with DevOps.

IBM MQ is much more stable than these other products, although the rest of them work well with cloud providers such as AWS.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, this is a good product. The only thing that I found complex was to build the user interface with the latest versions of IBM MQ. It was a little bit tricky to do.

I would rate this solution 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1127196 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Solution Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Dec 7, 2021
Easy to use and compatible with many languages, but could be easier to integrate
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found that the solution scales well."
  • "The integration capabilities could be even easier."

What is our primary use case?

Mainly we are using MQ to pass the orders in the format of messages. We use MQ mainly for all the asynchronous messages that we pass.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use and also quite compatible with all the language technologies where they can read messages and they can push messages to Java. It's easy to integrate and compatible with most coding languages.

The solution is stable.

I have found that the solution scales well. 

What needs improvement?

The integration capabilities could be even easier. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a while now. It's been maybe ten or 15 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good. The performance is reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. It's easy.

We have a team of about five on the solution right now. 

We do not have plans to increase the number of users at this time. 

How are customer service and support?

IBM technical support for any product is pretty much the same across the board. I have no complaints. They are okay. They are fast and knowledgeable. 

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

We have been using MQ for a long time. In the past we were using a custom-developed framework instead of MQ, however, that was ten to 15 years ago.

How was the initial setup?

I can't speak to how the initial setup went. Those kinds of tasks are handled by the technology team. Therefore, I can't say if it was an easy or complex process.

I'm not sure, ultimately, how long the deployment process was.

What about the implementation team?

I wasn't a part of the process. I can't say if we enlisted outside help or not. 

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

You do need to pay a licensing fee in order to use this product. We pay it on a yearly basis. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm not following the versioning part. I'm not sure which version we are using currently. 

I'd advise new users to try it out as it is easy to integrate, scalable, and stable. 

I'd rate the solution, in general, at a seven 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.
PeerSpot user
Works at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Oct 13, 2021
Stable with good features and a responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is stable."
  • "IBM MQ is not very user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We're a service provider. My company provides services to different clients that include financial institutions in the banking sector.

IBM MQ is used for queue messaging. I have to install and configure, the MQ features of listener channels, remote queues, and some transmit queues. We enable these as per customer requirements.

What is most valuable?

The solution offers very good features, including listener channels, remote queues, and transmit queues.

The solution is stable.

The initial setup isn't overly complex. It's pretty straightforward. 

Technical support is very good.

What needs improvement?

IBM MQ is not very user-friendly. MQ needs to redesign or add some sort of user-friendly interface in order to offer better performance.

This is a very old solution. Nowadays, some other products are designed to be much more user-friendly as compared to IBM MQ. 

The product needs better administration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

How are customer service and support?

We've found the technical support to be very good. they tend to match the severity level of the situation. We're quite happy with the way they respond.

How was the initial setup?

While the initial setup is not overly difficult, the user interface is not very user-friendly. 

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

I cannot speak to the pricing of the product. I can't say if it's overly expensive or reasonably priced as I don't deal directly with licensing. 

What other advice do I have?

We are an IBM partner. 

I'd rate the soluton at an eight out of ten. For the most part, I've been pretty happy with its capabilities. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Viktor Dolyna - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5
Aug 19, 2021
Easy to use, good performance, and helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to use and has good performance."

    What is our primary use case?

    IBM MQ can be used as an integrated bus system in an API for message queuing.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is easy to use and has good performance.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with IBM MQ for a few months.

    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 scalability of the solution is good.

    We have approximately 100 users using this solution in my organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support from IBM is very good, they are responsive, and customer friendly.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is not difficult for IBM MQ and takes approximately one day.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have approximately seven engineers and administrators that do the implementation and maintance.

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

    The price of the solution could be reduced, and we are on an annual subscription.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate IBM MQ a 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. Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1644639 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Technical Specialist at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Aug 8, 2021
    Offers very good performance as well as scalability and stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "Offers good performance as well as scalability and stability."
    • "Should have more integration in the monitoring tools."

    What is our primary use case?

    I'm a technical specialist and we are customers of IBM. 

    What is most valuable?

    This solution offers good performance as well as scalability and stability. It offers a template that's beneficial for any company.

    What needs improvement?

    I'd very much like to see more integration in the monitoring tools.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for nine years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution offers very good scalability. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. It's all about planning because we have multiple application teams involved. Deployment takes somewhere between half an hour to an hour, but for the coordination to check and perform from the application side, takes almost a full day because we have critical, multiple applications. It needs to be coordinated and we need to be sure they are able to connect perfectly with our environment or with the MQ.

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

    We pay an annual license fee. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I recommend this product and rate it a nine out of 10. 

    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
    reviewer1626039 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Software Engineering Expert at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Jul 20, 2021
    Integrates well, helpful technical support, but stability needs improvement
    Pros and Cons
    • "Overall the solution operates well and has good integration."
    • "We have had scalability issues with some projects in the past."

    What is our primary use case?

    IBM MQ is one of the biggest message exchanges in our company. We are in the process of migration to a cloud base environment because in some projects we are using RabbitMQ and Amazon SQS. However, IBM MQ is a big part of our technology ecosystem.

    What is most valuable?

    Overall the solution operates well and has good integration.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using IBM MQ within the past 12 months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We have had stability issues using the solution for some of our projects.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have had scalability issues with some projects in the past.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support has been helpful.

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

    I have used RabbitMQ and Amazon SQS.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation can be easy, but it depends on the environment.

    What other advice do I have?

    I recommend others use a more cloud-native approach to messaging.

    I rate IBM MQ a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM MQ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: December 2025
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM MQ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.