Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) Reviews

I use the solution for preparing the data according to the data quality rules.

The mapping and mapplet features are valuable. The product improves data quality. The processes are running smoothly. The interface is good. Data integration is easy.

I use the solution to integrate on-premise and cloud products. There are issues with connectors to cloud applications. The integration process is not easy. The customer experience must be improved. When we implemented it, we did it with the help of Informatica professionals. I would not recommend them as an implementer. They didn't have any experience. It was very hard. The customer experience was not good. It's hard to understand the new features of the HR list. The tool must have more options for connectors. It is hard to connect to some of the applications. The remediation process is not straightforward.

I have been using the solution for one and a half years.

I rate the tool’s stability an eight out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a six out of ten. It is a bit complex to scale. We have 20 users.

The technical support is not good. The support team must improve the quality of support.

The product is cloud-based.

We got a 50% discount.

We couldn’t deliver the full project. I will not recommend the product to others. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

The client has integrated all their internal systems and external systems using Informatica Cloud Data Integration, including all transactional information for different systems, such as SAP ECC or SAP HANA as a business intelligence suite. The solution is used to exchange data between the invoices in Italy and USA, and to exchange information about materials using all sectors around the world. We use the solution to establish a connection between different systems. For example, to generate payments for different companies such as human services, data warehouses, and external companies.

The solution is straightforward. We can build on a process the first time and implement it. In one single view, it's possible to understand, make the connections, define the strategies, monitor the process, and verify performance.

The solution is a unique platform that makes high-velocity development possible, independently from the connection. The connection is fantastic because the solution has connectors for all types of external systems, SAP, Salesforce, and different databases working on the cloud or on-premises.

We can implement Data Integration with Data Quality in the same platform, using just one license to implement. It's not necessary to install different types of platforms or features and the solution is user-friendly.

The solution has great integration with metadata management.

The main issue preventing Brazilian companies from migrating to Informatica Cloud Data Integration from on-prem is the price. The license is now based on subscriptions, which is a change from the past. This has caused Brazilian customers to hesitate, wondering if they should migrate or not. The technology is fantastic, but the price is terrible for the customers. They are forced to migrate because the platform is a must in terms of technology. However, the price is too high causing a big problem here in Brazil.

I have been using the solution since 2019.

I give the stability a ten out of ten.

It is very easy to scale the Informatica platform. I have never seen another platform that is so easy to implement. For example, my organization in Brazil uses the Informatica platform to integrate some systems with its data warehouse. In parallel, IBM developed their own solution, which we developed in parallel with their technology and implementation velocity. IBM is confusing to configure and slow to implement. With Informatica, it is easy to configure and fast to implement. There is no wasted time with the particularities involved for each solution. 

I give the solution a ten out of ten for scalability.

The technical support is very good. Not only in terms of the support team, because all Informatica documentation is very simple to understand. The components, the problems, and the directives to implement are all easy to understand. The support team as well as the documentation are great. The level of support is unbelievable.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward and I give it a ten out of ten for ease.

The price is very high and has become a big concern for our customers who require the solution in order for their business to function smoothly. The cost to migrate to Informatica Cloud Data Integration from on-prem is too high for a lot of our customers that have already put a significant amount of equity into the on-prem version.

I give the solution a ten out of ten.

As a partner, I'm very comfortable with the level of implementation and the technology involved independently of the price but for our customers whose primary concern is cost, the price of the solution is very high.

The comfort and simplicity of the products are unbelievable. The ability to implement, operate, and develop is very easy. We reduce the time and know-how required for developers to implement Informatica Cloud Data Integration because of the easy deployment. 

We use Informatica Cloud Data Integration to load data from files to TelSource or Oracle tables. We also apply business rules to transform the data before loading it into the respective targets.

Most of the features are good. The advanced features like task flow and conditional integration are particularly useful. There are multiple transformations we can use in Dashflow, which are beneficial. We don't use features like centralization and data marketing because they aren't relevant to our use case. Our primary focus is on task flow, which allows us to design our jobs and execute them conditionally.

Some features require an additional license, such as Elastic Mappings. Most of the features provided are through Elastic Mappings, not the data integration service which causes restrictions. For example, the recently enabled source partitioning isn't applicable to Salesforce, which we use as our target or source. We primarily seek features that enhance performance for Salesforce and ICS Integration, aiming to reduce job execution time.

We don't have the license for Elastic Mapping, so we can't use that feature. Most of the new features added by Informatica are through Elastic Mapping. It would be helpful to have features like multithreading or partitioning for Salesforce to enhance performance.

I have been using Informatica Cloud Data Integration for five years.

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a seven out of ten.

20-30 users are using this solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability a five out of ten.

Support is good.

Positive

The initial setup is very easy. When I first started using it, I installed a 30-day trial version. I personally explored it during that period, and it was good.

It takes 30-40 minutes depending on the jobs.

I rate the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

The team is very user-friendly, meeting our expectations much like PowerPoint does.

It supports integration with most cloud sources, including AWS, and has various cloud connectors. So, It's a good choice for anyone.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Informatica Axon is typically used for data governance, where we establish policies and business glossaries.

Users can benefit from Axon's business lineage. Axon has something called Overlay, which can be used to extend the technical lineage. You can also extend it to stakeholders, all the compliance policies, and all the overlaying business rules. All of these can be seen in the same lineage.

I want to get a deeper understanding of the logic that is being used in the ETL. Informatica Axon does not provide complete transparency about the level of detailing you need and the logic used in ETL. I cannot use Google Fusion for ETL because I don't have a connector within Informatica Axon. I am stuck if I don't have a connector with an ETL tool.

One of the biggest disadvantages of Informatica is that it's very expensive. Many clients don't want to go with Informatica Axon because of its cost structure. You have to buy every component separately. If a customer wants governance, they obviously would need cataloging and lineage also.

Other tools like Collibra have cataloging, lineage, and governance in the same package. You don't need to buy them separately. With Informatica, you have to buy Axon for governance and EDC for cataloging and lineage. So, it becomes difficult for customers to pay for every component.

I have been using Informatica Axon for seven years.

We haven’t faced any stability issues with Informatica Axon.

Scalability is not really a factor in data governance because the volume and storage of metadata is not more than a couple of gigabytes.

The solution provides good technical support.

Positive

The solution's initial setup is easy, but you typically need Informatica support to run some of the preliminary tests. I've heard that the solution will be available on the cloud. Once it is available as software as a service (SaaS), you don't need to install it; you only need to configure it.

Typically, it takes around two days for the solution's installation and integration with the entire Active Directory and EDC. Then, it may take another day for testing. One engineer is enough to do all this work.

Only using Axon will not give you all the benefits, but you will see benefits when Axon, EDC, and IDQ are all plugged in together. It is difficult to get benefits from Axon as a standalone solution.

The solution's pricing model is easy, but it is very expensive.

Informatica Axon has a Marketplace that comes at an additional cost. Other tools like Collibra have built-in collaboration features, and you don't need to buy them separately. Collaboration features like collaborating on data sets, tagging them, and making a request are available in the Informatica Axon Marketplace.

It's not difficult to maintain the tool as long as someone has been trained in administration because Axon has many components. You need to understand how to change the logo of your screen size and how to change the dashboard wizard.

You also need to understand the product's configurations with other tools, personalize your dashboard, customize it, and add roles. There is a learning curve there. You need to train a person to be an administrator, and once they are trained, they can do the role better.

There is an NLP enabled with the solution, but it is not really that great. There is still room for growth in Informatica Axon's AI space.

Although expensive, Informatica Axon is very easy to learn, and you don't need to customize it much. Once you have the tool, you start uploading things. The solution is very easy to use because it has proper documentation and user guides.

If you want to set up business rules, Informatica Axon will give you a readymade template and ask you to start filling it out. You will be told about the mandatory and non-mandatory fields, and as long as you understand what the fields are required for, it's very easy to start filling out. Someone new to governance can get the hang of it and easily start filling in the details. You can have Axon implemented very quickly.

I am more involved with governance, cataloging lineage, EDC, and IDQ. I am getting a little bit into master data management and data security.

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

We use Informatica Axon to make sure our data is in good shape across different apps. It helps us work with clients to set rules for data and keep things organized. For a bank, it makes sure customer info, like contact details, is correct and follows privacy rules. Axon also made it easy for our team to check and trust the data we were using. It is like a tool that brings everyone together and helps us find and use data better.

The most valuable feature of Informatica Axon has been the data marketplace. It has been a favorite because it not only boosts user engagement but also fosters collaboration. Implementing it was straightforward, and it seamlessly became a part of our organizational culture, making it easy for people to work together and share information.

One area I would like to see improvement in Informatica Axon is achieving feature parity between the on-premise and cloud versions. It would be great if the cloud version could match the full range of capabilities available on-premise. This would ensure a seamless experience and allow users to leverage all of Axon's features regardless of their deployment environment.

I have been using Informatica Axon for almost two years.

I would rate Informatica Axon at eight out of ten for stability. The main thing to improve is making the features and interface consistent between the on-premise and cloud versions. The cloud interface looks modern with DDGC, but the on-premise one is a bit outdated. Aligning them would be a big plus.

It is quite scalable. We had approximately 500 end users.

The standard support is good – they usually get back within the agreed time. If you have a higher-level support contract, like gold, silver, or platinum, you get a faster response, but the support team is generally effective and helpful.

Setting up Informatica Axon varies, but it generally depends on having a good grasp of data concepts. If you understand data well, the setup becomes more straightforward. Deploying and maintaining Informatica Axon depends on the use case, but I would say not too many people are needed. I would recommend at least two people per department or business unit to start with. It is good to have a mix, like an admin or engineer and a developer. One person could handle the technical side, while the other, who understands data and processes well, can provide expertise.

The licensing for Informatica Axon is expensive, but it provides value for the investment. With the new cloud platform, they have introduced a consumption-based license model, where you only pay for what you use. This change has made it more affordable and easier for users.

For those looking to start using Informatica Axon, my advice is to do thorough research, especially on available solutions, as integration with other software plays a big role. With the Informatica cloud solution, you have the flexibility to choose features that suit your needs. Starting with data quality is usually a good move before diving into more complex tasks. Consider exploring tools like robotics for repetitive or tedious tasks. Having someone experienced with data is a significant advantage, as these projects often have long cycles. Experienced individuals can guide you, help set realistic expectations, and emphasize the need for patience, as data governance projects take time to show results. Overall, I would rate the solution as an eight out of ten.

So my use case was on migration.  I've been using these products for migration activities. And providing any QA solution for the integration to other platforms like Databricks.

There are newer technologies in the market that offer better solutions compared to traditional ETL operations. For example, if we use Spark on Databricks, it's more optimized and runs much faster due to its backend capabilities. Whereas Informatica Inc.'s Cloud Services provide cloud-based solutions. The ETL works on the Informatica engine, which is comparatively slow. But the compatibility of data and other integration and data warehouse works well for IICS.

The interface is really good. Another valuable feature is that it is user-friendly.

There are a few improvements which can be done. So those are on data governance and making an image of each object that is being created on top of Informatica, I mean, on top of applications. So those need areas to be improved.

The logging methods are really traditional. So logging, in order to track any operations happening on this interface, will catch a log file. That needs to be more precise.

In future releases as well, I would like to see additional features. So there is no platform where code conversion can happen easily. For example, if you want to move Informatica jobs in various areas, it's quite easy and straightforward. But still, you require some manual intervention for code changes that need to be done throughout the platform. So these things need to be improved. 

And other things are the compatibility of other services. For example, if you have a running Spark code and you want to run the Spark code into Informatica IICS, which is not compatible, so you need to rewrite the whole syntax to make it compatible. So those are the areas that really need improvement.

I have been using Informatica for three years. We currently use the version Informatica Cloud IICS.

Stability is good. I would rate it a seven out of ten. 

Scalability is good since from on-prem to cloud, there's a huge performance boost. So on a scale from one to ten, I would rate it eight.

The setup is complex. Because it's not about the data; it's about the complexity of the pipeline, the complexity of models which have been designed for data engineering. And it's not something straightforward, and the migration cost goes higher on this aspect for this reason.

We have multiple platforms with it. Some of them are running on-prem, and some of them are running on the cloud.

There is definitely an ROI because many companies are preferring to put data in the cloud, and they want to reduce the migration cost. So without any major efforts or challenges in the migration activities, if that's the case, then moving from Informatica on-prem to IICS is a better choice.

Comparatively, other services are providing a lower price, but since moving from Informatica on-prem to IICS, the pricing factor is much better. So when we compare two platforms of the same vendor, it's a good price.

On the evaluation, I have personally evaluated the migration work that I have done. So it is really easy for Informatica users who have been using the same on-prem product. For them, there won't be any challenges in learning any technical aspects of the cloud. So it is almost straightforward. And there are good services provided by Informatica, like integrated things and driver compatibility. So, everything looks much better when it is in the cloud.

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

Informatica Cloud Data Integration is being used to transform data. Primarily, it is for creating data pipelines.

Informatica Cloud Data Integration is being used to transform data. Primarily, it is for creating data pipelines.

Integration is a valuable feature. Currently, the integration makes our security more robust, especially when compared to IICS, where we would need to make arrangements through native or other ways to handle that, and here using sum up makes our lives easier.

With the solution, we had some issues, and we have every day, and we used to open a ticket. Sometimes, there are data issues and transformation issues. So things are not very mature. They need to improve in the aforementioned areas. We are hoping that it will be sorted out in some time, and we will get to experience a hassle-free life.

My company does business with Informatica. We are using their product. I have been using Informatica Cloud Data Integration for four to five years. I am an end user of the solution. Also, I am using the solution's latest version.

I think they are working. Their engineers are still working on some transformations and some features. It is not as stable as they are thinking, but in the last two years, we have seen good progress. So, we are hoping for a similar thing in the future as well. So it is scalable. But, stability-wise, I think that a more stable version is going to come.

I think it is a scalable product. Around a hundred users are using the solution in my company.

The support is very good. On a scale of one to ten, I rate the technical support between eight and ten.

Positive

So we've got many solutions. Not before going to Informatica, but we were evaluating and working with other sets of tools as well. So, on AWS, it is EMR and Glue. We quite frequently use Glue for data pipelines. We also use SAP S/4HANA for delegation. I like IPC and IICS because I have experience in them for the last fifteen years, and I'm working using the same tools. So, I mean, it is my biased opinion. Otherwise, since I have not caught exposure to the other tools in the market that the people in my company are using in different teams, I don't have much exposure to them. Had I gone through those experiences, I would probably have recommended some other tools as well. Currently, I'm in this industry using this tool only, so I recommend it only for that reason. 

The initial setup was very easy. Currently, we are in a deployment process. We've not yet orchestrated that part, but we are in the process of creating the deployment pipelines.

I have deployed the solution on the cloud. Also, there is no maintenance required for the solution.

Cost-wise, I think it is on the higher side, and that is why we are looking for some better options. Licensing costs are huge compared to other players in the market and for my company.

It's a good tool to start with in the beginning.

The product is maturing and has not matured yet. If I look at the market, there are other tools that are providing this stable solution. I rate the overall solution between five to six out of ten.

We use Informatica as our one-stop cloud integration solution. We are connecting two different data systems like SAP or Salesforce, integrating on-site financial data with some applications that process financial information like an ERP to plan budgets and forecast revenue. I'm creating a data warehouse and using that with tools like Power BI to create reports and dashboards.

Informatica is good for integrating data and cloud applications. We have connectors for integrating cloud applications like Salesforce. You can quickly integrate anything with an exposed API or a REST API.  The industry is increasingly shifting to the cloud, so we need more products that can connect to cloud-based applications. The integration is seamless and works in real time. It's also secure because you don't need to expose databases or tables. 

There is room for improvement at the highest level in terms of useability and connectors for various types of new applications. The row processing performance could be better because you experience some latency dealing with high volumes of data. Most organizations will be dealing with multiple cloud applications, so you could see performance issues moving from one system to another. 

I have worked with Informatica products for about seven or eight years.

I rate Cloud Data Integration seven out of 10 for stability. Even though Informatica is based in the cloud, it still depends on a secure agent deployed on-prem. The performance of the individual machine where you install the gateway can affect the stability. 

I rate Cloud Data Integration eight out of 10 for scalability. 

I rate Informatica support eight out of 10. They have a dedicated customer success portal where you can search a lot of knowledge base articles that tell you how to use Informatica in various scenarios. You can also use the portal to raise a support ticket describing your scenario, what you hope to achieve, and where you're having problems. The technical support responsiveness and dedicated customer support are decent enough. 

Positive

I have some experience with Azure Data Factory, and I worked with another Informatica product called PowerCenter. I switched to Informatica Cloud Data Integration because my customers' needs changed. More companies began prioritizing clouds. As developers, we also needed to scale up our services.

I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost because the senior management handles that, but I know that products like Azure Data Factory are less expensive than Informatica. At the same time, Informatica gives you more options and connectors. Everything is possible, whether you want to do API-based integration, traditional data integration, etc. 

Azure Data Factory is more useful for connecting with the Azure cloud. You can also play around with the native data integration tools that other cloud providers offer, like GCP or AWS.

I rate Informatica Cloud Data Integration eight out of 10. I recommend Informatica as an integration tool for large and medium-sized enterprises migrating to the cloud. Cost is something to keep in mind because Informatica might be too pricey for smaller companies. Large and medium-sized companies can easily afford it if they plan to use it as a one-stop solution for all their cloud integration and management needs.

If you need a middle layer to build your pipeline, that can be achieved using Azure Data Factory or any other data integration tool. Still, Informatica has some advantages in terms of connectors and help desk resources. When you contact the Informatica help desk, you can speak with engineers who helped develop the Informatica platform, so they have rich experience with integration technologies. The product itself is highly reliable and suitable for your integration needs. 

Azure Data Factory has almost 80 percent of the same features, and it might work for you if you have a Microsoft ecosystem. Using Data Factory is cheaper. However, if you're a large or medium-sized organization or a reseller and your data is more valuable, it might make more sense to use Informatica at that scale. You'll be interacting with many more types of applications and might need to integrate the applications in various ways.