Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) Reviews

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.

Our use cases were related to the financial and banking sectors. We created data and transferred it to the enterprise level. 

The most valuable feature of Informatica Axon is features, interfaces, and data mapping. It represents clusters nicely. 

The solution should improve its integration. 

 I have been using the product for three years. 

Informatica Axon is stable. 

The product is scalable. 

The tool's support is fine. 

Informatica Axon's deployment is straightforward. 

I rate the product 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.

We primarily use the solution for data integration as well as application integration.

Currently, we have a multiple-source system. With Oracle ERP, it's very hard to pull data from Oracle ERP, since it's API based. Therefore we have to make use of Informatica Application Integration to pull data from Oracle ERP.

We are pulling our supplier information, customer data, and data for projects related to information.

It's a beautiful tool. It eliminates the use of a third party or some other tool as it provides beautiful functionality.

In an earlier version, when we are working with an on-premise tool, it was hard since we had to concentrate on the configuration, et cetera. However, now, when we are working with the cloud, most of the time it's very easy to handle.

Data integration happens seamlessly and is pretty fast.

The application integration will give you more flexibility when dealing with APIs.

Every week, we seem to get notifications of new features and updates. They are always trying to improve the product. 

When we're dealing with huge amounts of data, we need to reach out to Informatica. There are some kinds of API records that we need to modify configurations for. 

Application integration, as compared to data, is a bit slow, and it can't handle millions of records.

There could be a lot more application integration. Like data integration, we find there are a lot of places where we can go ahead and improve performance. When it comes to application integration as a developer, we don't have that much flexibility. We have constraints. Our hands are tied, and we can't do anything. We need to speak with either the target system or the core system and say, "Okay, do this thing." 

I've been working with the solution for more than two years. 

It is a stable, reliable product. Sometimes there is a bug or a cache issue. We might get an error when connecting and when that happens, we reach out to support. We find it's a pretty common issue. It might be a glitch. 

It is very scalable. We have some challenges around application integration, and that requires speaking with support. We tell them we need to change a configuration to a specific size. They can assist us when that happens. That's only for application integration, not data integration. With the cloud, we can easily handle millions of records of data.

A variety of people use the solution in our company. There are 50 to 500 users, approximately. 

Technical support seems to take their time in responding. We'd like a faster reaction time. Sometimes it takes one to two days to get a response.

Positive

We did not previously use a different solution. Currently, we're working with data and application integration with Informatica only.

We've mostly dealt with on-premises deployments. As a developer, most of the time, we face a lot of challenges, which are overcome when it comes to Informatica Cloud. Informatica Cloud is much more convenient, as well as fast, and gives good performance as well. With the cloud, we don't have to install software and there aren't any dependencies. It's much more convenient and easy with Informatica Cloud.

The deployment hardly takes more than a few minutes. 

When it comes to the cloud, there is no maintenance necessary. Informatica takes care of any support tasks. They do the updating, et cetera, as well. 

We handled the initial setup in-house. There were no third parties involved in the deployment process. 

We have not looked at ROI.

The solution is subscription-based. Users are charged based on how many resources are used.

The pricing is pretty good. I'd rate it 8.5 to nine out of ten. 

We did not evaluate any other solutions previously. Our client already had this as a pre-existing tool and did not want to switch. 

I'm working with the latest version of the solution. 

Informatica is a stable, easy tool. New users should go and explore it. There is improvement required in Informatica Application Integration; not the cloud.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. We're quite happy with the product.