I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the model changes that they've implemented a while back, it actually made it more expensive to use, especially on the server side. They changed the licensing model, and that made customers think it is overpriced. Some customers were actually looking at alternatives. Pricing with the model changes was perceived negatively. I work primarily with enterprise customers, Vodacom, Eskom, so it's tier-one customers. For small customers, this solution is a bit too expensive. They don't really use it and just do direct integration on smaller implementations. This is basically used by tier-one customers. FME is still able to save time and money for clients. It's still a good investment. Regarding similar products to FME, GE developed a product called Data Fabric. That is a real-time operational integration platform, Data Fabric Network Connect, which is a GE Grid OS product. It is actually more expensive than FME, but the purpose is different as it's operational. The vendor in this case is GE, and it's a company that we bought that used to be called Greenbird. In current use scenarios, FME is still leading compared to Data Fabric. The GE product has a different application.
The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point. There must be a technical or commercial reason why it has not been done in FME yet, but many people ask for it, and it just doesn't appear. We can do it, but we have to create a child workbench to do it.
Improvements could be made to mapping presentations. Though there are functions available for this, it is a complex and broad area that is not covered to the fullest extent. There is a presentation module, however, it is in no way a real GIS. For now, there is the FME Forms product to enter detailed data mapping setups, which is a great tool. However, having an online medium for this would be great. In a future version, it would be great to have a website where you can log in and create your workspace to do the detailed data processing and publish it to the FME Flow environment where it can be used to participate in the general data processing setups.
Special Adviser at a marketing services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jul 26, 2022
FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions. In the next release, it would be useful to have recommendations on how and how not to use the different functions. It would be helpful because this is a tool we only use once in a while and you have to wrap your mind around this tool quickly it can be difficult.
FME is the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data. Run workflows on the desktop or deploy them in a server or cloud environment.
I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the model changes that they've implemented a while back, it actually made it more expensive to use, especially on the server side. They changed the licensing model, and that made customers think it is overpriced. Some customers were actually looking at alternatives. Pricing with the model changes was perceived negatively. I work primarily with enterprise customers, Vodacom, Eskom, so it's tier-one customers. For small customers, this solution is a bit too expensive. They don't really use it and just do direct integration on smaller implementations. This is basically used by tier-one customers. FME is still able to save time and money for clients. It's still a good investment. Regarding similar products to FME, GE developed a product called Data Fabric. That is a real-time operational integration platform, Data Fabric Network Connect, which is a GE Grid OS product. It is actually more expensive than FME, but the purpose is different as it's operational. The vendor in this case is GE, and it's a company that we bought that used to be called Greenbird. In current use scenarios, FME is still leading compared to Data Fabric. The GE product has a different application.
The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point. There must be a technical or commercial reason why it has not been done in FME yet, but many people ask for it, and it just doesn't appear. We can do it, but we have to create a child workbench to do it.
Improvements could be made to mapping presentations. Though there are functions available for this, it is a complex and broad area that is not covered to the fullest extent. There is a presentation module, however, it is in no way a real GIS. For now, there is the FME Forms product to enter detailed data mapping setups, which is a great tool. However, having an online medium for this would be great. In a future version, it would be great to have a website where you can log in and create your workspace to do the detailed data processing and publish it to the FME Flow environment where it can be used to participate in the general data processing setups.
FME's price needs improvement for the African market.
FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions. In the next release, it would be useful to have recommendations on how and how not to use the different functions. It would be helpful because this is a tool we only use once in a while and you have to wrap your mind around this tool quickly it can be difficult.
The price is a bit high in comparison with other tools. But maybe it's justified because it has a lot of possibilities.