Informatica PowerCenter vs Informatica PowerExchange comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 6, 2024

We compared Informatica PowerCenter and Informatica PowerExchange based on our user's reviews in several parameters.

Informatica PowerCenter is praised for its excellent data integration capabilities, strong metadata management, and user-friendly interface, while the pricing and ROI are highlighted positively. In contrast, Informatica PowerExchange stands out for its seamless connectivity, robust performance, and flexibility, but users mention the need for improvements in UI, documentation, and error handling.

Features: Informatica PowerCenter stands out for its excellent data integration capabilities, efficient workflow design and strong metadata management. PowerExchange is highly valued for its seamless integration and connection of data sources, robust data transformation capabilities, and user-friendly interface.

Pricing and ROI: Informatica PowerCenter has a manageable setup cost and a straightforward licensing process, according to user feedback. On the other hand, Informatica PowerExchange offers reasonable pricing compared to other similar products. Its setup cost is straightforward and does not require extensive time or resources. In terms of licensing, it is customizable and adaptable to specific needs, allowing for flexible usage and scalability., Informatica PowerCenter has a highly positive ROI, resulting in improved data integration and management processes and increased efficiency. It offers comprehensive reporting capabilities for better decision-making. On the other hand, Informatica PowerExchange also provides a positive ROI by integrating with various systems and enhancing productivity. It ensures reliability and scalability for handling large data volumes. Both products optimize business processes and deliver value to users.

Room for Improvement: Informatica PowerCenter has room for improvement in its user interface, documentation, training resources, performance, and stability. On the other hand, Informatica PowerExchange needs enhancements in its user interface usability, reliability, documentation, error handling capabilities, and simplified functionality. Both products aim to improve user experience and streamline processes.

Deployment and customer support: Based on user feedback, the duration required to establish a new tech solution like Informatica PowerCenter can vary, with some users spending three months on deployment and others spending an extra week on setup. However, there are users who report a week for both deployment and setup, indicating these terms may refer to the same period. On the other hand, the user feedback for Informatica PowerExchange suggests that the implementation duration varies, with some users spending three months on deployment and others spending only a week on setup. There are also users who mention a week for both deployment and setup, suggesting these terms may refer to the same period and should not be assessed separately., Informatica PowerCenter and PowerExchange both excel in customer service. PowerCenter prioritizes users' needs, with prompt and efficient assistance. PowerExchange receives high praise for its excellent support team, reliable assistance, and valuable solutions to address issues.

The summary above is based on 36 interviews we conducted recently with Informatica PowerCenter and Informatica PowerExchange users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed Informatica PowerCenter vs. Informatica PowerExchange Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: What's the difference between Informatica's PowerExchange and PowerCenter?
Answer: Informatica PowerExchange and Informatica PowerCenter are Data Integration platforms. Below are some of their use cases, including strengths and weaknesses, as reported by others: Informatica PowerExchange is a high-performance Data Extraction and Loading (ETL) platform designed to extract data from various data sources, including mainframes, databases, and flat files, and load it into various target systems. They say the solution is scalable, reliable, and fast. Informatica PowerCenter is reportedly a more comprehensive Data Integration platform that offers a broader range of features and functionality than Informatica PowerExchange, including Data Transformation, Data Quality Management, and Data Governance. PowerCenter may be a good choice for organizations that need a complete Data Integration solution. They say you should use Informatica PowerExchange if: You need a high-performance ETL platform. You need to extract data from a wide range of data sources. You need to load data into a variety of target systems. They say you should use Informatica PowerCenter if: You need a more comprehensive Data Integration solution. You need to perform Data Quality Management, Data Transformation, and Data Governance. You need a platform that is scalable and reliable.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Easy, scalable, robust platform to integrate heterogeneous source platform's data into the unified data warehouse.""One of the most valuable features for us is the metadata repository because it can easily understand the lineage of first target mapping. My company and I also find Informatica really easy to use—when a consultant joins our company, in just a few days to a few weeks, they can understand how to use it—so we prefer to use this ETL tool.""The setup is straightforward.""It is UI friendly and has all the advantages of an ETL tool.""In the end, you have structured, proper data for use in an integrated BI solution.""It has good standard features for ETL development.""The greatest feature is that it is very easy to have someone come in and jump right in. It is one of the nicest tools in terms of getting a person acquainted quickly.""It works with any multi-databases, so it works with Sybase, SQL Server. Also, the performance is really good and it is easy to use."

More Informatica PowerCenter Pros →

"The scalability is excellent.""Provides a significant amount of control over the landscape and overall implementation.""The most valuable feature is connectivity to data sources.""The main benefit of PowerExchange is its native real-time capabilities. Competing tools are counting on third-party packages or Oracle to offer real-time capabilities. However, Informatica has a native ability to scan the data on the file system level and capture the changes almost instantly when I push it to the consumers. The solution has a powerful built-in replication engine.""The user interface and user experience are perfectly all right.""From the product feature or product capability perspective, the aspects around integration, transformation, and standardization are valuable. It's fairly easy to use. It has a GUI-based interface.""Overall, it's a good tool. It's currently number one on the market. It pretty much has all the necessary capabilities to pull the incremental data from the source system, technically speaking.""The data transformation is the solution's most valuable feature."

More Informatica PowerExchange Pros →

Cons
"Its scalability can be improved. It is not scalable.""An issue which should be addressed is that the solution only allows us to do structured, as opposed to unstructured, data processing.""This product is going to decommission in the next couple of years.""We had to take on a large volume of data from the legacy Sybase system. This was taking a very long time, i.e., more than a day. We were trying to improve it with partitions to gpload, but we were told that we can't go more than four partitions.""The pricing could be improved.""I would like to see an improvement in the digital adoption.""Informatica PowerCenter is outdated and would benefit from modernization. They should have a very good migration strategy from Informatica PowerCenter to AACF. Informatica PowerCenter there is no point in using it, you have to use a cloud version.""I would like to see it be able to import data from NoSQL."

More Informatica PowerCenter Cons →

"Apache Spark has a machine learning algorithm, an area where Informatica PowerExchange lacks.""V10.2 is very stable, but we are still struggling to make V10.5 stable. We found services that were down, and PowerExchange stopped working.""Informatica is very expensive in all aspects, so the pricing is something that could be improved.""The connectivity with T24 core banking could be improved.""The solution could be made more user-friendly. The configurations are also quite difficult.""Pushdown optimization could be improved.""I would like the stability to improve.""The solution needs better integration with other tools."

More Informatica PowerExchange Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "We have found the pricing very cost-effective. The licensing is CPU and data source-based."
  • "Cost could be improved."
  • "Licensing is a one time cost. But maintenance costs depend on what you want, how long you need it. Maintenance is a kind of insurance. With health insurance, you don't know whether you will get sick or need to go to hospital or not but you have to have insurance. It's the same thing with support. If you have that expertise in resolving issues, if you have enough experience in your IT department, I would say you don't need the support. But in practice, they recommend you go with the support. If you want support you have to pay for it."
  • "Price-wise, it's more expensive than SSIS, but it's a better tool, so it has more features. Licensing is on a yearly basis."
  • "Its maintenance is expensive."
  • "It's much more expensive, almost three times more expensive than most other solutions."
  • "We are satisfied with the pricing."
  • "I consider this to be an expensive product."
  • More Informatica PowerCenter Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "An annual package license fee is required."
  • "The cost of PowerExchange is reasonable. It does not rely on complicated formulas or unrealistic equations. The pricing model is straightforward. There is one component, and real-time integration is included. Some other solutions require purchasing additional modules or third-party plugins for this capability."
  • "It's expensive. In fact, nobody would buy any product of Informatica if the price was the only consideration. It costs money, and it doesn't come cheap, but it provides value for money in many ways."
  • "There is a need to pay towards the licensing cost of the product. It is an expensive product."
  • "Many users don't prefer to use the product, considering the high costs attached to the licensing part of the solution."
  • More Informatica PowerExchange Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Integration solutions are best for your needs.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up and… more »
    Top Answer:SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free… more »
    Top Answer:Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge… more »
    Top Answer:There is a need to pay towards the licensing cost of the product. It is an expensive product.
    Top Answer:Though Informatica PowerExchange is available as a cloud solution, it can be made better by providing something similar to how Apache Spark is developed, which provides functionalities like in-memory… more »
    Ranking
    3rd
    out of 94 in Data Integration
    Views
    20,419
    Comparisons
    16,998
    Reviews
    30
    Average Words per Review
    472
    Rating
    7.6
    21st
    out of 94 in Data Integration
    Views
    2,856
    Comparisons
    2,156
    Reviews
    7
    Average Words per Review
    600
    Rating
    7.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    PowerCenter
    PowerExchange, Connectors
    Learn More
    Overview

    Informatica PowerCenter is a data integration and data visualization tool. The solution works as an enterprise data integration platform that helps organizations access, transform, and integrate data from various systems. The product is designed to support companies in the full cycle of a project, from its initial rollout to critical deployments. Informatica PowerCenter allows developers and analysts to collaborate while accelerating the work process to deploy projects within days instead of months.

    The Advanced edition of the product provides an additional real-time engine which allows companies to have always-on enterprise data integration. This ensures seamless collaboration and increment of data lineage visibility and impacts analysis.

    The Premium edition of the solution offers an early warning system that detects unexpected behaviors or incorrect utilization of resources in the workflows and alerts companies in the case that these occur. This version of the product also offers automatic data validation, which ensures data accuracy and reduces testing time and expenditure of resources for by up to 90%.

    Informatica PowerCenter Features

    The product provides users with various features which allow them to execute data integration initiatives such as analytics, data warehousing, data governance, consolidation, and application migration. The features of the solution include:

    • Collaboration: Informatica PowerCenter offers role-based tools and processes which enable business self-service while benefiting from high-quality IT resources.

    • Automation: Through various automations and easy-to-use software, users can utilize graphical and codeless tools and initiate effective data integration without additional knowledge.

    • Scalability: The tool provides high scalability to users, which ensures seamless performance and minimum downtime. PowerCenter also has adaptive load balancing, pushdown optimization, and dynamic partitioning.

    • Monitoring: Through the extensive monitoring feature, the operations and governance of the solution are easily overseen by users. The tool also provides alerts that can prevent damage to the system.

    • Real-time data: Through real-time data, users can monitor applications and analytics, ensuring their efficient operation.

    • Prototyping: Informatica lets its users collaborate with information technology to prototype, profile, and validate results in a timely manner.

    • Connectivity: Users can access and integrate data from different types of sources through high-performance connectors.

    • Automated data validation testing: The product offers script-free automated and repeatable audit and validation of data.

    • Data transformation: This feature allows users to use comprehensive parsing of JSON, PDF, XML, Microsoft Office, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for non-relation data.

    • Cloud applications connectivity: The product allows for seamless connection to cloud application sources and targets.

    Informatica PowerCenter Benefits

    The benefits of using Informatica PowerCenter include:

    • The tool can work over a wide range of systems and platforms and also allows for lean integration.

    • It enhances the quality and speed of performance and optimizes the cost of the process for your organization.

    • PowerCenter supports multiple databases, including TPump, Parallel Transporter Fastload, and Teradata MLoad.

    • The tool is very easy to monitor and maintain, which simplifies the data integration process for companies.

    • The centralized error logging system allows users to locate errors in a timely manner and correct them.

    • The tool can convert data from an application to another format, as it serves as one of the most powerful data transformation solutions.

    • PowerCenter can also serve as middleware between two applications.

    • The solution offers both parallel processing and load balancing.

    • PowerCenter is a tool with a high level of security, which also minimizes essential administration activities.

    • The solution ensures the quality of information, as it does not allow invalid or unwanted data to be uploaded to the source.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Yahya T., a developer and architect at L'Oreal, says the product is stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast.

    Mohamed E., a senior manager for Data management and data governance at a tech company, says PowerCenter is stable, mature, and offers flexibility in building the pipeline and has a drag-and-drop mode because it's GUI-based; technical support is brilliant.

    Informatica PowerExchange Connectors provides high performance, out-of-the-box connectivity without having to develop custom data access programs.

    Sample Customers
    University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
    ACH Food, BNSF Railway Company, Illinois State University
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company22%
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Insurance Company7%
    Retailer7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Insurance Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company25%
    Insurance Company25%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm26%
    Insurance Company12%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise74%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise74%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise56%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business12%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise80%
    Buyer's Guide
    Informatica PowerCenter vs. Informatica PowerExchange
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Informatica PowerCenter vs. Informatica PowerExchange and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Informatica PowerCenter is ranked 3rd in Data Integration with 30 reviews while Informatica PowerExchange is ranked 21st in Data Integration with 9 reviews. Informatica PowerCenter is rated 8.0, while Informatica PowerExchange is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Informatica PowerCenter writes "Stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast, but its pricing is expensive". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Informatica PowerExchange writes " Easy to install onto any server". Informatica PowerCenter is most compared with Informatica Cloud Data Integration, Azure Data Factory, SSIS, Databricks and Oracle Data Integrator (ODI), whereas Informatica PowerExchange is most compared with Oracle GoldenGate, Qlik Replicate, Informatica Cloud Data Integration, Azure Data Factory and SSIS. See our Informatica PowerCenter vs. Informatica PowerExchange report.

    See our list of best Data Integration vendors.

    We monitor all Data Integration reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.