IBM MQ Reviews

We provide a channel that we call "the link," so we are distributors of numbering services. These links are connected to a simulator, for example, when MQ is related to some application or the scanner. It's a synchronized communication where we first check two-step authentication. So first, we start with the authentication. In the second step, the MQ server provides the connection. Then the system decides if it can make the connection or not. For example, if I'm uploading something, it will check one cluster, not the other five. So next time, I'm just checking to see if we can connect. After that, the other side is also checking. Those clusters are physical connectivity clusters.

We are sending everything. The partner and we create an acknowledgment number and check to see if everything is fine or not. Once everything checks out and we have verified the person with our partner, we establish the connection, sending a message. Then we are also checking the permissions and format. Sometimes there are some errors, so we have to check the login acknowledgment number and figure out what the error code means. We are handling everything for the project, from the code and deployment to support. We are handling everything through an RFP repository. So from there, we are handling every version released in the last two years. Every year, we upgrade according to the guidelines.

There are so many good things with IBM MQ networking. So many complicated issues arise when you're trying to configure your network, and MQ helps by providing the clustering. In our project architecture, we have a cluster that distinguishes between major requests from applications. There is also a centralized cluster. Let's suppose 10 applications are connecting to that cluster. In each application, we add differently. 

If I need to add multiple features to the centralized cluster, we can create another cluster. From there, the GMG is connected. Also, clusters can provide a backup. So suppose this solution faces some failure, like a power outage, MQ can automatically redistribute the load to other servers. 

We are using the synchronizer and another module in our product. We are stepping the connection from the IBM channel. After that, we can send or receive any message. This is synchronizing. We are handling the clustering, and we have created a design for how the NP is built with the partner.

IBM is still adding some features and coding some other systems on the security end. However, it has the most security features I've seen in a communication solution. Security is the most important thing for our purposes.

Sometimes, there are network issues, which means more applications are connected to those messages, so I would like to fix that. For example, suppose there's a new network, and I want to add virtual memory to address a network issue within the cluster. So there is a network issue that needs to be resolved from the cluster. So I need to add the permissions for that particular team or particular time. There are many complications with IBM MQ servers.

I've been using IBM MQ since last year.

IBM MQ is reliable.

We don't use IBM support much. Sometimes partners will come to us with questions, so we just guide them. Sometimes, you need an MQ person because they have access. We guide the customer to ask this question. You have to ask the MQ entity or the entry person. They will help you. And we are not writing any protocols because a separate team does that. And also, if anything goes wrong with the MQ product, then IBM will address that.

From a coding perspective, it's a straightforward process. There are no complications. We cannot directly access the IBM server because there is a separate team assigned to do some security and get some code of conduct from the MQ team. They are handling the MQ server. So we ask them to create these entry servers to discuss that. And also, we are defining everything. We are responsible for handling invalid queries. So they recreate a wrong question or wrong to them. So, whatever is an appropriate question. 

In terms of maintenance, there are three reasons you'll get a maintenance window. On the maintenance window, we are just restarting the epicenter. Nothing else. If it requires any patching or updates, we perform those. But you don't have to restart the application.  The epicenter typically runs continuously.

I rate IBM MQ seven out of 10. It's a good option for anything banking-related where you need secure communications. There are some other similar products out there, but I'm not about other servers. But I'm aware of our BME. So if you're doing banking or anything that requires secure channels, I would recommend IBM MQ. 

We are using the solution for taking messages off the mainframe and distributing them down to a large, high-performance computing environment supporting over 4,000 servers.

The most valuable features I have found to be the message queue itself and its ability to bridge between mainframe type services to distributed services.

The clustering capabilities have provided some difficulties when it comes to resiliency. This has been a challenge for managing the environment.

I have used the solution for approximately 15 years.

We had stability issues with the solution. I would be looking at replacing the product, but I am not in charge.

I was not on the team that was on our internal MQ for support but I know IBM support services are really good. While I have had some issues and long nights supporting IBM software in my 33 years of IT, the support personnel are good. I always say good things about them. It is not their fault that their products come up short, but they do a good job at supporting customers.

The installation was straightforward until we started to have resiliency problems, it then became more complex to have to set up clustered MQ servers. We were using Linux Red Hat cluster services, which became an extra burden. When it eventually came time to do other activities, such as updating the operating system or a specific driver, for example, a firmware driver for the bare-metal servers themselves, having the MQ's clusters being sensitive caused a challenge for service and support.

The solution costs are high, it is going to cost a fair bit for annual operating costs and support.

I would advise, if I was the person in charge, I would tell my architecture team, "Bring me three other MQ-type solutions and do a POC to see if we can get better performance, resiliency, and reliability at a lower cost."  I guarantee there are solutions out there that can do just those three things.

I rate IBM MQ a six out of ten.

We are currently working on the use case. I work as an IBM system admin and part of MQ is hosted on the IBM server. We have a lot of other servers and appliances for IBM MQ that costs us a lot of money so we are currently looking for less expensive alternatives. Kafka is one of the choices on the table. We are looking to migrate to services on Google which is why Kafka was proposed for us to implement. 

We use it to integrate the backend and front end solutions and applications. 

The most valuable feature is the stability. It's perfect in this way. 

We are looking for another solution that is less expensive.

There is room for improvement. The live and portal monitoring needs improvement. 

I have been using IBM MQ for four years. 

It's very stable. 

It's scalable. 

I would rate their technical support an eight out of ten.

The initial setup was average. Not so complex and not so straightforward. 

The deployment itself, not including testing, took a couple of hours. 

It's expandable but it will add costs that should be taken into consideration. 

I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

In the next release, I would like for there to be easier monitoring. The UI should be easier for non-technical users to set up appliances and servers. 

We use it for file transfer and batch processing. We upload electronic documents to the Chilean government.

We use version M2002 Model B and our clients use version 7.5.

We use it for our factory where we have a system that uploads electronic documents for the entire country.

The high availability and session recovery are the most valuable features because we need the solution live all day.

The product gives us security.

I have been using it for six years.

We are happy with the solution. It is stable and doesn't require much maintenance. Two people maintain this solution: an architect and engineer.

We have two appliances, and that is enough for now.

There are a million end users.

The technical support is good. They respond in a timely fashion when we have problems.

We switched to IBM MQ when we consolidated our software and hardware integrations.

The initial setup was easy because IBM did the installation and integration of MQ with our appliance.

The deployment took a month.

The vendor did the MQ installation. We had a good experience with the IBM consultants.

We don't keep track of return on investment because we offer a public service.

The price is high. 

I did not choose this solution. The company has had it for over 20 years.

If you want high availability with little maintenance, choose this solution.

We don't use containers yet.

I would rate the solution as a nine (out of 10) because it is not perfect.

The most valuable features are the transactional semantics around messaging, and some of the reliability that they have built-in, from disaster recovery and deliver-once, and at most months, schemes for messages.

One of the things we do is, we send SWIFT messages and SWIFT is built on the MQ protocols. So, that's kind of its core features.

I really need more of the API management. It's perhaps the biggest thing. I don't really care that much for the analytic side but in terms of monitoring, we have everything tied in the way we need. However, that involved a lot of work on our side, but more importantly, it is really some of the APIs that allow me to do administration and provisioning the whole time.

The migration from different versions can be very different and difficult. We build a lot of our code around it. For example, we wrap it with the APIs and we embed a lot of things into our environment. We have close to 400,000 lines of code just around that and it has to be a reviewed with every upgrade.

We have a rather large implementation. Perhaps, the largest one on the planet and from a stability perspective, it's very stable, i.e., when it's used appropriately.

We usually always get to the right people, because of the criticality of some of our problems. So, it works very well.

The setup was straightforward and we wrapped it in a very complex way.

You should read the manual.

The way we use this solution, there is nothing else that even comes close to it.

What's important is that we can team up and work together because we tend to drive the products really hard. So, that relationship with the vendor, at the technical side, is really important to us while selecting a vendor.

Specifically for MQ, the most valuable feature is the ability for us to deliver messages between applications using the MQ message queuing.

It's more of a guaranteed delivery. So, even if some of our systems are down at that time of delivering messages, when our systems come back up, it goes ahead and resends the messages, so we ensure that the messages are guaranteed.

I haven't seen any features that we could exploit today that's not currently available. I think everything that's in there today in terms of features; it meets all of my requirements. Everything that were shortcomings in the past, they've already been addressed from different users. The current version 8 is very stable and contains everything that we need to run our operations.

It's one of our more stable products on the CMS platform. We really haven't had any issues with that in terms of severity incidents, at least of what I'm aware of for the last three years.

It's very stable; we've not had to dedicate a lot of resources to support the product and that's a plus.

We have always had some unexpected workload coming in and we haven't had any issues of scaling up or down as and when we need to, so as to handle larger message workloads.

The only time that we have used support is when we do upgrades. We'll talk to IBM and maybe resolve some of the discrepancies in the product. IBM is very helpful. They are very responsive and if they can't answer the question, they find the person that can.

Look at the use case and verify that this product, i.e, the IBM MQ, can meet all of those requirements. If not, then go back and say that this is the feature that we probably may need, because every company may be different in terms of requirements for the product. If they have something that is beyond what this product is capable of delivering, then go ahead, open up a price quote for it.

It has always delivered and met all of our application requirements. Due to this, it has no shortcomings that I've experienced.

The criteria we look for while selecting a vendor are stability, where they are in the market place, what other research firms have placed them for the area we are looking for like Forrester and RAD group. We depend on them a lot to narrow down the number of vendors that we are looking for.

We use this solution locally and work in port authority where we deal with multiple parties like warehousing, containers, customs and Egyptian customs. Therefore we can communicate with each other and achieve middleware goals. We use the MQ Server and MQ client in each party and control it with the MQ server in port authority.

The product has allowed our organization to deal with all parties, like containers and warehousing. As a result, we can deal with these parties, exchange messages, and achieve our goals.

We have found the security and monitoring capabilities of the product most valuable. The product helps us monitor messages with other queues, view duplicated messages and control undelivered messages so they can be stored in pack-out queues and restored. We like more than one feature in MQ as the product is secure. For example, we can exchange messages between all parties with a stake and have control of undelivered and unrouted messages. Furthermore, with a scheme of validation, we can report access.

The dashboard is handy because we use it to monitor the messages and know how many messages are delivered to parties' dashboards. For example, we can notice how many letters are delivered, how many messages are undelivered, and how many messages are brought incorrectly by the dashboard. However, it would be great if the dashboard had additional features like a board design or picture management features.

We have been using this solution for over six years and are currently using MQ version nine.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. Over ten parties, with 10,000 people, are using this solution in our organization, and two employees are required for maintenance. One employee is a system analyst, and the other is an integration developer.

I rate technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

We did not previously use any other solutions.

The initial setup was straightforward. It was easy to install and configure.

The deployment was done in-house.

The product is good, and our organization has used this product for more than ten years.

The licenses for our company are according to port authority contract sales and we buy a license for six months or one year. I don't know the exact costs of the licenses.

I rate this solution a ten out of ten because we have no issues with it. The solution is good, but improvements could be made to the dashboard.

We have various strips statements, and we use IBM MQ to pass those strips statements to different systems within our organization.

Encryption and the fact that we have not had any data loss issues so far have been very valuable features. IBM MQ is well encrypted so that we are well within our compliance and regulatory requirements, so that is a plus point as well.

I would like to see their cloud feasibility with other vendors. I know that they are very much tied to their own cloud right now, but I don't know how they are supporting AWS and Azure.

With IBM products, there's less marketing. If they do more demos and more seminars on their products, it will be very useful. On a given day. I get seminar invites for many vendors and products, but for IBM, I may get an invite once or twice a year.

Documentation is easily available to people who know about IBM products. However, if you're not familiar with the products and because there are no popups about seminars and product news, you will not be able to easily find the documentation. So, I think that there's a gap in IBM's marketing, which needs to be improved.

It's been a pretty reliable and well structured solution so far.

It's very good and scalable. Currently, we use it within the EMEA and APAC regions, and we have a few regions in the Middle East as well. We haven't had any issues so far in terms of scalability because we started with APAC. Usually, we start with only London and then slowly start extending to Europe and APAC regions. So, it's scalable because we started with one region, and now, we already have four or five regions.

We have a middleware team of 45 to 50 people in APAC and EMEA who use IBM MQ, but the usage is not limited to the team. We have users across all our venous functions everywhere because this is for backend transmissions connectivity. We use Message Queue everywhere.

At the moment, there are no plans to increase usage, but I think we'll soon be looking to do so. By the first quarter of 2022, we will be moving most applications to the cloud. We know that IBM MQ is very well supported in the cloud and that it will be easier. Right now, our infrastructure is very much on-premise dependent, and we have some legacy dependencies there. So to get to the cloud for us is a big journey, and once we are at that stage, then we'll be able to look into increasing usage.

We setup IBM MQ about four or five years back. I think the setup now would be much easier than the one we did then.

IBM MQ was the first product that I got introduced to when I started my journey with IBM. This is my 14th year in this industry, and I see that this application is still very much useful and applicable. So I always recommend IBM MQ, and this is one of the most popular IBM products.

I would rate it at seven on a scale from one to ten.