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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Apache Kafka

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/AApache Kafka is an open-source stream processing platform developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala and Java. The Kafka event streaming platform is used by thousands of companies for high-performance data pipelines, streaming analytics, data integration, and mission-critical applications.N/A

    IBM App Connect

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AIBM’s App Connect is a cloud-based data integration platform with data mapping and transformation capabilities within connectors between high-volume systems. App Connect also offers near-real time data synchronization and an API builder that is adaptable to the user’s coding skill level.N/A
    Pricing
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Considered Both Products
    Apache
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    94%
    Would buy again
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    17 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Cloud Data Integration
    Comparison of Cloud Data Integration features of Apache Kafka and IBM App Connect
    Feature
    Apache Kafka
    -
    Ratings
    IBM App Connect
    8.0
    7 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Pre-built connectors00 Ratings9.17 Ratings
    Connector modification00 Ratings8.26 Ratings
    Support for real-time and batch integration00 Ratings8.47 Ratings
    Data quality services00 Ratings8.47 Ratings
    Data security features00 Ratings8.47 Ratings
    Monitoring console00 Ratings5.67 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Make
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM MQ
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Zapier
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    TIBCO Messaging
    Score7.7 out of 10
    TIBCO Integration (including BusinessWorks and Flogo)
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (19 ratings)
    8.4
    (8 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.4
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Apache KafkaIBM App Connect
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Apache
    Apache Kafka is well-suited for most data-streaming use cases. Amazon Kinesis and Azure EventHubs, unless you have a specific use case where using those cloud PaAS for your data lakes, once set up well, Apache Kafka will take care of everything else in the background. Azure EventHubs, is good for cross-cloud use cases, and Amazon Kinesis - I have no real-world experience. But I believe it is the same.
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    IBM
    IBM App Connect Enterprise is well-suited for high-volume enterprise systems that demand robust scalability and high reliability. It excels at hybrid connectivity by easily integrating various on-premises systems using its extensive catalog of connectors. It is also ideal for workflows that require a balance between efficient low-code and the incorporation of complex, custom Java logic. On the other hand, the platform is less appropriate in scenarios requiring high development autonomy, as installation and configuration at the server level is excessively complex, creating a strong dependency on other infrastructure teams. It is also not ideal if detailed traceability and monitoring of workflows must be seamlessly managed within the tool itself, as this is difficult to manage directly in ACE. IBM App Connect Enterprise está bien adaptado para sistemas empresariales de alto volumen que exigen una escalabilidad robusta y alta confiabilidad. Sobresale en la conectividad híbrida al integrar fácilmente diversos sistemas locales (on-premises) utilizando su amplio catálogo de conectores. Además, es ideal para flujos que requieren un equilibrio entre el low-code eficiente y la incorporación de lógica Java compleja y personalizada. Por otro lado, la plataforma es menos apropiada en escenarios donde se requiere una alta autonomía de desarrollo, debido a que la instalación y configuración a nivel de servidor es excesivamente compleja , lo cual crea una fuerte dependencia de otros equipos de infraestructura. Tampoco es ideal si la trazabilidad detallada y el monitoreo de los flujos deben gestionarse sin problemas dentro de la propia herramienta, ya que esto resulta difícil de manejar directamente en ACE. Parts of this review were originally written in Spanish and have been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Apache
    • Really easy to configure. I've used other message brokers such as RabbitMQ and compared to them, Kafka's configurations are very easy to understand and tweak.
    • Very scalable: easily configured to run on multiple nodes allowing for ease of parallelism (assuming your queues/topics don't have to be consumed in the exact same order the messages were delivered)
    • Not exactly a feature, but I trust Kafka will be around for at least another decade because active development has continued to be strong and there's a lot of financial backing from Confluent and LinkedIn, and probably many other companies who are using it (which, anecdotally, is many).
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • Just the ability to display and consume data through a single dashboard makes this a great application for our business purposes.
    • With the ability to consume their exposed API, data validation and manipulation becomes a breeze.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Apache
    • Sometimes it becomes difficult to monitor our Kafka deployments. We've been able to overcome it largely using AWS MSK, a managed service for Apache Kafka, but a separate monitoring dashboard would have been great.
    • Simplify the process for local deployment of Kafka and provide a user interface to get visibility into the different topics and the messages being processed.
    • Learning curve around creation of broker and topics could be simplified
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    IBM
    • modernization made easy, when a modernized project is created by importing a java code.
    • more pre-built connectors
    • watsonx code assistance for ESQL capability.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Apache
    Kafka is quickly becoming core product of the organization, indeed it is replacing older messaging systems. No better alternatives found yet
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    It is the best on-premise application to cloud integration in the market. I guess IBM is planning to integrate IBM App Connect with the IBM API Connect solution.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Apache
    Apache Kafka is highly recommended to develop loosely coupled, real-time processing applications. Also, Apache Kafka provides property based configuration. Producer, Consumer and broker contain their own separate property file
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    You can do some really powerful things with this system. The overall design is an attempt to make configurable some of the routine tasks/common functionality, but allow for development/customization of the core of the application.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Apache
    Support for Apache Kafka (if willing to pay) is available from Confluent that includes the same time that created Kafka at Linkedin so they know this software in and out. Moreover, Apache Kafka is well known and best practices documents and deployment scenarios are easily available for download. For example, from eBay, Linkedin, Uber, and NYTimes.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    Usually, the IBM Ops team provides a resolution or a response for 80% of defects raised in my project. There is one which has been open on their end for more than 3 months. With literally no response even after multiple follow-ups.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Apache
    I used other messaging/queue solutions that are a lot more basic than Confluent Kafka, as well as another solution that is no longer in the market called Xively, which was bought and "buried" by Google. In comparison, these solutions offer way fewer functionalities and respond to other needs.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    IBM App Connect started as MQSeries Integrator (MQSI) more than 20 years ago. In the IT environment, this is like an eternity. And this allowed a lot of customer experience and needs to be embedded in the product. Without it becoming a legacy application. The changes done in the latest version are preparing it for a Cloud/containers world without losing the previously learned knowledge.
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    Return on Investment
    Apache
    • Positive: Get a quick and reliable pub/sub model implemented - data across components flows easily.
    • Positive: it's scalable so we can develop small and scale for real-world scenarios
    • Negative: it's easy to get into a confusing situation if you are not experienced yet or something strange has happened (rare, but it does). Troubleshooting such situations can take time and effort.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • We never implemented Cast Iron in production. When compared to five competing products in the iPaaS space it didn't make it past the first few test scenarios we threw at it.
    Incentivized
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