FME Flow on Windows

What do you like best about the product?

The FME platform helps to make both easy and complex analysis and data transformations. I don't know any other application that is just as good as FME

What do you dislike about the product?

I cannot think of any downsides at the moment.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

FME platform helps me solve a lot of work challenges. For my current project, we have to migrate spatial data from one data format to another. FME is the best tool to make this possible

What do you like best about the product?

Versatility of use. I can solve almost any data problem I can think of with FME.

What do you dislike about the product?

Very hard to debug (I appear to not be alone since the number of webinars on debugging hard grown). Documentation is generally good but often lacks the details. It's a very complex platform and not for the faint hearted.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Data interoperability between different formats (i.e. CAD, GIS, BIM) and different information systems; Data QA; Data loading into enterprise Geodatabases

What do you like best about the product?

I like the FME Platform because it is simple to use and the interface is easy to understand. Most features work smoothly, and it helps me complete my work faster. I love how easy it is to automate repetitive data tasks, and the straightforward interface saves a lot of time once the workflow is set up. The ability to connect with different data sources without complicating the process is great. I also find the data transformation tools and automation workflows very useful as they make cleaning, converting, and moving data between different systems much easier without doing everything manually.

What do you dislike about the product?

Sometimes the FME Platform feels a bit overwhelming because there are so many options and settings. A few features can take time to learn, especially for a new user. I think simpler guidance and a more beginner-friendly interface in some areas would improve the experience. Specifically, the more advanced workflow settings and some of the transformers can take a little time to understand. Configuring connections between different data sources is not always obvious at first, and it would help to have more step-by-step examples or simpler explanations inside the platform.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

FME Platform helps me manage and automate data tasks easily by connecting different sources, transforming data, and reducing manual work. It saves time on repetitive processes and simplifies data transformations and connections.

What do you like best about the product?

I like how FME Platform's visual no/low code workflow makes it easy to get started and the data caching is a big help for debugging. The platform supports lots of formats which makes it convenient to convert data to fit anywhere. I'm impressed with how easy it is to integrate AI services into a workflow, and the MCP feature is a great way to provide business data to AI while keeping things secure. The automation and scheduling features are superb, removing the need for manual effort and allowing workspaces to run on demand. The self-serve apps enable the business to get what they need independently, which saves time and delivers value across the board. The initial setup was also very easy thanks to the support from our technical advisors.

What do you dislike about the product?

Cross-environment deployments could be streamlined more to make it easier to go from dev-test-prod, etc. That part could definitely be less manual.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

FME Platform addresses data quality issues, connects siloed systems, and reduces manual work. It integrates SCADA, GIS, asset management systems, and automates data processes, saving time for our team.

What do you like best about the product?

A true one-stop shop for building, creating, and editing data pipelines, with orchestration across a broad range of applications—both spatial and non-spatial.

What do you dislike about the product?

It’s hard to be very specific, but my overall impression is that it’s underrated outside the geospatial space, even though it offers a significant number of options.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use it for data migration and for building data pipelines across various applications. It also helps me bring together manual scripting tasks in one place and automate workflows, which makes the overall process more consistent and easier to manage. For example - Migration of database to schema, from On prem to Azure delta lake, from AWS to Azure, automatic data update through APIs. Creating object detection pipelines.

What do you like best about the product?

I like how the UI is very easy to follow. The documentation is also straightforward: the help buttons for each transformer are easy to find and understand. I can do all my GIS and spatial analysis in FME, and the way FME works means I’m automatically creating a workflow and documentation at the same time. Performance is great, and it integrates well with other apps because it can read and write every format I need. FME Flow is worth it as well, since it helps us connect all our different data sources and schedule updates.

What do you dislike about the product?

I dislike how some specific transformers don’t have a Group By option, and how I can’t always use the WHERE clause in the FeatureReader. However, there’s usually a workaround when something isn’t possible in one transformer, and that’s also what I like about FME. With AI, it also becomes much easier to find a solution when you know what you want to do, just not exactly how to do it.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I can solve all of my data problems with FME. One example use case is identifying potential locations for a new energy hub. Based on specific criteria—such as distance to roads, maximum area size, existing buildings, and soil types—it becomes a multi-criteria spatial analysis. I combined eight different data sources, each requiring several processing steps. The result is a set of polygons showing the areas where this energy hub could be developed.

I also created an FME Flow App so colleagues and stakeholders with no FME, GIS, or data expertise could run the analysis themselves by selecting and adjusting the criteria directly in the Flow App. This saved time and costs, and it led to better decision-making.

What do you like best about the product?

FME is easy to understand and straightforward to follow. I also appreciate the wide variety of transformers it offers, which makes FME highly compatible with many different use cases and workflows.

What do you dislike about the product?

For starters, it’s really expensive. I remember that when I was looking for a new role, experience with FME was often listed as a plus. FME does offer a demo, but I find it pretty insufficient, because a short trial period isn’t enough to genuinely learn the tool.

FME has a steep learning curve, and you only start to understand its strengths once you’re working on real projects with messy data, multiple formats, and more complex workflows. In a few weeks you can follow tutorials, but you can’t build real, practical experience or a portfolio you can show employers. For job seekers and early-career professionals, that turns into a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

My recent experience involved extracting metadata from a large IFC file, using FME to clean and quality-check the data, and then inserting it into ESRI geodatabases for ArcGIS map production.

What do you like best about the product?

what i genuinely like most about FME platform is its capability to manage various data formats and integrate many systems within one workflow. one very helpful thing for me was that i can manage data work and build workflows without writing code by just simply drag and drop feature.

What do you dislike about the product?

I don't find anything major to dislike about FME. the only issue i think is pricing which quite costly and so far for me it is worth it.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

before FME our biggest headache was manually converting CAD,GIS, and excel files- it took days and failed repeatedly. now our entire team can transform data in minutes. also i found its performance really good and i really appreciate its support team they helped us whenever we needed.

What do you like best about the product?

There are hundreds of input and output formats available. Transformers can be used to perform a wide range of GIS operations on the data. I also like the visual preview, which makes it easy to check the progress of the data transformation as it runs.

What do you dislike about the product?

While Safe does allow side-by-side version installation, an in-place upgrade is not an option, and transformer upgrades are time-consuming. FME Flow upgrades are much better than they were a few years back, but they still lack the reliability needed to give me full confidence when going into a Flow upgrade.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Everyday data conversion/creation. Enterprise data creation/visualization
Combining data to make more usable output.

What do you like best about the product?

The variety of different file formats FME can handle is very helpful in my role between a couple of teams. From working with GIS, CAD, Hydraulic Model and other water software specialists, there are lots of different file formats that I can handle/manipulate. It handles millions of data points quickly and efficiently, such as point cloud surveys.

What do you dislike about the product?

There are some quality of life features that are unintuitive or annoying. For example, handling user parameters on partial runs, or crashing when browsing for file geodatabases. This means sometimes when not prompted to change user parameters in partial runs, I waste some time and have to go back and change the inputs.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Before using FME, we used a lot of manual data inputting for schedules and other deliverables. By connecting GIS to Excel and CAD - through ArcGIS Online as well - we have saved many hours of completing survey and asset schedules.