Cloud workflows have accelerated integrations and now demand better debugging and DevOps support
What is our primary use case?
IBM App Connect serves as our integration platform, allowing us to connect application systems and data without heavy load or heavy coding. In my current organization, we use the AWS cloud, and IBM App Connect enables us to easily integrate with that AWS cloud. We also have Salesforce and Slack alerts, so we can handle Slack channels, pop-ups, and file uploads using the platform.
Everything is on the cloud right now, so we need cloud-to-cloud support. IBM App Connect makes it very easy to integrate from cloud to cloud. The platform also supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid integration. We are using the cloud integration for all our requirements.
Since everything is on the cloud, we have to integrate everything on the cloud for whatever we require. We use IBM App Connect for anything we need to build, any Slack-related work, and ServiceNow automation. We have ServiceNow trigger new incidents, and we have to alert those things via mail and Teams. This kind of automation is easily handled through the platform.
What is most valuable?
With minimal code, we can easily integrate with other systems. IBM App Connect offers a low-code, no-code approach. Sometimes we don't need any code, and sometimes we need a little bit of code. There are hundreds of connectors available, which reduces custom API work. The data mapping UI provides visual mapping, auto-suggest, and field mapping. Transmission between JSON, XML, and CSV formats is also possible. IBM App Connect provides hybrid integration support, which I really appreciate. Built-in error handling and security features are included, such as OAuth 2.0, TLS, secret management, and role-based access. One main feature is that IBM App Connect is Kubernetes-friendly, running well on the OpenShift container in my runtime environment.
The low-code approach significantly reduces the time of our resources. We can even reduce the number of resources because the integration doesn't require heavy coding. This saves both time and money.
I don't have an exact number, but for traditional coding that would take one day, IBM App Connect can finish the work in about four hours. Authorization and authentication API setup, which would typically require one to two days, can be finished within one to two hours maximum. Data mapping that would take around six to eight hours can be done within one hour using IBM App Connect. The same applies to error handling, testing, and fixing. Overall, 50 to 60% of the time is saved when using IBM App Connect.
IBM App Connect definitely saves a lot of time, approximately 50 to 60%. Based on the time savings, we can reduce the number of employees needed. For resource utilization, we can use fewer resources. With the time saved, we need fewer employees, and based on that, we save money on reduced resources.
What needs improvement?
IBM App Connect provides many features, but there are several areas for improvement. Better debugging and observability would help us track any single transaction end-to-end across steps and connectors. Features such as a step-by-step line view and one-click download for flow execution would be beneficial. Improved CI/CD pipeline and GitOps experience would be valuable. The team wants flows as code and predictable promotion across development, test, and production environments. Stronger native Git integration, export-import functionalities, and first-class pipeline templates like Jenkins, GitHub, and Azure DevOps would be beneficial. More cloud-native, lightweight runtime options would be very helpful. Connector reliability and consistency need improvement because some connectors feel more mature than others, and version changes can break mapping. Pricing and licensing clarity is important because the licensing is complex and can slow down adoption and planning.
Some improvement areas include handling very complex structures that the platform currently does not support. Improvements on the DevOps side, particularly providing templates, would be beneficial. The platform is somewhat expensive and hard to predict in terms of cost. Debugging features need to be provided. For CI/CD, the flows are not truly accurate and need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used IBM App Connect since 2021, when I was at my previous company.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
IBM App Connect is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
IBM App Connect is very scalable and a flexible tool. We can easily scale between any connector or anything.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is available 24/7. Anytime we need any help, support is accessible.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before IBM App Connect, I used a few solutions, including custom point-to-point integration. There were problems with tight coupling, central bottlenecks everywhere, and long release cycles. IBM App Connect overcomes these issues.
How was the initial setup?
The pricing is somewhat high. The setup looks very simple, but the licensing takes more time to obtain.
What was our ROI?
IBM App Connect's low-code approach allows us to reduce the time required from our resources. We can even reduce the number of resources because integration doesn't require heavy coding, saving both time and money.
IBM App Connect definitely saves significant time, approximately 50 to 60%. Based on the time savings, we can reduce the number of employees needed. For resource utilization, we can use fewer resources. With the time saved, we need fewer employees, and based on that, we save money on reduced resources.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the private cloud deployment on AWS. My company purchased IBM App Connect through the AWS Marketplace. IBM App Connect is a very user-friendly tool, and we can very easily integrate with other applications. I would definitely recommend it. The overall review rating for IBM App Connect is 7.5 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Offers flexible adapters, good scalability but logging can be difficult at times
What is our primary use case?
We use it to transform data, route data, and validate data. So, App Connect is an enterprise service bus (ESB), like Mule, Fuse, or Appian. This means it's really an enterprise service bus, and we use it for integration. We interconnect applications and protocols with App Connect.
What is most valuable?
I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's likely an adapter for that.
You want to connect to various services like Gmail, email, FTP, SFTP, MQ, JMS – anything you want, it's likely included in App Connect through the adapters.
The main advantage is that it's a central point. If we compare it to a country, it's the post office.
What needs improvement?
There is room for improvement in the logging messages. Sometimes, if you put someone new into App Connect, they can abandon it the same day. The logging is really painful.
However, IBM has made efforts to integrate with Elasticsearch for logging, so that's an improvement. Overall, the logging can be difficult at times.
One more important point is that if IBM improves its CI/CD capabilities, it will make a big difference. Right now, I have to create my own CI/CD setup from scratch for every client, which is inefficient.
Back in 2013, I worked with Sonic ESB, and even then, it had CI/CD with Maven. With App Connect, you need to build everything yourself when using tools like Jenkins, Bamboo, or CircleCI. IBM really needs to provide official support for this.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I've had stability problems in the past, but the issues were usually due to configuration errors.
When we're able to prove that the problem is with the tool itself, IBM sends what it calls a 'fix pack' to address the specific issue.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We never had scalability issues. We always install it in cluster mode, and it's been very reliable. I've never had a problem scaling it up.
I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
It's the typical IBM support experience. Sometimes, you send a message, and you can tell it'll be handled in India or some other company.
You get the feeling that some support staff are just waiting to go home, but sometimes you get a really good person who follows through. It's inconsistent.
Support is definitely a weak point.
How was the initial setup?
Every company I've been to, I had to redo everything. I connect to their Linux system – just dev, not even quality, UAT, or production. They give me dev access, I connect, and I test things.
it's not that the setup is difficult, but there are many factors.
I send an email explaining the issues I find. Twice in my life, this email went all the way to the board with the CIO and others. They questioned my findings, and after I provided detailed explanations, they asked me to fix the problems.
There are two main things. First, App Connect is very strict software. You need to read every line of the documentation. If the documentation says 'don't do this', then don't do it. People sometimes don't have time and skip around in the documentation.
Then, I come in and find issues. Like, I've been to a company – a big insurance company managing millions – where there were no passwords or restrictions on their production App Connect and MQ systems. I asked what was going on!
This is just one example. I went to another company where they changed the file access rights ('chmod' in Linux) on MQ, even though the MQ documentation specifically says not to touch them or that it will break. It's written in the PDF, and someone changed it anyway to make their life easier. But those changes create problems because you're paid to manage complexity, not avoid it.
So, installation is not easy, and there are many options. Also, you need to understand the contract you signed with IBM. If you signed up for active-active clusters, don't set it up as active-passive. IBM can take legal action if you violate the contract terms. And so on.
It's the same for MQ because MQ is strongly linked with App Connect. They can be installed independently now (that wasn't possible in old versions like IIB), but many clients only wanted the ESB. So, IBM separated them. There's a strong relationship between MQ and App Connect, and some App Connect features require MQ.
There are two different versions of App Connect Cloud – Smart Connect and one that's similar to the on-premises version. So, it can be confusing for someone new to it.
What was our ROI?
For a good ROI, you need to find someone who works well. If the person isn't skilled, your ROI will suffer. The problem is there aren't many of us with this expertise.
If a company has a good individual or, better yet, a good team, then App Connect works well. But many young people don't want to put in the effort. It requires a wide knowledge base - Salesforce, SAP, SFTP, HTTP, security, and more. They'd rather specialize in Java or .NET.
With any ESB (not just App Connect), you need patience and a willingness to learn. It's a common problem with other ESBs like Fuse and Mule, too.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
App Connect is not cheap. But there might be other products like Cisco that are even more expensive.
What other advice do I have?
My recommendation depends on lots of factors. Things like architecture, design, existing IBM products, and budget all play a role in the decision. For a small company, I might suggest something cheaper.
But App Connect is a very good tool.
Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Quick builder for simple applications with XML structure.
What do you like best about the product?
I've been using this line of products for 3 years now, starting with IBM IIB 9. It's very quick in developing simple applications that manipulate XML or CSV files. It's more cumbersome when the message structure is non standard, but supports Java for these cases.
What do you dislike about the product?
I have used it only on-premises, and sometimes, while developing, the broker can be unreliable, causing crashes and/or freezes when deploying repeatedly from the toolkit (valid for pre-12 versions). The documentation can be more transparent and exemplified as some areas are very superficially described.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Easy integration of external databases and easy understanding of the design flow both help with speed, of development and understanding of new flows and discovering issues. The new versions of App Connect are headed in the right direction with the new design, cloud adapters and implementations.
Stable to use, connect with the cloud, and to deploy
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution to connect with MQ. We manage the solution and send the results.
What is most valuable?
It's stable to use, connect with the cloud, and to deploy.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be better.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
How are customer service and support?
Technical support takes time to respond.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup isn't easy. It's medium difficulty.
You need between two and five people for deployment.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.
Excited to see this recent announcement of IBM App Connect Integration Suite
What do you like best about the product?
Package of multiple products
Conversion of existing PVU model
Easy to use
Not bounded to use just one product, same can be reused with other products
What do you dislike about the product?
Licensing model is still not clear, Hoping this would be announced soon or I might understand more with reps
Developer need to write lot of extra logic/code for logging/monitoring/replay , this should be out of box of product itself like dell Boomi.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Building multi cloud App Integration
Challenging to migrate to from IIB v9
What do you like best about the product?
Initially liked the idea of libraries, but they did not prove to be as useful as we hoped.
What do you dislike about the product?
Inability to leverage libraries for adapters, like the SAP adapter.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We are still in migration, due to the need to change the migration path when we encountered issues with placing adapters within libraries.
Sleep well with IIB/App Connect
What do you like best about the product?
A highly reliable and robust product that you can trust for performance and scalability.
What do you dislike about the product?
Ease of development, tracing, tracking etc
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
ERP integration supporting large scale business transformation, legacy integrations etc enabling real time access to business data and events
Need AppConnect iPaaS on AWS
What do you like best about the product?
Product stability is great.........................
What do you dislike about the product?
No iPaaS offering on AWS......................
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Enterprise app integration
Quick and easy, hits limits fairly soon
What do you like best about the product?
It is super easy to spin up VM instances, and develop integrations using the tool. For something that takes 24 hours to build in node.js and deploy to IBM cloud, I could build the same thing and deploy in 4 hours.
What do you dislike about the product?
This is not suited for high volumes or large data sets at all. WHY DO YOU STILL USE FLASH FOR THE WEB GUI?!? The VMs get capped out really easily even at 16 GB ram and 2 vCPUs. Have to treat it very daintily.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Quickly building and integrating between cloud (Salesforce, Concur, etc.) and on-premise (FTP, DB, JDE) systems.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
This is an easy way to connect Cloud and on-premise systems using the various connectors. Build integrations quickly, for relatively simple use cases, but don't expect to be processing 100ks+ records at a time.
Multos annos - multae solutiones
What do you like best about the product?
It strengthens, power, stability, scalability. As a product of many years, it takes all the good from the previous versions and adopts the new technologies.
What do you dislike about the product?
The development lifecycle, and the High Availability (HA) configuration in previous versions or without Integrated Control Plane (ICP).
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
In the banking business, due to the powerful throughput, we can be sure to manage all the traffic needed without losing data, and with the addition of MQ, we have confidence that our transactions are safe.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
If you are planning to use it as an old-fashioned ESB, it's a great, stable, and versatile tool. However, if you are planning to use it in Kubernetes environments, it's not so good because of its footprint and weight.
