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Appian vs IBM WebSphere BPMS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Appian
Ranking in Process Automation
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (10th), Rapid Application Development Software (9th), Low-Code Development Platforms (5th), Process Mining (8th)
IBM WebSphere BPMS
Ranking in Process Automation
28th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Appian is 5.9%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM WebSphere BPMS is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Kunal Sharda - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience enables seamless automation and elevates process efficiency while embracing innovative technologies
The features of Appian that have proven to be the most beneficial are its capability to create processes and integrate with external systems while ensuring data consistency across all the systems. The latest features of Appian are quite useful around the UI/UX design and the artificial intelligence integrations. Appian is aiding in leveraging AI technologies in multiple ways: one way is for developers, as they make development efficient and quick by enabling developer co-pilots across various phases of the application, which helps design Appian quickly and provides suggestions along the way. Another way is through AI Skills, which can be integrated anywhere in the process model to leverage artificial intelligence for tasks such as extracting data from documents, summarizing information from documents or long paragraphs, and building custom prompts with Appian. Appian also utilizes AI for business users, providing a feature called process each view, enabling business users to create their own dashboards, reports, and gain insights from their data and processes using artificial intelligence. It's multi-fold and always growing.
CB
Developers gain flexibility to build custom controls with numerous integration options
Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases. Regarding AI-driven process optimizations, we have not implemented these features with IBM WebSphere BPMS. In recent versions, IBM has introduced some generative AI features, and we plan to migrate to the newer versions within approximately one year.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It has created executable requirements and speeds up the SDLC process greatly."
"The solution has a lot of strong features for the financial industry, it is very easy to use."
"SAIL (Self-Assembling Interface Layer), a scripting language provided by Appian. It is the equivalent of JS and CSS. It allows creation of complex UIs which are also responsive. With SAIL, we have a single language for both the UI logic and its appearance. UI components can be built as reusable components and used in multiple UI interfaces."
"Compared to other code tools that I've seen, Appian has a more robust rules engine"
"Appian's most valuable features are the quick time it takes to develop for the market. It's easy and faster than other BPM solutions."
"Recently, we added Appian Process Mining, Appian Portals, and now Appian RPA."
"Process Modeling enables creation of business process workflows. You can create complex business workflows in a visual manner, and it is also easy to debug/monitor."
"I find the BPM the most valuable feature."
"The UI capabilities of the solution are great. The speed of delivery is good."
"We like the feature in which we can trace back instances."
"The most valuable feature of IBM WebSphere BPMS is the systematic framework it provides for building different systems."
"IBM WebSphere BPMS provides significant return on investments, especially in the BAW component."
"This product is flexible in its ability to integrate processes and it can be extended and integrated with other software."
 

Cons

"From a reseller's point of view, subscription licensing could be improved to be more cost-effective, especially for new prospects and smaller investments."
"If that had more DevOps capabilities, it would be an excellent product."
"It is also not easy to learn. Training tutorials could be improved."
"One of the areas that Appian is working on is to improve its UI capabilities and give more flexibility to the UI."
"There are some restrictions with respect to using external components within Appian. So, for example, if we do not have a particular feature available, there's a long cycle of getting approvals and all of that. That does not offer flexibility, which definitely can be improved on."
"Authoring tool is slow to use resulted in limitations on how quickly solutions can be built."
"​Appian is easy to set up, but JBoss is complex. JBoss is the application server for running Appian."
"The performance is pretty good, but the distortions need to be optimized in order for it to work well."
"Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases."
"The user interface could be improved, and although integration opportunities are good, they could be improved further."
"There is a need for more capabilities in low-code and no-code development to increase efficiency and make implementation simpler."
"The solution lacks acceptable stability."
"Sometimes there are tasks that failed without any reason."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"More flexibility in the licensing model is still needed because initially there were customers who are looking at only one or two use cases of business areas, but now the business areas are changing and there is a larger scope. One license model may not fit everyone. They need to be a little more flexible on the licensing model."
"It is fully managed, and I don't believe there are any additional expenses."
"The solution offers a monthly subscription model. That's what we use. I recall it being about $90 a month. They do have different tiers."
"The license is a bit expensive and the pricing model is sometimes confusing for new users or business users. It is difficult for them to know what volume of usage they will have to be able to purchase the best-suited license at the beginning."
"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."
"It is expensive, but powerful. I would recommend comparing against cheaper licensing products and open source."
"The cost is a bit higher than other low-code competitors, OutSystems and Mendix. The price needs to be more competitive."
"The licensing will be on a monthly basis. We are estimating that cost to be around $2000 to maybe $3,000 per month. We don't foresee any costs above that."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere BPMS?
Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases. Regarding AI-driven process optimizations, we have not implemented t...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere BPMS?
IBM WebSphere BPMS allows users to build workflows and dashboards. It is a developer-friendly product. The product features a great UI interface that is mobile-friendly, tab-friendly, and desktop-f...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM WebSphere BPMS?
Understanding the benefits and improvements that come with using the product is essential. IBM WebSphere BPMS is performing excellently, and I do not see any significant areas requiring improvement...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
WebSphere BPMS
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
Schahin Group, Korean Credit Card Company, Versicherungskammer Bayern, Biogrid Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. IBM WebSphere BPMS and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.