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AWS Step Functions vs Control-M comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.3
JAMS automates job management, reducing costs and labor while enhancing efficiency and allowing staff to focus on critical tasks.
Sentiment score
5.3
AWS Step Functions reduce development time and costs, enhance scalability and reliability, streamline workflows, and improve ROI.
Sentiment score
6.4
Control-M automates workflows to enhance efficiency, reduce errors and costs, centralize processes, and optimize resource management for better returns.
The design of JAMS makes it very easy to copy jobs and make minimal changes while ensuring functionality.
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
The main return on investment with Helix Control-M has been a reduction in downtime and minimization of manual interventions, which has improved our operational efficiency.
Cloud Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
You can run a million batch jobs or tasks at night when all of your highly skilled people are at home sleeping.
Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
By implementing automation tools, you can minimize human errors and improve efficiency.
Director of Sales at a tech services company with self employed
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
JAMS offers impressive, knowledgeable support with quick, effective solutions, proactively addressing user needs through various channels.
Sentiment score
5.9
AWS Step Functions support is reliable, but users desire quicker, tailored assistance; enterprise support offers rapid, expensive yet effective help.
Sentiment score
7.2
Control-M's support team is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some users experience delays or need escalation.
Their response is prompt, exemplifying how support should be.
Manager of Reliability Engineering and Security Operations at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
They are very quick to respond depending on the issue's severity.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
We contacted JAMS vendor, who guided us through the necessary steps, and after following their guidance, everything was resolved.
ETL Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I use enterprise support, which is excellent, providing responses within fifteen minutes.
Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios
The speed of reply and the content of their responses usually solve the problems that arise.
EPM Practice Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They quickly evolve with changing technology trends, easily adopt new features, and incorporate them into the product.
architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The support is accurate, and BMC is always ready to help with queries and complex incidents.
Solutions Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The technical support is very polite, helpful, and available 24/7.
Cloud Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
JAMS efficiently scales to handle thousands of jobs daily, offering flexibility, ease, and consistent performance, though licensing may limit scalability.
Sentiment score
7.0
AWS Step Functions are valued for efficient scalability, handling demand spikes and multiple requests, suitable for medium to large organizations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Control-M is scalable and flexible, supporting large enterprises, despite minor cost and cloud integration concerns.
We might be underutilizing it, but as more jobs require processing, additional servers would be necessary.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
JAMS's scalability is noteworthy; we run 6,000 jobs per day without facing any problems.
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
They can handle multiple simultaneous requests effectively.
Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios
There isn't much need for scalability when creating orchestration in AWS Step Functions, which explains the rating of six.
Assistant Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Our license doesn't limit our ability to configure Control-M as needed, allowing us to easily create new agents or environments.
Control-M System Administrator at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
I am paying for a top-end tool which rarely experiences issues, with most problems stemming from the applications being managed rather than the tooling itself.
Senior Control-M Consultant at Ktsl
It can absorb more workload wherever needed.
Cloud/Devops Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
JAMS is stable and reliable, with the desktop version praised, while rare issues are due to external factors.
Sentiment score
7.8
AWS Step Functions are praised for stability and reliability, ensuring consistent performance and uptime across multiple availability zones.
Sentiment score
7.7
Control-M is praised for its stability, reliability, minimal downtime, and exceptional performance, often surpassing other corporate tools.
We experience periods of major incidents annually due to capacity constraints, which result in job failures.
Manager of Reliability Engineering and Security Operations at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Being on the new version, there's been zero downtime.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
If one zone fails, others handle the demand, ensuring high availability.
Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios
I never faced any faults or issues due to its stability with AWS, making it very reliable with no downtime and 100% reliability.
Assistant Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Control-M itself is robust, and it would receive a rating of 10.
Technical architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The downtime is higher compared to AWS.
Data scientist at Advarisk
The testing and development phases need to be more rigorous before releasing patches.
Associate Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

JAMS users seek enhanced UI, search, automation, security, AI integration, and documentation to improve functionality and performance.
AWS Step Functions needs improvements in data limits, integrations, pricing, and execution visibility while enhancing fault tolerance and third-party support.
Control-M users seek improved analysis, reporting, compatibility, integration, user interface, cloud support, documentation, and cost-effectiveness.
Another area for improvement would be the addition of source control for jobs internally, as this feature would solve several problems for me.
Manager of Reliability Engineering and Security Operations at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
A major improvement would be the integration of AI to help us accomplish various tasks.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
If around 5,000 or more jobs run at a time, JAMS slows down, and we have to wait around five to 10 minutes or restart JAMS scheduler services.
ETL Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
There is room for improvement in terms of integration with other products.
EPM Practice Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They could provide more documentation and tutorials to make the initial setup easier to understand.
Assistant professor at J.P. College of Engineering
We've experienced main problems with MFTE where having one setup means when an error occurs, the entire service goes down.
Control-M System Administrator at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Documentation should be maintained for all versions since they provided the application.
Sr Manager at Vodafone
 

Setup Cost

JAMS offers competitive pricing for enterprise scheduling, with flexibility in licensing and lower costs than Control-M and Tivoli.
AWS Step Functions pricing fluctuates based on usage, leading to potential high bills despite being cheaper than Azure Workflow.
Control-M's tiered licensing offers high functionality but can be costly for small businesses, valued by larger organizations.
The price is fair considering the functionality and importance of the tool, although the increase did unsettle our management.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Pricing for Step Functions is very cheap.
Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios
The cost is average, provided it is configured correctly.
Big Data Architect at SoftServe Ltd.
The licensing cost is very high, and they often consider switching to IBM Workload Scheduler or other options.
Associate Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Control-M tends to be more expensive compared to other solutions, but users get great value from it.
Senior System Specialist at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Control-M is among the highest-priced solutions in the market.
Control-M System Administrator at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

JAMS offers automation, intuitive scheduling, and integration, enhancing efficiency with flexible workflows, PowerShell support, and responsive user assistance.
AWS Step Functions enable efficient workflow automation with integration, orchestration, parallel tasking, and management through a user-friendly interface.
Control-M enhances workflow efficiency with cross-platform support, automation, and integration with applications like SAP, Oracle, and cloud services.
JAMS has positively impacted my organization by completely removing the headache of scheduling jobs, not just for the organization but for all internal operations teams need.
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
This efficient feature has been invaluable, enabling us to streamline our workflow and enhance productivity.
Manager of Reliability Engineering and Security Operations at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
The most valuable feature of JAMS is its user-friendly interface, especially after upgrading from version six to seven.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
AWS Step Functions offers advanced workflows that save time and enhance efficiency by reducing delays and ensuring consistent orchestration among various services.
Big Data Architect at SoftServe Ltd.
Step Functions provide seamless integration with AWS services, which enhances the speed of application development.
Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios
It was particularly valuable for its integration capabilities, allowing for execution of scripts and data migration.
EPM Practice Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation is more advanced, deployment is fast, and version control has been simplified.
Data scientist at Advarisk
The user interface is comprehensive and lets me view all my jobs on one page, monitor everything, and access the job history.
Cloud Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
It is easy to integrate Control-M with technologies for data ops or DevOps processes as things change, and it is not complex compared to other workload automation tools available in the market.
architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

JAMS
Sponsored
Ranking in Workload Automation
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
AWS Step Functions
Ranking in Workload Automation
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (11th)
Control-M
Ranking in Workload Automation
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (2nd), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Workload Automation category, the mindshare of JAMS is 2.6%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Step Functions is 1.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Control-M is 15.1%, down from 25.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Workload Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Control-M15.1%
JAMS2.6%
AWS Step Functions1.4%
Other80.9%
Workload Automation
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2770605 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Has streamlined complex job scheduling across scripting languages while reducing manual effort
JAMS could be improved with a web client that is accessible and as fast as a normal website, eliminating the need to RDP to the servers to access the JAMS client. A functionality running on the JAMS server to continuously check the JAMS agents would ensure they are working properly. If an agent is not responding, a feature to restart the service from the job server machine would be beneficial. The upgrade process, particularly when switching from V6 to V7, could be clearer in terms of documentation, ideally with screenshots showing exactly what needs to be done on each screen.
reviewer2706945 - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Orchestration and integration simplify processes with seamless stability and reliability
I use the Visual Workflow Editor feature of AWS Step Functions. I mainly work through code and then improve it through the visual aspect. There are two ways to do orchestration: through code and through visual. My main task is to develop flows. I have only implemented AWS Step Functions with AWS services, not with any third-party tools. The integration between AWS Step Functions and other AWS services is excellent, working seamlessly with EventBridge, Glue jobs, and databases. I have not encountered any challenges with customers regarding AWS Step Functions that needed me to find a workaround. The pricing of AWS Step Functions is moderate and not particularly costly. AWS Step Functions is affordable for small, medium, and enterprise businesses as an orchestration tool. I have not used any documentation, manuals, or guides for AWS Step Functions as it's very simple to implement. When help is needed, I consult Stack Overflow or AI for commands. Overall rating for AWS Step Functions: 9 out of 10.
RP
Batch Admin at NBC Universal
Brings data together from multiple platforms and optimizes cross-environment orchestration
The features of Control-M that I like the most include the ability to easily integrate or bring in different platforms into Control-M. For instance, AWS, mainframe, TWS, and something that's running on Autosys can all be brought into Control-M, converted to how Control-M runs it, and then the batch can be executed. This centralizes various applications in Control-M, which doesn't just have to handle batch processes, but also other tasks like reporting on required data. I find this functionality very useful and the setup is impressive, with more advancements yet to come. With Control-M, my company has achieved several measurable improvements since I started. The metrics indicate that the number of failures has dropped, and we have addressed the issue of excessive false alerts that I encountered when I joined. Previously, we received an overwhelming number of alerts daily, but now we manage to maintain that at a normalized level, perhaps around five to fifteen alerts, depending on running core batches and their setup.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise123
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about JAMS?
I find the historical tracking feature of JAMS invaluable for reviewing past events.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JAMS?
They recently switched to subscription-based pricing, which increased. The price is fair considering the functionalit...
What needs improvement with JAMS?
As far as we are using JAMS version 6, it looks good and there is nothing major to add about it. Everything is functi...
What do you like most about Amazon Step Functions?
The integration capability is easy, whereas building state machines is tricky.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Step Functions?
My customer's usual use cases for AWS Step Functions that I've been working with include orchestration, flows, diagra...
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Step Functions?
I use the Visual Workflow Editor feature of AWS Step Functions. I mainly work through code and then improve it throug...
How does Control-M compare with AutoSys Workload Automation?
Control-M acts as a single, centralized interface for monitoring and managing all batch processes, which is helpful b...
What do you like most about Control-M?
First of all, the shift from manual to automation has been valuable. We have a tool that can automate.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Control-M?
From what I know about pricing, I would probably put Control-M in the expensive category, but you do pay for what you...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Amazon Step Functions, Step Functions
Control M
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Teradata, Arconic, General Dynamics, Yum!, CVS Health, Comcast, Ghiradelli, & Boston’s Children’s Hospital
Alpha Apps, The Guardian, SGK, Bigfinite
The Bank of East Asia, LINE Bank Taiwan, Coop, Air Europa, Carrefour, Itau Unibanco, Snam, Embraer, ANZ Bank, EDP, Dominio's, Tampa General Hospital, W&W Informatik GmbH, Veterans General, Up Sí Vale, Sky Italia, REWE digital GmbH, Raymond James, Railinc, Navistar, Management Science Associates, Colruyt, CARFAX, Banpara, Aspiag Service, Amadeus, AG Insurance, ING Bank Slaski
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Step Functions vs. Control-M and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.