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Azul Zing vs IBM WebSphere Application Server comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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

Azul Zing
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
12th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
AI Customer Experience Personalization (24th)
IBM WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Azul Zing is 2.8%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 4.7%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM WebSphere Application Server4.7%
Azul Zing2.8%
Other92.5%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Mohakhan Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Technical Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real-time charging has stayed consistent and cuts GC incidents while reducing cloud costs
The best features Azul Zing offers include no stop-the-world during the full GC. No stop-the-world pauses during full GC, and we hit higher TPS with fewer JVMs -- a real win for maintenance and cost. As an online charging system, we can't afford crashes or latency spikes. Before Zing, JVMs would hang and drop from the grid on missed heartbeats. GC tuning is also out-of-the-box -- no more time consuming manual tuning like with Oracle/OpenJDK with no significant outcome.
CF
Senior Manager, MW & DB Automation at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has worked seamlessly in complex clustered environments and supports long-term development efforts
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but now they maintain 9.0.5 with different releases. It's based on Java J2EE 7 and Java SDK 1.8. Oracle announced that 2030 will be the last year when Java SDK 1.8 will be supported. Oracle currently deploys Java 2.x in parallel, with the latest being version 25. The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7. I haven't found any white papers or official documentation from IBM outlining their trajectory post-2030.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"After using Azul Zing, it is almost a zero-incident situation because of the GCs."
"With minimal effort, Zing has helped us improve our latency performance dramatically."
"With Zing, we've now been able to re-allocate those tuning resources to general product development."
"With minimal effort, Zing has helped us improve our latency performance dramatically."
"No other JVM on the market even comes close to competing with the Azul Zing."
"With minimal effort, Zing has helped us improve our latency performance drastically."
"GC Pause times are maintained in low milliseconds, which is beneficial for applications with high volume, high memory allocation rate, and a high memory footprint, and it also increases throughput by approximately 20-25% as compared to Oracle Java Development Kit based on some tests that I have done with real applications."
"Zing has completely solved the garbage collection problem for us."
"WebSphere Application Server's best features include the data subscription and connection viewer."
"One of the most valuable features might be the stability of the IBM WebSphere Application Server."
"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."
"The thing about WebSphere, as opposed to other ones that I am aware of such as JBoss and Liberty, is that WebSphere has the most comprehensive scaffolding available to it."
"If you want a product you can have confidence in, and a product with good availability, then IBM WebSphere Application Server is for you."
"We have about 3,000 users concurrently using this application, and it has achieved more than 99.9% up time which has resulted in increased productivity and efficiency."
"It is very stable, safe, and secure."
"The integration between IBM tools and applications is very well executed, and the support from IBM is quite good, providing a solid support structure."
 

Cons

"It is extremely expensive."
"Although Azul claims to have a fast warmup, we still experience higher latency for the first trade when our system starts up on Sundays."
"Although Azul claims to have a fast warmup, we still experience higher latency for the first trade when our system starts up on Sundays."
"The licensing over non-production environments considerably affects the cost of our solution as a software vendor."
"However, like every other great product, there is always something that can be improved."
"The profiling tools included with Zing lag behind those available for Oracle's Java implementation."
"We have encounter stability issues and that has been a source of frustration at times."
"The main problem is the licensing cost of the product. The product can scale but the budget cannot."
"The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7."
"While WebSphere mostly supports IBM HTTP Server (IHS) as the web server plugin, I think it would be beneficial if it also supported Apache and NGINX web servers. That would give customers more flexibility in their choices."
"I think in some moments, the security was a little bit more complex to configure when it was delegated to other systems, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."
"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"The availability of the solution needs improvement. The product should be more enhanced and responsive."
"Sometimes, I feel WebSphere runs a bit slow. It might be loading unnecessary libraries, impacting its performance compared to other application servers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"My company is on a perpetual or permanent license agreement with IBM WebSphere Application Server. There's also a pay-per-use option, but customers rarely choose that option. Most of the customers are on the perpetual license deal that's all-inclusive. As the license cost is quite expensive, I'm rating it two out of five."
"If your application is just a web app that does not need to scale big, you can obtain a single core license of WAS Express edition, which has almost the same features with limited processing cores. If you manage a very big application farm (i.e. need to run 10 or more WAS servers) it is better to get IBM WAS Hypervisor Edition."
"It's expensive."
"Room for improvement would only be in the licensing. As with all IBM products the licensing can be complex and expensive. Bargain well and try to get as much discount as possible. Discounts of 85% are possible. Without the discount, I think the product is overrated."
"It is very expensive."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"The solution is quite expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
At Royal Bank, which is a major IBM customer with mainframes and numerous IBM products, they have a specific agreement regarding pricing. The pricing structure for large enterprise customers differ...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but no...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
I was part of an application where I integrated IBM WebSphere Application Server with Node.js and Blue Prism. I did a lot of REST applications because at my core, I'm a developer. Currently, I'm an...
 

Also Known As

No data available
WebSphere Application Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Priceline, RBS, Credit Suisse, ING, Creditex, Nielsen, Workday, Saks Fifth Avenue, Entergy, Quotix, Puma and many more.  Visit azul.com for more.
TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
Find out what your peers are saying about Azul Zing vs. IBM WebSphere Application Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.