BMC AMI DevX vs CA IDMS comparison

BMC and Broadcom are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. BMC is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.5, while Broadcom is ranked #28. BMC holds a 2.1% mindshare in DDM, compared to Broadcom’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

BMC AMI DevX

Read 19 BMC AMI DevX reviews

4,806 Views
529 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

CA IDMS

Read 5 CA IDMS reviews

676 Views
352 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

BMC AMI DevX

CA IDMS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

CA IDMS and BMC AMI DevX are competing in the enterprise software market for mainframe environments. BMC AMI DevX is generally seen as having an upper hand due to its extensive feature set offering better value for its price.

Features: CA IDMS offers strong data storage capabilities, efficient transaction processing, and a cohesive database management environment. BMC AMI DevX features include application lifecycle management, modern development interfaces, and continuous integration tools, focusing on flexibility and development methodologies.

Room for Improvement: CA IDMS could enhance its modern development support, improve integration with cloud-based services, and expand its analytics capabilities. BMC AMI DevX might benefit from simplifying its initial setup, improving legacy application support, and offering more cost-effective pricing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CA IDMS provides a straightforward setup with reliable customer service for smooth operation. BMC AMI DevX focuses on agile implementation with dedicated support and advanced automation options to streamline deployment.

Pricing and ROI: CA IDMS is known for its competitive setup cost and stable ROI due to data management efficiency. BMC AMI DevX may have higher initial costs but offers strong ROI through advanced features that enhance productivity.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS

March 2026

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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

BMC AMI DevX

Ranking in Database Development and Management

19th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (9th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (6th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (6th), AI Software Development (205th)

CA IDMS

Ranking in Database Development and Management

28th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 2.1%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX	2.1%
CA IDMS	1.3%
Other	96.6%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

RobertSamson

Technical Consultant at Services Robert Samson SCRS

Improves disaster recovery processes and offers an efficient CPU cycle optimization

Using BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS has greatly improved our database administration tasks. Although we don't test the database before production, we have experienced benefits in disaster recovery situations and capacity management. For instance, when facing capacity issues during peak transaction times, I've been able to quickly allocate additional resources to ensure smooth operations. This has been crucial, especially during times when the demand surges, such as peak flight hours.

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Alfredo Silva

ALiBS Solutions at ALiBS Solutions

Helps us to manage user profiles very quickly and in an assertive way

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10. I would advise that they should evaluate other possibilities because this is a very quickly changing environment and there are other possible providers that have good solutions. I would do some kind of test. I would test other possible solutions too and compare them.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Once we got the configurations and deployment rolled out, it was very stable. I haven't had any major issues with Eclipse or the Topaz Workbench plugins."

"It's a modernized development portal and helps reduce the learning curve for younger people coming in to work on the platform,"

"One of the features that the developers like is that they can retrieve what they need with the tool. They don't have to go through some process or request something be done by another team. They can get the programs they need, compile them, retrieve the JCL and alter the JCL if they need to, and put these programs wherever they need to go for their testing."

"The most valuable feature of Topaz is Xpediter. It's more flexible than Xpediter through MVS."

"BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it."

"I like the ability to flow through the source and see what happens to the data as the statements are executed. If there is a fault, it will track the event, and we can then look back to see why it may have caused the fault. You can also reverse engineer your test. You can set it so that you can go backward as well as forward in your test. This is something that I haven't done here at my company. Compuware Xpediter is one of the best debugging tools for mainframe software development. We have currently licensed only the COBOL language for Xpediter, but I know they have other languages, including Assembler, PL/I."

"We had parallel development before, but the way ISPW implements it is better. It has more control and oversight of the process, whereas before, it was like the Wild West. Everybody could have their own package with their own version of the component in it... ISPW is constantly aware of it. It notifies when someone else is using or has a different version of that component."

"The product has made our mainframe data management process easier. It has helped us save manhours. The tool's most valuable feature is the ability to edit tape files. Its ability to clone files is beneficial in application development."

More BMC AMI DevX pros

"The most useful feature is the governance feature, because it can show us and help us to manage user profiles very quickly and using it in assertive way."

"Technical support is very good. They are very knowledgeable, very quick to respond, and very nice people, too."

"It is a really stable platform. It has been around for many years. We trust it implicitly. "

Cons

"I'm waiting to see what 19.2 for Topaz looks like, but I have a problem with the JES Explorer right now. It limits you to a certain prefix for job names and there are some groups that have multiple prefixes that they'd like to see all at once in their job names, because of how they work in a group. And they can't see that in the JES Explorer."

"It would be nice to have an audit trail to see what mainframe developers are using what."

"We plan to replace BMC Compuware File-AID due to its price. Two years back, we paid 11,000 dollars. However, the current price is 27,900 dollars. The price has increased to at least eight times its initial cost. We would need to pay around 60,000 dollars to have all three products together. We also encountered issues during version updates."

"It's not as intuitive as it should be. In terms of navigation, there is a large training curve for using it. For a millennial it might be better, if they're used to Eclipse. But coming from a non-Eclipse environment and using Eclipse, though I have experience with Eclipse, it might be cumbersome."

"When you're setting up the parameters for how ISPW will work in your shop, there are a lot of questions that have to be answered... BMC Compuware should have more in-depth explanations about what the choices in each question mean. If you pick A, what does that mean has to happen? What does that impact? If you pick B, what does that mean? What does that impact?"

"Better discussions to identify inventory prior to the start of any migration would be helpful for potential clients that have applications with code that is not modified often."

"Technical support has gotten better over the years, though there's always room for improvement."

"The solution could be improved by being better integrated with the open world. In the next release, I would like to have the ability to work in an open environment whilst remaining integrated with the legacy environment."

More BMC AMI DevX cons

"Right now, it's not easy to start using this solution. You have to take long course and train people. It's not an easy path."

"I would like to see it made simpler to operate and maintain."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price point is great."

"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."

"In terms of pricing, there isn't an extra charge for the parts of it we use. It comes with the licenses we purchased for other products, so no complaints there. The licensing is built in with the other products that you purchase from Compuware."

"The only thing I would mention related to the licensing and/or the pricing, is that they have some visualization features in there that are licensed by concurrent users. We're starting to trip up on that. We're looking to probably increase the number of concurrent licenses that we have. But those types of licensing strategies, where they license by concurrent users or the number of seats is confusing for some people. They don't understand why it works sometimes and doesn't work other times."

"In general, Compuware tools are very competitive."

"It has saved our developers time and effort when working on documentation, which is now more readable and fluent."

"Do not hold back on asking questions about the maintenance and continued support of the product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Insurance Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution. As someone involved in managing infrastructure, understandi...

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What advice do you have for others considering BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

From my perspective as an infrastructure guy, the most valuable aspect of BMC's data management solutions was their ability to optimize CPU cycles, improving IMS performance without directly impact...

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Comparisons

Endevor vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 12% of the time

IBM File Manager vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 8% of the time

InterTest vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 6% of the time

Broadcom Test Data Manager vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Debug for z/OS vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 4% of the time

More BMC AMI DevX Competitors

IBM IMS vs CA IDMS

Compared 43% of the time

CA Datacom vs CA IDMS

Compared 18% of the time

Spotlight vs CA IDMS

Compared 16% of the time

Adabas vs CA IDMS

Compared 7% of the time

More CA IDMS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX

March 2026

Download BMC AMI DevX product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

March 2026

Download CA IDMS product report

Also Known As

File-AID, Data for Db2, Code Debug, Data Studio, Workbench for Eclipse, Code Pipeline

IDMS

Overview

BMC AMI DevX is a comprehensive solution enhancing code management and testing efficiency. It offers debugging capabilities within financial applications and integrates data management seamlessly, serving major banking sectors with reliable performance.

AMI DevX is tailored for banking industries, optimizing application debugging in COBOL and enhancing data handling in robust financial systems. It simplifies mainframe data management with real-time insights, improving efficiency through editing and cloning functionalities. The tool's integration with Compuware File-AID for IMS and DB2 ensures streamlined development processes. Challenges include a steep DB2 learning curve and initial setup complexities, with technical support inconsistencies and steep pricing impacting affordability. Despite this, its valuable features significantly support large banking operations.

What features make BMC AMI DevX valuable?

Line-by-Line Code Debugging: Allows precise identification and rectification of issues.
Variable Change & Line Skipping: Flexibility in testing without recompiling.
Database-Independent Testing: No need for loading databases during testing.
Real-Time Data Insights: Enhances decision-making with immediate information.
Data Warehousing & Analytics: Facilitates comprehensive data analysis.
Integration & Formatting: Streamlines development by simplifying data processes.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Improved Efficiency: Streamline data management and editing capabilities.
Robust Debugging: Effective in both online and batch COBOL program debugging.
Enhanced Financial Application Support: Superior handling in grants and loans applications.
Comprehensive Testing: Enables creation of clone test files for thorough testing.

In large banking sectors, BMC AMI DevX is integral for grants and loans-related applications. Its robust nature supports financial systems, offering debugging for COBOL, updating data in Compuware File-AID for IMS, and integrating DB2. Users implement this for exceptional data management and application reliability.

BMC

CA IDMS is a reliable, high-performance, web-enabled Database Management system (DBMS) for IBM z Systems that provides business value for hundreds of enterprises and government organizations. CA IDMS provides high-performance database management and transaction processing performance for existing and new workloads, helping you consolidate business functions on a central data repository, as needed.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Helvetia, The IMT Group, Hapag-Lloyd, Royal Bank of Canada, Chunghwa Telecom

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS

March 2026

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