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BMC AMI DevX vs File Master Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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 Mainframe Testing Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (4th), Database Development and Management (16th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (5th), Data Masking (4th), AI Software Development (202nd)
File Master Plus
Ranking in Mainframe Testing Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Mainframe Testing Tools category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 21.1%, down from 31.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of File Master Plus is 7.1%, up from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Testing Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX21.1%
File Master Plus7.1%
Other71.8%
Mainframe Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

FI
Devops Engineer / Ispw Admin at a insurance company with 201-500 employees
Tight deployment controls have secured production and simplified complex release rollbacks
The best feature of BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline that impresses me is the fallback functionality. The fallback functionality impresses me because when developers deploy large releases involving multiple components, such as COBOL programs, underlying copy books, and CICS modules, backing out changes would typically become a nightmare. With ISPW, developers can back out the entire release or entire package. If they deployed 100 components and want to back out everything, they can do so with one function and back out all components without worrying about backing out each individual component. They can back out the entire deployment set, which handles everything and brings them back to the previous versions. Developers can also selectively back out a subset of the deployed components. They also have the ability to revert to not just the most previous version but can go back several versions if they choose to do so. This gives them a lot of flexibility.
it_user847152 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Enterprise and Mainframe Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Eases manageability of data, gives us better efficiency on our batch run
I use it for doing final file maintenance It's easier to do basic tasks; ease of manageability of data. It also gives us better efficiency on our batch run and our day-to-day. In terms of meeting business challenges, it's more of a productivity tool. It makes our data easier to manage. Ease of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen an improvement in the rate and level of quality at which we deploy changes."
"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."
"For bank applications, DB2 is the best on the market."
"The smart editor helps because it will code-complete for me. I can see code working a lot faster and I'm able to get things coded in less time."
"It's a modernized development portal and helps reduce the learning curve for younger people coming in to work on the platform,"
"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."
"As far as the software vendors that I work with go, Compuware has some of the best support, in terms of listening to customer requests and accepting enhancements to the product and the like."
"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."
"Provides ease of use, ease of manageability, and ease of managing DSN files."
"The Browse function and utilities are valuable; the solution is easy to use."
"Makes it quick to investigate/fix problems related to application data, and our business can get back to normal operations in short order."
"CA File Master handles IMS data (together with Grid Tools), which we can use to mask/privatize our data then store on IMS databases."
"We use it together with Grid Tools to mask IMS data."
"It also gives us better efficiency on our batch run and our day-to-day."
 

Cons

"The only thing that bothers me about BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is the screen movement."
"There are some features that are not well documented, so documentation could use a little help, on things like setting up deployment and which structures in the database correspond to which tables."
"It would be good if the vendors would work together or at least have some collaboration between them, so they would know what would work and what wouldn't work. Right now, the way things are working, they're relying on the customer to make everything work."
"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."
"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."
"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."
"DB2 is a hard tool to grasp. It's hard for users to learn how to use it. It's not easy to see how it works."
"It would be better if it took less CPU time."
"For any change to CA File Master, we need a system programmer, which makes the change process very time consuming​."
"They need to keep coming out with new features, and new releases. There hasn't been a new release in a while."
"​CA File Master cannot handle IMS Sysplex.​"
"The setup is quite complex. We needed a system programmer for the initial setup."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."
"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."
"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 price point is great."
"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."
"The pricing is good value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Insurance Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise18
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with BMC AMI DevX?
To improve BMC AMI DevX, consideration should be given to cloud-style provisioning and development models, as well as integration of more AI capabilities. Enhancements in VS Code extensions to deve...
What is your primary use case for BMC AMI DevX?
BMC AMI DevX solutions are primarily used for mainframe-based resources and application development, encompassing not only COBOL but also Workbench and VS Code for various purposes. Data management...
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Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NRB, Iberdrola, Consorzio Servizi Bancari 
Blue Hill Data Services
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC AMI DevX vs. File Master Plus and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.