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BMC AMI DevX vs IBM Rational ClearCase comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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 Software Configuration Management
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Debugging (4th), Database Development and Management (16th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (5th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (4th), AI Software Development (202nd)
IBM Rational ClearCase
Ranking in Software Configuration Management
7th
Average Rating
6.4
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Version Control (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Software Configuration Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 10.0%, down from 29.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Rational ClearCase is 11.0%, up from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX10.0%
IBM Rational ClearCase11.0%
Other79.0%
Software Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Wisdom Mbiza - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Engineer at Absa Group
Modern tools have boosted mainframe file extraction speed and simplified everyday workflows
I definitely think BMC AMI DevX could be improved or enhanced in terms of the logging in features. BMC AMI DevX's logging in feature is not so great. Whenever you try to log in, it always prompts you for passwords. Then when you have to switch sessions, because we usually have to switch between production and UAT, there's no quick way of switching between the two. Every time you try to switch, it prompts you to log in. Additionally, there's a pop-up that I always receive. When you click X on it, it doesn't disappear. Eventually, I just end up minimizing it. Furthermore, the startup of BMC AMI DevX takes a long time to start up before it loads. It doesn't just immediately start up and it's ready. It takes a good solid two to three minutes before it's ready so that you can work on it. BMC AMI DevX's logins and the other ones I can understand because security has to be there, but I do feel that once I've logged in, I shouldn't need to log in again. The startup problem is the annoying one because if I want to do something, I need to open it two or three minutes earlier to give it time to load up. The startup problem is the one that definitely needs to be addressed.
Daniel Antonio Jimenez Quintana - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Systems Architect at Banco Ripley
Difficult to use, not efficient, but stable
We are using IBM Rational ClearCase in Peru at two large banks for a code repository. However, it is not meant to be used as a repository I have found it very difficult to understand many functionalities in IBM Rational ClearCase. We have had many problems and it is not user-friendly.  I have…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can develop in parallel today on ISPF, but it's giving us the advantage of the newer interface into the mainframe programming languages that younger programmers can use and are familiar with, rather than using the ISPF green screen."
"From a user perspective, the GUIs make it easier for people to see and interact with files on the mainframe."
"I think the most valuable features are code management, code deployment, and code generation. The fact that those three features are included makes BMC Compuware ISPW a robust product. If one of those features was missing, it would be less robust and less interesting. But because it has those three features, it is a very good solution for code development and management."
"I like the ability that it has to format copy books in a presentable manner. So, you will be able to see the starting offset in length of each field within the layout."
"With the use of ISPW, we were able to reduce our deployment time for specific applications by utilizing the auto-deploy features."
"The visual ability to see potential downstream impacts to changes being made assists our developers in understanding the impact associated with their change."
"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."
"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."
"The features allowed us to meet requirements for SOX and set a centralized guideline for our development teams."
"Therefore when we started using ClearCase, it was like a miracle."
"I really appreciate the MultiSite feature; it is important to us due to the global nature of our company, as my team supports developers using ClearCase in at least ten locations worldwide."
"ClearCase integrates well with other engineering tools and frameworks such as the Eclipse environment."
"What I like most is that it is very stable."
"IBM Rational ClearCase is a stable solution, and I have not had any difficulty with reliability."
"The tool had features similar to Git for version control. It offered branching and merging capabilities, providing better control over code management. Integration was possible with other tools, including some change management tools. The overall process was normal."
 

Cons

"The ability to edit source code that has special characters is limited. The ability to incorporate or convert REXX into macros that are usable under the Topaz software is not there. And the REXX macros that I have developed over 40 years of work are useless, so I have a toolbox I can't use or deploy using the Topaz technology, while I can use it under MVS."
"The ISPW plugin could be improved to add some functionality which is already in ISPF panels and not in the plugin."
"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."
"I'm always looking for improvement in things like the documentation, to make things a little bit easier and simpler to understand, a place where people can go to troubleshoot issues."
"The area for improvement is related to the testing tools that are available for unit testing or acceptance testing."
"We have noticed that Topaz supported Eclipse environments are rather old. It would be nice if Topaz were compatible with the more current Eclipse releases."
"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."
"Technical support has gotten better over the years, though there's always room for improvement."
"This is an expensive product and the price could be reduced."
"The solution's UI is slow compared to other tools. It is an old tool."
"The protection needs to be improved."
"Customer service is mediocre. Technical support is mediocre."
"I have found it very difficult to understand many functionalities in IBM Rational ClearCase. We have had many problems and it is not user-friendly."
"IBM's support of ClearCase is slipping."
"Look for a more modern product. Your suppliers and developers will be happier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price point is great."
"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."
"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."
"IBM Rational ClearCase, like any other IBM tool, is expensive."
"This is a very expensive product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Insurance Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

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
Rational ClearCase
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NRB, Iberdrola, Consorzio Servizi Bancari 
Atos SE, FEI, STM
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC AMI DevX vs. IBM Rational ClearCase and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,495 professionals have used our research since 2012.