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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

"The most valuable feature of Topaz is Xpediter. It's more flexible than Xpediter through MVS."
"The debugging is really the most important feature, enabling us to be able to step through."
"Test data management capabilities are good."
"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 have seen an improvement in the rate and level of quality at which we deploy changes."
"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."
"BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it."
"I think BMC AMI DevX has provided overall benefits and a positive impact because I've seen a lot of developers, not just the new developers, but even the old developers who have used the green screen their entire life, also developing with BMC AMI DevX and migrating into the newer screen."
"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."
"IBM Rational ClearCase is a stable solution, and I have not had any difficulty with reliability."
"ClearCase integrates well with other engineering tools and frameworks such as the Eclipse environment."
"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."
"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."
"What I like most is that it is very stable."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"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?"
"BMC AMI DevX's logging in feature is not so great. Furthermore, the startup of BMC AMI DevX takes a long time to start up before it loads."
"Their technical support could be better."
"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."
"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."
"While I am aware of the possibility to integrate Git with BMC AMI DevX zAdviser, this integration does not fit within our solution landscape."
"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."
"Customer service is mediocre. Technical support is mediocre."
"This is an expensive product and the price could be reduced."
"Look for a more modern product. Your suppliers and developers will be happier."
"The protection needs to be improved."
"IBM's support of ClearCase is slipping."
"The solution's UI is slow compared to other tools. It is an old tool."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."
"The price point is great."
"In general, Compuware tools are very competitive."
"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."
"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."
"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.