BMC AMI DevX vs SQL Sentry comparison

BMC and SQL Sentry are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. BMC is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.7, while SQL Sentry is ranked #13. BMC holds a 1.3% mindshare in DDM, compared to SQL Sentry’s 3.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of SQL Sentry users who would recommend it.

BMC AMI DevX

Read 19 BMC AMI DevX reviews

4,088 Views
164 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

SQL Sentry

Read 2 SQL Sentry reviews

640 Views
634 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

BMC AMI DevX

SQL Sentry

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2025

SQL Sentry and BMC AMI DevX compete in the performance monitoring and management domain. SQL Sentry appears to have the upper hand in optimizing database performance, while BMC AMI DevX stands out in mainframe systems support.

Features: SQL Sentry provides real-time monitoring, event management, and query performance tuning. BMC AMI DevX offers diagnostic tools, efficient resource utilization, and debugging capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SQL Sentry supports easy integration with extensive documentation, ideal for SQL Server environments. BMC AMI DevX, while more complex due to its mainframe nature, offers comprehensive support options.

Pricing and ROI: SQL Sentry has a cost-effective setup, promising significant ROI for SQL Server users. BMC AMI DevX may have a higher initial cost but ensures long-term ROI through mainframe performance enhancement.

To learn more, read our detailed Database Development and Management Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

September 2025

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Helped 867,676 peers since 2012

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

20th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (8th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (7th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (8th)

SQL Sentry

Ranking in Database Development and Management

13th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Sentry is 3.9%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SQL Sentry	3.9%
BMC AMI DevX	1.3%
Other	94.8%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

Brian Westerman

Director of R&D at Syzygy Inc.

Helps to make mainframe data management process easier and saves manhours

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.

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Steve McCubbin

Sql Db Administrator at a non-tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Lets you know when your jobs are taking longer than average and allows you to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times

To be able to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times is the most valuable feature of the product. Another thing that's good about the product is that it will let you know when your jobs are taking longer than average so that you can foretell that there's going to be an issue coming up. Your SQL agent job is taking longer.

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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

"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 visual ability to see potential downstream impacts to changes being made assists our developers in understanding the impact associated with their change."

"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."

"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."

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

"I have worked with DB2's great features in the last five years. The IDAA feature transformed the vision of warehousing, business analytics, and big data at my bank. Besides the mainframe, I saw that this solution was evolutionary. It gives real-time information."

"From a user perspective, the GUIs make it easier for people to see and interact with files on the mainframe."

"It helps our staff work by speeding up their documentation process."

More BMC AMI DevX pros

"This solution has identified blocking, deadlock, memory pressure, and high CPU consumption issues."

"To be able to go back in history and find out what was happening at certain times is the most valuable feature of the product."

Cons

"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?"

"One thing I would really like to see some improvement on is the promotion diagnostic messages. It invokes utilities "under the covers" to copy components, and it does not echo back any of the error messages from those utilities."

"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."

"It's a very complicated tool."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

More BMC AMI DevX cons

"There could be some more metrics on the high availability to let us know when there are issues synchronizing between the hosts."

"If we can get details on wait types from system views, it will help identify a more detailed root cause."

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."

"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."

"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's fairly expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

37%

Insurance Company

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Healthcare Company

10%

Government

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 Compuware File-AID?

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 ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Compuware File-AID?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Compuware File-AID?

We use the solution clone test files.

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Comparisons

Endevor vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 33% of the time

IBM File Manager vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 16% of the time

IBM Debug for z/OS vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 10% of the time

InterTest vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 6% of the time

More BMC AMI DevX Competitors

SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer vs SQL Sentry

Compared 63% of the time

IDERA SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server vs SQL Sentry

Compared 13% of the time

Foglight for Databases vs SQL Sentry

Compared 10% of the time

Spotlight vs SQL Sentry

Compared 9% of the time

Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials vs SQL Sentry

Compared 6% of the time

More SQL Sentry Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Test Data Management

August 2025

Download BMC AMI DevX product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

September 2025

Download SQL Sentry product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

SentryOne is the most capable, scalable platform for enterprise data performance management, from development through production. We empower Microsoft database professionals with the best solutions for developing, testing, documenting, and monitoring the Microsoft Data Platform.

SQL Sentry

Sample Customers

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

Coeo, Stack Overflow, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation, Hawaiian Airlines, Hennepin County Medical Center, Racing Victoria, Citrix, Insight, Shi, Woodforest National Bank, Telular

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

September 2025

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