No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

BMC AMI DevX vs SQL Sentry comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 Database Development and Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (2nd), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (4th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (3rd), AI Software Development (30th)
SQL Sentry
Ranking in Database Development and Management
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Sentry is 2.2%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX1.7%
SQL Sentry2.2%
Other96.1%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkshayChaudhari - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Specialist at TCS
Modern workflow has improved COBOL debugging and simplifies understanding complex legacy code
The most valuable feature is the integrated COBOL debugging and code analysis capability. Being able to step through programs, set breakpoints, and monitor variable values to understand how the program flow operates makes troubleshooting much easier and more structured. I also appreciate the modern development environment for editing COBOL, browsing datasets, and submitting JCL jobs without constantly switching between different tools. The code navigation and AI-assisted code understanding capabilities are also useful for working with unfamiliar legacy applications. The code understanding features have been useful when I need to work with unfamiliar COBOL applications. They help me explain existing code, identify the relationships and dependencies between programs and copybooks, and make it easier to understand the overall program flow. Instead of manually tracking every section of a large legacy application, I can use the AI assistance to get a quicker understanding of what the code is doing and where a change may have an impact. This reduces the time to get familiar with older code and makes maintenance and troubleshooting more straightforward and efficient.
SM
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The plugin ISPW integrated into Eclipse is a really valuable functionality for developers who already use it."
"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."
"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."
"I like that Compuware File-AID can actually map out control sections within load modules, or, as they're now known, program objects."
"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."
"From a user perspective, the GUIs make it easier for people to see and interact with files on the mainframe."
"We have seen an improvement in the rate and level of quality at which we deploy changes."
"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."
"The blocking and deadlock report feature is very convenient to use in pinpointing which query is causing something and what other queries are waiting for it."
"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."
"This solution has identified blocking, deadlock, memory pressure, and high CPU consumption issues."
 

Cons

"The area for improvement is related to the testing tools that are available for unit testing or acceptance testing."
"Initial setup can be tricky in some cases."
"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 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."
"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."
"BMC AMI DevX is a strong platform, but there are a few areas where it could improve, such as simplifying the initial installation and configuration, especially for first-time users."
"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."
"Their technical support could be better. There were times where, when we reported bugs, they would fix one bug but add another one. That's probably because of their support model. A lot of organizations are developing software using Agile rather than the Waterfall method, so things are happening all over the place. You get things quicker, but sometimes one fix will break another one or add other bugs."
"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."
"It has saved our developers time and effort when working on documentation, which is now more readable and fluent."
"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."
"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."
"It's fairly expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Development and Management solutions are best for your needs.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Insurance Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise23
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Compuware Topaz Enterprise Data?
My understanding is that BMC AMI DevX is an enterprise product with custom licensing, so pricing is typically negotiated based on factors such as the modules purchased, organization size, and usage...
What needs improvement with BMC AMI DevX?
BMC AMI DevX is a strong platform, but there are a few areas where it could improve, such as simplifying the initial installation and configuration, especially for first-time users. It could also i...
What is your primary use case for BMC AMI DevX?
My main use case for BMC AMI DevX is to work with COBOL and JCL development on IBM. I mainly use it for editing, browsing data sets, submitting jobs, and debugging applications. I appreciate the Ec...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

File-AID, Data for Db2, Code Debug, Data Studio, Workbench for Eclipse, Code Pipeline
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NRB, Iberdrola, Consorzio Servizi Bancari 
Coeo, Stack Overflow, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation, Hawaiian Airlines, Hennepin County Medical Center, Racing Victoria, Citrix, Insight, Shi, Woodforest National Bank, Telular
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC AMI DevX vs. SQL Sentry and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.