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IBM App Connect vs SAP Process Orchestration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

IBM App Connect
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Integration (7th)
SAP Process Orchestration
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Business-to-Business Middleware (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Emirhan Guven - PeerSpot reviewer
Transforms data efficiently and navigates licensing challenges with ease
The transition between version 12 and version 13 presents some challenges. While version 12 had approximately 10 features, version 13 includes around 200 features with cloud platform compatibility. The learning curve for developers moving from version 12 to 13 could be smoother. When using new components, better context explanations would be beneficial. In version 13, accessing new features requires connecting through a web browser, which can be challenging to understand. The explanation of new features could be more user-friendly.
Laxman  Molugu - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances operational efficiency with valuable prepackaged content and cost-effective pricing
For organizations that operate within an SAP ecosystem, SAP Process Orchestration is recommended due to its cost-effectiveness and the availability of valuable prepackaged content. It is important to consider the needs of your industry, as SAP Process Orchestration may not meet all requirements in consumer-oriented sectors. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

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 most beneficial features is the ability to handle multiple communication technologies, like integrating Kafka flows, which is helpful as other teams heavily use it. Regarding error handling, I initially wrote most of the handling myself. While built-in features for error handling are built-in, it largely depends on the developer. We use a custom solution that catches all exceptions, logs them in a database, and replays them as needed. It has been effective for us for over twenty years."
"I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's likely an adapter for that."
"Very scalable, flexible, and user-friendly."
"When using IBM stacks, IBM App Connect is suitable and integrates well with other IBM products like WebSphere."
"The transformation capabilities in IBM App Connect are particularly beneficial."
"The most valuable feature is the user-friendliness of the application."
"I recommend IBM App Connect Enterprise to everyone."
"It's stable to use, connect with the cloud, and to deploy."
"It is simple to transfer files."
"The solution is stable."
"Process Orchestration fulfils the need for middleware to mediate types of connectivity."
"The monitoring is one of the greatest features in Process Orchestration because it is user-friendly and easy for somebody who is not experienced."
"SAP Process Orchestration provides extensive integrations with external partners, supports B2B operations, and has prepackaged content that saves development time."
"With the latest version what I find to be the most valuable are the REST, SuccessFactors, and Ariba Network adapters."
"Great monitoring tools and has its own alert framework."
"The monitoring tools are the most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"The interface could be better."
"Updates are constantly delayed."
"IBM needs to enhance and have a stronger offering for the event streaming part because this is the future needed for the containerization and the new integration requirement."
"In the next release, I would like to get some quality connectors."
"The setup time for App Connect could be improved."
"The addition of string functionality would be a benefit, particularly in the ESQL space that IBM already uses internally."
"The user interface of IBM App Connect can be a little bit more user-friendly, I would say because the first-time developer is onboarded while using IBM App Connect, he or she may get a little intimidated or daunted looking at all the options available or the pipelines, et cetera."
"When we do a version upgrade of the system, the platform is kind of complicated."
"It's very difficult to find errors in a simple way."
"SAP needs to improve a lot in terms of the orchestration part so that more adapters can be provided to users, which are areas where the solution has downsides."
"Its administration management feature needs to be simpler to use."
"I think the big improvement required in the tool stems from the fact that the whole issue around it is that we have some downtime failures during upgrades and patching."
"There are two main areas for improvement: performance and cost."
"Some configurations can be a little tricky."
"I think the main area that SAP PO should improve on is offering pre-delivered content like they do when you use SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI). SAP should not forget that they still have a lot of customers using Process Orchestration and they should focus more on providing pre-delivered content in SAP PO."
"The responsiveness of technical support needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost for IBM App Connect is very high."
"The solution's pricing isn't cheap, but you can get good discounts based on your competitive deal."
"IBM App Connect's pricing is high compared to other products."
"Initially, App Connect was quite expensive because the cost was based on the number of processors we used. However, it's now based on containers, which means we can be more specific about our consumption and get a better price."
"It is very expensive if we want to scale."
"The price could be better."
"The cost depends upon the consumer."
"App Connect is not cheap."
"The price of SAP Process Orchestration was reasonable."
"Normally, you will have to choose CPU-based licensing...I rate the tool price a five out of ten."
"The fee for maintenance is costly."
"My company deals with different pricing models of the product, according to which we don't pay for the solution directly, but we do pay for the maintenance part."
"The solution is highly-priced."
"We subscribe to annual licenses, and the competitive license cost is reasonable."
"It is a very expensive solution. We only pay for the license."
"The pricing depends on what type of client you are with SAP and the contract you have. There is a licensing cost that needs to be paid."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM App Connect?
I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's like...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM App Connect?
Configuration time varies by implementation. For insurance companies with simple JDBC connections, the process is straightforward. However, companies requiring multiple configurations for ODBC, JDB...
What is your primary use case for IBM App Connect?
I am a developer specializing in IBM App Connect. We have a customer interested in comparing ESB tools, such as webMethods, which was previously owned by Software AG company before IBM acquired the...
What do you like most about SAP Process Orchestration?
It provides essential features such as continuous monitoring of all interfaces are crucial for our needs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Process Orchestration?
SAP solutions are generally expensive. SAP Process Orchestration was integrated with SAP ECC in a package, but my customers have consistently described it as an expensive product.
What needs improvement with SAP Process Orchestration?
The user interface of SAP Process Orchestration should be more modern to enhance its appeal. It can seem complicated and outdated to new users. Additionally, the tool relies on Java, which feels le...
 

Also Known As

IBM Cast Iron
SAP NetWeaver Process Integration, NetWeaver Process Integration
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

United Way of Allegheny County, Saint-Gobain CPS, Ricoh, SunTrust Banks Inc.
Lenovo, Dansk Supermarked A/S, Ego Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd, Kaeser Kompressoren
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM App Connect vs. SAP Process Orchestration and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.