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IBM BPM vs IBM Business Automation Workflow vs SAP Signavio Process Manager 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
IBM BPM offers quick ROI by enhancing process efficiency and transparency, outweighing high costs through accelerated operations and reduced errors.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM Business Automation Workflow enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and accelerates digital transformation for improved ROI and user experience.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP Signavio Process Manager enhances time savings, efficiency, collaboration, with anticipated cost efficiencies and improved documentation within organizations.
Initially performed manually, workflows now provide a better user experience and increased efficiency.
We can draw and document our processes, then analyze data within SAP Signavio Process Manager.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM BPM support is responsive and helpful but could improve response speed; high-priority issues receive swift attention.
Sentiment score
5.9
IBM Business Automation Workflow's support has mixed reviews, but many find value once acquainted with their processes.
Sentiment score
6.8
SAP Signavio Process Manager's support is effective and responsive, with users praising quick resolutions and the knowledgeable team.
The customer service is outstanding.
On a scale from 1 to 10, support deserves a rating of 7 to 8.
We had a contract that provided on-site support, which was very satisfactory.
IBM provides long-term support and maintains a traditionally good customer-vendor relationship.
If the solution is readily available to IBM support team, they provide it instantly.
I would rate their technical support a ten.
I have not encountered issues myself, but one of my colleagues found that support was provided quite late, resolving the problem in one or two days rather than instantly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
IBM BPM excels in scalable performance on WebSphere, offering customization and flexibility, with expertise crucial for optimal setup.
Sentiment score
7.8
IBM Business Automation Workflow is highly scalable, supporting extensive transactions, concurrent users, and both cloud and on-premises deployments.
Sentiment score
7.3
SAP Signavio excels in scalability, supporting many users and processes efficiently, enhancing business transformation and seamless cloud deployment.
The solution has scalability issues; on a scale, I would rate it at eight out of ten.
The architecture of the solution offers scalability; we can scale both vertically and horizontally.
I found IBM BPM to be scalable to a certain level but it struggled with large volumes of concurrent transactions.
We are implementing load balancing and horizontal scalability.
We can manage the license usage and scale our environment while optimizing license use.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
IBM BPM stability varies, with recent versions showing improvements; issues exist under heavy loads and weak network conditions.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM Business Automation Workflow is stable, with minor bugs, improving over time; users rate stability highly due to IBM's robust infrastructure.
Sentiment score
7.5
SAP Signavio Process Manager is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and users praising its performance and continuous functionality.
Outside of these maintenance periods, the environment is quite stable.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM BPM needs UI enhancements, better integrations, improved performance, simplified installation, advanced reports, AI features, and security updates.
IBM Business Automation Workflow needs improved integration, usability, cloud features, and support to enhance user experience and modernize the platform.
SAP Signavio needs UI improvements, flexible licensing, better integration, enhanced analytics, and scalable pricing for effective workflow management.
IBM BPM also lacks smaller solutions, so I must purchase multiple solutions to start with workflows and applications.
Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models.
Many developments are focused on AI, LLM models, and data science.
Code management lacks merging capabilities.
IBM Business Automation Workflow could be more intuitive, with more advanced low-code features and services definition.
It should also integrate with non-SAP systems for better functionality.
 

Setup Cost

IBM BPM is a costly solution suited for large enterprises, with licensing options often pricier than competitors like Camunda.
IBM Business Automation Workflow is costly but offers high-quality features, flexible licensing, and worthwhile enterprise-level capabilities.
SAP Signavio Process Manager is valuable but expensive, with flexible pricing, suitable for larger organizations due to scale.
SAP is more expensive, but IBM BPM is very expensive.
It is not a cheap license but in line with expectations for such software.
The price of IBM Business Automation Workflow is on the higher side compared to the features it offers.
After SAP acquired Signavio, the prices increased significantly, making it too expensive for our small company to afford.
 

Valuable Features

IBM BPM offers robust SOA, easy process modulation, responsive UI, and seamless integration for effective business process management.
IBM Business Automation Workflow offers agile, user-friendly workflow solutions with RPA integration, enhancing collaboration, customization, and AI-driven processes.
SAP Signavio Process Manager enhances process efficiency through integration, collaboration, and intuitive modeling, supporting global access and optimization.
The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent.
This solution has streamlined previously manual processes into orchestrated workflows.
The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant.
It assisted in making users concentrate on the process flow rather than just features.
The ability to perform queries is a feature unique to SAP Signavio Process Manager, and it proves to be very useful for our needs.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM BPM is 5.9%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Business Automation Workflow is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Signavio Process Manager is 6.5%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP Signavio Process Manager6.5%
IBM BPM5.9%
IBM Business Automation Workflow1.9%
Other85.7%
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation platforms streamline processes and offer flexibility, but AI integration and version upgrades pose challenges
In the technology world, there is always room for improvement. Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models. Although IBM BPM is a substantial product, adopting and integrating new technologies quickly is not easy due to the migration and upgrade paths involved. Every time new versions are released, we face business and production challenges that make rapid adoption challenging. The main concern bothering me today regarding IBM BPM is the integration of AI components.
Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Customizable features empower seamless workflow automation
The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant. We have first-line support from IBM, so there are no issues. We have integrations with different banks, ERP systems, and other human resource management systems by integrating through different systems. It provides many ways to integrate, and we are utilizing it effectively.
Cirvesh-Daga - PeerSpot reviewer
Good visual representation for modelling and business process mapping but room for improvement in reporting functionalities
There is room for improvement in analytics. People don't realize it, but the world has changed in the last six to eight months. Customers want to see AI like ChatGPT and ML capabilities in all aspects of business processes and reporting. That would be my recommendation for any OEM in this value chain. Reporting could definitely be improved. I would like to see new features in analytics. I like that they analyze the process and give it to me visually, but I'd like the option to use DPMM instead of just DPC. I'd also like the option to have the process map laid out top to bottom instead of horizontally. Especially a choice between DPMN and EPC as a format. Because there are some people who are very comfortable with the EPC notation. The process is very clearly event-driven. There's an event, there's an action. It's very simple to understand. BPMN, which is the most popular business process notation, generally tends to have multiple frames. Actually, in multiple swimlanes rather. And those frames could each represent a particular kind of entity. Maybe it's an action, maybe it's an actor, maybe it's an event. So there are two different ways of notation. I just like Signavio to give us the ability to choose that notation. Because some companies use BPMN and some use the EPC. And then, if the minute you make that change, I'd like them to give us the flexibility of having an already plotted or vertically plotted option. Moreover, I would like to see improvement in the visual part. It's the piece that needs improvement. Currently, you can plot the diagram horizontally or vertically. However, I'd like the option to change the way the diagram is created, like switching between different notations.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise71
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise43
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user inter...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
What do you like most about IBM Business Automation Workflow?
It performs the basic tasks that are required for the BBM solution as part of the overall integration with ECM or ent...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Business Automation Workflow?
The price of IBM Business Automation Workflow is on the higher side compared to the features it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM Business Automation Workflow?
Code management lacks merging capabilities. If parallel development requires merging, improvements in this area would...
Which is better - Signavio Process Manager or Celonis?
SAP Signavio Process Manager is a very robust industrial-grade business process modeling tool. It is easy to use and ...
What do you like most about Signavio Process Manager?
The visual representation is extremely powerful and easy to use in process modeling and analysis. I can show it to ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Signavio Process Manager?
The price of SAP Signavio Process Manager was quite high but could be afforded by an organization with a sensitive da...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
Business Automation Workflow
Signavio Process Editor
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil
DHL, Coca Cola EP, Prudential, Zalando, T-Systems, Jabil, Endress+Hauser, Rakuten
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Automation Anywhere, SAP and others in Business Process Management (BPM). Updated: October 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.