IBM Business Process Manager and Microsoft System Center are competing products in the enterprise management category. IBM BPM appears to have the upper hand in handling complex business processes and integration, while Microsoft System Center is more suited for system management within Windows environments.
Features: IBM BPM excels with process orchestration, integration capabilities, and deployment governance, supporting complex workflows and integrating specific processes across an organization. It offers extensive customization and handles process modeling effectively. Microsoft System Center provides system-wide management capabilities, ease of configuration for Microsoft-specific environments, and management packs for optimized IT systems management, focusing on seamless operation within Windows.
Room for Improvement: IBM BPM's installation complexity and integration with third-party services could be simpler, and the user interface may require enhancements for better accessibility. Microsoft System Center could improve its cloud monitoring features and enhance integration with non-Microsoft tools. Both solutions would benefit from user interface improvements and scalability.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM BPM offers diverse deployment options, including hybrid solutions, but demands substantial technical support given its complexity. Customer service is generally well-rated due to proactive support approaches. Microsoft System Center is relatively straightforward to deploy within Microsoft environments, though some reviews note intermediate technical support as a bottleneck.
Pricing and ROI: IBM BPM is perceived as more costly, requiring significant investment, which could deter small companies, yet it offers robust ROI when applied correctly. Meanwhile, Microsoft System Center's pricing is considered high due to licensing costs, but it provides fair ROI by improving system management and reducing operational costs through automation.
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.
As a partner, I cannot create a ticket directly; I have to involve the end user's email to create one, so using the Software Assurance ID to create a ticket directly is not possible, making it very challenging for me.
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.
Microsoft System Center is scalable, allowing integration even if I have different sites.
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.
The disadvantage of Microsoft System Center is related to the many integrated services; if one service is failing, then all features will be affected.
SAP is more expensive, but IBM BPM is very expensive.
The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent.
In Microsoft System Center, all the features are integrated already, whereas in ManageEngine, you have to license each feature individually to access those features.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| IBM BPM | 3.1% |
| Microsoft System Center | 1.5% |
| Other | 95.4% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 30 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 19 |
| Large Enterprise | 71 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 7 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 10 |
IBM BPM is a business process management tool that provides a robust set of tools to author, test, and deploy business processes, as well as full visibility and insight to managing those business processes. The solution provides tooling and run time for process design, execution, monitoring, and optimization, along with basic system integration support. To support various levels of complexity and involvement with business process management, there are two different editions of the product: IBM BPM and IBM BPM Express.
IBM BPM Features
IBM BPM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
IBM BPM Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing IBM BPM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
IBM BPM is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it’s good for developing complex apps, is robust, and has helpful team management and process performance features.
Zoran C., Owner/CEO at IT SPHERE, says, “It is perfect if you have to develop complex apps without much coding (only java script). It is also good if you don't have much IT resources in your company and would like to involve business analysts in the process of developing apps. My opinion is that it can do about 50% of all developers' work.”
Suhas V., BPM Architect at GBM, mentions, “Overall the solution is robust and has the ability to integrate with any product for complex workflows."
A BPM Consultant at a financial services firm comments, "Some of the features that I like the most are team management and process performance. They are both very useful and very powerful with regard to the workflow."
A Digital Banking & Innovation Director at a financial services firm expresses, “The processing functionality makes it easy to change processes and workflows easily.”
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