Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM BPM vs Oracle BPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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 BPM
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (6th), Process Automation (5th)
Oracle BPM
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
15th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM BPM is 7.2%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle BPM is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Prince Mathew - PeerSpot reviewer
More customizable than IBM FileNet and useful for automation
One suggestion for IBM BPM is to provide better integration between their products, such as DataCap, which we use for scanning. Although the new CP4BA offers offline capabilities, not everyone is on CP4BA, so enhanced integration for those on older versions would be beneficial. Another major suggestion is to offer a migration path when a product reaches its end of life. For example, there was no migration path when we moved, so we had to redo everything we had developed over ten years completely.
SumitKumar17 - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows users to customize the user interface and retrieve data, but licensing cost is very high
Currently, Oracle BPM is integrated with different applications, and the workflow decides which part it has to take. The solution is on the Oracle Fusion platform. It has integration with other services, which are essentially normal Java-based applications. Oracle BPM also provides a task query service that allows you to customize your user interface, retrieve the data, and display it as per user convenience. I would recommend the solution to other users. Overall, I rate Oracle BPM a seven 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

"It is efficient in reducing costs."
"Scalability is good. In the time that I have been there, we have added more JVMs to help with the increased workload, so it does scale."
"There are a lot of things that you get out-of-the-box: Timers and so on, which took a lot of effort and code before."
"The customer service is outstanding."
"I think the best way it can be it improved, is to make it easier to install. It's a very complicated piece of software, and there are a lot of things you have to do to get it set up. It's not just running an installer. You install WebSphere. You install the BPM product, and there's a large host of other steps you have to do: run queries against the database, you have to manually configure a bunch of properties files for your environment. I think if they could streamline all that, so it wasn't a considerable effort to install, that would be very useful. Because from an engineering point of view, you want to spend as little time as possible actually installing a product."
"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."
"It has an elaborated way to explore the IBM BPM processes."
"The Process Designer is good. We like how we can drag and drop and link the processes up, that works out great for us."
"One of the most valuable features of Oracle BPM is the workflow itself. It is quite intuitive."
"It is easy and cheap."
"It is quite scalable and can be applied to enterprise-level organizations effectively."
"Our company is based around Oracle processes. It provides a lot of flexibility in its processes."
"It is easy to use in a business processing suite."
"One of the most valuable features is its user-friendly API, which simplifies the implementation of workflows, such as managing inbox tasks for specific users within BPM profiles."
"I find the data lineage features most valuable."
"What I found most valuable in Oracle BPM is that it has a lot of out-of-the-box integrations. The solution also provides a lot of adapters which is very helpful."
 

Cons

"IBM BPM is stable, but sometimes there are issues with the server."
"It is a rather thick stack because you have to have WebSphere skills, IBM BPM skills, and an understanding of how the product runs on WebSphere. A lot of this will start to get a lot easier as they put it in containers, which will allow the platform to manage itself in some regards."
"The major issue is the pricing, which is very high. IBM BPM also lacks smaller solutions, so I must purchase multiple solutions to start with workflows and applications."
"They don't have a mechanism to achieve processes, data sources, and data."
"I suggest establishing a developer forum for better communication and issue resolution. Also, the administration panel could be improved for task management."
"The user experience, while it has improved, should continue to improve."
"The stability varies because it involves a lot of other components like databases, so sometimes if something goes wrong there, it can't recover from the fatal errors."
"The configuration is not that easy, and the initial deployment took three months."
"It could have easier administration. It takes time to configure and deploy."
"The default Workspace does not meet all our needs and sometimes you need to create your own custom Workspace."
"Oracle BPM is hard to configure."
"The solution needs to offer better integration with third-party systems."
"The product must reduce its cost."
"Every time we roll out a new version of processes, we have to migrate to a new process. The process of this migration was not very smooth. We later decided that it would be easier for us to stop all processes, deploy a new version and then restart."
"There are delays in offering the latest technology, so there is a need to be more responsive to technological changes."
"The time it takes to get from deployment to production could be faster."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a ten."
"Its price is on the higher side, and it can be improved. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."
"IBM could improve the price. It is far too expensive."
"Starting out with Express can also help reduce the cost for adopting the product."
"Price wise, IBM BPM is cheaper than other similar solutions and has excellent pricing."
"IBM BPM is expensive, so most large companies opt for IBM based on their licensing options."
"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."
"Oracle is good, but they're still expensive compared to other vendors."
"The licensing for this product is very costly. We pay for a yearly license to use Oracle BPM."
"The pricing is significantly high, particularly for Brazil where fluctuations in the exchange rate between the dollar and the real can further increase the cost of Oracle licenses."
"We received the product packaged into the Oracle database solution."
"I don't have information on the exact cost of Oracle BPM because a different team handles that, but it's pretty high. Oracle products are very costly. I would rate pricing for Oracle BPM three out of five. Though the pricing is high, the solution has a lot of features."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The licensing model is good."
"This solution is very expensive. You are charged per license and an additional 20% for support."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Management (BPM) solutions are best for your needs.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Wireless Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 interface and the BPM coach is a helpful tool. The API is very useful in providing en...
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 Oracle BPM?
The solution provides extensive functionalities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle BPM?
The licensing is expensive. It needs to be more affordable, especially in the Kenyan market.
What needs improvement with Oracle BPM?
Oracle BPM should ensure its product is aligned with current technology by keeping up with advancements like AI. There are delays in offering the latest technology, so there is a need to be more re...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
Oracle Business Process Management
 

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
State Revenue Office Victoria, New South Wales Health, REDISA, Panduit, Total E&P Indonesie
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM BPM vs. Oracle BPM and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.