IBM Business Automation Workflow vs IBM Case Foundation comparison

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. IBM Case Foundation

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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 Business Automation Wor...

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Case Foundation

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

32nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

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 Business Automation Workflow is 2.1%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Case Foundation is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Management (BPM)

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman

Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited

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.

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Nouman Nawaz

Deputy Director - IT(Plans) at DHA Lahore

Mature product in terms of security and stable product

The architecture is a bit difficult, but in BAW, they introduced the Business Automation Workflow. It's a bit easier compared to Case Manager. Currently, we use Case Manager, so it's a bit difficult to upgrade and handle, but BAW is comparatively much better and easier to handle. The limitation is only for customization because IBM doesn't support it. In some scenarios, if you want some business processes to be customized, we have already spoken two or three times with IBM representatives that we have to customize some of the features in this business process. They would say that if you want to do this automation at your own end, then okay, fine, go ahead, but we are not supporting all this customization. The only thing is the customization because it's a complete standard application.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The workflow of BAW's automation is handled inside of BPM, so we can see what state it is at and how things are processing through."

"One of the most valuable features is the way that they are adapting to the market. Initially, it was doing only workflow. Now it has started bringing all the other components like rules within the workflow and then the integration with RPA."

"The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant."

"It is the only product that includes capture content management and a process suite, as well as rules in RPA."

"No matter what somebody's technical experience level is, the tool can start adding value immediately. Even if that is just an analyst who doesn't have any technical background, they can use some of these no quote accelerators to get things from ideation to deployment in a matter of minutes."

"The tool streamlines operations, especially from an operational perspective, by facilitating decision-making and ensuring timely approvals. This helps prevent delays in the approval process, where business process management adds significant value for us."

"The product is suitable for knowledge management processes."

"The solution reduces the time to the resolution which is essential for businesses."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pros

"The most valuable feature is its stability, which is why we are using it."

"The client and the IBM content navigation are the solution's most valuable features."

"Case Foundation provides a strong security boost."

"It's very easy."

"It is easy to set up workflows that notify the user depending on certain events."

"It provides us the capability of producing business processes for documents that are launched immediately when a document comes into the repository."

"The only thing is that we can easily track where the application is in the process, from manual to automation."

"The content management is great."

More IBM Case Foundation pros

Cons

"Improvements could be made in debugging and troubleshooting."

"If the issue needs escalation to level two or level three, it can take time on a case-by-case basis."

"Code management lacks merging capabilities. If parallel development requires merging, improvements in this area would be beneficial."

"The initial setup is actually a really complicated process."

"One significant challenge is the lack of accessible forums or resources to seek help or information when problems arise."

"The UI of the solution is not good. They should work to update the solution and make it better and fresher."

"Sometimes, we feel like we are not getting the full features of the content management capabilities."

"I feel that the features are not user-friendly."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow cons

"The service as it currently stands is out-of-date and lacks flexibility."

"There are some features that could be enhanced like the document viewer"

"The solution can be quite expensive."

"Once a workflow is launched then it stays static forever, which is a problem because if there is a change in the business then you cannot change the workflow."

"There is a need for more open and flexible integration capabilities, allowing seamless collaboration with a broader spectrum of business process management solutions, beyond the confines of IBM's document management offerings."

"We are now using microservices but there are some areas where the coordination with FileNet is problematic."

"The interface needs to be more user-friendly."

"The place of improvement is merging or combining all of the workflow functionality into one seamless tool. Now, there are multiple installations that are different. Case Foundation, before you can put Case Manager and you've got IBM BPM, and the roadmap is there to merge them altogether. But that's the struggle at the moment, it's having multiple installations and disparate workflow applications."

More IBM Case Foundation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Nowadays, clients are looking at pricing as one of the major factors. For IBM products, they always think it is expensive for them. We are still educating our clients on the IBM FlexPoints licensing."

"When you compare with Laserfiche and M-Files, IBM is expensive."

"The product is expensive."

"The solution has saved us time."

"The solution's pricing is a little bit expensive."

"While it can be quite costly, it offers significant benefits for users."

"IBM Business Automation Workflow has a flexible pricing mode, but the price is expensive. The price of the solution reflects the quality of the solution which is very high. The technical support is an additional cost."

"Licensing varies by use-case."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pricing and cost advice

"This is not an expensive solution and we are using the standard license."

"IBM Case Foundation is a little expensive."

"Pricing is in the mid-range, it is not cheap, but it's not expensive."

"The price falls in the middle range—not overly expensive but not extremely affordable either."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

35%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

15%

Insurance Company

University

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 do you like most about IBM Business Automation Workflow?

The most valuable feature of IBM Business Automation Workflow is cost management.

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 do you like most about IBM Case Foundation?

A valuable feature includes seamless integration with the document management system, along with robust capabilities in analytics and reporting.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Case Foundation?

It was affordable, but right now, ten years later, the cost of the product is extremely high. That's why we are looking for another product.

What needs improvement with IBM Case Foundation?

Camunda vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Comparisons

Compared 30% of the time

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Compared 28% of the time

Apache Airflow vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 11% of the time

Appian vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 7% of the time

AWS Step Functions vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM Business Automation Workflow Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

IBM Business Automation Workflow

Download IBM Business Automation Workflow product report

IBM Case Foundation

Download IBM Case Foundation product report

Also Known As

Business Automation Workflow

Case Foundation, FileNet Business Process Manager

Overview

IBM Business Automation Workflow combines business process management and case management capabilities in one workflow solution. It integrates the capabilities of business process and case management into a single workflow offering. It unites information, process, and users to provide a 360-degree view of work to drive more successful optimized business outcomes. IBM Business Automation Workflow on Cloud provides the same capabilities that are offered in the IBM Business Automation Workflow offering, all within a ready-to-use, cloud-based environment that is hosted in IBM Cloud data centers and managed by IBM.

IBM

IBM Case Foundation is for organizations that need to harness unstructured information and integrate it with business processes to drive critical business decisions. It enables organizations to create, manage and optimize case-based processes and is designed to decrease development costs while significantly improving process performance. Case Foundation links specific pieces of content with a structured workflow. It's an on ramp for organizations that choose to move from document-centric workflow solutions to the advanced capabilities of IBM Case Manager.

IBM

Sample Customers

Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil

Suncorp Group Limited

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. IBM Case Foundation