IBM Business Automation Workflow vs Oracle BPM comparison

IBM and Oracle are both solutions in the Business Process Management (BPM) category. IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.4, while Oracle is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 2.1% mindshare in BPM, compared to Oracle’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

IBM Business Automation Wor...

Read 25 IBM Business Automation Workflow reviews

2,019 Views
1,999 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Oracle BPM

Read 25 Oracle BPM reviews

1,447 Views
1,404 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

IBM Business Automation Wor...

Oracle BPM

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Oracle BPM and IBM Business Automation Workflow compete in the business process management category. IBM Business Automation Workflow slightly edges out due to its flexibility and comprehensive features that support automation and process adaptation.

Features: Oracle BPM excels with robust integration capabilities, adherence to BPMN 2.0 standards, and seamless integration with Oracle's SOA platform. It offers comprehensive analytics and reporting tools to optimize processes. On the other hand, IBM Business Automation Workflow presents a tightly integrated suite centralizing process management. It includes connectivity with RPA and content management, enhancing automation and operational efficiency.

Room for Improvement: Oracle BPM could improve its user interaction and UI flexibility, and it lacks some advanced features like process mining. There is also a steep learning curve associated with its use. IBM Business Automation Workflow needs enhancements in user-friendliness, UI flexibility, and modularity of processes, which complicate maintenance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Oracle BPM primarily supports on-premises deployment with limited cloud options, and its customer service has mixed reviews on technical support. IBM Business Automation Workflow is available both on-premises and in hybrid cloud environments, offering more deployment flexibility. Customer service is comparable to Oracle, with variable feedback on support quality.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle BPM is considered expensive with high licensing costs affecting ROI, requiring careful planning to match organizational needs. Pricing varies significantly with market conditions. IBM Business Automation Workflow also incurs high initial costs but is deemed a worthwhile investment due to its features, particularly providing substantial ROI in government sectors by enhancing efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. Oracle BPM Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. Oracle BPM

July 2025

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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

Oracle BPM

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

15th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM Business Automation Workflow is 2.1%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle BPM is 2.0%, up from 1.7% 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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Erick Kathurima

CIO at Clarinox Technologies Kenya

Helpful tool for business process management integration and a straightforward setup

Oracle BPM is used as a tool integrated into another system. It helps in business process management and the generation of reports, predominantly at the end of the month For any new deployment of any system, it helps in improving some efficiencies, which is the reason for having the system. It…

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

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

"It's a flexible solution."

"The most valuable feature is automation, which is quite strong and we are quite happy with it."

"The dashboards are helpful because you can display reports directly on your screen."

"Productivity improvements are notable because processes have been orchestrated and streamlined with IBM Business Automation Workflow."

"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."

"It helps develop applications very quickly. Once clients get used to it and familiar with the methodology, then they don't feel so locked in. It is able to add this element of agility to our clients' software development lifecycle. That is my favorite thing about it: You're not so locked in as you used to be when developing applications."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pros

"The benefit from the tool is we can develop it quickly and easily use it for middleware services. We can publish the services so other applications can consume them. This is providing us some reusability and a type of security."

"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."

"Currently, we define the tasks, and based on certain decision rules, the tool decides the task priorities and the time frame of the task."

"We have more than 800 distinct applications in our IT landscape. We had enough scalability and okay development cycles, and it has been enough to cover our backup operations and order management systems."

"It has developmental accelerators, which allow for virtually any customization needs which you may require."

"The solution provides extensive functionalities."

"This solution has given us a quick time to market, the ability to integrate with the rest of the corporate applications, and the ability to hire talent in low-cost locations."

More Oracle BPM pros

Cons

"From what I understand, in the next release they're actually going to combine all of this together as one integrated solution... If we could have one unified way to build a solution, that would really help."

"While everything is integrated into one platform, I'd like guidelines on when and how to use ODM. This applies not only to implementation but also to automation processes. Additionally, proper instructions should be provided when installing on the cloud."

"The development UI is sometimes a little slow."

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

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

"Improvements could be made in debugging and troubleshooting."

"Integrating the solution with existing systems can be complicated and it needs careful planning and execution."

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

More IBM Business Automation Workflow cons

"Though Oracle BPM is a stable solution, it's very heavy, so this is one area for improvement. If Oracle can make the components of Oracle BPM lighter, and if the deployment for the solution could be easier, that would make Oracle BPM better."

"You have to maintain it manually."

"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."

"Pricing is an area that could use improvement."

"The time it takes to get from deployment to production could be faster."

"The default Workspace does not meet all our needs and sometimes you need to create your own custom Workspace."

"Oracle BPM could probably be improved with respect to the cost. When you are using this product, it'll be a bit costlier for the ROA. I think they should do some discounts on these products, especially for the licenses."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing structure."

More Oracle BPM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has saved us time."

"Licensing varies by use-case."

"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."

"Our license is on a three-year term."

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

"It is on the expensive side, but it provides excellent supportability and an ecosystem that is proven to be a great fit for our organization."

"The product is expensive."

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

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pricing and cost advice

"As with all Oracle products, the licensing over VMware is an issue."

"The licensing model is good."

"The licensing for this product is very costly. We pay for a yearly license to use Oracle BPM."

"This solution is very expensive. You are charged per license and an additional 20% for support."

"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 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."

"Oracle is good, but they're still expensive compared to other vendors."

More Oracle BPM pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Wireless Company

Manufacturing Company

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...

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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 enterprise contact management.

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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.

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What do you like most about Oracle BPM?

The solution provides extensive functionalities.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 30% of the time

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

AWS Step Functions vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 28% of the time

Camunda vs Oracle BPM

Compared 23% of the time

IBM BPM vs Oracle BPM

Compared 14% of the time

AWS Step Functions vs Oracle BPM

Compared 9% of the time

ARIS BPA vs Oracle BPM

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Business Automation Workflow

July 2025

Download IBM Business Automation Workflow product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle BPM

July 2025

Download Oracle BPM product report

Also Known As

Business Automation Workflow

Oracle Business Process Management

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

The Industry's Most Complete and Unified BPM Solution A complete solution for all types of processes that provides a unified process foundation, user-centric design, and social BPM interaction. Reduces complexity and risk and increases business efficiency, visibility, and agility.

Oracle

Sample Customers

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

State Revenue Office Victoria, New South Wales Health, REDISA, Panduit, Total E&P Indonesie

Buyer's Guide

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. Oracle BPM

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. Oracle BPM

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. Oracle BPM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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