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IBM Business Automation Workflow vs ProcessMaker 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 Business Automation Wor...
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ProcessMaker
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
37th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
2
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 ProcessMaker is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
UchechiSylvanus - PeerSpot reviewer
Works well, but its interface should be a bit more user-friendly
We use it for our process flows and levels of approvals, but I am not managing it directly Its performance, stability, and security are fine. Its interface should be a bit more user-friendly. I have been using this solution for close to a year. It is stable. It is easy to scale. We currently…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has integrated UI and deployment models, and it has a deep set of consultant and service provider ecosystem features."
"It performs the basic tasks that are required for the BBM solution as part of the overall integration with ECM or enterprise contact management."
"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."
"IBM provides long-term support and maintains a traditionally good customer-vendor relationship."
"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."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow is stable because the different infrastructure elements, such as the OS and middleware have been used for a long time."
"Productivity improvements are notable because processes have been orchestrated and streamlined with IBM Business Automation Workflow."
"This is a low-code software where you can just drag and drop on the user interface. There are also a lot of quality integrations such as TMS."
"What I like most is the seamlessness of the workflow capabilities."
"Its performance, stability, and security are fine."
 

Cons

"I would like to see more streamlined install and provisioning; preferably containerized IBM BPM would be helpful."
"If the issue needs escalation to level two or level three, it can take time on a case-by-case basis."
"The UI of the solution is not good. They should work to update the solution and make it better and fresher."
"Code management lacks merging capabilities. If parallel development requires merging, improvements in this area would be beneficial."
"The main improvement would be to make it easier to implement and deploy so that customers can kick it off and run quickly."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow could improve the integration."
"In terms of improvement, it could be less complex."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow could be more intuitive, with more advanced low-code features and services definition."
"Its interface should be a bit more user-friendly."
"This solution only supports basic text, but we would like to be able to insert components such as rich text, graphs, charts, pictures, and other objects."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"The solution has saved us time."
"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."
"Our license is on a three-year term."
"There is still a relatively high total cost of ownership to actually implement, support, and stand up solutions."
"We have a yearly license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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?
It performs the basic tasks that are required for the BBM solution as part of the overall integration with ECM or enterprise contact 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.
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Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Business Automation Workflow
ProcessMaker Workflow Management & BPM, ProcessMaker BPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil
Tulsa Community College, Sirius College, Mcredit Vietnam, Oregon City Schools, Lakozy Toyota, HyperCube
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. ProcessMaker and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,484 professionals have used our research since 2012.