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IBM Business Automation Workflow vs WebRatio 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)
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WebRatio
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
57th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM Business Automation Workflow is 2.2%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WebRatio is 0.2%, up from 0.1% 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.
reviewer1485573 - PeerSpot reviewer
Little coding needed and speeds development time but lacks documentation
The maintenance aspect is too heavy. Moving from one version to the other made the solution change, and not in a way that we liked. Typically there are documents about the release of new versions and a set of activities required to migrate from one to the other. This time, it was very messy. There were issues surrounding the management of the release. This could potentially be due to the fact that WebRation, in the past, had started to make some choices regarding the framework and architecture that were changed later. In the past, we'd use a strategy as the environment, as an architectural pattern for the application. Now, it's moving more on the spring framework and this initiated some change that obviously had an impact on our application. It's caused a problem with maintenance. The solution seems to have changed its approach. Now, it's more related to a federative application environment in a monolithic aspect. While the solution was interesting at one point, everything is moving towards the cloud. WebRatio should be moving also in the web approach. Currently, you have to install an environment inside the desktop. The future is the cloud. Normally with a low code environment, there is a VPN notation - maybe a WebML or FML notation. If they can move in to have an environment that has a running machine at the end, it would be great. Obviously, some components on the server-side should be deliberate. Normally it's the model you control that's step-by-step and has a very simple flow. In the digital environment, in the organization, the process is more complex. The quality of the documentation and the community surrounding the product are poor. They need to give users more documentation and build up the surrounding community. As it isn't a well-known product, it's hard to find professionals to work with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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 Business Automation Workflow is stable because the different infrastructure elements, such as the OS and middleware have been used for a long time."
"The most important aspect is that it helped us focus on the business process perspective."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow is useful for helping us design custom user interfaces and processes we require."
"Productivity improvements are notable because processes have been orchestrated and streamlined with 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."
"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 initial setup isn't too complex."
 

Cons

"I would like to see more streamlined install and provisioning; preferably containerized IBM BPM would be helpful."
"Requires a lot of customization code writing which could be reduced."
"If the issue needs escalation to level two or level three, it can take time on a case-by-case basis."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow can improve UI flexibility and integration. Additionally, the solutions from IBM have to provide a paperless solution, allowing for digital versions of documents."
"I would definitely like to see a unified interface between the BPM side of the house and the case side of the house. Something that just seems a bit more cohesive, because right now there is sort of a disconnect between the BPM and the case side of the house. That makes it a bit of a hard sell sometimes. That is definitely first and foremost on my wish list."
"The main areas which need improvement are specifically around reporting and analytics."
"IBM Business Automation Workflow could be more intuitive, with more advanced low-code features and services definition."
"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."
"The maintenance aspect is too heavy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"When you compare with Laserfiche and M-Files, IBM is expensive."
"There is still a relatively high total cost of ownership to actually implement, support, and stand up solutions."
"While it can be quite costly, it offers significant benefits for users."
"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."
"Our license is on a three-year term."
"The solution has saved us time."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
35%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
6%
Insurance Company
6%
No data available
 

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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Also Known As

Business Automation Workflow
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil
Unicredit Leasing, Acer, Gruppo Torinese Transporti, A2A, SET Distribuzone, Dolomiti Energia, AIM Gruppo, IFC CNA_ Amsa
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. WebRatio and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.