IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

IBM and Broadcom are both solutions in the Process Automation category. IBM is ranked #30 with an average rating of 9.0, while Broadcom is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 1.0% mindshare in PA, compared to Broadcom’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Read 2 IBM Cloud Pak for Automation reviews

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413 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

vCenter Orchestrator

Read 51 vCenter Orchestrator reviews

1,068 Views
395 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

vCenter Orchestrator

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

vCenter Orchestrator and IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are products in the automation market, offering distinctive advantages. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation has the upper hand with superior features that make it worth the investment despite vCenter Orchestrator's competitive pricing and support.

Features: vCenter Orchestrator offers seamless automation workflows, centralized management, and strong integration with VMware environments. On the other hand, IBM Cloud Pak for Automation provides robust AI-driven automation, extensive support for end-to-end process automation, and a comprehensive set of features for broader applicability across diverse cloud environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation provides flexible deployment options in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, along with extensive support resources. vCenter Orchestrator offers streamlined deployment within VMware ecosystems, but additional support might be necessary for complex implementations. IBM Cloud Pak's broader deployment model and dedicated customer service resources offer greater adaptability for various environments.

Pricing and ROI: vCenter Orchestrator is considered cost-effective with straightforward pricing and quick time-to-value within VMware settings. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation requires a higher upfront investment, justified by its expansive feature set and long-term ROI, offering solutions adaptable to changing business needs. The choice is between initial cost and future investment value, with IBM Cloud Pak providing greater potential ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

December 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 Cloud Pak for Automation

Ranking in Process Automation

30th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (22nd)

vCenter Orchestrator

Ranking in Process Automation

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is 1.0%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
vCenter Orchestrator	0.7%
IBM Cloud Pak for Automation	1.0%
Other	98.3%

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

SYEDMUJTABA

Vice President - Digital Automation Services at Techvista Systems

Effectively handles parallel instances effectively

I find it quite straightforward, perhaps around 8.5 out of 10 in terms of ease. When we upgraded from the old version of IBM BPM to the new one within IBM Cloud Pak for Automation, we didn't encounter any major issues. There were some minor ones, but they were easy to overcome.The migration process was part of our deployment strategy. We had a plan to migrate two processes per week from on-premises to the cloud. The migration involved taking the instances and migrating them to the new environment. There is an inbuilt feature in IBM Cloud Pak for Automation that facilitates the migration process, although I personally haven't conducted it myself; it's managed by my team. Overall, the setup process was relatively smooth.

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Narendar Bompally

Hybrid Cloud Engineer at RealPage

Boosts operational efficiency with flexible workflows and reliable cluster management

We currently use vCenter Orchestrator's pre-built workflow templates for our IT processes. The templates are flexible, allowing us to create and convert processes simply and manage patches. Regarding integration capabilities, we do not integrate any third-party tools. We exclusively use VMware products. The integration within the VMware infrastructure is limited to Single Sign-On (SSO). I have not created any workflows in vCenter Orchestrator as workflows are only used for change management. I have not encountered any drag and drop interface. The version control and logging features of vCenter Orchestrator have significantly improved the reliability of our automated processes, particularly during upgrades or patching to the cluster-wise. Previously, it would be done on a one-to-one cluster or one-to-one host basis, but now we only need to monitor it for upgrading or patching the entire cluster. I cannot comment on the pricing and licensing of vCenter Orchestrator as these aspects are managed by our onsite counterpart. Overall, I rate vCenter Orchestrator 8 out of 10. The rating reflects occasional delays in support response times and portal stability issues.

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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

"I believe two significant features of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are the focus on SLA management and the capability to handle parallel instances effectively. Parallel instances, for instance, are valuable when dealing with a large number of users, enabling tasks to be performed concurrently for efficient system operation. The SLA aspect is crucial for tracking and ensuring timely completion of tasks. Additionally, the cloud compatibility of IBM BAW allows for seamless migration from on-premises to the cloud. This version also includes a business rule management system for storing and managing business rules effectively."

"What this product allows us to do is to move from on-prem instances where we are running independent instances of FileNet, Datacap, and ODM. It allows us to leverage container-based resiliency and availability modeling so that we have some visibility across the CP4BA ecosystem. We're now migrating all of our data to be in the Cloud Object Storage, and we can now use some of the features of Azure in terms of how we store and retrieve content for our members and our providers."

"The most crucial feature of vCenter is its scalability. We can use it to expand our network, so we don't have to report our client devices. The network configuration features are also helpful because we can migrate entire networks."

"I am impressed with the tool's easiness to work with VMware solutions."

"The stability of the product is very good."

"Technical support is helpful."

"It is very stable. I have been using vCenter Orchestrator from version three now to six plus."

"The most valuable feature is how easy it makes it to manage the VM."

"The platform integration is straightforward, especially with recent updates, making connecting with various systems and streamlining workflows easier."

"The backup and recovery times are very quick."

More vCenter Orchestrator pros

Cons

"I believe there is room for improvement in the user interface, particularly in the Process Portal that customers use to view and manage their tasks. The UI of the Process Portal needs enhancement. Additionally, in the next release, I would like to see improved compatibility with Angular, allowing for direct integration with front-end systems. It would be beneficial to have built-in GUI features based on Angular within the system, rather than developing separate applications externally. This, in turn, would provide a more seamless and enhanced front-end experience."

"One of the challenges we're having is finding vendors who have experience in developing on the cloud. We can find developers on the old platform, but it is leading-edge technology. So, we are having some challenges, and IBM is assisting us to find vendor partners. To be able to leverage all the capabilities of the new platform, we have to upgrade our existing ecosystem of FileNet applications. Upgrading to the new platform while trying to modernize is always challenging because it is like you have a moving target."

"This is an expensive solution."

"I believe a transparent view and better terms of condition between Oracle and vCenter Orchestrator would be helpful."

"Many times, customers' licenses are not used because the client is not aware of the features and the product benefits. When somebody is buying a product, they just do a default configuration."

"VMware tools would benefit from more automation. When installing our devices and servers, we often need to install the VMware tools manually. This process should be automated during the VM installation process."

"I would like to have an interface that can manage both on-premises and cloud solutions from a single console, where we can easily manage the resources that are being used or at least applications. Whereby clicking here and there from on-premises to cloud, or cloud to on-premises, depending on the requirements. If that can be accomplished, it will be extremely beneficial."

"The solution has a limited count of parallel executions, which can be a bottleneck for larger environments."

"It is too expensive. One of the main issues is the price."

"I would like to see, from within the Web Console, being able to define the project and custom templates per user; almost like how CloudSpec has approached the solution."

More vCenter Orchestrator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is relatively expensive, especially considering it is designed for long-living processes, not for normal automation needs. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pricing at around 9. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees, but IBM has multiple pricing models that make it expensive in its own way. Different plans are available, but overall, the experience suggests it is a costly solution."

"Its cost is almost the same or comparable to what we pay with FileNet, but I'm not sure what we pay a year. A good part of CP4BA is the CPU-based licensing model. When we're dealing with 50,000 dentists, for example, if we were to use Salesforce, we would be hit with the licensing of 50,000 dentists, whereas when we build out in CP4BA, it is just based on our CPU usage, not on individual licenses."

"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. We pay for the license and then we pay the support every year."

"vCenter Orchestrator is a very expensive solution."

"vCenter Orchestrator could be more affordable."

"I rate the product price a seven to eight out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"The solution is a bit expensive."

"The product is expensive."

"vCenter Orchestrator is an expensive solution."

"We pay a yearly fee, based on our entries."

More vCenter Orchestrator pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?

The stability of the product is very good.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?

We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.

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What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?

For our environment, I do not see any areas of vCenter Orchestrator that could be improved or enhanced. We are currently satisfied with the orchestrator. If any improvements are needed, I will prov...

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Comparisons

IBM BPM vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 27% of the time

Appian vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 23% of the time

Pega Platform vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 18% of the time

ServiceNow Orchestration vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 17% of the time

Nintex Process Platform vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 15% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Automation Competitors

VMware Cloud Director vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 26% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 25% of the time

VMware Aria Operations vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 12% of the time

Camunda vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 8% of the time

More vCenter Orchestrator Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

December 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Automation product report

Buyer's Guide

vCenter Orchestrator

January 2026

Download vCenter Orchestrator product report

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation offers design, build, run, and automation services to rapidly scale your programs and fully execute and operationalize an automation strategy.

IBM

VMware vCenter Orchestrator simplifies the automation of complex IT tasks and integrates with VMware vCloud Suite components to adapt and extend service delivery and operational management, effectively working with existing infrastructure, tools and processes.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Beiersdorf Shared Services

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

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