IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs Inflectra SpiraTeam comparison

IBM and Inflectra are both solutions in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 6.5, while Inflectra is ranked #22. IBM holds a 3.9% mindshare in ALM, compared to Inflectra’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Inflectra users who would recommend it.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Read 20 IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) reviews

1,624 Views
1,608 Comparison Views

77% willing to recommend

Inflectra SpiraTeam

Read 2 Inflectra SpiraTeam reviews

414 Views
410 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Inflectra SpiraTeam

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management and Inflectra SpiraTeam compete in project management and lifecycle coordination. IBM ELM is advantageous in large-scale enterprises for its robust capabilities, while SpiraTeam's ease of integration and affordability give it a competitive edge in smaller and medium-sized environments.

Features: IBM ELM offers comprehensive lifecycle management tools, requirements tracking, and quality management with extensive integration across multiple tools, ideal for complex environments. SpiraTeam provides agile project management, test management, and requirements tracking with straightforward integration, enhancing agility and collaboration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Inflectra SpiraTeam is recognized for quick deployment and an intuitive platform with responsive customer service, allowing rapid solution implementation. IBM ELM, while providing extensive support infrastructure, involves a longer deployment process due to its complexity. SpiraTeam's faster setup and customer interaction suggest it is more accessible to smaller entities.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ELM typically involves higher setup costs due to its extensive range of tools and enterprise-level features. It offers strong ROI in environments that fully leverage its comprehensive capabilities. SpiraTeam provides more cost-effective solutions, appealing to smaller teams or those seeking specific functionalities. Its lower initial investment and strong feature set indicate a quicker path to ROI for those not requiring enterprise-level solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Inflectra SpiraTeam Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Inflectra SpiraTeam

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 Engineering Lifecycle M...

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

13th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Inflectra SpiraTeam

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

22nd

Average Rating

9.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.9%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Inflectra SpiraTeam is 0.9%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)	3.9%
Inflectra SpiraTeam	0.9%
Other	95.2%

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

Featured Reviews

Juergen Albrecht

Managing Director at CCC Systems Engineering Suisse GmbH

Combining tools for effective data analysis while customization and integration need improvement

The most valuable feature is how IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) allows me to present to the customer what the actual software, even hardware, will do. It helps them gain an impression of the complexity of the functionality and find an easier way to decide whether to implement it. A picture says more than one thousand words, which is why I work with the combination of ELM and the specification of DOORS. The automation capabilities I built use column-based scripts for analysis to search, fetch, and transfer information. When I open modules, it automatically analyzes the changes since the last opening by me.

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it_user1241541

Quality Management Office (QMO) Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Flexible and stable with excellent technical support

I am the end user. I have a contract to provide testing for customers, however, ultimately the owner of the tool is the customer. For this reason, we're not direct customers. I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. I don't like to put 10 due to the fact that I'm sure that something can be improved. That said, if the customer gave me the option to select a product, I'd select SpiraTeam over other tools. The facilities of the tool are more or less the same as the facilities of the ALM or other tools that are in the market. However, the customer support from Inflectra makes you feel like they are working with you. That is the gap in the quality that other options lack. They fix any issue very quickly.

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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

"IBM Rational ALM is a very good tool. I like the management and traceability features and the test management tool. The latter is not linked with the stories and fixed management. It is really useful, and we can create test plans. We can also test some metrics related to QA."

"The cataloging is a very valuable feature. For a lot of enterprises, they end up not knowing which applications do specific features. The cataloging helps with this. It's not that verbose, but it still gives you allowances to put in more detail."

"Everyone in a team can work on the same platform and share the same information."

"The integration with Git works well."

"I would rate the stability of this product a nine out of ten."

"One of the key advantages of IBM Rational ALM is its workflow capabilities, which enable seamless collaboration between development and production teams and ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the progress and readiness of the solution. Additionally, the solution is good for integration."

"We have something called the GC (global configuration), which is a unique feature compared to any other competitor we have in the ALM space."

"You can customize the board according to your needs."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) pros

"The solution is fast and very accessible."

"The initial setup and configuration are straightforward and relatively simple."

Cons

"Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some trigger technologies."

"The product must be more user-friendly."

"If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was introduced, it was already somewhat outdated."

"The reporting functionality needs to be improved."

"The user interface requires significant improvement as it is overly complex."

"I would like to see better reporting features. The out-of-box reporting is - I don't want to say limited - but the focus is on the Scrum and Sprint reports. We need more reporting features regarding the history of the work, tracking it more deeply."

"The features should be more intuitive. If I'm looking for something, its location should be easy to locate."

"The directory designer manager is uncivil. The design manager is clearly really unstable."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) cons

"It would be great if they worked more closely with other solutions. There needs to be better integration with the platform for development purposes."

"They need to continue improving the interface with the third-party options."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."

"The solution is not cheap."

"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."

"This product is a little expensive and we had to pay extra to have them set it up for us."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. Many of our customers are not using all the features and this could be why our clients feel the price is too high."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

22%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

University

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Rational ALM?

The solution is customizable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?

I think usability should be improved in IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) as the top priority. If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was i...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?

For companies in heavily regulated industries who are doing product development, IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is a good tool. It helps them create documentation that satisfies auditors.

See all answers

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Comparisons

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Compared 19% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 10% of the time

Polarion ALM vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 9% of the time

Jama Connect vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 8% of the time

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Microsoft Azure DevOps vs Inflectra SpiraTeam

Compared 54% of the time

Jama Connect vs Inflectra SpiraTeam

Compared 46% of the time

More Inflectra SpiraTeam Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

January 2026

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) report

Download IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

December 2025

Download Inflectra SpiraTeam product report

Also Known As

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS

SpiraTeam

Overview

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) offers an integrated platform with customizable workflows, Scrum planning tools, and resource management features, enhancing project execution and collaboration.

ELM supports Agile and Scrum project management through its integration with tools like Git and IBM Doors, providing cataloging, traceability, and reporting capabilities. While users benefit from requirement management and dashboard functionalities, the interface and reporting could be improved for better navigation and customization. Its cloud-based architecture facilitates compliance and auditing, making it a valuable tool for engineering teams focusing on configuration and version control.

What are the essential features of IBM ELM?

Customizable Workflows: Tailor project processes to specific needs for adaptability.
Scrum-Based Planning: Facilitate Agile project management with Scrum tools.
Resource Management: Efficiently allocate and track resource usage.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrate with Git and IBM Doors for enhanced traceability.
Global Configuration: Manage configurations across locations for consistency.

What benefits should users consider?

Compliance Support: Provides tools essential for meeting industry regulations.
Collaboration: Streamlines team communication for smooth project execution.
Stakeholder Alignment: Enhances visibility and alignment with personalized dashboards.
Traceability: Ensures complete tracking of requirements and changes for accountability.

ELM is widely used in the automotive and manufacturing sectors for managing requirements and monitoring performance. Engineering teams leverage ELM for Agile methodologies, with central teams deploying it for end-to-end development processes including requirement gathering and backlog management. Stability and improved integration support remain critical implementation areas, along with enhanced governance features for comprehensive application.

IBM

Need to manage your entire project lifecycle? From requirements and test cases, to tasks and code SpiraTeam has you covered. Powerful, straightforward, and flexible, SpiraTeam helps you get started fast. With SpiraTeam, manage your tasks and bugs quickly and easily, sync them with your team, and get back to developing. Integrated version control, testing (manual and automated), and customizable reporting, help you track it all.

Inflectra

Sample Customers

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst

Cenduit, Maas Database Applications, DHHS Tasmania, Rota Yokogawa, ASI Business Solutions, ComputaCenter

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Inflectra SpiraTeam

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Inflectra SpiraTeam

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