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IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs Jira vs Microsoft Azure DevOps comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.9%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jira is 17.4%, down from 23.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure DevOps is 12.9%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Jira17.4%
Microsoft Azure DevOps12.9%
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)3.9%
Other65.80000000000001%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Juergen Albrecht - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AmitUbale - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management that's comprehensive and and helps with time efficiency
We use Jira primarily for project management within the organization. It helps us manage tasks, bug management, and tracking tickets effectively. We assign tickets to individual team members and track them easily For project management, Jira has helped facilitate efficient task segregation and…
Ivan Angelov - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates agile transformation with potential for enhanced intuitiveness
What I liked about the solution is that it offers numerous features that are not available by default unless you are agile. Transitioning from the traditional Waterfall model to an agile methodology was challenging for us. Until 2020, our team predominantly worked with the Waterfall approach, using local tools like ServiceNow. We had a few team members who were familiar with Agile ISO, but none had experience with Azure. Therefore, we pursued Azure certification at the AZ-900 level. Our company organized a training session with a certified Azure expert, which was extremely beneficial for adopting best practices during the initial three months. This preparation helped us get accustomed to the new tool, as transitioning to a new system invariably requires time. Managing a pipeline of deliverables became significantly easier with this solution. We utilized it for stories and integrated change management with Azure DevOps. Eventually, everything related to the environment was organized there, enabling us to follow up and track progress with our technical engineers on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. Reports were automatically generated and sent to management, offering them insights into our progress concerning the predefined roadmap.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The word emulation and importing is good."
"It is relatively easy to use and user-friendly once the setup is complete."
"You can customize the board according to your needs."
"The most valuable feature is the reporting of the CPU usage on the dashboard."
"I would rate the stability of this product a nine out of ten."
"The tools for requirement capture we have found very useful."
"The transition to a SaaS-based solution is a distinct advantage."
"The integration with Git works well."
"The layout, workflow, automation, and metrics are helpful in Jira."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is its ease of use. I don't need to train anyone to use it, I just give them access and they can use it to add comments, move their issues, change the status, monitor, read, and so on."
"It has enabled us to keep track of features or projects. Previously, we used to manually keep track in Office. We now have a centralized repository for all the information."
"Integrates with other components."
"Kanban boards are most valuable"
"Its visual display and ease of use are most valuable."
"I have experience with Jira's bulk tracking and issue management. We use it to add new features to our product, fix bugs, and address customer feedback."
"Jira is very user friendly, easy to install, and easy to access."
"The product is easy to use and very stable."
"I like the cloud infrastructure of Microsoft Azure DevOps."
"It is a cloud-based system. So, it is stable and scalable."
"We use all the DevOps features and services, like reports, Boards, Pipelines, Artifactory, etc. The interface is interactive and intuitive. The platform visuals and workflow are straightforward in Azure DevOps."
"Microsoft Azure DevOps has helped the developers a lot and we are deploying process changes very frequently and simultaneously. A lot of my team members that are developers are updating the code in parallel using Git. Additionally, Microsoft Azure DevOps is providing a very good approval mechanism. Overall it is benefiting by creating efficiency in production deployment and applications, our new releases are running well. The security of secured is good."
"Stable and scalable solution for work planning and code collaboration. It's fast, and it offers a good user experience."
"The user interface is very friendly."
"DevOps is easy to use because we can arrange each task in a project and follow up with the testing, development, and business teams. We manage everything through this."
 

Cons

"In the next release, we expect a traceability metrics configuration where we can configure the user stories. We also expect them to improve or simplify the query process."
"One of the complaints from users is that they have to click buttons too many times for just a simple task. Changing this would lead to a better user experience."
"The product must be more user-friendly."
"The solution can improve in the development area and the customized applications."
"The GUI is a little bit outdated."
"Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some trigger technologies."
"There is not enough beginner support material in the form of FAQs or simple training to help you get started."
"The user interface requires significant improvement as it is overly complex."
"Stability is an area of concern and it needs improvement, otherwise, it's a good product."
"The only thing that JIRA doesn't for us is release management in a way that I can create a list of versions easily."
"Whenever you edit a story, whatever you have changed takes a bit of time to save."
"As the solution is highly configurable, it has very poor governance."
"JIRA still has their own backtracking tools. It should have a better visibility into HPE UFT. Most people use functional testing tools, like QTP. They need to improve their integration to make it seamless."
"Adding applications is very expensive."
"I would like to have a future-proof idea of the cost and the roadmap for my class."
"The dashboard reports can be improved. Its dashboard reports are good, but you cannot have complex reports. They are currently very basic. For instance, we can only choose two columns for a dashboard, so it is not friendly enough."
"Its UI can be easier and more customer-friendly. The UI can be improved from the project management and agile perspective."
"Project management could be improved."
"With the query feature, we have to group items, so it becomes difficult for everyone to understand it. It's easier in JIRA, which has filters and other query options."
"We did have some brief performance issues, however, that was due to putting everything on one epic instead of breaking a project up."
"The solution's roadmap and Gantt charts could be improved."
"In comparison to JIRA, I believe DevOps has very poor reporting and metrics support."
"I have not been able to use the integration with automation features, such as test management automation, with a framework that is written in Java."
"The ability to integrate Microsoft Azure DevOps with other platforms and Microsoft products can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not cheap."
"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."
"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."
"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."
"We have an enterprise license that includes cloud service and support."
"As a company, we get a subsidized price, and it's lower than what's quoted on their website."
"I think the starter pack of three users, up to five users, is free. So you can try it out."
"The cost is about $10 per user, per month."
"We are a regional research and education institute. We're using the free license provided for educational institutes."
"Its price is fine, but we would like it to be less expensive. We are paying on a yearly basis."
"The licensing model is annoying. They nickel and dime you."
"The price seems reasonable to me. It's very similar to Splunk."
"This product could maybe be cheaper. My organization handled licensing, so I'm not aware of which subscription they have."
"There are other solutions available that are open source and free, such as GitLab."
"We have an MPN subscription for Microsoft Azure DevOps, and it's all included."
"There is a license for this solution."
"I find that the pricing is good, and it is competitive with the other vendors in the market."
"The solution costs $5 or $10 per user, per month."
"Licensing cost per user is approximately $11 to $15. We have about 400 users, but not all are active. We have around 200 to 300 active users."
"It is relatively inexpensive compared to other solutions that necessitate servers and physical hardware."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
23%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
12%
Transportation Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business103
Midsize Enterprise56
Large Enterprise149
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?
Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?
Most of my primary use cases involve the combination of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) ( /products/ibm-en...
Is Jira better or would you go with Micro Focus ALM Octane?
Hi Netanya, Basically , it all depends on the use cases for your environment and the business needs. Hope the below d...
Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jira?
We operate under a nonlimited license with Jira, allowing a number of users to access it with a single enterprise lic...
Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvement...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Valuable features for project management and tracking in Azure DevOps include a portal displaying test results, check...
 

Also Known As

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS
Jira Software
Azure DevOps, VSTS, Visual Studio Team Services, MS Azure DevOps
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst
Square, Nasa, eBay, Cisco, SalesForce, Adobe, BNP Paribas, BMW and LinkedIn, Pfizer, Citi.
Alaska Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Columbia, Skype
Find out what your peers are saying about Atlassian, Microsoft, Nutanix and others in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites. Updated: September 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.