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IBM Kenexa vs Oracle HCM Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 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 Kenexa
Ranking in Benefits Administration
18th
Ranking in Talent Management
19th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (10th)
Oracle HCM Cloud
Ranking in Benefits Administration
4th
Ranking in Talent Management
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (4th), HR Analytics Software (1st), Talent Acquisition (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle HCM Cloud is 4.6%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle HCM Cloud4.6%
IBM Kenexa1.7%
Other93.7%
Benefits Administration
 

Featured Reviews

Karan Grover - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Suitable for larger-scale companies aiming to streamline and automate their processes digitally
The deployment of the solution took between six to eight months. When we introduced BrassRing at my company, we encountered several challenges. First, moving data from our old system to BrassRing was tough because it needed reformatting. Second, connecting BrassRing with our HR data was tricky due to manual processes for roles and departments. Third, setting up the workflow in BrassRing was complex. Fourth, configuring user access and approval levels was a detailed task. We also had to manage the change process, including running both old and new systems in parallel, communicating changes, and training users. Lastly, monitoring and reporting were needed to ensure data accuracy and proper system usage once everything was in place. We had a team of six to eight people managing the project from our side during the BrassRing deployment. I'm not sure about the size of the BrassRing team, and we also had our own technical team, which had three to four members. The solution required maintenance, particularly from my side as the administrator. Maintenance responsibilities were divided into two parts: some tasks we, as end-users, could control, while others were the responsibility of the BrassRing team. Payment-related tasks were a regular part of our responsibilities. I wasn't the only person maintaining the solution. There were three power users from Infosys, each responsible for a specific geography. My counterpart managed it in the US, and I, along with my colleague in India, managed it for other geographies.
AanilaNanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Human Resources Intern at a government with 10,001+ employees
Provides unified access to multiple HR functions and reduces navigation effort
I am generally satisfied with the talent management capabilities in Oracle HCM Cloud, but as I mentioned, there are certain pages that really lag sometimes and there are a lot of bugs in talent management. Before, when it had a responsive UI, it was fine, but after it switched to Redwood, I feel there are bugs, and the functionality stated in the documents is not accurate. It takes some time to get that feature, and we need to raise product SR or ask in the community how it works. It's not easily understandable, especially in the talent management area. One potential area of improvement for Oracle HCM Cloud is that it lags. It takes time to reflect the pages, and the loading time now requires us to wait for the page to load. Earlier, we used to click and see the page immediately. However, now we need to wait for it to get loaded, which can be frustrating when working in a fast mode.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Scalability is great, as we use the system for everything from a very low-volume, high-touch corporate recruiting model to our tax office, high-volume approach, which is 80-100,000 people each season."
"I like how we can copy a req as we have many duplicates, which saved a lot of time when opening reqs."
"For us in particular, I love how configurable the system is; I can use the same technology for different parts of my business."
"BrassRing, the applicant tracking system, has brought a high level of automation, specifically for our mass-volume hourly processes."
"The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."
"I think one of the biggest benefits that Kenexa brings is the scalability."
"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."
"We acquired a pharmacy retailer three years ago, and Kenexa enabled us to actually standardize our employee engagement across both of those organizations, helping us understand at an enterprise level what was going on and, most importantly, how people were starting to feel about being acquired and joining the broader company space."
"Its integrated modules allow for more seamless business processes."
"It is very user-friendly, and most of the UI is very intuitive so you don't need to follow a course to use it, with one single UI regardless of your roles so you don't have to log into separate applications depending on whether you're HR or just a normal employee."
"The best feature of the product is the middleware where it allows you to create a project and all the required and the optional tasks come pre-configured."
"HCM Cloud's most valuable feature is its ease of use - it's interlinked, so you can drill down into information."
"HCM solution that's easy to set up and scale, with good data integration and technical support."
"It is very user-friendly. Most of the UI is very intuitive so you don't need to follow a course to follow it up."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle HCM Cloud is its integration."
"HCM Cloud's most valuable feature is its ease of use - it's interlinked, so you can drill down into information."
 

Cons

"It was a little rocky, as they always are, but we went live on time and that's all that matters."
"The downside of Kenexa is that they're constantly reinventing, so they have constant releases with new features and upgrades. The downside of that is that they do experience fairly regular issues with stability that they're not always as quick to respond to as we'd like them to."
"I would say that it could likely be made slightly easier to consume and work with - less scientific or engineering oriented - but IBM Kenexa Talent Insights is about the most powerful and useful tool I've seen."
"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."
"Improvements can be made from the back end, with the workbench."
"We're really looking forward to some of their enhancements to their onboarding portal, specifically for recruiters and hiring managers."
"Once-a-year engagement kind of seems to be a little bit lagging in terms of how we can actually shape and improve organizations, so I was looking forward to understanding a bit more where IBM Kenexa's thinking is going in terms of pulsing with the employee voice and how that kind of integrates and works with tell-it-as-it-is, and the other two applications we have; it's just too early to know."
"It needs to update its reporting and analytics tools."
"With HCM Cloud, I have only created two or three SRs, and so far, not bad, but I wouldn't go to phenomenal yet."
"I would focus on making high volume recruitment more bulky."
"In some cases, the price may be lower depending on what is negotiated."
"As the product is cloud based, it is a heavily standardized system. There is little or no option to customize business processes, features, or integrate the few exceptional business processes to work with the existing product."
"Learning Management on cloud is relatively new and has scope for improvement."
"It is a cloud solution, so we cannot do much customization. However, if you have a past license, you can do the customization, but unfortunately, we don't have a past license."
"The product is comparably complex to install and deploy properly."
"The cost of Oracle HCM Cloud is high, it could be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Kenexa was fairly priced. However, in 2019, before I left my previous organization, they significantly increased their pricing. It can be affordable, but their pricing is going up. It is not just licensing; it is how many applicants you have in your system on the database side."
"According to the Turkish market, the pricing is a little bit expensive."
"The price of Oracle HCM Cloud could improve. However, everyone would like the price of a solution they are using to be less expensive."
"The solution is quite expensive for small and medium-sized companies."
"The is a license needed to use the solution. The license can be paid in different increments, such as quarterly."
"I don't know how much it costs, but I know that everything is included. We don't pay anything extra apart from the licensing fee."
"On average, it's not a cheap solution."
"Oracle HCM Cloud is pricey, but price-wise, it's now more competitive than in the past year. Here in Central Europe, people also look at the pricing, but Central Europe falls under the UAE and Abu Dhabi in terms of headquarters, management, and strategy, but those states don't care too much about the pricing. Pricing is a significant factor in choosing a solution. In the past, Oracle HCM Cloud was compared to the SAP solution, the largest competitor and up to thirty percent higher in price. Now, Oracle HCM Cloud has a price increase of five to ten percent, which could be pricier than SAP now, but it's a more competitive product nowadays and comparable to SAP."
"The product could be more affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise33
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What are the differences between Oracle HCM Cloud and PeopleSoft?
Although both are solutions to manage HR, their differences make each one suitable for different companies. Oracle Cloud HCM is a platform for connecting all human resource processes in your organ...
What do you like most about Oracle HCM Cloud?
The most valuable features of the solution are the core HR, absence, payroll, and recruitment modules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle HCM Cloud?
I feel the pricing for Oracle HCM Cloud is market competitive; other products are in the same range. Out of ten, I feel it's around six or seven. It's reasonable and not that much.
 

Also Known As

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sweet Spot International (SSI), Leo Burnett Worldwide (LBW), Sika AG, Legacy Health, Apollo Group Inc., Regeneron, Transurban Group, National Health Service, New Zealand Police, Overland Footwear, Yealands, Johnson Controls, Allscripts, Kerry Foods, Masterpet, AMD, Balfour Beatty
Kovaion Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., eVerge Group, Kalpataru, Logicalis Inc., Macmillan Science and Education, Drivestream Inc., Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group LLC, WAXIE Sanitary Supply
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Kenexa vs. Oracle HCM Cloud and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
886,906 professionals have used our research since 2012.