No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
16th
Ranking in Talent Management
17th
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 May 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle HCM Cloud is 4.5%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle HCM Cloud4.5%
IBM Kenexa1.8%
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

"The streamlined, simplicity approach of Kenexa makes it simple for me to navigate."
"We like IBM; IBM has been great partners for us, they're really invested in our success, and they see us as a valuable client."
"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."
"Great value and flexibility in an ATS, mainly through the automation and the configuration through Workbench you can do to manipulate the candidate experience to really be something that candidates like and allows them to apply to your site easily and put them in a pipeline for recruiters to access and move through a process and get somebody hired."
"IBM Kenexa is fairly stable. We don't have any downtime."
"We felt like Kenexa was robust enough and dynamic enough that it met our needs, so it didn't make sense for us to disrupt 700 locations and reteach them something."
"We use the Viewpoint and that is an absolutely powerful tool; it is extremely helpful to get more insights, and to start a conversation with our employees to grow and improve."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle HCM Cloud is its integration."
"This is a very comprehensive solution, covering every aspect of the HCM profit cycle and the life cycle."
"HCM Cloud's most valuable feature is its ease of use - it's interlinked, so you can drill down into information."
"The solution's most valuable features are all the human resources aspects and access management, as well as the talent review. The solution's talent management is very, very good."
"This solution is valuable because it's robust and very dependable."
"Oracle HCM Cloud's workforce analytics has helped me in refining my business strategies."
"Oracle is a strong option for purchasing or procurement."
"Oracle HCM Cloud's most valuable feature is that it is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Improvements can be made from the back end, with the workbench."
"I get a real sense of frustration when you see the kind of customer insight teams and what they can do and then you look at the colleague insights teams, which I'm leading on as well, and seeing there's a gap and we need to close that gap."
"Maybe there's some room for improvement in the functionality around the actual tools that we build with."
"The downside is it's a system that was created many, many years ago and so it just evolves."
"I think there is some administrative things that could be easier in terms of Workbench and streamlining that process; configuration of different things."
"The price can always be better. Right now, we can only do part of that, but not as much as I want to."
"The reporting tool is helpful, but it is not the easiest to train on or is not as understandable for other HR pros. Their Workbench site, which is the administrator site that you use to update your website, is not user-friendly. When updates are required, it is not that easy to manage because Workbench is not user friendly. It required more work from the admins. They have Workbench training, which actually was very unhelpful. It took eight hours to complete, and it was not very helpful. Their customer service when it comes specifically to their Workbench site is not helpful."
"In the past year, there has been a significant increase in the amount of internal errors that are displayed."
"Oracle HCM Cloud could improve in its integration with access control devices."
"An employee needs training to apply for leave, something as simple as that. They shouldn't need training materials or user guides to navigate the system. We're moving towards empowering users, especially with end-user-facing systems. People should be self-reliant and not need to rely on manuals. Oracle HCM Cloud is very old-school in this regard."
"Although the performance management is good, it could be improved as its functionality is quite basic."
"Customer service is bad, four out of 10. Very slow to respond to issues, requires a lot of work from the HR team just to give them all the details."
"The solution has much room for improvement in all the modules and we are not wholly satisfied with it."
"With HCM Cloud, I have only created two or three SRs, and so far, not bad, but I wouldn't go to phenomenal yet."
"Cloud learning can be improved."
"I think it could use more features, perhaps artificial intelligence, since that's becoming more prominent in the world, and it's not yet implemented in HCM."
 

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."
"Though I cannot comment on the solution's cost, a fixed cost is involved based on my understanding. The cost multiplies based on the number of users."
"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."
"According to the Turkish market, the pricing is a little bit expensive."
"The cost of Oracle HCM Cloud is high, it could be reduced. There is an annual subscription and it is user-based."
"The data traffic cost is expensive. The solution can scale up beyond my imagination, but the cost can rise up easily."
"The product could be more affordable."
"Pricing is largely determined by what is agreed upon."
"The pricing is reasonable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Benefits Administration solutions are best for your needs.
895,891 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
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 Business26
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise33
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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.
895,891 professionals have used our research since 2012.