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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
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (11th)
Oracle HCM Cloud
Ranking in Benefits Administration
2nd
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 March 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 5.6%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle HCM Cloud5.6%
IBM Kenexa1.8%
Other92.6%
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 ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."
"IBM Kenexa is fairly stable. We don't have any downtime."
"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."
"It is extremely user friendly. It is very flexible in managing recruitment, especially when you have thousands of applicants as we did. We easily had over 20,000 applicants within a year for some of our positions, so it made it very easy to manage a large application pool. It was very easy to customize by recruiter preference. When you open up someone's profile to see their experience, education, or other things, you can customize that for yourself. It was flexible in that, and each recruiter could set up their preferences. It didn't have to be set up so that everyone had to have the same landing platform, which was very helpful. As someone who trained other HR people on how to use the system, it was very easy to pick up and learn."
"HCM solution that's easy to set up and scale, with good data integration and technical support."
"The integration capabilities of Oracle HCM Cloud are valuable, particularly its support for managing global HR operations, including absence management, talent management, employee recruitment, and performance evaluations."
"We have 35,000 employees in our organization, so we consider the solution to be scalable."
"This solution has localized the payroll which is a good thing."
"The initial setup or implementation process of the solution is fine. The deployment process took place in two days. So, once one has the runbook and everything in place, it is not that difficult."
"We haven't had a single issue with stability, and we've been using it for more than three years."
"Oracle HCM Cloud is easier to use than Oracle ETS. Everything is included on one page, and we no longer need to do workarounds. For example, creating elements, eligibility profiles, and formulas is much easier."
"The core part and the talent management part are most valuable."
 

Cons

"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."
"I would not recommend IBM Kenexa to others."
"It needs to update its reporting and analytics tools."
"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."
"From the feedback that I get, the functional side of the payroll could be improved."
"The solution has much room for improvement in all the modules."
"The recruitment aspect is good, but it's new and it still needs some enhancements. In the future, we hope it will be similar to Taleo."
"The product is comparably complex to install and deploy properly."
"We have received some unfavorable feedback regarding Oracle HCM Cloud's performance. This has led us to investigate alternative solutions. In my own experience, I have struggled with the slowness of the cloud assessment and the overwhelming complexity of the software's robust architecture. I have reservations about sharing any positive experiences I may have had with the solution."
"Cloud learning can be improved."
"The data uploading part and backup could be better. They are a bit complex. Oracle is continuously changing it from one functionality to another. It's a bit unstable right now, and it's basically on the backend data upload part. If I have to upload, for example, data for 100 employees, it's a bit of a challenge for an end-user. It can be difficult if you're not a technical person and an end-user like me. I administer the platform, and if I get a request to upload and I'm not a technical person, then I'm just lost. I have to do some research and then complete the task. But it's evolving, and I hope it's more user-friendly in the future. In the next release, I would like a more stable mobile application. The current version isn't very stable. It takes time to open, and although they have come up with new UI pages, a few open areas need to be addressed. I would also like to see more robust and user-friendly data uploading techniques that would be helpful for end users like us. We don't have a technical background, and we just want to upload the data for our day-to-day operations."
"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."
"I cannot comment on the cost, as this is handled by a different team."
"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 cost of Oracle HCM Cloud is high, it could be reduced. There is an annual subscription and it is user-based."
"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 haven't personally dealt with the cost details, but based on client feedback, Oracle HCM Cloud is considered expensive due to additional support costs on top of licensing fees."
"The solution is expensive."
"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."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Wholesaler/Distributor
6%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software 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: March 2026.
883,824 professionals have used our research since 2012.