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IBM Kenexa vs PeopleSoft 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
22nd
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 (14th)
PeopleSoft
Ranking in Benefits Administration
3rd
Ranking in Talent Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
ERP (8th), Activity Based Costing Software (4th), Demand Management (1st), Talent Acquisition (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PeopleSoft is 8.1%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration
 

Featured Reviews

Karan Grover - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
IanCampbell - PeerSpot reviewer
Saves time through transclusion - using a single record across multiple modules
The most valuable feature is the module integration, which saves time through transclusion - using a single record across multiple modules. The user interface has improved significantly. The current client redesigns work centers per subsidiary business unit, making navigation more intuitive and easier for end users. Reporting and analytics capabilities have greatly improved.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."
"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."
"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."
"A valuable feature is HCM."
"Very stable in terms of performance and scalability."
"PeopleSoft is an amazing solution. Its users can have total control of the system, including PeopleCode, Application Engine and Component Interface, along with many other tools delivered by PeopleSoft."
"The time system is what we get the most benefit from."
"The most valuable feature is IDE."
"It is a very stable ERP solution. It is also supported on Oracle Cloud and provides extensive features."
"PeopleSoft is resilient and has the flexibility for us to customize it."
"I've worked with HR, payroll, benefits, time and labor, health and safety, and every module. I've also worked on different modules for the education, health, and financial sectors. My 25 years of experience cover different industries and implementations. I've also worked in the public sector, which is a bit different. I implemented PeopleSoft for the state of Massachusetts, covering 168 schools, colleges, and universities."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would not recommend IBM Kenexa to others."
"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."
"Scalability is not there in PeopleSoft. Its performance and resilience are also very bad. When you're trying to stretch it, it breaks. It is not resilient. It is also not stable. It is stable as far as data is concerned, but the infrastructure is not stable."
"Initial setup can be complex without training or use of consultants."
"One of the areas that could improve is the capability of utilizing mobile for some of the self-service activities that are missing. They are running on the older platform. What is happening is people are focusing on the cloud. PeopleSoft is a good provider and should into the cloud. That could be an advantage for them. Customers would not have to go find another solution that is a completely different platform that has different functionality altogether."
"My developers want to use more HTML instead of the specialized tool, PeopleTools because, they say, it's better from a user perspective."
"There can occasionally be complexity in the initial setup."
"The Time and Labor module is not that flexible."
"Agile system configurations to accommodate business dynamics."
"I would like to see it become available again in Mexico."
 

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."
"Check all options before a decision is made."
"The expenses related to the solution are nominal."
"I don't know if they are still providing licenses or if they have suspending licenses."
"It's approximately $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 USD per year."
"PeopleSoft has a yearly maintenance fee."
"Yearly payments are to be made toward the licensing costs of PeopleSoft. PeopleSoft is not very expensive, so I feel it is an affordable product."
"The main issue we have with the solution is that it is very expensive."
"We are a University and the cost and license are negotiated privately."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Kenexa?
The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Kenexa?
As a large company, we first bought the complete BrassRing package, which had various features. Later on, we paid extra for specific features like customer test management. When we integrated with ...
What needs improvement with IBM Kenexa?
BrassRing needs improvement in a few areas. First, it should update how it tracks where candidates come from and avoid duplicate entries. Right now, it is not very flexible. Also, its way of making...
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 PeopleSoft?
I use the reporting feature occasionally to check for potential improvements in timesheets. We have integrated it with Power BI.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
No data available
 

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
BMI Healthcare, Lone Star College System, Jefferson County Public Schools, Griffith University, Los Rios Community College District, Tervita Corporation, INFRA S.A. de C.V., ICF Habitat, Central Washington University, Tech Mahindra Limited, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Stanford Childrens Health
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Kenexa vs. PeopleSoft and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.