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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle SOA Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

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 WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (4th)
Oracle SOA Suite
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
SOA Governance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.6%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SOA Suite is 3.8%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient load balancing and the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable
I believe that the system is already good. However, for improvement or enhancement, it is user-friendly, but it could offer better choices on the front end for different aspects or options. Sometimes, I have to search extensively for features, as there are no upfront tabs. There is a lack of visible, easy, user-friendly, and straightforward options for the number of features.
MANOHAR SADDALA - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables seamless integration with multiple systems
I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. It's not much more dynamic, not as dynamic as you may think, like seeing it in the cloud. In order to use it, you need to have the download servers and then scale up your systems. Oracle SOA Suites serves as a middle layer between applications. For example, let's say you have SAP, and we have Salesforce or Oracle ERP system. Users connect to those systems and perform certain activities or transactions on the applications. Now, if any data needs to be synchronized or any integration needs to happen between these applications, we use the Oracle SOA Suite. It acts as the bridge between the applications, not between the users. It's like having endpoints between the applications. Currently, we have 20 endpoints; 20 systems are connected to it, which is great. Oracle SOA Suite is being used daily. We are using it to its maximum potential.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product offers good performance."
"The only reason why we're currently using WebSphere is that the integration of the authentication with Azure is very quick. WebSphere has something that can immediately connect with Azure Active Directory."
"IBM WAS is the backbone for our enterprise content management suite which delivers the primary processes for our customers. Without a good application server, it would be hard to provide a secure layer of midddleware upon which the other applications run. IBM WAS improves the stability of the entire solution and provides a high quality platform for running web-based solutions."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"The most valuable features are its user-friendliness and reliability in terms of application hosting."
"This solution is easy to use with a GUI that is intuitive and very helpful."
"The solution has good performance."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"This is one of the critical products for my company and we use it extensively. We currently use each and every feature of Oracle SOA."
"What I like best about Oracle SOA Suite is Oracle support. I also like the tool features, especially the integration feature."
"In Oracle SOA Suite some applications are not able to use REST, but it can support both SOAP and REST. You're able to integrate quite a lot of systems, which may not be able to in other solutions. You can also use XML and JSON. It is a standardizing type of tool. It doesn't matter whether I'm using JSON or XML, it can convert them."
"Conceptually, how it integrates a lot of essential enterprise process components. That's the most valuable."
"Valuable features include web service development and cloud connectivity."
"Enables our Product Manager to post products to different outside EC platforms with only one interface and one process."
"The solution's XSLT or XSL Transformation feature was very useful."
"The most valuable feature of the facility, as the partner link, is to try to use third-party services and logic in your own vehicle to orchestrate the information."
 

Cons

"I think that this is a good product but I think that the cloud environment could be improved. I think that the future is in the utilization of the product in a product as a service way which is something that is lacking at this moment."
"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"The availability of the solution needs improvement."
"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."
"The footprint could be reduced so that we can use a smaller virtual machine to run the application. We could also use more scripts. I would like this solution to be more script oriented, rather than GUI oriented."
"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"It should be able to serve more concurrent requests like Oracle. Oracle has more powerful stability, availability, and real-time serving."
"They supply lots of documentation but finding what we need is challenging at times."
"The product is not user-friendly."
"It's also not developer-friendly."
"SOA, OSB, SOA Cloud Service."
"SOA"
"Its function options can be improved."
"The interface is too complicated. Making modifications still requires too much technical knowledge."
"I want to see easier integration connections with other cloud-based tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay around $200,000 annually."
"The price of this product is higher than that of competitors."
"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."
"The pricing is a little expensive."
"It's expensive."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"This product is WebLogic based, hence it can be both resource hungry as well as expensive from a licensing point of view."
"The pricing is not very high as compared to its competitors."
"Oracle pricing is expensive. Support is based on your license. AWS is much better than Oracle in this regard."
"It is necessary to evaluate the requirement regarding the platform usage and what the main operation area of the platform will be."
"The product is moderately priced."
"Based on my knowledge, Oracle SOA Suite doesn't have user-based licensing. It has a system-based licensing model, so you pay for whole systems. Oracle SOA Suite is an expensive solution, so it's a four out of ten for me."
"Oracle SOA Suite is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
7%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM WebSphere Application Server?
Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
In Korea, when you buy IBM iOS, the WebSphere base version is included with iOS. That means no additional cost.
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
I find the server okay, however, using the Maker instance, the Moving instance, and the Change instance is a little bit complicated without WebSphere knowledge.
What do you like most about Oracle SOA Suite?
The solution's XSLT or XSL Transformation feature was very useful.
What needs improvement with Oracle SOA Suite?
The solution’s initial setup is complex and could be improved. A big challenge for Oracle SOA Suite is that you don't get too many technical resources.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
SOA Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
7-Eleven, Arcor SAIC, Banca Transilvania, Eaton Corporation, Emdeon, Ferrovial, Griffith University, National Instruments, Pella Corporation, Vodafone Group Plc,
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Oracle SOA Suite and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.