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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Windows Server AppFabric 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)
Windows Server AppFabric
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.2%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 0.9%, up from 0.6% 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.
VIJAY RAGAVAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensure seamless deployment and networking with a focus on critical uptime
The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable. I have advised against using external displays for crucial applications and recommended using VGA or laptop adapter screens to mitigate this issue. However, the blue screen error remains a major concern because it causes data loss during reboots.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration between IBM tools and applications is very well executed, and the support from IBM is quite good, providing a solid support structure."
"Starting with version 8, WAS provides a special folder called monitor deployment. Once you put the .war or .ear file in there, it is deployed automatically without human intervention. This greatly helps us in our continuous integration server. Once the deployment binary is ready, we write a script to copy it to that folder and then, voila! The application is up and running and accessible from its context root."
"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 VPN service is quite useful."
"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 WebSphere Application Server is easy to use."
"The product offers good performance."
"The performance is good."
"The product's deployment phase was very easy."
"It is very usable and easy to understand. Antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now. It allows my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."
"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."
"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."
 

Cons

"While WebSphere mostly supports IBM HTTP Server (IHS) as the web server plugin, I think it would be beneficial if it also supported Apache and NGINX web servers. That would give customers more flexibility in their choices."
"Sometimes, I feel WebSphere runs a bit slow. It might be loading unnecessary libraries, impacting its performance compared to other application servers."
"The security could be better."
"The availability of the solution needs improvement."
"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."
"Initial setup is very simple. Just use the IBM Installation Manager and add the packages. The install wizard takes care of the rest. The only thing that can be difficult is to find the right packages on the IBM website, because of all the changes that IBM does on its website(s)."
"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."
"The licensing could be improved, and I would like it to give the longevity of the lifespan of the visions. In the next release, I would like to be able to download and extract the files so that I can just use my application server."
"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."
"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."
"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."
"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If your application is just a web app that does not need to scale big, you can obtain a single core license of WAS Express edition, which has almost the same features with limited processing cores. If you manage a very big application farm (i.e. need to run 10 or more WAS servers) it is better to get IBM WAS Hypervisor Edition."
"WebSphere Application Server is expensive, so it may not be a good option for small companies."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"We pay around $200,000 annually."
"It is very expensive."
"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"It's expensive."
"The product is affordable, in my opinion."
"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 Windows Server AppFabric?
The product's deployment phase was very easy.
What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?
The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable. I have advised against using external displays for crucial appl...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
No data available
 

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
OSIsoft
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Windows Server AppFabric and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.