Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM WebSphere BPMS vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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 BPMS
Ranking in Process Automation
28th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pega Platform
Ranking in Process Automation
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (6th), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere BPMS is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 6.2%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

CB
Developers gain flexibility to build custom controls with numerous integration options
Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases. Regarding AI-driven process optimizations, we have not implemented these features with IBM WebSphere BPMS. In recent versions, IBM has introduced some generative AI features, and we plan to migrate to the newer versions within approximately one year.
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The UI capabilities of the solution are great. The speed of delivery is good."
"IBM WebSphere BPMS provides significant return on investments, especially in the BAW component."
"We like the feature in which we can trace back instances."
"The most valuable feature of IBM WebSphere BPMS is the systematic framework it provides for building different systems."
"This product is flexible in its ability to integrate processes and it can be extended and integrated with other software."
"There is a feature to accelerate the development so that business analysts can directly create their user stories and assign the task to the developers."
"The interface is quite simple and easy to use, even for beginners."
"The solution offers excellent workflows."
"The solution provides us with a very good dashboard."
"They're pretty easy to create, and they're pretty easy to deploy."
"It is a stable product."
"The new PEGA underwriting platform replaced the former underwriting system and helped to integrate other legacy systems and functionalities in one application. It also helped to save licence costs for other legacy systems."
"The most valuable features are case management and integration services."
 

Cons

"The user interface could be improved, and although integration opportunities are good, they could be improved further."
"There is a need for more capabilities in low-code and no-code development to increase efficiency and make implementation simpler."
"Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases."
"The solution lacks acceptable stability."
"Sometimes there are tasks that failed without any reason."
"Pega BPM's documentation should be improved, especially for freshers or new trainees."
"The initial setup takes time."
"The cost of licensing could be improved."
"Implementation is a challenge due to the handling of the code"
"This is a quite expensive product."
"Pega BPM could be improved by including token-based authentication and extending its integration options."
"The UI cannot be customized in the solution"
"In the Middle East and Africa region, Pega was not very strong from the user experience standpoint."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of this solution, including installation and configuration, is comparable to competing vendors."
"It is cost-effective for medium enterprises. It is cheaper than ServiceNow."
"The price of PegaRULES is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"The licensing model for Pega BPM needs to be improved."
"Pricing is good."
"They have both on-premise and cloud licensing. If you are a small to medium company, go for the cloud option because that eliminates a lot of the setting up of your DevTest and performance environments, multiple environments, because you can buy that from Pega with the cloud option. So your setup time really goes down. If you're a large company, then you're better off putting it within your company. You have other skill resources within your company to create environments."
"It's a user-based license where, as you scale the numbers of users, the price increases."
"Its pricing is on the higher side, but they have come up with different plans and different small products that can be used by smaller organizations that don't have that much money to spend. They have different pricing packages depending on the number of users or depending upon the number of cases created in the production or live environment."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Process Automation solutions are best for your needs.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere BPMS?
Looking forward, IBM WebSphere BPMS could add more adapters to integrate with SAP or Salesforce integrator in upcoming releases. Regarding AI-driven process optimizations, we have not implemented t...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere BPMS?
IBM WebSphere BPMS allows users to build workflows and dashboards. It is a developer-friendly product. The product features a great UI interface that is mobile-friendly, tab-friendly, and desktop-f...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM WebSphere BPMS?
Understanding the benefits and improvements that come with using the product is essential. IBM WebSphere BPMS is performing excellently, and I do not see any significant areas requiring improvement...
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

WebSphere BPMS
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Schahin Group, Korean Credit Card Company, Versicherungskammer Bayern, Biogrid Australia
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere BPMS vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.