IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs IIS comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IBM is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 1.9% mindshare in AIS, compared to Microsoft’s 10.5% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Read 13 IBM WebSphere Message Broker reviews

891 Views
285 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

IIS

Read 59 IIS reviews

2,965 Views
1,927 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

IIS

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

IBM WebSphere Message Broker and IIS compete in enterprise technology infrastructure, with WebSphere excelling in integration and IIS in web server management. WebSphere holds an advantage in complex integration scenarios, whereas IIS is favored for web hosting efficiency and ease of use.

Features: IBM WebSphere Message Broker facilitates extensive enterprise integration with support for various messaging protocols and IT environments. It offers robust capabilities for complex system connectivity and transformation processes. IIS provides comprehensive web server management, integrating seamlessly with Windows applications. Its user-friendly interface and efficient resource management make it ideal for web-centric deployments.

Room for Improvement: IBM WebSphere Message Broker could improve its initial setup process, offering simpler onboarding for new users. Its pricing model might deter smaller enterprises. Enhanced user interface for streamlined operations would also be beneficial. IIS could strengthen its integration capabilities beyond Microsoft products. Security enhancements could further bolster its reliability. Offering more detailed documentation for advanced configurations would aid less experienced users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IIS offers a streamlined deployment process within the Windows ecosystem, making it highly accessible. Microsoft provides well-established support due to the product's widespread use. IBM WebSphere Message Broker involves a more complex setup but offers specialized support for its intricate deployments, ensuring comprehensive guidance for users.

Pricing and ROI: IBM WebSphere Message Broker involves higher initial costs, reflecting its advanced integration capabilities, offering substantial ROI for enterprises with extensive connectivity needs. In contrast, IIS provides a cost-effective solution for efficient web hosting, ensuring quick ROI for businesses prioritizing straightforward web solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs. IIS Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs. IIS

September 2025

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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 Message Broker

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

17th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (9th)

IIS

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Message Broker is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IIS is 10.5%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IIS	10.5%
IBM WebSphere Message Broker	1.9%
Other	87.6%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

BrajendraKumar

Technical Architect at HCL Technologies

Offers large-sized business information processing with a time-saving setup and impressive stability

I primarily use two previews of the product for Dev and two for QA as part of the production process. Whatever tools our company is using, the cost of a license in IBM WebSphere Message Broker is about 80% of all these software or tools. The message routing capabilities satisfy workflow efficiency. The product supports message formats of XML, JSON, and SSID, which are around 24 KB to 50 KB in size. The solution supports communication protocols like STTP and TCP. Features like DataGraph need to be introduced in IBM WebSphere Message Broker. Some of the clients of our organization are using an outdated version of IBM WebSphere Message Broker for which the vendor doesn't provide direct support anymore. For the aforementioned version, our company professionals can solve the queries on their own without seeking support from IBM. During the installation of a prior version of IBM WebSphere Message Broker, sometimes I have to configure the failovers through the cluster, where issues arise, and I often seek help from the support team. The solution is being used by some medicine companies in our organization that receive sales orders from the EDR or JDE. I would not recommend the product to others as its becoming obsolete and they can rather choose a middleware solution from Amazon or Azure. But I would overall rate the product a nine out of ten.

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Krishnakumar Natarajan

Systems Engineer at Atos

Designs and manages multiple websites while ensuring data backup and disaster recovery

I have experience with AWS, and I am most familiar with the server environment, as we just use the server environment and then use Microsoft products on an AWS environment. I have experience with Windows Server IIS, which I ran on my own on-premise data center. The website was developed and then hosted, and through IIS, we managed the servers. The manageability within the IIS environment is not very difficult. For server management, you need to ensure data backup, data restore, and you have a DR configured to keep the database intact. It was done on-premises, so I had no problem doing that. If you have to go to the cloud, then you should have the storage connected to the IIS server and also have a DR set up for that. I didn't use Microsoft Azure tools, but since it is a Microsoft product, Azure has all the portability, so you don't have to worry about compatibility on the cloud. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this solution a 10.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The transactions and message queuing are the most valuable features of the solution."

"It's reliable for our day-to-day operations, ensuring fast and secure data integration across different systems."

"IBM WebSphere Message Broker is one of the best middleware solutions"

"It has many interfaces and you can connect to any backend source that has another format, and convert it to the desired format."

"It is a scalable solution...The setup is easy."

"The documentation, performance, stability and scalability of the tool are valuable."

"We only use the basic features, but the most valuable one for us is the Publish-subscribe pattern."

"Performance-wise, this solution is really good."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker pros

"We use the solution for our customer's web applications."

"The product is easy to use."

"The best features of IIS are that you can design your own website and manage it yourself, creating as many websites as you want."

"It has an intuitive user interface and provides a lot of options for building reports."

"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."

"We use Windows Server only for Eggplant Manager."

"The tool is very easy to use and efficient."

"It's very easy to publish."

More IIS pros

Cons

"The user interface is designed mainly for experts, much in the way a BPM or another integration tool is."

"The solution can add container engines such as docker."

"The installation configuration is quite difficult."

"It is currently a weighty product."

"The product's features are not being upgraded or enhanced by the vendor"

"Today I probably wouldn't go for Message Broker because of the cost structure, support, and the whole ecosystem around IBM."

"I know that Message Broker was a very tightly copied product with another IBM product, that is, IBM MQ. I would like to have a little bit more decoupling from the IBM MQ because it should not be a prerequisite for IBM WebSphere Message Broker usage."

"Stability and pricing are areas with shortcomings that need improvement."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker cons

"The documentation is not very detailed. They need to improve it and add to it. They should ensure there are lots of visuals to help users better understand the solution."

"IIS could improve the error logging. There are times we are not able to see the errors. More details would be helpful. Additionally, the configuring of the IIS should be allowed through coding instead of the classic view."

"IIS could improve by Microsoft Windows improving the update services. We would like to be able to update all systems that are connected. The WSA service has to be in good order to accomplish this."

"The solution's pricing and stability need improvement."

"In the next release, the tool should be more easily integrated and configured with other provisions. The pricing should also be made cheaper since it's very expensive now."

"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."

"Compared to Linux, the solution’s Windows patching is slower. I would like to improve it."

"The level of technical support the solution offers could be improved."

More IIS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM WebSphere Message Broker needs to be reduced"

"I feel with IBM, when you want certain functions or features, you have to continuously purchase add-ons. There are always additional fees."

"IBM software can be costly, but having a contract has helped manage and potentially lower costs over time."

"IBM products are generally more stable and have more features, but also come at a greater cost."

"The solution is expensive."

"The price is very high and it's the main reason that we are searching for alternatives."

"This product is more expensive than competing products."

"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."

"There is an annual license to use this solution and the price could be better."

"It is licensed with your Windows installation which makes it relatively cheap if you already have a Windows Server sitting around."

"The solution provides multiple licensing options."

"I didn't need to get an additional license for the solution since it was included in my server."

"The cost for IIS is already included in Windows services. We don't have to pay anything extra."

"The price of the cloud system is a bit high."

"The tool's pricing is on a yearly basis."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

11%

Insurance Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Message Broker?

IBM software can be costly, but having a contract has helped manage and potentially lower costs over time.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Message Broker?

There could be greater flexibility and agility in service creation for the product. As our business requirements evolve, we require more dynamic capabilities to adapt and scale our services accordi...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere Message Broker?

We use the product for exposing services at the application level, integrating with various architectures like WebSphere, and handling static service creation.

See all answers

Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?

IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...

See all answers

What do you like most about IIS?

The product is flexible.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?

For the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IIS, as a Microsoft product, I didn't think much about separately purchasing an IIS product as it is part of Microsoft Windows. We bought a developmen...

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Comparisons

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Compared 40% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

IBM BPM vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 11% of the time

Mule ESB vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 11% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 8% of the time

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Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 30% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 27% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 8% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

October 2025

Download IBM WebSphere Message Broker product report

Buyer's Guide

IIS

October 2025

Download IIS product report

Also Known As

WebSphere Message Broker

Windows Server IIS

Overview

WebSphere Message Broker is an enterprise service bus (ESB) providing connectivity and universal data transformation for service-oriented architecture (SOA) and non-SOA environments. It allows businesses of any size to eliminate point-to-point connections and batch processing regardless of platform, protocol or data format.

IBM

Internet Information Services (IIS) provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS, you get choice and control without giving up reliability or security.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

WestJet, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Sharp Corporation, Michelin Tire

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs. IIS

September 2025

Free Report: IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs. IIS

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