IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs Windows Process Activation Services comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IBM is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #21. IBM holds a 1.6% mindshare in AIS, compared to Microsoft’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution.

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Read 13 IBM WebSphere Message Broker reviews

287 Views
60 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Windows Process Activation ...

Read 1 Windows Process Activation Services review

218 Views
80 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Windows Process Activation ...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM WebSphere Message Broker and Windows Process Activation Services based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, F5 and others in Application Infrastructure.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Infrastructure Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

June 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

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (8th)

Windows Process Activation ...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

21st

Average Rating

4.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Message Broker is 1.6%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Process Activation Services is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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it_user1226547

Senior IT Systems Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Central console enables us to see all of the activated and deactivated computers but it has poor alerts and frustrating technical support

The solution needs to allow for other company product licenses to be included if possible. The solution needs to include other Microsoft products, like Exchange, SharePoint, etc. Right now, it's only for Windows and Office. The solution needs to be made web-based. Right now, we have to install some tools and to use these tools we have to log into a specific server. If that server has an issue we cannot manage it. The solution needs to be able to be managed from any machine. Alerting capabilities should be improved. If a license expires or there is a breach, or something is non-compliant, the solution should send out alerts.

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

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

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

"The solution has good integration."

"Straightforward development and deployment."

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

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

"Integration and mapping are easy, which is a major advantage."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker pros

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the central console, that allows you to see all of the activated and deactivated computers."

Cons

"The images and size of the containers are too big and I think that they should be more lightweight."

"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."

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

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

"Technical support is very slow and needs to be improved."

"There is some lag in the GUI. There have been some performance issues and maybe it's because of the application data."

"The installation configuration is quite difficult."

"Technical support is good but they could have a better response time."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker cons

"The stability of the solution needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"This product is more expensive than competing products."

"The solution is expensive."

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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.

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Compared 53% of the time

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Compared 47% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

June 2025

Windows Process Activation Services report

Download Windows Process Activation Services product report

Also Known As

WebSphere Message Broker

No data available

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

Windows Process Activation Service generalizes the Internet Information Services (IIS) process model, removing the dependency on HTTP. All the features of IIS that were previously available only to HTTP applications are now available to applications hosting Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services, by using non-HTTP protocols. IIS 7.0 also uses Windows Process Activation Service for message-based activation over HTTP.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

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

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Harris Farm Markets, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, John Keells Holdings, Green Prefab, 343 Industries, SM Prime, Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

June 2025

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