Senior Techincal Architect at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Highly stable, good support, but more flexibility needed
Pros and Cons
  • "IBM BPM is a stable solution."
  • "We have had to use Mule as an alternative integration tool because it is more flexible than IBM BPM."

What is our primary use case?

IBM BPM is used for integrations. We are an enterprise application integration team. We integrate most of the companies' integrations and business process modeling.

How has it helped my organization?

Our organization has improved by using IBM BPM because our development time has reduced and connectivity improved.

What needs improvement?

We have had to use Mule as an alternative integration tool because it is more flexible than IBM BPM.

In a future release, the solution should add more APIs. That's why we moved to  Mule. It should not be a drastic change. What we found out is in the new release, of IBM, it has completely changed. I would like my old features to run on the new server so that I don't have to migrate some of the APIs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM BPM for approximately 15 years.

Buyer's Guide
IBM BPM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM BPM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM BPM is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I have used the support from IBM BPM.

I rate the support from IBM BPM a three out of five.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Mule previously.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of IBM BPM is complex. 

What about the implementation team?

In the initial stages, we have used consultants for the implementation, but as we have had some experience we are using them less.

What other advice do I have?

Stability is one of the most important features of this solution.

I rate IBM BPM a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Manager at Dts
Real User
Is easy to configure and set up and is stable, scalable, and user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is straightforward and easy. I would give it a nine out of ten."
  • "The analysis reports could be much better."

What is our primary use case?

Our clients use IBM BPM for loan origination and for opening accounts.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features include the workflow, ease of use, and the ease of configuration. 

What needs improvement?

The analysis reports could be much better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for a year and a half.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM BPM's stability has been good so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable because the licensing cost is per the number of cores. Our clients are medium-sized companies.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate IBM BPM's technical support at ten on a scale from one to ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and easy. I would give it a nine out of ten.

The deployment can take one to two months depending on the company. We have a deployment team of four people including an engineer, an architect, a technical support person, and a project manager. For maintenance of the solution, we have two staff members.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Price wise, IBM BPM is cheaper than other similar solutions and has excellent pricing.

What other advice do I have?

If you're considering IBM BPM, my advice would be to understand your environment so that you know your exact requirements and can get the most benefit from the solution.

I would recommend IBM BPM and rate it at ten on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
IBM BPM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM BPM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
FileNet System Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy-to-use dashboard, good scalability and stability, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "Its dashboard is easy to use and very good. It allows us to customize."
  • "You must have good experience to work with it. It is not that easy. Its installation is complex, especially in the new version for business automation, and it could be improved. It has a safety application embedded inside it, and you need to do a lot of configuration to install it. I have been working for two days to resolve an issue."

What is our primary use case?

We use it mainly for ACM. We currently have two projects for e-services. 

I am currently using V5.5.5, but I started with the old version from the content management survey and image survey. I also used V4, V4.5, and V5.1.2.1.2. Currently, we have a cloud deployment, but previously, we had an on-premises deployment.

What is most valuable?

Its dashboard is easy to use and very good. It allows us to customize.

What needs improvement?

You must have good experience to work with it. It is not that easy. 

Its installation is complex, especially in the new version for business automation, and it could be improved. It has a safety application embedded inside it, and you need to do a lot of configuration to install it. I have been working for two days to resolve an issue.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM BPM for more than 12 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has good scalability. We have many sites. On a big site, we have about 4,000 users. For other sites, we have about 500 or 600 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

Usually, we provide support for the end users. In case we face some complicated issue and we are unable to solve it, we raise it to IBM. They are very good. We are partners of IBM.

How was the initial setup?

Its installation is complex for the new version.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. It is a very good solution, and they are working on improving it in all areas. They are integrating it with Navigator, ACM, FileNet, and many other things.

I would rate IBM BPM an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Software Development at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Time proven, excellent bundle services, with good pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features come in the bundle, the design process, creating services, creating BPDs, creating coaches, and UI/UX."
  • "I would like to see the front-end support improved because it should be fully integrated and supported."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is moving documents electronically from desk to desk.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features come in the bundle, the design process, creating services, creating BPDs, creating coaches, and UI/UX.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see the user-friendliness improved and the training become free of cost for the solution. I would like to see the front-end support improved because it should be fully integrated and supported.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM BPM for the past three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The current system is definitely stable and the database compatibility is very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are over three thousand five hundred users currently implementing IBM BPM and therefore the scalability is excellent.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is always good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is definitely complex compared to other market comparatives.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is good but could be a little lower.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate IBM BPM an eight on a scale of one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sameer N - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Architect at MindTree
Real User
Top 10
Stable solution, setup is straightforward and helps to automate business processes
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has helped us automate business processes."
  • "IBM BPM is stable, but sometimes there are issues with the server."

What is our primary use case?

It is an on-premises solution that helped us automate business processes like onboarding customers, loan management, loan approval, and leave approval.

What is most valuable?

The features allow you to connect, and things work seamlessly. The coding and the maps are also valuable. I feel good about the features, and its beauty is that anybody can design it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for more than 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM BPM is stable, but sometimes there are issues with the server. I am unsure if the issue is due to the VAS server or the BPM, but there was some instability when we went through a few of the final enrollments.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We could not proceed with any scalability due to some business decisions.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted IBM Technical Support for IBM BPM. I have only engaged with support through forums and the blocks.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward. However, the debugging was not straightforward.

Deployment was also quick and not complicated. I was not part of the deployment team, but I believe we used an integrator for deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In terms of licensing, we have to make it free for the developers so more people can install and use it. It is important to make at least licensing free to try in the cloud, not just for IBM BPM but for any of the IBM products.

This can help companies start to push through solutions and proposals. For example, licensing could be free, providing developers something to try in the cloud. Because there are regular audits in all companies when you install, some companies may see this as harmful. Therefore, a provision to try it free on the cloud can increase the number of skilled PA developers.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sameer N - PeerSpot reviewer
Sameer NTechnical Architect at MindTree
Top 10Real User

Now with more improvements BAW is released. Also it is interesting to observe that BAW is becoming more agile.

Professional Services Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A reasonably priced tool that is helpful for the automation of business processes
Pros and Cons
  • "Previously, our company's business automation process was slow. IBM BPM's schedule and response functionalities are excellent...There are countless use cases in which IBM BPM proves to be a valuable tool for my clients."
  • "I hope IBM uses something from IBM Content Navigator to make the interface easier to navigate."

What is our primary use case?

Previously, our company's business automation process was slow. IBM BPM's schedule and response functionalities are excellent. So, our customers are happy with it. We implement the solution for our customers.

My clients utilize IBM BPM for various business processes, ranging from correspondence management and vacation requests to expedited legal cases and numerous committee meetings. There are countless use cases in which IBM BPM proves to be a valuable tool for my clients.

How has it helped my organization?

Our customers have experienced a lot of benefits. So now, they have automation in place to implement internally or externally in their environment. This has enhanced the customer experience and made it good. The product has many BPM tools, which help eliminate bits of work. Also, information is now available and accessible according to their security or role in their businesses. They can now increase their process in the Middle East. They also do manual work using the tool. The tool also helps them ensure that they are able to follow policy compliance. In short, the tool helps in a digital transformation, and so IBM BPM increases the efficiency of our clients. All of the aforementioned reasons increase the revenue of our clients and our company.

What is most valuable?

Customers find the tool's capability to scan and compare it with other products in the market to be valuable. As a top business process management technology, it is comparable to the cloud-based automation tool BAO, which appears to be a fusion of two solutions, IBM BPM and IBM Case Manager. Customers can cover their work-related issues, or problems can be covered with IBM BPM. Customers can streamline their operations and automate certain processes while managing their security. So I believe there are a lot of advantages one can reap using the tool.

What needs improvement?

Currently, the tool's interface is created using a forklift upgrade, which is proving unhelpful. I hope IBM uses something from IBM Content Navigator to make the interface easier to navigate.

In the past, IBM BPM has worked on certain features to make it a container solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM BPM for four to five years. I work as a system implementer for IBM. Also, I am using the solution's latest version. We have a lot of customers using it since it is an affordable tool.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution that can be scaled up or scaled down, including the components or processes of IBM BPM.

Our company handles ten customers using the tool.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support of the solution is excellent.

How was the initial setup?

The level of complexity involved in setting up the system depends on whether the business processes are simple or highly complex. Based on our experiences, we deal with the complex setup required for complex business processes. Our team has gained valuable experience in implementing the product and handling complexities with the help of our customer support.

The tool's deployment model depends on the country where customers are located.

The product itself has a feature to take care of the deployment process.

During the deployment process, the first stage involves development, distinction, and protection. In the second stage, servers are deployed on nodes. As someone from the development side, I do not handle the deployment myself. Instead, we install the solutions and configure the environment on our customers' dashboards. After that, we can deploy our solutions or applications on top of it.

We only need a few people to carry out the deployment process.

The maintenance and deployment of the solution are very easy. Also, installation of the latest release is an easy process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think it's a reasonably priced tool, but it's important to consider which customers should buy this solution. It's designed for enterprise customers, not small ones. Small customers may opt for another solution, a small one, or a resource. However, it's a reasonable tool for enterprise customers, especially for governance purposes in their space. Also, according to IBM's policies, the cost of the solution will increase as the need for it grows. Therefore, the cost varies for different companies. We have been working with many solutions for over 25 years, and we have a lot of enterprise customers in Saudi Arabia. Some of our customers have been with us for 25 years.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell those planning to use the solution that they need to start using it gradually over time before scaling up to achieve the best value from the product. They can eventually implement or automate all of their systems. For me, it is one of the best products globally. Over the years, IBM has been able to merge two solutions into one. For Business processes or integrations and to deal with whatever issues customers face, IBM BPM can help to automate such business processes. Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
Thinh Tran - PeerSpot reviewer
BPM Consultant at TCB
Real User
Has powerful team management and process performance features
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the features that I like the most are team management and process performance. They are both very useful and very powerful with regard to the workflow."
  • "Some of the features are not enough for my business. We need to build custom user management for the many end users affected by BPM."

What is our primary use case?

We use IBM BPM for marketing. We use a lot of processes on IBM BPM at the bank.

How has it helped my organization?

In my Organization, we have a lot of business cases to bring to the BPM Platform. We bring all most workflow like ATM Operation, Loan process for Business Banking and Retail banking.

What is most valuable?

Some of the features that I like the most are team management and process performance. They are both very useful and very powerful with regard to the workflow.

It's a stable solution and can easily be deployed.

What needs improvement?

Some of the features are not enough for my business. We need to build custom user management for the many end users affected by BPM.

For IBM BPM, we have half a million users with their own processes in IBM BPM. Currently, we have a lot of processes, and we have a lot of custom groups for the onsite user to look at and run on their groups. When we add a lot of users at the same time to a group, the process admin is not enough for this, and we need to use the custom interface to do it. So, there are some issues with scalability.

The cost is higher in comparison to that of Camunda, for example.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using IBM BPM for a year.

We are currently on-premises but hope to have a cloud version as well. We have a lot of processes that may need to be run on-premises and on the cloud. We hope to use Amazon AWS for the hybrid cloud services.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good at present.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have had some issues with scalability. Currently, we have a lot of processes, and we have a lot of custom groups for the onsite user to look at and run on their groups. When we add a lot of users at the same time to a group, the process admin is not enough for this, and we need to use the custom interface to do it.

We currently have about 5000 users and may increase to 6000 to 7000 users next year. The users are member staff and managers.

How are customer service and technical support?

The customer support has been fine with IBM.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have used LinuxONE, but we have a lot of solutions related to IBM. We chose IBM BPM for the sake of consistency.

How was the initial setup?

We didn't have any big issues with the network deployment.

We needed two people for the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

We have in-house and also use some vendors for development. If the rate is level 1 to 10 I think I will rate for 6. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I already compared some solutions related to business process management, and I saw that the cost of IBM BPM is more expensive compared with that of Camunda, for example.

We also pay for support.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing This solution We already create a business case to compare some Enterprise Solution. Have Page, Cammuda, IBM BPM

What other advice do I have?

If you follow good business processes, I think that IBM BPM on-premises is a good choice. It's a good solution, and I would rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Unemployed at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
A very stable and powerful tool for handling lots of concurrent users, but it is expensive, and the Eclipse-based tool has performance issues when you have a lot of developers
Pros and Cons
  • "I liked its robustness the most. It was a very robust platform in my experience. It seemed like a very stable and powerful tool for handling lots of concurrent users and hammering at the system."
  • "It is a really powerful tool, but its entry price is so high, which makes it a very exclusive club for who gets to use it. The thing that seemed to be the most intolerable was that you could put lots and lots of users on it, and it worked fine, but if you put lots and lots of developers on it, it sure seemed to have challenges. The biggest challenge was the development because of the Eclipse tool. It just seemed like irrespective of the development team that you put together, whether it had 10 or 50 people, you would end up having to reboot the development server throughout the day when you concurrently had lots of people hammering on the system. The development server just got sluggish. This was true for every project I was on. Once you got more than about five people working on the system at the same time, it would just get slower and slower during development work, and the only way to fix it was to reboot the server. It became just like a routine. Sometimes, we would reboot at lunch or dinner time, which is silly. After the cloud instances started rolling out, I never saw that again. That was probably the one big advantage of the cloud version. Instead of using an independent Eclipse-based process development tool, we moved to web-based process and design. The web-based tool definitely had greater performance than the Eclipse-based tool. I never got onto another project after that with 50 people, so I don't know how the performance is when you get a large team on it, but it definitely seems that the cloud design tool was a massive improvement."

What is our primary use case?

I used it in my previous company where we did a lot of work with banks, financial institutions, and accounting firms. We were primarily using it for automating business processes, but a lot of them were really custom applications that used the process engine for making things happen. We were using it in innovative ways to make that BPM process engine do lots of other things that I'm not sure it was really ever designed to do. There was a lot of financial stuff. There were financial calculations that would fire off a SQL process and then get the results back. 

What is most valuable?

I liked its robustness the most. It was a very robust platform in my experience. It seemed like a very stable and powerful tool for handling lots of concurrent users and hammering at the system. 

What needs improvement?

It is a really powerful tool, but its entry price is so high, which makes it a very exclusive club for who gets to use it. 

The thing that seemed to be the most intolerable was that you could put lots and lots of users on it, and it worked fine, but if you put lots and lots of developers on it, it sure seemed to have challenges. The biggest challenge was the development because of the Eclipse tool. It just seemed like irrespective of the development team that you put together, whether it had 10 or 50 people, you would end up having to reboot the development server throughout the day when you concurrently had lots of people hammering on the system. The development server just got sluggish. This was true for every project I was on. Once you got more than about five people working on the system at the same time, it would just get slower and slower during development work, and the only way to fix it was to reboot the server. It became just like a routine. Sometimes, we would reboot at lunch or dinner time, which is silly. After the cloud instances started rolling out, I never saw that again. That was probably the one big advantage of the cloud version. Instead of using an independent Eclipse-based process development tool, we moved to web-based process and design. The web-based tool definitely had greater performance than the Eclipse-based tool. I never got onto another project after that with 50 people, so I don't know how the performance is when you get a large team on it, but it definitely seems that the cloud design tool was a massive improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for a little over seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It was very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a powerful system. It can scale to really big numbers in terms of the number of users. You can put lots and lots of users on it, and it works fine, but if you put lots and lots of developers on it, it seems to have challenges.

It was a development house, and we had 25 people using it, but now, because of COVID, they have cut back, and there are probably 14 or 15 people left.

How are customer service and technical support?

There are different kinds of tech support. There is the free knowledge-based stuff, and they also have really good development support if you have a high-end contract. I have used all that, and it is pretty fine. Sometimes, we would find bugs, and they would send us a fix that would get rolled in with the next version. I don't like to be the one that uncovers real bugs, but it has happened.

Support was superior and absolutely wonderful if you could afford it. It is IBM, so if you're in that ecosystem, they expect you to have lots of money and be prepared to let it go.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My first exposure to BPM was with IBM BPM. I had never heard of it before I got the job.

How was the initial setup?

Having used lots of software over my life, I would say this one is pretty much on the complex side. Before the cloud version, it was challenging to make sure you've got the right versions downloaded. They had so many different variants with different licensing agreements, and then the patching has to be done in a particular order. The installation has always felt like a homebrew scripting system rather than a really robust installer. It always felt like if you made one mistake, it might take you an hour to back out of it. It was not a very forgiving and intuitive installation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I wish it was less expensive. I don't know why their pricing model is so high for a piece of software that could benefit so many. It just seems to me that they could have a lower cost, maybe with fewer features or whatever, but it should be possible to do a lower cost workflow software that uses the same interface and underlying engine but does not cost so much that you have to be a Fortune 50 company to buy it. It is annoying to me. There are a lot of solutions that IBM has that are really powerful but nobody can afford them. They know their business, but I still feel that there are a lot of customers who would benefit from this sort of thing. I don't know what this elitism is all about. I am sure they have people doing the money numbers, but it seems like you can make a lot more money by selling it to way more people for a little bit less.

What other advice do I have?

When it first started, one of the things that were clunky about it was that it was ugly out of the box. It was not a very pretty program. There was a whole ecosystem of people who would do development on top of this IBM business tool, and everybody was coming out with their own toolkits to have a better UI application-wise. That was a real big problem. Towards the end, they bought up something called SPARK UI, and that toolset was significantly prettier and made the applications that you produce with BPM look a lot nicer. There are definitely some improvements there, and they are heading in the right direction.

In my previous organization, we had mostly moved to the cloud. Originally, I was doing server implementation, so we were running everything on AWS and EC2 instances. After that, we moved over to cloud-based stuff. I've been doing IT work for 25 years, and I've always been a get inside and figure out what's going on kind of guy. Personally, for troubleshooting, I don't like the extra layer of abstraction. I like being able to dig in and go right for the logs and see exactly what's happening. I like being able to see exactly what's going on performance-wise. The cloud instances felt a little further away, but on the other hand, I didn't really see any of the performance issues, so there wasn't a lot of troubleshooting to do. Maybe it's just me being old-fashioned, but I do prefer the ability to get in as far as I want to go into troubleshooting. BPM in itself was already running in a big Java instance on IBM, so it was already isolated in the operating system into its own Java Virtual Machine. There were already abstraction issues, but I did enjoy having more detailed access.

IBM has clearly invested a lot of money in making the product robust in developing it. At the same time, as an IT professional within the same career field, it is risky to be a single vendor ecosystem participant. It is really much wiser to have BPM development skills that would transfer to other platforms. I would say don't forget that there are other systems besides IBM BPM to fix automation and workflow challenges.

I would rate IBM BPM a seven of ten. It is really good and powerful, and you can do a lot with it, but its price is hard, and there are challenges using it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM BPM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM BPM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.