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IBM WebSphere Application Server pros and cons

Vendor: IBM
3.9 out of 5
Badge Leader

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

IBM WebSphere Application Server provides automatic deployment via a monitor deployment folder, enhancing continuous integration processes.
The server is highly scalable, allowing easy addition of servers and load distribution.
It ensures robust security, supporting Java 8, FIPS 140-2, NIST SP 800-53, and TLS 1.2.
This server achieves impressive stability and performance, serving as a reliable backbone for enterprise operations.
IBM support and tool integration are highly commended, offering a comprehensive support structure.

CONS

IBM needs to adapt to market changes faster with timely support for new Java releases, as delays lead to functionality gaps.
Installing or configuring a WAS server instance as a Windows Service poses significant problems when server credentials are required.
IBM WebSphere Application Server should be more lightweight and modular, as its memory consumption and hardware requirements are higher compared to competitors like WebLogic.
There are performance constraints noted in real-time serving and a lack of automated deployment options, necessitating third-party tools for efficiency.
Security configuration can be complex and needs improvement, especially when security is delegated to other systems.
 

IBM WebSphere Application Server Pros review quotes

it_user632679 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Analyst 4 at Utmb heath
Mar 22, 2017
It's an awesome solution. Compared to everything else that's out there in the market right now, IBM MQ is hands down the best solution available and that's based on 40 years of IT experience.
solution259344 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Dec 18, 2017
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.
it_user218334 - PeerSpot reviewer
FileNet Technical Architect at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 24, 2017
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.
Learn what your peers think about IBM WebSphere Application Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
892,487 professionals have used our research since 2012.
GB
Senior Solutions Architect at Department of Justice
Aug 14, 2019
High availability, alert management, and deployments are the most valuable features for us. We have the ND version so we can do deployments.
AF
Director of Operations at ufi
Oct 10, 2019
The most valuable feature of this solution is Portal Virtualization.
GE
Principal Architect with 1-10 employees
Jan 12, 2020
The solution is robust. The connection management and the scalability, which IBM provides to the Stack, are also valuable.
SH
Application Integration Engineer at EFG-Hermes
Mar 16, 2020
It has good stability of the application server in the long term compared to other solutions.
Nicolae - PeerSpot reviewer
System and Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Sep 14, 2020
This solution is easy to use with a GUI that is intuitive and very helpful.
reviewer1343838 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Relationship Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 12, 2020
We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it.
it_user1215750 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sen. Fab Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 6, 2020
The scalability of the product is quite good.
 

IBM WebSphere Application Server Cons review quotes

it_user632679 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Analyst 4 at Utmb heath
Mar 22, 2017
I'd like to see the ability to build clusters made a little bit easier. It is kind of a manual process right now and this would just help save time and reduce resources.
solution259344 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Dec 18, 2017
IBM needs to pay attention to market changes more quickly. We now have Java 9 and very soon Java EE8. We do not want to wait for two or three years after their release until they are supported by the new version.
it_user218334 - PeerSpot reviewer
FileNet Technical Architect at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 24, 2017
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).
Learn what your peers think about IBM WebSphere Application Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
892,487 professionals have used our research since 2012.
GB
Senior Solutions Architect at Department of Justice
Aug 14, 2019
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.
AF
Director of Operations at ufi
Oct 10, 2019
In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language.
GE
Principal Architect with 1-10 employees
Jan 12, 2020
They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product.
SH
Application Integration Engineer at EFG-Hermes
Mar 16, 2020
It should be able to serve more concurrent requests like Oracle. Oracle has more powerful stability, availability, and real-time serving.
Nicolae - PeerSpot reviewer
System and Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Sep 14, 2020
Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those.
reviewer1343838 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Relationship Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 12, 2020
I think that this is a good product but I think that the cloud environment could be improved. I think that the future is in the utilization of the product in a product as a service way which is something that is lacking at this moment.
it_user1215750 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sen. Fab Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 6, 2020
The availability of the solution needs improvement.