AWS Step Functions vs IBM Case Foundation comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM are both solutions in the Business Process Management (BPM) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #33 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.3% mindshare in BPM, compared to IBM’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 86% of IBM users who would recommend it.

AWS Step Functions

Read 13 AWS Step Functions reviews

2,386 Views
1,837 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

IBM Case Foundation

Read 13 IBM Case Foundation reviews

315 Views
225 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

AWS Step Functions

IBM Case Foundation

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

IBM Case Foundation and AWS Step Functions compete in business process management and workflow automation. AWS Step Functions is favored for its advanced features, making it a compelling choice for robust workflow automation.

Features: IBM Case Foundation provides comprehensive document management, task tracking, and case processing, appealing to enterprises needing detailed case handling. AWS Step Functions is recognized for building scalable applications using a serverless architecture, offering flexibility and strong integration with AWS services. Its visual interface simplifies complex workflow orchestration.

Room for Improvement: IBM Case Foundation could improve user interface modernity and integration with non-IBM systems. Streamlining deployment complexity and enhancing out-of-the-box reporting features would be beneficial. AWS Step Functions could expand integration beyond AWS ecosystem, improve error resolution efficiency in complex workflows, and refine pricing transparency for large-scale deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Case Foundation supports both on-premise and cloud deployments, with extensive integration into existing IT infrastructures and dedicated customer support. AWS Step Functions is cloud-native, leveraging AWS's ecosystem for enhanced resilience and scalability, with strong support from AWS customer service resources.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Case Foundation incurs higher initial costs due to its comprehensive system and customization options, promising higher ROI for complex environments. AWS Step Functions offers a pay-as-you-go model, minimizing startup costs and ensuring rapid ROI through scalable, cost-effective deployment.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Step Functions vs. IBM Case Foundation Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Step Functions vs. IBM Case Foundation

April 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

AWS Step Functions

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workload Automation (13th)

IBM Case Foundation

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

33rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of AWS Step Functions is 2.3%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Case Foundation is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Management (BPM)

Featured Reviews

Carlos Alberto Marangon

Senior AWS Tech Lead at Nextios

Automate complex workflows with seamless AWS integration

Step Functions provide seamless integration with AWS services, which enhances the speed of application development. The JSON app launched recently allows us to define data execution more easily. The Standard Workflows feature includes error replay capabilities, which are crucial for efficient error management. The Amazon State Language (ASL) in JSON format facilitates workflow automation and accelerates the deployment of Step Functions.

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Nouman Nawaz

Deputy Director - IT(Plans) at DHA Lahore

Mature product in terms of security and stable product

The architecture is a bit difficult, but in BAW, they introduced the Business Automation Workflow. It's a bit easier compared to Case Manager. Currently, we use Case Manager, so it's a bit difficult to upgrade and handle, but BAW is comparatively much better and easier to handle. The limitation is only for customization because IBM doesn't support it. In some scenarios, if you want some business processes to be customized, we have already spoken two or three times with IBM representatives that we have to customize some of the features in this business process. They would say that if you want to do this automation at your own end, then okay, fine, go ahead, but we are not supporting all this customization. The only thing is the customization because it's a complete standard application.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One can rate all the calls and that is a good feature."

"If you want to create a workflow to call one Lambda function after another, and other serverless features, it could save you a ton of money. That's for sure."

"It is a scalable solution."

"Overall, I would rate AWS Step Functions at least nine out of ten."

"The JSON app launched recently allows us to define data execution more easily."

"AWS Step Functions acts as a high-level layer, allowing us to seamlessly integrate with microservices."

"What I like the most about Amazon Step Functions is how easy it is to use."

"The solution is stable...The solution is easy to scale."

More AWS Step Functions pros

"The only thing is that we can easily track where the application is in the process, from manual to automation."

"It's very easy."

"Case Foundation provides a strong security boost."

"A valuable feature includes seamless integration with the document management system, along with robust capabilities in analytics and reporting."

"The most valuable feature is its stability, which is why we are using it."

"The most valuable features are those involving decision making, analysis, and anything related to event documents because those processes are related to content as well."

"It provides us the capability of producing business processes for documents that are launched immediately when a document comes into the repository."

"The client and the IBM content navigation are the solution's most valuable features."

More IBM Case Foundation pros

Cons

"It is difficult to suggest improvements at the moment."

"One area for improvement is the payload size. Currently, I sometimes have to save data as a file since I cannot pass it within Step Functions, necessitating caching in processes."

"There is room for improvement in terms of integration with other products. It would benefit from more integration with different applications or services."

"The interface can sometimes feel limited, as we're unable to see what AWS is running behind the scenes."

"I would like to see more data transformation features in Amazon Step Functions like additional operators and logic."

"Setup took about one day. We had some errors to understand in the beginning, but now everything is working good."

"The solution's pricing could be cheaper. It is cheaper than Airflow."

"Increasing the payload size would be beneficial."

More AWS Step Functions cons

"The service as it currently stands is out-of-date and lacks flexibility."

"The place of improvement is merging or combining all of the workflow functionality into one seamless tool. Now, there are multiple installations that are different. Case Foundation, before you can put Case Manager and you've got IBM BPM, and the roadmap is there to merge them altogether. But that's the struggle at the moment, it's having multiple installations and disparate workflow applications."

"Comparing the solution with other interfaces, IBM BPM is much better than Case Foundation. They need to make this solution's interface more user-friendly."

"The solution can be quite expensive."

"IBM needs to update the user interfaces of all its products to make them more intuitive and accessible to beginners. Compared to Microsoft products, IBM solutions are less user-friendly. IBM programs are hard to master. It's a problem in my region because it's hard to find IT staff who can work with IBM."

"The interface needs to be more user-friendly."

"There is a need for more open and flexible integration capabilities, allowing seamless collaboration with a broader spectrum of business process management solutions, beyond the confines of IBM's document management offerings."

"The limitation is only for customization because IBM doesn't support it."

More IBM Case Foundation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's price is reasonable."

"The solution is expensive."

"IBM Case Foundation is a little expensive."

"This is not an expensive solution and we are using the standard license."

"The price falls in the middle range—not overly expensive but not extremely affordable either."

"Pricing is in the mid-range, it is not cheap, but it's not expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

31%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Insurance Company

12%

University

10%

Government

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Step Functions?

The integration capability is easy, whereas building state machines is tricky.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Amazon Step Functions?

The primary use case was the execution of scripts and data migration related to data lakes. We were using Python and other AWS Step Functions ( /products/aws-step-functions-reviews ).

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Step Functions?

I would recommend AWS Step Functions to others. Overall, I rate AWS Step Functions an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Case Foundation?

A valuable feature includes seamless integration with the document management system, along with robust capabilities in analytics and reporting.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Case Foundation?

It was affordable, but right now, ten years later, the cost of the product is extremely high. That's why we are looking for another product.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Case Foundation?

See all answers

Comparisons

Camunda vs AWS Step Functions

Compared 34% of the time

IBM BPM vs AWS Step Functions

Compared 16% of the time

Control-M vs AWS Step Functions

Compared 12% of the time

AutoSys Workload Automation vs AWS Step Functions

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle BPM vs AWS Step Functions

Compared 6% of the time

More AWS Step Functions Competitors

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs IBM Case Foundation

Compared 100% of the time

More IBM Case Foundation Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Step Functions

April 2025

Download AWS Step Functions product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Case Foundation

April 2025

Download IBM Case Foundation product report

Also Known As

Amazon Step Functions, Step Functions

Case Foundation, FileNet Business Process Manager

Overview

AWS Step Functions enables orchestration of complex workflows, parallel task execution, and seamless integration with AWS services, simplifying ETL automation and data pipeline management.

With AWS Step Functions, developers streamline task automation and ensure smooth microservices orchestration. It simplifies development and manages interdependencies, validates data, and integrates AWS services for cost-effective workflows. It offers a user-friendly graphical interface for creating pipelines, scalable parallelization via the "map" state, control over historical events, and visualization with JSON. Enhanced by a dashboard-like view, it aids in visual workflows and debugging.

What are the most valuable features?

Seamless AWS Integration: Easily integrates with the entire AWS suite for efficient workflow creation.
User-Friendly Graphical Interface: Simplifies creating and managing workflows with visual tools.
Scalable Parallelization: Utilizes the "map" state for efficient parallel processing tasks.
Control Historical Events: Manages and controls historical data and events effectively.
Visualization and Debugging: Provides a dashboard-like view to enhance understanding and debugging.

What are the benefits and ROI to look for?

Streamlined Development: Simplifies orchestration and automates task management.
Cost-Effective Workflows: Creates efficient, cost-saving workflows by integrating with AWS services.
Enhanced Data Validation: Ensures data correctness by managing interdependencies.
Automation of ETL Jobs: Automates data extraction, transformation, and loading processes seamlessly.

In specific industries such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, enterprises implement AWS Step Functions to manage data pipelines, orchestrate microservices, and automate complex ETL jobs. They benefit from seamless integration with AWS services, enhanced data validation, and streamlined development, resulting in efficient and cost-effective workflows tailored to their operational needs.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

IBM Case Foundation is for organizations that need to harness unstructured information and integrate it with business processes to drive critical business decisions. It enables organizations to create, manage and optimize case-based processes and is designed to decrease development costs while significantly improving process performance. Case Foundation links specific pieces of content with a structured workflow. It's an on ramp for organizations that choose to move from document-centric workflow solutions to the advanced capabilities of IBM Case Manager.

IBM

Sample Customers

Alpha Apps, The Guardian, SGK, Bigfinite

Suncorp Group Limited

Buyer's Guide

AWS Step Functions vs. IBM Case Foundation

April 2025

Free Report: AWS Step Functions vs. IBM Case Foundation

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