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BMC Compuware ISPW vs IBM Rational Synergy comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

BMC Compuware ISPW
Ranking in Software Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Rational Synergy
Ranking in Software Configuration Management
9th
Average Rating
3.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Software Configuration Management category, the mindshare of BMC Compuware ISPW is 29.5%, up from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Rational Synergy is 2.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

BM
Jan 20, 2022
Tracks code during the change process so that more than one group could have code checked out for change. ISPW provides this tracking info real time helping move toward a more Agile environment.
One of the features that the developers like is that they can retrieve what they need with ISPW. They don't have to go through a process or request something be done by another team. They can get the programs they need, compile them, retrieve the JCL and alter the JCL if they need to, and put these programs wherever they need to go for their testing. They can promote all the way through to the production step. I know that might make a lot of companies nervous when we talk about the fact that developers can promote to production. What that means is the developers promote the code to the point of being ready to be released into production. The release step is still controlled using your current approval process. This gives the development staff a lot more control over what they're doing, and it dovetails nicely into an Agile process. ISPW is really great at giving the developers access to all of the components all the way through the process. The control of actually putting code into production is more about the "when" and not the "how." In most companies, your change-control coordinators or business analysts, or managers that release code into production environment, will still do that last step. That's all controllable and secure at different levels. But it really gives the development staff a way to get everything where it needs to be, staged-up and ready to be released so that they can go work on something else. And the management of that movement into production is still maintained through whatever level you choose.
OA
Feb 11, 2019
Users must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime
We are required to use this tool by DO-178 guidance. We have to use a configuration management tool and this is the one we have been using. People see this tool more like a constraint than a benefit. Users really have to know how to use this tool and how to set the baseline functionalities for their case. The user must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime. Synergy requires user training and development. It's not user-friendly. You have to perform a lot of manipulations; it's a bit archaic. Some people are reluctant to use this tool because they are familiar with and proficient in using Windows Explorer to navigate through directories and use WinZip to archive data. It is not a very good tool for document management. I would rate this solution a three out of ten because it's an old tool. It was a good tool 15 years ago. To get a ten out of ten I would need to see a more integrated user-friendly tool and it should be competitively priced as it is it's too expensive. I don't recommend using it because it's obsolete.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the features that the developers like is that they can retrieve what they need with the tool. They don't have to go through some process or request something be done by another team. They can get the programs they need, compile them, retrieve the JCL and alter the JCL if they need to, and put these programs wherever they need to go for their testing."
"We had parallel development before, but the way ISPW implements it is better. It has more control and oversight of the process, whereas before, it was like the Wild West. Everybody could have their own package with their own version of the component in it... ISPW is constantly aware of it. It notifies when someone else is using or has a different version of that component."
"I think the most valuable features are code management, code deployment, and code generation. The fact that those three features are included makes BMC Compuware ISPW a robust product. If one of those features was missing, it would be less robust and less interesting. But because it has those three features, it is a very good solution for code development and management."
"The visual ability to see potential downstream impacts to changes being made assists our developers in understanding the impact associated with their change."
"It does our CICS NEWCOPYs and our Db2 binds for us, whereas before, that was a manual process. It takes a lot of the workload off of the operations folks and off the DBAs."
"Managing source code, tracking modifications, and being able to analyze evolutions of source code are the most valuable features."
 

Cons

"Better discussions to identify inventory prior to the start of any migration would be helpful for potential clients that have applications with code that is not modified often."
"One thing I would really like to see some improvement on is the promotion diagnostic messages. It invokes utilities "under the covers" to copy components, and it does not echo back any of the error messages from those utilities."
"The solution could be improved by being better integrated with the open world. In the next release, I would like to have the ability to work in an open environment whilst remaining integrated with the legacy environment."
"When you're setting up the parameters for how ISPW will work in your shop, there are a lot of questions that have to be answered... BMC Compuware should have more in-depth explanations about what the choices in each question mean. If you pick A, what does that mean has to happen? What does that impact? If you pick B, what does that mean? What does that impact?"
"There are some features that are not well documented, so documentation could use a little help, on things like setting up deployment and which structures in the database correspond to which tables."
"I'd like to see more integration with respect to requirement management, though this is not possible with this Synergy solution. I know that PTC enables this feature as well as Polarion. We need to have full trustworthiness and accountability in knowing that the tool will track every modification from specification through to the source code, with Synergy this isn't possible. The solution requires additional tools like rectify, desktop system solutions, to enable trustability between requirements, from one specification to another."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."
"The price point is great."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
37%
Computer Software Company
17%
Insurance Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Compuware ISPW?
I think the most valuable features are code management, code deployment, and code generation. The fact that those three features are included makes BMC Compuware ISPW a robust product. If one of th...
What needs improvement with BMC Compuware ISPW?
The solution could be improved by being better integrated with the open world. In the next release, I would like to have the ability to work in an open environment whilst remaining integrated with ...
What is your primary use case for BMC Compuware ISPW?
Our primary use case is managing and deploying code. We also build outputs from the code.
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Also Known As

No data available
IBM Synergy, Rational Synergy
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

mBank, Standard Bank
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, BMC, Microsoft and others in Software Configuration Management. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.