No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

BMC AMI DevX vs IBM InfoSphere Optim comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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

BMC AMI DevX
Ranking in Database Development and Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (2nd), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (4th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (3rd), AI Software Development (30th)
IBM InfoSphere Optim
Ranking in Database Development and Management
15th
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Optim is 2.3%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX1.7%
IBM InfoSphere Optim2.3%
Other96.0%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkshayChaudhari - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Specialist at TCS
Modern workflow has improved COBOL debugging and simplifies understanding complex legacy code
The most valuable feature is the integrated COBOL debugging and code analysis capability. Being able to step through programs, set breakpoints, and monitor variable values to understand how the program flow operates makes troubleshooting much easier and more structured. I also appreciate the modern development environment for editing COBOL, browsing datasets, and submitting JCL jobs without constantly switching between different tools. The code navigation and AI-assisted code understanding capabilities are also useful for working with unfamiliar legacy applications. The code understanding features have been useful when I need to work with unfamiliar COBOL applications. They help me explain existing code, identify the relationships and dependencies between programs and copybooks, and make it easier to understand the overall program flow. Instead of manually tracking every section of a large legacy application, I can use the AI assistance to get a quicker understanding of what the code is doing and where a change may have an impact. This reduces the time to get familiar with older code and makes maintenance and troubleshooting more straightforward and efficient.
Kenneth Estanislao - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Designer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Backups become efficient while cost concerns remain
I am still working with IBM and we are transitioning to other tools rather than using IBM InfoSphere Optim. We use other tools, but I cannot recall the name because I am not the one currently handling it. It has transitioned to other architects. For IBM InfoSphere Optim, we are still currently using it, but we have transitioned to the newer version, the latest one with support for AWS S3. I cannot identify a main competitor for IBM InfoSphere Optim because we have transitioned to other architects, and they are the ones looking for other tools. The last comparison I did was almost 4 years ago. I am not using any AI technology with IBM InfoSphere Optim. I rate IBM InfoSphere Optim a seven out of ten. The tool is good, but the price is not favorable as it is the most expensive part. I can recommend IBM InfoSphere Optim for enterprises.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Compuware Xpediter is one of the best debugging tools for mainframe software development."
"BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is a solid product that any company can benefit from if they want to have tight control and a standard way of deploying applications into production in a secure manner."
"Our intention is to use Topaz for the next generation of mainframe developers to maintain mainframe applications."
"BMC AMI DevX helps me develop COBOL while juggling other responsibilities by bringing editing, debugging, job submissions, and code navigation into a single environment."
"It speeds up processes, makes things easier, more efficient, and from a mainframe perspective, the way the mainframe is utilized has become that much easier."
"BMC AMI DevX tools have noticeably impacted our developers' productivity and efficiency."
"Topaz workbench is one of the most integrated into Eclipse that I've seen from the mainframe vendors."
"Test data management capabilities are good."
"We like that we can easily restore the database with just a few clicks. The database is linked as well."
"I feel the solution to be a bit faster than the traditional methods, which makes it easy to customize."
"The compression feature is valuable because it achieves around 80% compression."
 

Cons

"I'm always looking for improvement in things like the documentation, to make things a little bit easier and simpler to understand, a place where people can go to troubleshoot issues."
"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."
"Their technical support could be better."
"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 only thing that bothers me about BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline is the screen movement."
"The area for improvement is related to the testing tools that are available for unit testing or acceptance testing. I know they have some out there that we are not licensed for at this time, but it seems like some of the Eclipse tools that are used for other programming languages, they're all just built-in and they're a little more intuitive to the developers. Making those testing tools as intuitive as possible, and as integrated as possible into the workbench, would be really beneficial."
"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?"
"One improvement I would appreciate is stronger integration between DevX debugging and other troubleshooting information, such as JCL, job output, abend details, and application logs, all in one place."
"We're looking for a solution that can be implemented on AWS. IBM InfoSphere Optim can be implemented on AWS, but it costs more than double what we're currently paying. So, it's not really of good value for us."
"The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive."
"While masking PII information in huge tables [more than 500 million record count with more than five PII columns present] the Extract-Convert-Load [ECL] process becomes extremely slow and can take a huge amount of time."
"While the solution is very supportive of Db2, it is not so friendly when it comes to IMS databases."
 

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."
"In general, Compuware tools are very competitive."
"In terms of pricing, there isn't an extra charge for the parts of it we use. It comes with the licenses we purchased for other products, so no complaints there. The licensing is built in with the other products that you purchase from Compuware."
"The only thing I would mention related to the licensing and/or the pricing, is that they have some visualization features in there that are licensed by concurrent users. We're starting to trip up on that. We're looking to probably increase the number of concurrent licenses that we have. But those types of licensing strategies, where they license by concurrent users or the number of seats is confusing for some people. They don't understand why it works sometimes and doesn't work other times."
"It has saved our developers time and effort when working on documentation, which is now more readable and fluent."
"IBM InfoSphere Optim is a very expensive solution. Actually, it's the most expensive archiving solution that we have."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Development and Management solutions are best for your needs.
915,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Retailer
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise24
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Compuware Topaz Enterprise Data?
My understanding is that BMC AMI DevX is an enterprise product with custom licensing, so pricing is typically negotiated based on factors such as the modules purchased, organization size, and usage...
What needs improvement with BMC AMI DevX?
BMC AMI DevX is a strong platform, but there are a few areas where it could improve, such as simplifying the initial installation and configuration, especially for first-time users. It could also i...
What is your primary use case for BMC AMI DevX?
My main use case for BMC AMI DevX is to work with COBOL and JCL development on IBM. I mainly use it for editing, browsing data sets, submitting jobs, and debugging applications. I appreciate the Ec...
What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Optim?
The potential room for improvement for IBM InfoSphere Optim is usually its cost, as it is too expensive. Currently, there are no issues with IBM InfoSphere Optim; the only problem is the cost, whic...
What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim?
My current use case for IBM InfoSphere Optim is just for doing backups. We are using IBM InfoSphere Optim specifically for backup purposes.
What advice do you have for others considering IBM InfoSphere Optim?
I am still working with IBM and we are transitioning to other tools rather than using IBM InfoSphere Optim. We use other tools, but I cannot recall the name because I am not the one currently handl...
 

Also Known As

File-AID, Data for Db2, Code Debug, Data Studio, Workbench for Eclipse, Code Pipeline
IBM Optim, Optim
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NRB, Iberdrola, Consorzio Servizi Bancari 
Durham Police Department, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Continental, KCE Electronics Public Company Limited, The University of Adelaide, Migros Zurich, COPROB
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC AMI DevX vs. IBM InfoSphere Optim and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.