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IBM Blueworks Live vs TIBCO Business Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

IBM Blueworks Live
Ranking in Business Process Design
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TIBCO Business Studio
Ranking in Business Process Design
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.6%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Business Studio is 0.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur - PeerSpot reviewer
An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease
IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.
Choon Hwa Khoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good flexibility to users
Improvements are required in the tool licensing area as it is a bit expensive. The tool's user interface needs improvement. If you don't know the tool as a beginner, it is very hard for you to design the workflow. The interface is actually quite confusing. There are a lot of places we need to configure here and there since there are multiple locations involved. The features or functions available are good enough for me to implement for my business activities. The tool can include topics like AI. I encountered an issue with the tool during the deployment into production. The server itself experienced a slowness-related issue caused by the configuration, where the resources were not enough for TIBCO, not because of the physical server. I raised a ticket with the support team and got some advice from them. I then went to study the server configuration, and finally, I found out that there will be a need to increase the threats in order for the server to process the multiple parallel incoming requests.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's very easy, very quick to create a process map. It has templates. The look and feel is very nice. What we want to achieve out of the process map, we can achieve it using Blueworks."
"Valuable features include real-time modeling and design work, the ability to perform workshops with clients in real-time with the tool, and getting instant output."
"Collaboration is most valuable. You can collaborate online with many people. People can comment, and you can comment back. It is just like a social network, and that, for me, is very good."
"Business users understand it really well, which means we can then help them automate their business processes."
"It has the ability to document in different formats. It is not tied to a specific model. You can look at it from different angles and see the intuitive nature of it. It always generates a valid diagram. You cannot create something that is not BPMN compliant."
"The reporting that we can generate from IBM Blueworks Live has been interesting. We found the KPIs, risks, process modeling, format, and colors, to be very good. We use the EY template and it is interesting to generate reporting in this format."
"For me, what I find to be the most valuable is its simplicity and the association with Microsoft Office."
"The stability is pretty good. It is highly available, which is key. You don't lose your work and can autosave."
"The setup cost is definitely reasonable."
"The setup cost is definitely reasonable."
"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."
 

Cons

"The ability to create a very structured rule. With the capability that we have right now, Blueworks Live is more process focused. We should be able to enhance it to include a lot more of decisions as well."
"The objects that the solution creates are not unique."
"Spaces are not well organized; space controls are lacking."
"We haven't yet been able to dabble in case management with Blueworks Live, as it is not yet offered with the product."
"The initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."
"Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively."
"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."
"I would like to see integration with ERP systems. This would help us to simulate the process and see where the problems are. Though IBM Blueworks Live is a good tool for documenting, it is not good for simulating."
"An artificial intelligence feature that evaluates the quality of the code developed with one click would definitely be good."
"An artificial intelligence feature that evaluates the quality of the code developed with one click would definitely be good."
"The interface is actually quite confusing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."
"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."
"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."
"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."
"Making it less expensive would be good."
"The solution is very, very cost-effective."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."
"For my company, the tool costs about 2,0,000 Euros for three years...If one is bad and ten is good, I rate the price as one out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?
The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?
The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.
What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?
Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Business Studio?
The setup cost is definitely reasonable. It is now reasonable since they changed it recently with the new TIBCO platform. Enterprise is completely different.
What needs improvement with TIBCO Business Studio?
An artificial intelligence feature that evaluates the quality of the code developed with one click would definitely be good.
What is your primary use case for TIBCO Business Studio?
I am only using the licenses. We are a consulting company, so we use the solution to configure solutions for other customers.
 

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint
Business Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council
Airbus Helicopters, Bank of Montreal, BroadReach Healthcare, Caesars Entertainment, CargoSmart, Children's Hospital, Citibank Brazil, Citihub, Colonial Life, Con-way, Consorsbank, Deutsche Bahn, EDF Energy, FrieslandCampina, Hellmann Logistics, Ignite, Istrabenz Plini, Sage Human Capital, Siemens Healthcare
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Blueworks Live vs. TIBCO Business Studio and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.