Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM BPM vs IBM Case Foundation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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 BPM
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (8th), Process Automation (4th)
IBM Case Foundation
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
33rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
13
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 IBM BPM is 7.4%, down from 7.6% 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

Muhammad Kamran - PeerSpot reviewer
Has efficient processes and intuitive workflow with many valuable features
You will have access to make any needed changes. Additionally, the review will be published on PeerSpot.com in written or audio format, available to other people. You can stay anonymous if you wish. Notifications and the use of the review are subject to PeerSpot's terms of use, which you can find at PeerSpot.com/TOS. I would give the solution an overall rating of ten out of ten points.
Nouman Nawaz - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Process Modelling, simulation and optimization, integration, UI components."
"The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent."
"This solution is very stable."
"It has improved my organization quite a bit. It brought awareness to what the business processes are, even to the business side, who did not necessarily know what they are."
"IBM BPM and Automation Anywhere working together automate manual tasks with a reduction in FTEs, creating about a 30% reduction in FTEs by automating processes."
"The reach with Integration Adapters and support for adding custom Java code are valuable features."
"It continues to keep up with the changing needs of the business. That is the strong value proposition of BPM. It's not a one-time automation."
"IBM BPM should become cloud-native. It should also add a cloud deployment feature."
"The most valuable feature is the content manager part of the file as it is very stable, robust, and reliable."
"The only thing is that we can easily track where the application is in the process, from manual to automation."
"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's very easy."
"The client and the IBM content navigation are the solution's most valuable features."
"Case Foundation provides a strong security boost."
"Flexible and the ability to divide search screens, and to search for documents. The ECM feature inside the system is great."
"The solution is scalable."
 

Cons

"The coaches and the user interface are the areas that can be improved a lot. It is good in terms of data processing, but the UI, scripting, and coaches are not very user-friendly and developer-friendly. Performance is always an issue. The scripting and the pattern that it uses are very tedious for new developers to understand, and it takes time to master it in depth. When comparing IBM BPM with IBM APN, a lot of things are provided out of the box in IBM APN. We don't have to write code or a Java connector to make a functionality work. It would be very helpful and time-saving for developers if IBM BPM is improved in this area to provide many functionalities or drag-and-drop options so that the developers don't have to write the code."
"IBM BPM uses JavaScript as a programming language for the server-side. I don’t know why it’s not Java, as it’s more powerful and the JavaScript part is translated into Java anyway."
"IBM BPM is stable, but sometimes there are issues with the server."
"The constant switch between Eclipse and its web versions can be annoying and confusing."
"They don't have a mechanism to achieve processes, data sources, and data."
"The options for customization could be improved. More customization using your own code would be beneficial."
"The tool's workflow function is very strong."
"We had a weird problem that whenever the database would go down, even for a few seconds, it broke the connection. It would not come back up as it was supposed to. However, working with IBM, we were able to figure out a fix, then it came back up, even after an interruption of the database."
"There are some features that could be enhanced like the document viewer"
"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."
"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."
"We are now using microservices but there are some areas where the coordination with FileNet is problematic."
"The solution can be quite expensive."
"90% of the feedback we receive states that the UI is not very user-friendly."
"The cloud version could use more stability."
"The interface needs to be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"I wish it was less expensive. I don't know why their pricing model is so high for a piece of software that could benefit so many. It just seems to me that they could have a lower cost, maybe with fewer features or whatever, but it should be possible to do a lower cost workflow software that uses the same interface and underlying engine but does not cost so much that you have to be a Fortune 50 company to buy it. It is annoying to me. There are a lot of solutions that IBM has that are really powerful but nobody can afford them. They know their business, but I still feel that there are a lot of customers who would benefit from this sort of thing. I don't know what this elitism is all about. I am sure they have people doing the money numbers, but it seems like you can make a lot more money by selling it to way more people for a little bit less."
"The solution is highly-priced."
"The product is expensive considering the hardware and software costs."
"When considering the features of the solution the price is expensive compared to competitors."
"The pricing is very high."
"​We have definitely seen ROI. When we first kicked it off, we said it had to pay for itself within three years, and it did."
"This is not an expensive solution and we are using the standard license."
"IBM Case Foundation is a little expensive."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Management (BPM) solutions are best for your needs.
848,989 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
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

Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user interface and the BPM coach is a helpful tool. The API is very useful in providing en...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
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.
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.
What needs improvement with IBM Case Foundation?
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 difficul...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
Case Foundation, FileNet Business Process Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
Suncorp Group Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM BPM vs. IBM Case Foundation and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,989 professionals have used our research since 2012.