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IBM BPM vs ServiceNow Orchestration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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 Process Automation
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (5th), Application Infrastructure (6th)
ServiceNow Orchestration
Ranking in Process Automation
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of IBM BPM is 4.9%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Orchestration is 3.2%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM BPM4.9%
ServiceNow Orchestration3.2%
Other91.9%
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
Automation platforms streamline processes and offer flexibility, but AI integration and version upgrades pose challenges
In the technology world, there is always room for improvement. Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models. Although IBM BPM is a substantial product, adopting and integrating new technologies quickly is not easy due to the migration and upgrade paths involved. Every time new versions are released, we face business and production challenges that make rapid adoption challenging. The main concern bothering me today regarding IBM BPM is the integration of AI components.
Claude-Yameogo - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Has helped orchestrate processes and integrate workflows across cloud environments
I recommend ServiceNow Orchestration for larger companies because they have the capability to manage complex environments where it performs better. I promote low-code solutions for these implementations. I don't currently have an idea regarding the pre-built integrations of ServiceNow Orchestration, but I plan to check my area to determine what added value it can bring. I would rate this solution a nine overall.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution offers great notifications."
"It helps maintain, and in many instances, lower costs, as well as to maintain those costs, keeping them stable."
"The integration and design are valuable features."
"Our customers use the solution as a workflow platform to manage their processes."
"IBM BPM's best features include document sharing, management document creation, widget and barcode creation, and integration."
"Automating the whole workflow process to give our data steward the ability to take actions rapidly, and making sure we have all the data synced within the different platforms that we are using."
"The solution has helped us automate business processes."
"The installation was straightforward."
"Provisioning of new systems is among the most impactful features for automating complex workflows with ServiceNow Orchestration."
"The solution effectively automates business processes."
"Orchestration is commonly utilized by major corporations. The process of linking methods in ServiceNow, known as the RTS chain to parent methods, is executed seamlessly and efficiently. It's quite impressive and significant in its impact."
"The iTerm suite is also crucial for visibility and optimization."
"Employee onboarding, de-boarding, and other service-provision features make the process easier and it saves us a lot of time."
"The interface of the solution is very user friendly and it is easily accessible via a simple URL. This makes it easier to complete the UI based tasks but using other features require expertise in languages like Java. But along with that, there are limitation in terms of network connectivity testing and administrator faces regular challenges in conducting connectivity tests due to these limitations."
"The product has a flexible interface for development."
"I use it to orchestrate processes and integration features to gather and update data during specified timeframes or exchange data in real-time when changes occur based on certain criteria."
 

Cons

"We are a government organization, and we are the largest government power sector in India. We generate around 30% of power in India. Therefore, our processes are quite complex. Although IBM BPM is a low-code or no-code software, if you want to have extremely complex workflows, just the business process diagrams are not helpful in creating those workflows. While implementing complex workflows, only the process flow diagrams did not help us. We had to write a lot of Java scripts and Java queries to achieve what we wanted. Its integration capabilities with the SAP environment have to be improved. At present, we are only talking at the web services environment level. Its price also needs to be improved. It is currently expensive. Previously, Active Directory required a heterogeneous environment, but now they want a homogeneous environment. We had onboarded employees through Microsoft Active Directory, and now I have to implement Microsoft AD only from the cloud for my vendors."
"We have been experiencing bad performance and instability."
"We would like better performance and more ​visibility on each step of the tool.​"
"The setup was quite complex because the solution was cutting-edge at that time and IBM invested considerably in the implementation, likely at a loss to themselves."
"The price and the overall installation process could be improved."
"One downside is that changing intermediate steps after you've finalized your flow can be challenging. Also, the integration with identity management could be easier. It would be helpful to have role-based access functions, allowing for specific custom models associated with certain streamlines in the IBM dashboard. Also, a simpler way to integrate some notation with other middleware platforms would be beneficial."
"We had hoped that the product would provide us with plug-ins like Salesforce. Its development environment needs to improve. We expect to see elastic features like containerization. We don't just need an on-prem virtual machine."
"IBM BPM can improve the dashboards and reports. It only has two dashboards, and reporting is very difficult to build."
"ServiceNow Orchestration needs to improve multiple aspects in which their event monitoring system is one. The solution lacks event monitoring systems which makes them non-competitive. They need to include improvements in a similar manner that they did in Sweden."
"I would like a user experience module to be added."
"We cannot perform GUI automation using the tool."
"The flow rate for releases and updates is very, very slow and does not meet customers' objectives for scalability."
"There should be connectors to cover at least the top industry applications, and they should be easier to configure in a plug-and-play fashion."
"If I compare the interface of ServiceNow Orchestration with Boomi, it is easier to use Boomi than ServiceNow Orchestration."
"The third-party integrations are challenging when the tools are not from ServiceNow partners. This presents issues when integrating solutions from other vendors."
"If I compare the interface of ServiceNow Orchestration with Boomi, it is easier to use Boomi than ServiceNow Orchestration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, IBM BPM is cheaper than other similar solutions and has excellent pricing."
"I already compared some solutions related to business process management, and I saw that the cost of IBM BPM is more expensive compared with that of Camunda, for example."
"When considering the features of the solution the price is expensive compared to competitors."
"We have a yearly licensing model. It is not expensive. There are no addition costs to the standard license."
"Its price is on the higher side, and it can be improved. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."
"The cloud and license of the subscription model for IBM BPM can be complex. There are a lot of alternatives to choose from."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"IBM could improve the price. It is far too expensive."
"The solution is costly and orchestrations are very expensive."
"The cost of the solution is based on the number of plugins, conductors and integrations used and is charged annually. The licensing cause has been increasing gradually which makes it difficult to access. Initially offer free features but over the time the charges rise which make it an expensive solution with limited features. Along with that, the integration issues persist and require additional middle where and internet connectivity for effective usage."
"Pricing is custom to every customer."
"In terms of price, this solution is at the higher end of what you'll find."
"It is not very expensive."
"It is quite expensive because we've had some customers come back and say it's quite pricey because in order for them to go ahead with Orchestration, they must have already been paying for Discovery, service mapping, and a few other things."
"ServiceNow doesn't give a clear cost indication. They have different contracts with different organizations and it's all about negotiation, so you don't know how they are doing at the cost level."
"This is an expensive product, but it is the best in the market considering the features and lack of competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise72
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise9
 

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 ServiceNow Orchestration?
The interface of the solution is very user friendly and it is easily accessible via a simple URL. This makes it easier to complete the UI based tasks but using other features require expertise in l...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Orchestration?
The cost of ServiceNow Orchestration is considered medium; it is expensive but powerful. I would rate the pricing experience as a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Orchestration?
If I compare the interface of ServiceNow Orchestration with Boomi, it is easier to use Boomi than ServiceNow Orchestration. Boomi is an ESB with orchestration features to integrate and exchange dat...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
No data available
 

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
experian, BEACHBODY, HealthPartners, Banosoft
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM BPM vs. ServiceNow Orchestration and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.