IBM Business Automation Workflow vs IBM Case Foundation comparison

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. IBM Case Foundation

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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 Business Automation Wor...

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Case Foundation

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

32nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM Business Automation Workflow is 2.2%, down from 2.3% 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

Ateeq Rehman

Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited

Customizable features empower seamless workflow automation

The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant. We have first-line support from IBM, so there are no issues. We have integrations with different banks, ERP systems, and other human resource management systems by integrating through different systems. It provides many ways to integrate, and we are utilizing it effectively.

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Nouman Nawaz

Deputy Director - IT(Plans) at DHA Lahore

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Business Automation Workflow provides a seamless streamlined collaboration within the organizations."

"One of the most valuable features is the way that they are adapting to the market. Initially, it was doing only workflow. Now it has started bringing all the other components like rules within the workflow and then the integration with RPA."

"No matter what somebody's technical experience level is, the tool can start adding value immediately. Even if that is just an analyst who doesn't have any technical background, they can use some of these no quote accelerators to get things from ideation to deployment in a matter of minutes."

"The solution reduces the time to the resolution which is essential for businesses."

"The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant."

"This product is tightly integrated with the RPA automation process."

"The most important aspect is that it helped us focus on the business process perspective."

"It helps develop applications very quickly. Once clients get used to it and familiar with the methodology, then they don't feel so locked in. It is able to add this element of agility to our clients' software development lifecycle. That is my favorite thing about it: You're not so locked in as you used to be when developing applications."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pros

"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."

"The most valuable feature is the content manager part of the file as it is very stable, robust, and reliable."

"The content management is great."

"Flexible and the ability to divide search screens, and to search for documents. The ECM feature inside the system is great."

"The client and the IBM content navigation are the solution's most valuable features."

"The only thing is that we can easily track where the application is in the process, from manual to automation."

"It is easy to set up workflows that notify the user depending on certain events."

"Case Foundation provides a strong security boost."

More IBM Case Foundation pros

Cons

"While everything is integrated into one platform, I'd like guidelines on when and how to use ODM. This applies not only to implementation but also to automation processes. Additionally, proper instructions should be provided when installing on the cloud."

"Code management lacks merging capabilities. If parallel development requires merging, improvements in this area would be beneficial."

"IBM Business Automation Workflow could be more intuitive, with more advanced low-code features and services definition."

"Every client is moving to the cloud. We are still a little behind with IBM, but we are catching up from my point of view."

"IBM Business Automation Workflow can improve UI flexibility and integration. Additionally, the solutions from IBM have to provide a paperless solution, allowing for digital versions of documents."

"From what I understand, in the next release they're actually going to combine all of this together as one integrated solution... If we could have one unified way to build a solution, that would really help."

"In terms of improvement, it could be less complex."

"IBM Business Automation Workflow could improve the integration."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow cons

"We are now using microservices but there are some areas where the coordination with FileNet is problematic."

"The solution can be quite expensive."

"The service as it currently stands is out-of-date and lacks flexibility."

"There is a need for more open and flexible integration capabilities, allowing seamless collaboration with a broader spectrum of business process management solutions, beyond the confines of IBM's document management offerings."

"The place of improvement is merging or combining all of the workflow functionality into one seamless tool. Now, there are multiple installations that are different. Case Foundation, before you can put Case Manager and you've got IBM BPM, and the roadmap is there to merge them altogether. But that's the struggle at the moment, it's having multiple installations and disparate workflow applications."

"90% of the feedback we receive states that the UI is not very user-friendly."

"The cloud version could use more stability."

"Once a workflow is launched then it stays static forever, which is a problem because if there is a change in the business then you cannot change the workflow."

More IBM Case Foundation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive."

"Licensing varies by use-case."

"The solution has saved us time."

"Our license is on a three-year term."

"IBM Business Automation Workflow has a flexible pricing mode, but the price is expensive. The price of the solution reflects the quality of the solution which is very high. The technical support is an additional cost."

"It is on the expensive side, but it provides excellent supportability and an ecosystem that is proven to be a great fit for our organization."

"Nowadays, clients are looking at pricing as one of the major factors. For IBM products, they always think it is expensive for them. We are still educating our clients on the IBM FlexPoints licensing."

"There is still a relatively high total cost of ownership to actually implement, support, and stand up solutions."

More IBM Business Automation Workflow pricing and cost advice

"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."

"This is not an expensive solution and we are using the standard license."

"IBM Case Foundation is a little expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

No data available

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 do you like most about IBM Business Automation Workflow?

It performs the basic tasks that are required for the BBM solution as part of the overall integration with ECM or enterprise contact management.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Business Automation Workflow?

The price of IBM Business Automation Workflow is on the higher side compared to the features it offers.

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?

The tool is expensive for my customers; it is very expensive, more than other solutions. Some customers say it is more expensive. The license cost for Cloud Pak is per user and increases with the n...

What needs improvement with IBM Case Foundation?

We face some challenges with IBM Case Foundation from our customers, particularly with administration and configuration. We face many issues and open tickets with IBM regarding that, especially som...

Camunda vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Comparisons

Compared 29% of the time

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

Appian vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle BPM vs IBM Business Automation Workflow

Compared 4% of the time

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iGrafx Process360 Live Platform vs IBM Case Foundation

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Product Reports

IBM Business Automation Workflow

Download IBM Business Automation Workflow product report

IBM Case Foundation

Download IBM Case Foundation product report

Also Known As

Business Automation Workflow

Case Foundation, FileNet Business Process Manager

Overview

IBM Business Automation Workflow combines business process management and case management capabilities in one workflow solution. It integrates the capabilities of business process and case management into a single workflow offering. It unites information, process, and users to provide a 360-degree view of work to drive more successful optimized business outcomes. IBM Business Automation Workflow on Cloud provides the same capabilities that are offered in the IBM Business Automation Workflow offering, all within a ready-to-use, cloud-based environment that is hosted in IBM Cloud data centers and managed by IBM.

IBM

IBM Case Foundation is for organizations that need to harness unstructured information and integrate it with business processes to drive critical business decisions. It enables organizations to create, manage and optimize case-based processes and is designed to decrease development costs while significantly improving process performance. Case Foundation links specific pieces of content with a structured workflow. It's an on ramp for organizations that choose to move from document-centric workflow solutions to the advanced capabilities of IBM Case Manager.

IBM

Sample Customers

Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil

Suncorp Group Limited

IBM Business Automation Workflow vs. IBM Case Foundation