IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

IBM and VMware are both solutions in the Process Automation category. IBM is ranked #21 with an average rating of 9.0, while VMware is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.1. IBM holds a 0.4% mindshare in PA, compared to VMware’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of VMware users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Read 2 IBM Cloud Pak for Automation reviews

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150 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

vCenter Orchestrator

Read 50 vCenter Orchestrator reviews

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127 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

vCenter Orchestrator

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

vCenter Orchestrator and IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are products in the automation market, offering distinctive advantages. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation has the upper hand with superior features that make it worth the investment despite vCenter Orchestrator's competitive pricing and support.

Features: vCenter Orchestrator offers seamless automation workflows, centralized management, and strong integration with VMware environments. On the other hand, IBM Cloud Pak for Automation provides robust AI-driven automation, extensive support for end-to-end process automation, and a comprehensive set of features for broader applicability across diverse cloud environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation provides flexible deployment options in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, along with extensive support resources. vCenter Orchestrator offers streamlined deployment within VMware ecosystems, but additional support might be necessary for complex implementations. IBM Cloud Pak's broader deployment model and dedicated customer service resources offer greater adaptability for various environments.

Pricing and ROI: vCenter Orchestrator is considered cost-effective with straightforward pricing and quick time-to-value within VMware settings. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation requires a higher upfront investment, justified by its expansive feature set and long-term ROI, offering solutions adaptable to changing business needs. The choice is between initial cost and future investment value, with IBM Cloud Pak providing greater potential ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

April 2025

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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 Cloud Pak for Automation

Ranking in Process Automation

21st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

vCenter Orchestrator

Ranking in Process Automation

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.2%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

SYEDMUJTABA

Vice President - Digital Automation Services at Techvista Systems

Effectively handles parallel instances effectively

I find it quite straightforward, perhaps around 8.5 out of 10 in terms of ease. When we upgraded from the old version of IBM BPM to the new one within IBM Cloud Pak for Automation, we didn't encounter any major issues. There were some minor ones, but they were easy to overcome.The migration process was part of our deployment strategy. We had a plan to migrate two processes per week from on-premises to the cloud. The migration involved taking the instances and migrating them to the new environment. There is an inbuilt feature in IBM Cloud Pak for Automation that facilitates the migration process, although I personally haven't conducted it myself; it's managed by my team. Overall, the setup process was relatively smooth.

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David Villota

EMEA Hosting Engineer at Yanfeng Automotive

Provides automatic monitoring capabilities that save time for users

In my company's IT environment, we use the tool to deploy production environments for products, including live manufacturing systems. The product improves my company's IT automation processes since we can use fewer resources currently. In my company, we need to spend less time considering that vCenter Orchestrator monitors everything. In general, we don't have to be present in our company to do active monitoring. Automatic monitoring is available for everything with vCenter Orchestrator, so we have proactive alerts in our company. The most valuable feature of the product in streamlining our company's workflow stems from the fact that we need to spend fewer resources and less time in general. Our company can spend time on more effective tasks like working with the plans to improve processes and so on, instead of taking care of the systems. The benefits of the product's integration capabilities were useful for HPE. My company has HPE infrastructure, and we are keen to integrate everything into the host, VMware ESXi. It is really important to have an easy integration method that allows for everything to be installed easily in a matter of minutes. I was not involved in the product's setup process. My colleague took care of the product's setup process. From what I know, I can say that the product's setup phase was straightforward. Some custom setups were to be done manually in the tool, but everything was well documented. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. One of the benefits of the product is that it is a low-cost and stable solution that offers a lot of resources. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

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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

"I believe two significant features of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are the focus on SLA management and the capability to handle parallel instances effectively. Parallel instances, for instance, are valuable when dealing with a large number of users, enabling tasks to be performed concurrently for efficient system operation. The SLA aspect is crucial for tracking and ensuring timely completion of tasks. Additionally, the cloud compatibility of IBM BAW allows for seamless migration from on-premises to the cloud. This version also includes a business rule management system for storing and managing business rules effectively."

"What this product allows us to do is to move from on-prem instances where we are running independent instances of FileNet, Datacap, and ODM. It allows us to leverage container-based resiliency and availability modeling so that we have some visibility across the CP4BA ecosystem. We're now migrating all of our data to be in the Cloud Object Storage, and we can now use some of the features of Azure in terms of how we store and retrieve content for our members and our providers."

"vCenter Orchestrator is easy to use."

"We have excellent technical support. They have always been helpful when we have needed them."

"The product's integration is good, it works well with other programs and solutions."

"The most crucial feature of vCenter is its scalability. We can use it to expand our network, so we don't have to report our client devices. The network configuration features are also helpful because we can migrate entire networks."

"I like the tool's DNS feature."

"The storage motion is a good feature. It is a very good tool."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the workflow creation."

"The solution's ability to template and easily implement are the most valuable features. It offers good replication as well."

More vCenter Orchestrator pros

Cons

"I believe there is room for improvement in the user interface, particularly in the Process Portal that customers use to view and manage their tasks. The UI of the Process Portal needs enhancement. Additionally, in the next release, I would like to see improved compatibility with Angular, allowing for direct integration with front-end systems. It would be beneficial to have built-in GUI features based on Angular within the system, rather than developing separate applications externally. This, in turn, would provide a more seamless and enhanced front-end experience."

"One of the challenges we're having is finding vendors who have experience in developing on the cloud. We can find developers on the old platform, but it is leading-edge technology. So, we are having some challenges, and IBM is assisting us to find vendor partners. To be able to leverage all the capabilities of the new platform, we have to upgrade our existing ecosystem of FileNet applications. Upgrading to the new platform while trying to modernize is always challenging because it is like you have a moving target."

"There are no good manuals or guidelines on integrations. Hence, you need to be asking someone."

"This solution needs to have more built-in workflows."

"The snapshot technology of VMware is not good compared to other solutions in the market, like Nutanix."

"There can be compatibility issues."

"It could be integrated with third-party hypervisors."

"Using this solution requires a lot of experience."

"As we work towards more stability on the solution, sometimes we'll try something and it breaks and it's easier to restart the service. That's the only drawback. We've experienced this with other applications as well."

"VMware tools would benefit from more automation. When installing our devices and servers, we often need to install the VMware tools manually. This process should be automated during the VM installation process."

More vCenter Orchestrator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is relatively expensive, especially considering it is designed for long-living processes, not for normal automation needs. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pricing at around 9. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees, but IBM has multiple pricing models that make it expensive in its own way. Different plans are available, but overall, the experience suggests it is a costly solution."

"Its cost is almost the same or comparable to what we pay with FileNet, but I'm not sure what we pay a year. A good part of CP4BA is the CPU-based licensing model. When we're dealing with 50,000 dentists, for example, if we were to use Salesforce, we would be hit with the licensing of 50,000 dentists, whereas when we build out in CP4BA, it is just based on our CPU usage, not on individual licenses."

"vCenter Orchestrator is an expensive solution."

"The licensing cost is manageable because they have different versions available, standard, essential, and advanced."

"We provide the VMware solution to our clients, for which they pay a perpetual license."

"vCenter Orchestrator could be more affordable."

"The price is reasonable, and one of the reasons that this product was selected."

"The product is expensive."

"My company needs to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"vCenter Orchestrator is a very expensive solution."

More vCenter Orchestrator pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

18%

Government

12%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Automation?

I believe two significant features of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are the focus on SLA management and the capability to handle parallel instances effectively. Parallel instances, for instance, ar...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Automation?

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is relatively expensive, especially considering it is designed for long-living processes, not for normal automation needs. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pr...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Automation?

I believe there is room for improvement in the user interface, particularly in the Process Portal that customers use to view and manage their tasks. The UI of the Process Portal needs enhancement. ...

See all answers

What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?

The stability of the product is very good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?

We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.

See all answers

What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?

After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed. We are considering alternatives since we lost the perpetual aspect, and support is changing.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM BPM vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 100% of the time

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VMware Aria Automation vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 55% of the time

VMware Aria Operations vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 22% of the time

VMware Cloud Director vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 11% of the time

More vCenter Orchestrator Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

March 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Automation product report

Buyer's Guide

vCenter Orchestrator

March 2025

Download vCenter Orchestrator product report

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation offers design, build, run, and automation services to rapidly scale your programs and fully execute and operationalize an automation strategy.

IBM

VMware vCenter Orchestrator simplifies the automation of complex IT tasks and integrates with VMware vCloud Suite components to adapt and extend service delivery and operational management, effectively working with existing infrastructure, tools and processes.

VMware

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Beiersdorf Shared Services

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. vCenter Orchestrator

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