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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle SOA Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

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 WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
Oracle SOA Suite
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
SOA Governance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 12.0%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SOA Suite is 3.9%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient load balancing and the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable
I believe that the system is already good. However, for improvement or enhancement, it is user-friendly, but it could offer better choices on the front end for different aspects or options. Sometimes, I have to search extensively for features, as there are no upfront tabs. There is a lack of visible, easy, user-friendly, and straightforward options for the number of features.
MANOHAR SADDALA - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables seamless integration with multiple systems
I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. It's not much more dynamic, not as dynamic as you may think, like seeing it in the cloud. In order to use it, you need to have the download servers and then scale up your systems. Oracle SOA Suites serves as a middle layer between applications. For example, let's say you have SAP, and we have Salesforce or Oracle ERP system. Users connect to those systems and perform certain activities or transactions on the applications. Now, if any data needs to be synchronized or any integration needs to happen between these applications, we use the Oracle SOA Suite. It acts as the bridge between the applications, not between the users. It's like having endpoints between the applications. Currently, we have 20 endpoints; 20 systems are connected to it, which is great. Oracle SOA Suite is being used daily. We are using it to its maximum potential.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is Portal Virtualization."
"The performance is good."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is easy to use."
"The thing about WebSphere, as opposed to other ones that I am aware of such as JBoss and Liberty, is that WebSphere has the most comprehensive scaffolding available to it."
"The solution has good performance."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"The most valuable features are its user-friendliness and reliability in terms of application hosting."
"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle SOA Suite is all the platform's capabilities."
"The product allows you to visualize how a company is working currently by providing rich possibilities for analysis such as the audit trails and therefore shows where improvements might be valuable."
"Valuable features include web service development and cloud connectivity."
"What I like best about Oracle SOA Suite is Oracle support. I also like the tool features, especially the integration feature."
"In Oracle SOA Suite some applications are not able to use REST, but it can support both SOAP and REST. You're able to integrate quite a lot of systems, which may not be able to in other solutions. You can also use XML and JSON. It is a standardizing type of tool. It doesn't matter whether I'm using JSON or XML, it can convert them."
"The most valuable features for us are the APIs, which we commonly use, as well as the scheduling capabilities and file transfers."
"This is one of the critical products for my company and we use it extensively. We currently use each and every feature of Oracle SOA."
"It performs better in real-time transactions."
 

Cons

"Initial setup is very simple. Just use the IBM Installation Manager and add the packages. The install wizard takes care of the rest. The only thing that can be difficult is to find the right packages on the IBM website, because of all the changes that IBM does on its website(s)."
"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"Sometimes, I feel WebSphere runs a bit slow. It might be loading unnecessary libraries, impacting its performance compared to other application servers."
"I think in some moments, the security was a little bit more complex to configure when it was delegated to other systems, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."
"The footprint could be reduced so that we can use a smaller virtual machine to run the application. We could also use more scripts. I would like this solution to be more script oriented, rather than GUI oriented."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."
"The current trend is to move to Liberty because of the portability of its cloud and its Kubernetes, which containerize the application."
"Decrease the number of internal resources which the product uses."
"I would like to see divided containers more separately as a microservice."
"They supply lots of documentation but finding what we need is challenging at times."
"SOA"
"An area for improvement in Oracle SOA Suite is the cost. It could be lower."
"Its function options can be improved."
"The solutions can improve the communication or translations between formats, such as JSON and XML. The JSON REST API could improve."
"The deployment could be made easier by including add-ons like Hudson and Maven."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"WebSphere Application Server is expensive, so it may not be a good option for small companies."
"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"The pricing is a little expensive."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"It is necessary to evaluate the requirement regarding the platform usage and what the main operation area of the platform will be."
"Based on my knowledge, Oracle SOA Suite doesn't have user-based licensing. It has a system-based licensing model, so you pay for whole systems. Oracle SOA Suite is an expensive solution, so it's a four out of ten for me."
"The product is moderately priced."
"Oracle SOA Suite is an expensive solution."
"This product is WebLogic based, hence it can be both resource hungry as well as expensive from a licensing point of view."
"The pricing is not very high as compared to its competitors."
"Oracle pricing is expensive. Support is based on your license. AWS is much better than Oracle in this regard."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM WebSphere Application Server?
Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
In Korea, when you buy IBM iOS, the WebSphere base version is included with iOS. That means no additional cost.
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
I find the server okay, however, using the Maker instance, the Moving instance, and the Change instance is a little bit complicated without WebSphere knowledge.
What do you like most about Oracle SOA Suite?
The solution's XSLT or XSL Transformation feature was very useful.
What needs improvement with Oracle SOA Suite?
The solution’s initial setup is complex and could be improved. A big challenge for Oracle SOA Suite is that you don't get too many technical resources.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
SOA Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
7-Eleven, Arcor SAIC, Banca Transilvania, Eaton Corporation, Emdeon, Ferrovial, Griffith University, National Instruments, Pella Corporation, Vodafone Group Plc,
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Oracle SOA Suite and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.