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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs WebLogic Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
WebLogic Suite
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.3%, up from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WebLogic Suite is 3.2%, down from 3.7% 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.
Mari Pandian - PeerSpot reviewer
Coding flexibility with good integration but users need coding knowledge
We are an Oracle partner and work with many Oracle applications for integration purposes. WebLogic is used for integrating various Oracle applications and third-party services WebLogic allows us to do the coding as per the customer's requirements. It helps us meet their needs by integrating their…

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 features are its user-friendliness and reliability in terms of application hosting."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is Portal Virtualization."
"As compared to other applications, it has tremendous support. We have built internal capability so that we use it extensively internally. It is also easier to use with the outside data. You can write in ESQL, Java, or any other technology that you want to use for development. So, it is a lot more flexible in the language that it supports."
"Security: It is compatible with the latest Java 8 security features, supports FIPS 140-2 and NIST SP 800-53 with strong ciphers and cryptography keys, and supports TLS 1.2 completely. Also, configuring client and server certificates is relatively easy."
"It does integrate well with the Tivoli Federated Identity Management system."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"The VPN service is quite useful."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides one place where you can control all of the services."
"WebLogic Suite is scalable."
"The solution is very scalable. It's easy to add processes even if you are new to the solution."
"WebLogic Suite provides a stable application server experience."
"It easily connects to other Oracle products and services."
"WebLogic adds a lot of value to business and investments."
"It integrates various applications easily, provided there is a coder available."
"The product is reliable."
 

Cons

"Installing or configuring a WAS server instance as a Windows Service causes a lot of problems, especially when the server needs credentials to stop."
"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."
"The business logic side of it is sort of missing in the sense that if I want to track and measure velocity, it is not really available. You have to buy another application and embark on a separate implementation. Instead of having different licensing, IBM DataPower should be integrated with WebSphere. It will allow us to build the business layer and rules a lot more efficiently, rather than developing rules within the application. It would be good if we can set up the business layer through parametrization rather than development. IBM DataPower has the business rule and the controls, and if it can be integrated, it would be fantastic. It will help the application in working better in terms of security features and business logic. If you're going to use it for open banking, you will be able to monitor velocity on the total pricing."
"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."
"The installation has room for improvement."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server hasn't changed much. It's still a heavyweight for any company compared to what you get. Unless your code base is deeply linked with it, I don't think it's a great idea to go with this solution. The current trend is toward modularity and containerization, and given the product's requirements, containerization will be difficult. There is a memory requirement as well."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."
"The content search is not easy."
"The restart capability needs to be improved because it takes us 15 minutes to restart any application."
"Sometimes there are issues when we work on a VM because people use it to put all of their reports on it at the same time. Then I have to restart and rebuild the machine."
"This solution would benefit from the inclusion of a ripple start function for clusters."
"I noticed a few areas for improvement in WebLogic Suite. If you use the pure play higher-availability features, then yes, it can be switched over to the other system from the high-availability point of view, but that comes with a certain price. If you prefer simpler high-availability, that requires manual intervention. I'd also recommend a tuning feature in WebLogic Suite because it's not self-tuning, and this means you need thorough expertise to do the tuning and leverage the best benefit out of it. If Oracle makes WebLogic Suite automated or self-driven, then it becomes a wonderful product, similar to what Oracle did for the Autonomous Database which is self-driven or has an autonomous operating system. If automation is added in the next release of the solution, combined with more affordable pricing, though as a technical person, I know how much goes into having automation as a feature, and it could be difficult to lower the price, but if Oracle can do it, then that would make WebLogic Suite better."
"I rate the scalability of WebLogic Suite an eight out of ten."
"The solution needs to share more information in terms of training. There needs to be more documentation involved to help those who are completely new to the product."
"Support could be better. The expertise when we have some Oracle WebLogic issues and challenges is not there. The issues are not being addressed in time. This really needs to be improved going forward."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"It's expensive."
"Room for improvement would only be in the licensing. As with all IBM products the licensing can be complex and expensive. Bargain well and try to get as much discount as possible. Discounts of 85% are possible. Without the discount, I think the product is overrated."
"If your application is just a web app that does not need to scale big, you can obtain a single core license of WAS Express edition, which has almost the same features with limited processing cores. If you manage a very big application farm (i.e. need to run 10 or more WAS servers) it is better to get IBM WAS Hypervisor Edition."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"The price of this product is higher than that of competitors."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"The cost of the WebLogic Suite license is a bit high."
"Technical support is very costly."
"Scaling is costly."
"The product comes bundled with Oracle Premier Support."
"There is a license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
13%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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?
Pricing is not within my department, but there is generally some talk. I do not want to comment, but it is said that the licensing cost for IBM's product is on the higher side. That's what I have b...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
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. Sometim...
What do you like most about WebLogic Suite?
The solution is useful for centralizing data.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WebLogic Suite?
We have an enterprise license, and the pricing is stable. The license does not apply to the current solution.
What needs improvement with WebLogic Suite?
There is no need for improvement with WebLogic Suite, although its coherence is a bit more complicated.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
No data available
 

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
State Revenue Office Victoria, Colab Consulting Pty. Ltd., Reliance Commercial Finance, Center for Railway Information Systems, Sascar, Banca Transilvania, UL, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society, MCB Bank, Pacfico Seguros Generales
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. WebLogic Suite and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.