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IBM WebSphere BPMS vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 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 BPMS
Ranking in Process Automation
33rd
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pega Platform
Ranking in Process Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (4th), Rapid Application Development Software (6th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere BPMS is 0.1%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 6.4%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

ST
Systematic role management and flexible integration improve efficiency, but low-code capabilities and setup complexity need addressing
The most valuable feature of IBM WebSphere BPMS ( /products/ibm-websphere-bpms-reviews ) is the systematic framework it provides for building different systems. The critical component is the authorization within the workflow assignment, which is an attractive aspect of this tool. It has helped us in systematic role management within the workflow. Additionally, it offers flexible integration capabilities facilitating front-end and back-end separation practices, allowing for technologies like Angular and Spring Boot ( /products/spring-boot-reviews ).
Mallik-Kesavaraju - PeerSpot reviewer
Significantly improves the overall cycle time, and offers robotic automation, and the BPM workflow
The extensive availability of ready-made gadgets in Pega BPM is a double-edged sword. While it offers convenience, it also leads to a steeper learning curve. Our developers and business analysts need to invest significant time and effort to fully understand and utilize the platform's capabilities. In essence, it's a complex product that demands a deep understanding to be used effectively. So, it cuts both ways. This complexity can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, depending on the user's expertise. So, the learning curve is pretty high! So, it's very good if you are a professional user, but you need to be a really good professional user to use this solution effectively.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like the feature in which we can trace back instances."
"This product is flexible in its ability to integrate processes and it can be extended and integrated with other software."
"The UI capabilities of the solution are great. The speed of delivery is good."
"The most valuable feature of IBM WebSphere BPMS is the systematic framework it provides for building different systems."
"The solution provides us with a very good dashboard."
"The most valuable feature is flexibility, as we can configure it to best suit our requirements."
"It allows for a unified platform with features like case management, BPM, service orchestration, low-code development, digital process automation, CRM, and decision-making, all integrated into a single platform."
"Whenever a customer needs to do something, the way Pega designs the whole thing into an easy number of steps makes the flow from the actual intent to the actual final results pretty fast."
"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the various workflows."
"Pricing is a little on the high side."
"One of the key advantages of PegaRULES is its out-of-the-box capabilities, which eliminate the need to build certain functionalities from scratch. For instance, features like "get next" in process flows allow for the seamless continuation of a flow without the requirement of additional activity creation. This serves as an illustration of how existing components can be leveraged rather than starting from scratch. It provides a solid foundation, to begin with, and allows for enhancements at a higher level, making it a beneficial starting point."
"While Pega technical support is okay, it also depends on the issues you need help with and who your contact is with Pega."
 

Cons

"There is a need for more capabilities in low-code and no-code development to increase efficiency and make implementation simpler."
"The solution lacks acceptable stability."
"Sometimes there are tasks that failed without any reason."
"The user interface could be improved, and although integration opportunities are good, they could be improved further."
"There are some UX shortcomings within the solution. However, it's my understanding that they have addressed them and in the next three months they will come out with a new updated version. They will be moving away from HTML5."
"PEGA claims that they provide a LOW-CODE-PLATFORM which is easy to use - even for "citizen developers" (i.e. business employees). If you really want to use all the features out of this platform, you definitely need a lot of experience and a lot of training."
"Robotics could improve, as my learning curve in robotics has been challenging."
"Customers expect more out-of-the-box solutions."
"Lack of stronger cloud support is somewhat inconvenient for users and implementation."
"The UI layer is a concern since it is native to them and embedded into the code."
"It is scalable, but it also interacts with a lot of other systems. I think they thought that the interface to other systems, legacy systems, was its strength, but when problems do occur, quickly diagnosing those problems has been a challenge."
"Pega BPM could improve the UI, it is poorly designed to have a good UX experience."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is cost-effective for medium enterprises. It is cheaper than ServiceNow."
"PegaRULES is a good product, but its pricing is a bit on the premium side, especially for professionals."
"I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."
"They need to come up with licensing options. Right now they do have a cloud-based option, but the cloud prices I've seen are much more expensive compared to competing products."
"The price of Pega BPM falls on the higher side of the spectrum if I were to compare it with other solutions in the market."
"It's a user-based license where, as you scale the numbers of users, the price increases."
"The licensing model for Pega BPM needs to be improved."
"They have both on-premise and cloud licensing. If you are a small to medium company, go for the cloud option because that eliminates a lot of the setting up of your DevTest and performance environments, multiple environments, because you can buy that from Pega with the cloud option. So your setup time really goes down. If you're a large company, then you're better off putting it within your company. You have other skill resources within your company to create environments."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere BPMS?
There is a need for more capabilities in low-code and no-code development to increase efficiency and make implementation simpler. The tool currently involves a complex setup requirement, and having...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere BPMS?
We use IBM WebSphere BPMS ( /products/ibm-websphere-bpms-reviews ) internally in the bank for process automation and management. Our IT department self-builds different systems to serve various use...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM WebSphere BPMS?
I recommend IBM WebSphere BPMS for large enterprises concerned with total system management. It is not ideal for SMB due to its complexity and the need for significant IT resources. I rate it seven...
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

WebSphere BPMS
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Schahin Group, Korean Credit Card Company, Versicherungskammer Bayern, Biogrid Australia
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere BPMS vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.