IBM BPM vs Microsoft System Center comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM BPM and Microsoft System Center based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Infrastructure solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed IBM BPM vs. Microsoft System Center Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It is a very powerful solution.""Its Analytics is the most valuable feature.""Automation is the most valuable feature of IBM BPM.""We have used a lot of out-of-the-box reporting on the process performance metrics. We have been able to make suggested changes to staff for this role or streamlining by eliminate some activities where people were not requiring a lot of work in the first place.""Its workflow and integration with SAP are the most valuable features. It is also a stable solution.""IBM's deployment box is one huge black box. We can create all the services with our own code or without a codebase, however, we have a huge amount of space with practically no limitation.""One of the most notable things is how you can develop use cases with the customers, internal customers, but directly within. The software process model that BPM supports is really exciting in that aspect.""It helps improve your process through continual measurement."

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"The deployment and asset management features are the most valuable. These are the product's main features.""Many processes could be implemented out-of-the-box, and this helped to adopt processes in areas which we lacked.""Step-by-step documentation that clarifies the implementation procedure.""It can generate KPIs and management reports with monthly presentations on activities and updating the environment (success and failure).""The features that I have found most valuable are the ease of configuration and the easy discovery of the environment.""Good for managing and administering the infrastructure.""We like Microsoft System Center's Operations Manager. That is primarily why we use it.""Managment Packs for Microsoft-specific products, help us implement the best practices for each product."

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Cons
"The user experience, while it has improved, should continue to improve.""The options for customization could be improved. More customization using your own code would be beneficial.""IBM BPM's price could be improved.""IBM BPM can improve the dashboards and reports. It only has two dashboards, and reporting is very difficult to build.""The business would like to use the product with a lot less IT and equipment involvement.""The cost of the solution has room for improvement.""Process Server is no more available than new products out there, but in general IBM has a high cost and complex setup.""The price and the overall installation process could be improved."

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"They should have some customized solutions or internal development, then maybe it could be easier to use different solutions or some self-developed solution.""The platform's performance could be improved. Additionally, its UI needs to be well-upgraded and work faster.""Most of the documentation is online, however, there are some gaps there. The product documentation still refers back to the 2012 Server. We're pretty much in 2022. There's a ten-year gap there.""The solution’s pricing could be improved.""The multi-tenancy support needs to be improved. We need to have the ability to manage several different environments from one central point of administration.""The solution's dashboard needs improvement.""System Center hasn't updated to keep up with the industry. It needs improvements in the user interface, ease of use, and overall product functionality, particularly the cloud-monitoring features. It needs more capabilities to monitor AWS and Azure infrastructure.""Implementation and integration in the case of multi-tenant environments needs improvement."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It may be cheaper for organizations to pay for the Viewer licenses that are immediately up and running in the cloud, rather than paying for someone to administer publishing to an intranet."
  • "Starting out with Express can also help reduce the cost for adopting the product."
  • "​We have definitely seen ROI. When we first kicked it off, we said it had to pay for itself within three years, and it did."
  • "It gives us a good return on investment."
  • "We chose to purchase IBM BPM because it was bundled with the actual RPA program/solution that we decided to purchase. We decided to use Automation Anywhere tool (RPA), and it is was bundled with IBM BPM."
  • "Our customers do see ROI. They'll identify some particularly painful or uncoordinated processes to start with, then build out from there, picking off low hanging fruit."
  • "It has a low cost to implement. You'll get your money back in the same year that you complete the project."
  • "The cloud and license of the subscription model for IBM BPM can be complex. There are a lot of alternatives to choose from."
  • More IBM BPM Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We maximized our license investment."
  • "It's rolled into our enterprise subscription. The entire subscription is around $25,000 a year, however, that covers all the products that we use."
  • "On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
  • "Microsoft System Center is quite expensive."
  • "I know that sometimes there is some reduction in the prices of Microsoft System Center because of the costs of Microsoft SQL Server, which can be advantageous."
  • More Microsoft System Center Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:The case management and its integration with process design are good features.
    Top Answer:The product's initial setup phase was easy.
    Top Answer:I know that sometimes there is some reduction in the prices of Microsoft System Center because of the costs of Microsoft SQL Server, which can be advantageous.
    Top Answer:In Microsoft System Center, it is difficult to follow the steps to create dataflows at times. Our company has to use certain steps with SQL to deal with the dataflow area, making it an easy process… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    1,273
    Comparisons
    986
    Reviews
    23
    Average Words per Review
    418
    Rating
    7.7
    Views
    280
    Comparisons
    145
    Reviews
    5
    Average Words per Review
    422
    Rating
    7.8
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
    MS System Center
    Learn More
    Overview

    IBM BPM is a business process management tool that provides a robust set of tools to author, test, and deploy business processes, as well as full visibility and insight to managing those business processes. The solution provides tooling and run time for process design, execution, monitoring, and optimization, along with basic system integration support. To support various levels of complexity and involvement with business process management, there are two different editions of the product: IBM BPM and IBM BPM Express.

    IBM BPM Features

    IBM BPM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Process designer authoring tool
    • Collaborative editing and immediate playback of processes
    • Interactive user interfaces
    • Process rules based on IBM Operational Decision Manager
    • IBM Integration Designer (BPEL and SOA)
    • Designing and building case management systems
    • Process portal
    • Real-time monitoring and reporting
    • Performance analytics and optimizer
    • Performance data warehouse
    • IBM Process Center with a shared asset repository
    • IBM Process Federation Server
    • Built-in enterprise service bus (ESB)
    • Transaction support
    • Integration adapters
    • Network deployment support
    • High availability: clustering and unlimited cores

    IBM BPM Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing IBM BPM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Increased efficiency and cost savings: IBM BPM can help you optimize existing processes and incorporate more structure into the development of new processes by removing process redundancies and bottlenecks.
    • More scalable processes: The solution enables better process execution and workflow automation, which transfers well when scaling processes.
    • Greater transparency: Because IBM BPM’s process automation clearly defines owners for tasks along the process, it provides more transparency and accountability throughout a given process. In turn, this fosters more communication among teams.
    • Less dependency on development teams: IBM BPM offers low-code features which remove potential dependencies on development. Business users can be onboarded onto these tools quickly and easily, thereby increasing process automation across the company.

    Reviews from Real Users

    IBM BPM is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it’s good for developing complex apps, is robust, and has helpful team management and process performance features.

    Zoran C., Owner/CEO at IT SPHERE, says, “It is perfect if you have to develop complex apps without much coding (only java script). It is also good if you don't have much IT resources in your company and would like to involve business analysts in the process of developing apps. My opinion is that it can do about 50% of all developers' work.”

    Suhas V., BPM Architect at GBM, mentions, “Overall the solution is robust and has the ability to integrate with any product for complex workflows."

    A BPM Consultant at a financial services firm comments, "Some of the features that I like the most are team management and process performance. They are both very useful and very powerful with regard to the workflow."

    A Digital Banking & Innovation Director at a financial services firm expresses, “The processing functionality makes it easy to change processes and workflows easily.”

    System Center helps customers realize the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud Platform by delivering unified management. Experience fast time-to-value with out-of-the-box monitoring, provisioning, configuration, automation, protection and self-service.
    Sample Customers
    Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
    Kassen_rztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein, Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Adeka, QualCare, Aeriandi, UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar, Allianz Australia Ltd., Grupo Familia
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm57%
    Computer Software Company17%
    Insurance Company10%
    Real Estate/Law Firm3%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm29%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Retailer6%
    REVIEWERS
    Non Tech Company17%
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company17%
    Healthcare Company8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business17%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise71%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise50%
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM BPM vs. Microsoft System Center
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about IBM BPM vs. Microsoft System Center and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    IBM BPM is ranked 7th in Application Infrastructure with 105 reviews while Microsoft System Center is ranked 14th in Application Infrastructure with 17 reviews. IBM BPM is rated 7.8, while Microsoft System Center is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of IBM BPM writes "Offers good case management and its integration with process design but there's a learning curve". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft System Center writes "Good review of configurations, effective antivirus administration, and has weekly reports". IBM BPM is most compared with Camunda, IBM Business Automation Workflow, Pega BPM, Appian and Apache Airflow, whereas Microsoft System Center is most compared with Oracle SOA Suite. See our IBM BPM vs. Microsoft System Center report.

    See our list of best Application Infrastructure vendors.

    We monitor all Application Infrastructure reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.