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Apache Web Server vs IBM BPM 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

Apache Web Server
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM BPM
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (5th), Process Automation (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Apache Web Server is 11.0%, up from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM BPM is 3.3%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Web Server11.0%
IBM BPM3.3%
Other85.7%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Dimitrios Zigkos - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architect at Smals vzw
Faced limitations with integration and long-term adaptability but benefited from a lightweight architecture for standalone applications
I find valuable and beneficial the independence that comes with Apache Web Server. You can build a small project using a simple application server without bothering too much about how to manage it. The compatibility with multiple operating systems has helped my operations since most of the time we use Linux. Some systems rely on Windows, but they are few; in the past, Windows was the dominant operating system for mainstream PCs and infrastructure, but not for business. All the companies I worked for had 90% Linux and maybe up to 10% Windows. The initial setup of Apache Web Server was straightforward and okay.
Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
Automation platforms streamline processes and offer flexibility, but AI integration and version upgrades pose challenges
In the technology world, there is always room for improvement. Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models. Although IBM BPM is a substantial product, adopting and integrating new technologies quickly is not easy due to the migration and upgrade paths involved. Every time new versions are released, we face business and production challenges that make rapid adoption challenging. The main concern bothering me today regarding IBM BPM is the integration of AI components.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is more secure to use Apache and you will have fewer problems than other web services."
"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."
"The open-source nature is one of its most significant advantages."
"Apache Web Server can be used as a proxy server"
"The product is very cheap and stable."
"Apache has proven to be incredibly reliable, and everything has operated smoothly without encountering any issues."
"Apache Web Server effectively runs any web application, including Java-based applications, and includes Apache Tomcat server, which is crucial."
"Its community is its most valuable feature. Solving problems is easier on Apache because so many people know this product."
"We can scale by increasing the infrastructure which is currently running."
"The most valuable features come in the bundle, the design process, creating services, creating BPDs, creating coaches, and UI/UX."
"With the Process Center, I can go to one place and view what all the environments are doing."
"Automating the whole workflow process to give our data steward the ability to take actions rapidly, and making sure we have all the data synced within the different platforms that we are using."
"It makes the company business processes work more efficiently."
"IBM BPM should become cloud-native. It should also add a cloud deployment feature."
"I think the best way it can be it improved, is to make it easier to install. It's a very complicated piece of software, and there are a lot of things you have to do to get it set up. It's not just running an installer. You install WebSphere. You install the BPM product, and there's a large host of other steps you have to do: run queries against the database, you have to manually configure a bunch of properties files for your environment. I think if they could streamline all that, so it wasn't a considerable effort to install, that would be very useful. Because from an engineering point of view, you want to spend as little time as possible actually installing a product."
"The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent."
 

Cons

"There isn't a dedicated customer support available"
"I want the user interface to be more user-friendly."
"For NGINX, I think it has NGINX Management Suite, which is GUI-based and allows you to manage your configuration via the user interface, but Apache fails to offer such capabilities to users."
"The major issue occurs with ports. So, I would like to see easier port management."
"Adding a reverse proxy to Apache Web Server would be a significant improvement."
"In future releases, I would like to see better server optimization."
"By optimizing the infrastructure to allow the webserver to directly handle queries from memory—particularly by prioritizing the storage of queries in memory and processing them through the web server interface—I could potentially cut down the required instances from five hundred to two hundred."
"I would like to see improvements in the functionality and core of Apache Web Server, focusing on building an infrastructure that can be resilient and robust enough to handle resource shortages, and fast enough in edge cases without crashing under too much traffic during spikes."
"The engine itself tends to accumulate a lot of data that needs to be cleaned up, and that's the kind of thing that keeps it from, in some scenarios, scaling as much as it needs to. And then, when you're building solutions, if you're not careful to keep the screens from being associated with too much data, if you're going to just do things the way that a lot of people would just assume that they can do, without having experience of having made those mistakes before, it will accumulate a lot of data, and that will cause it to perform very badly."
"The solution has scalability issues; on a scale, I would rate it at eight out of ten."
"Our developers are complaining that it's too complex to maintain."
"It needs more customization. We like to customize the screens to show more things related to our company."
"IBM BPM's UI is an area with shortcomings where improvements are required."
"IBM BPM uses JavaScript as a programming language for the server-side. I don’t know why it’s not Java, as it’s more powerful and the JavaScript part is translated into Java anyway."
"It is a rather thick stack because you have to have WebSphere skills, IBM BPM skills, and an understanding of how the product runs on WebSphere. A lot of this will start to get a lot easier as they put it in containers, which will allow the platform to manage itself in some regards."
"I suggest establishing a developer forum for better communication and issue resolution. Also, the administration panel could be improved for task management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no licensing cost for the product."
"It is a free-of-cost solution."
"The apache software is free, open-source."
"It is an open-source solution."
"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
"Starting out with Express can also help reduce the cost for adopting the product."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a ten."
"Due to its extensive features and capabilities, the product pricing is more aligned with medium—to large enterprises."
"Price wise, IBM BPM is cheaper than other similar solutions and has excellent pricing."
"I already compared some solutions related to business process management, and I saw that the cost of IBM BPM is more expensive compared with that of Camunda, for example."
"It has a low cost to implement. You'll get your money back in the same year that you complete the project."
"I wish it was less expensive. I don't know why their pricing model is so high for a piece of software that could benefit so many. It just seems to me that they could have a lower cost, maybe with fewer features or whatever, but it should be possible to do a lower cost workflow software that uses the same interface and underlying engine but does not cost so much that you have to be a Fortune 50 company to buy it. It is annoying to me. There are a lot of solutions that IBM has that are really powerful but nobody can afford them. They know their business, but I still feel that there are a lot of customers who would benefit from this sort of thing. I don't know what this elitism is all about. I am sure they have people doing the money numbers, but it seems like you can make a lot more money by selling it to way more people for a little bit less."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise72
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Web Server?
The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Web Server?
There are no fees associated with the usage of Apache Web Server in my projects. If you want to have support, then there is some cost, but today I do not know how many companies pay for that servic...
What needs improvement with Apache Web Server?
I would like to see improvements in the functionality and core of Apache Web Server, focusing on building an infrastructure that can be resilient and robust enough to handle resource shortages, and...
Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
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 en...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
 

Also Known As

Apache HTTP Server
WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco, Intuit, General Electric, Adobe, VMware, PayPal, HP, EMC, eBay, Apple, SAP, Qualcomm, SanDisk, Allstate, FedEx
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Web Server vs. IBM BPM and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.