BMC AMI DevX vs CA IDMS comparison

BMC and Broadcom are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. BMC is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #27. BMC holds a 1.8% mindshare in DDM, compared to Broadcom’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

BMC AMI DevX

Read 20 BMC AMI DevX reviews

6,230 Views
810 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

CA IDMS

Read 5 CA IDMS reviews

933 Views
569 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

BMC AMI DevX

CA IDMS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

CA IDMS and BMC AMI DevX are competing in the enterprise software market for mainframe environments. BMC AMI DevX is generally seen as having an upper hand due to its extensive feature set offering better value for its price.

Features: CA IDMS offers strong data storage capabilities, efficient transaction processing, and a cohesive database management environment. BMC AMI DevX features include application lifecycle management, modern development interfaces, and continuous integration tools, focusing on flexibility and development methodologies.

Room for Improvement: CA IDMS could enhance its modern development support, improve integration with cloud-based services, and expand its analytics capabilities. BMC AMI DevX might benefit from simplifying its initial setup, improving legacy application support, and offering more cost-effective pricing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CA IDMS provides a straightforward setup with reliable customer service for smooth operation. BMC AMI DevX focuses on agile implementation with dedicated support and advanced automation options to streamline deployment.

Pricing and ROI: CA IDMS is known for its competitive setup cost and stable ROI due to data management efficiency. BMC AMI DevX may have higher initial costs but offers strong ROI through advanced features that enhance productivity.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS

April 2026

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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

BMC AMI DevX

Ranking in Database Development and Management

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Configuration Management (1st), Debugging (6th), Mainframe Application Development (1st), Test Data Management (5th), Mainframe Testing Tools (1st), Data Masking (4th), AI Software Development (217th)

CA IDMS

Ranking in Database Development and Management

27th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC AMI DevX is 1.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
BMC AMI DevX	1.8%
CA IDMS	1.3%
Other	96.9%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

Abulfazal Irfan

Devops Engineer / Ispw Admin at a insurance company with 201-500 employees

Tight deployment controls have secured production and simplified complex release rollbacks

The best feature of BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline that impresses me is the fallback functionality. The fallback functionality impresses me because when developers deploy large releases involving multiple components, such as COBOL programs, underlying copy books, and CICS modules, backing out changes would typically become a nightmare. With ISPW, developers can back out the entire release or entire package. If they deployed 100 components and want to back out everything, they can do so with one function and back out all components without worrying about backing out each individual component. They can back out the entire deployment set, which handles everything and brings them back to the previous versions. Developers can also selectively back out a subset of the deployed components. They also have the ability to revert to not just the most previous version but can go back several versions if they choose to do so. This gives them a lot of flexibility.

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Alfredo Silva

ALiBS Solutions at ALiBS Solutions

Helps us to manage user profiles very quickly and in an assertive way

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10. I would advise that they should evaluate other possibilities because this is a very quickly changing environment and there are other possible providers that have good solutions. I would do some kind of test. I would test other possible solutions too and compare them.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a modernized development portal and helps reduce the learning curve for younger people coming in to work on the platform."

"It's a modernized development portal and helps reduce the learning curve for younger people coming in to work on the platform,"

"Once we got the configurations and deployment rolled out, it was very stable. I haven't had any major issues with Eclipse or the Topaz Workbench plugins."

"One of the features that the developers like is that they can retrieve what they need with the tool. They don't have to go through some process or request something be done by another team. They can get the programs they need, compile them, retrieve the JCL and alter the JCL if they need to, and put these programs wherever they need to go for their testing."

"I have worked with DB2's great features in the last five years. The IDAA feature transformed the vision of warehousing, business analytics, and big data at my bank. Besides the mainframe, I saw that this solution was evolutionary. It gives real-time information."

"With the use of ISPW, we were able to reduce our deployment time for specific applications by utilizing the auto-deploy features."

"I like that Compuware File-AID can actually map out control sections within load modules, or, as they're now known, program objects."

"I think the most valuable features are code management, code deployment, and code generation. The fact that those three features are included makes BMC Compuware ISPW a robust product. If one of those features was missing, it would be less robust and less interesting. But because it has those three features, it is a very good solution for code development and management."

More BMC AMI DevX pros

"It is a really stable platform. It has been around for many years. We trust it implicitly. "

"Technical support is very good. They are very knowledgeable, very quick to respond, and very nice people, too."

"Stability is perfect! It is a really stable platform; it has been around for many years, and we trust it implicitly."

"We've been able to fine tune it over the years to get really good performance out of it, and maintain some database network support."

"The solution is the community - a tightly knit group of experts who have been working on the product set for many years."

"The most useful feature is the governance feature, because it can show us and help us to manage user profiles very quickly and using it in assertive way."

"The most valuable feature is the performance of the database; it's very efficient at what it does, quite reliable, and provides us with a very stable platform that we've been running for many years."

"The most useful feature is the governance feature, because it can show us and help us to manage user profiles very quickly and in an assertive way."

Cons

"It would be good if the vendors would work together or at least have some collaboration between them, so they would know what would work and what wouldn't work. Right now, the way things are working, they're relying on the customer to make everything work."

"One thing I would really like to see some improvement on is the promotion diagnostic messages. It invokes utilities "under the covers" to copy components, and it does not echo back any of the error messages from those utilities."

"The solution could be improved by being better integrated with the open world. In the next release, I would like to have the ability to work in an open environment whilst remaining integrated with the legacy environment."

"DB2 is a hard tool to grasp. It's hard for users to learn how to use it. It's not easy to see how it works."

"There are some features that are not well documented, so documentation could use a little help, on things like setting up deployment and which structures in the database correspond to which tables."

"The ability to edit source code that has special characters is limited. The ability to incorporate or convert REXX into macros that are usable under the Topaz software is not there. And the REXX macros that I have developed over 40 years of work are useless, so I have a toolbox I can't use or deploy using the Topaz technology, while I can use it under MVS."

"The ability to incorporate or convert REXX into macros that are usable under the Topaz software is not there, and the REXX macros that I have developed over 40 years of work are useless, so I have a toolbox I can't use or deploy using the Topaz technology, while I can use it under MVS."

"Better discussions to identify inventory prior to the start of any migration would be helpful for potential clients that have applications with code that is not modified often."

More BMC AMI DevX cons

"Right now, it's not easy to start using this solution. You have to take a long course and train people."

"Right now, it's not easy to start using this solution. You have to take long course and train people. It's not an easy path."

"I would like to see it made simpler to operate and maintain."

"I'd like to see some of the installation, maintenance, and support functions simplified so that some of our younger, newer members can take advantage of the product and maintain it to the same standard that the older members have in the past."

"We have to use DB2 when we need more relational constructs, expanded inquiry and reporting; so it's not perfect in that regards."

"We need to make it much easier to support and maintain, because the skills required are quite specialized and we're not going to have people in the future who've got the necessary experience and knowledge."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In general, Compuware tools are very competitive."

"It has saved our developers time and effort when working on documentation, which is now more readable and fluent."

"I like the seat-based licensing much more than MSU-based licensing, and that the cost has been competitive."

"The price point is great."

"The only thing I would mention related to the licensing and/or the pricing, is that they have some visualization features in there that are licensed by concurrent users. We're starting to trip up on that. We're looking to probably increase the number of concurrent licenses that we have. But those types of licensing strategies, where they license by concurrent users or the number of seats is confusing for some people. They don't understand why it works sometimes and doesn't work other times."

"In terms of pricing, there isn't an extra charge for the parts of it we use. It comes with the licenses we purchased for other products, so no complaints there. The licensing is built in with the other products that you purchase from Compuware."

"Do not hold back on asking questions about the maintenance and continued support of the product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Insurance Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Marketing Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Compuware Topaz Enterprise Data?

I don't directly deal with the pricing side of the solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BMC Compuware Topaz Enterprise Data?

It's a very complicated tool. Sometimes the customer wants better, faster transaction times. They want the solution to move as fast as possible. We're trying to scale and grow our application with ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for BMC Compuware Topaz Enterprise Data?

We do development for our customers and we use Topaz to do backend systems for some Latin American banks. It's for enterprise data. It runs on AWS. I'm working on performance testing to do batch pe...

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Comparisons

Endevor vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 9% of the time

IBM File Manager vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 6% of the time

Broadcom Test Data Manager vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 5% of the time

InterTest vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 4% of the time

Informatica Test Data Management (TDM) vs BMC AMI DevX

Compared 3% of the time

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IBM IMS vs CA IDMS

Compared 23% of the time

CA Datacom vs CA IDMS

Compared 20% of the time

Spotlight vs CA IDMS

Compared 14% of the time

Adabas vs CA IDMS

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Coherence vs CA IDMS

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX

May 2026

Download BMC AMI DevX product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

April 2026

Download CA IDMS product report

Also Known As

File-AID, Data for Db2, Code Debug, Data Studio, Workbench for Eclipse, Code Pipeline

IDMS

Overview

BMC AMI DevX is a comprehensive solution enhancing code management and testing efficiency. It offers debugging capabilities within financial applications and integrates data management seamlessly, serving major banking sectors with reliable performance.

AMI DevX is tailored for banking industries, optimizing application debugging in COBOL and enhancing data handling in robust financial systems. It simplifies mainframe data management with real-time insights, improving efficiency through editing and cloning functionalities. The tool's integration with Compuware File-AID for IMS and DB2 ensures streamlined development processes. Challenges include a steep DB2 learning curve and initial setup complexities, with technical support inconsistencies and steep pricing impacting affordability. Despite this, its valuable features significantly support large banking operations.

What features make BMC AMI DevX valuable?

Line-by-Line Code Debugging: Allows precise identification and rectification of issues.
Variable Change & Line Skipping: Flexibility in testing without recompiling.
Database-Independent Testing: No need for loading databases during testing.
Real-Time Data Insights: Enhances decision-making with immediate information.
Data Warehousing & Analytics: Facilitates comprehensive data analysis.
Integration & Formatting: Streamlines development by simplifying data processes.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Improved Efficiency: Streamline data management and editing capabilities.
Robust Debugging: Effective in both online and batch COBOL program debugging.
Enhanced Financial Application Support: Superior handling in grants and loans applications.
Comprehensive Testing: Enables creation of clone test files for thorough testing.

In large banking sectors, BMC AMI DevX is integral for grants and loans-related applications. Its robust nature supports financial systems, offering debugging for COBOL, updating data in Compuware File-AID for IMS, and integrating DB2. Users implement this for exceptional data management and application reliability.

BMC

CA IDMS is a robust database management system known for its reliability in handling high-volume transactions. It serves as a proven enterprise solution providing cost-effective data management for large organizations.

CA IDMS is optimized for environments requiring consistent performance under heavy transaction loads. Its architecture facilitates integration with modern applications, ensuring data availability and integrity. Often chosen by large enterprises, it's particularly beneficial for businesses needing scalable and dependable database solutions. CA IDMS supports extensive data models, allowing organizations to capture complex relationships efficiently.

What are the key features of CA IDMS?

High Performance: Ensures stable operation under demanding workloads.
Reliability: Provides consistent uptime and robust data protection.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing data and transaction volumes.
Security: Strong measures to protect data integrity and privacy.
Integration: Compatible with emerging technologies and applications.

What benefits and ROI should one expect from CA IDMS?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs with low maintenance requirements.
Enhanced Data Management: Simplifies complex data handling processes.
Business Continuity: Minimizes downtime ensuring seamless business operations.
Adaptability: Aligns with evolving technology needs without significant overhauls.

CA IDMS finds implementation in industries such as finance, healthcare, and government where data integrity and high availability are critical. Its role is essential in legacy systems that require modernization while maintaining operational reliability, providing a reliable backbone to IT infrastructures facing modernization challenges.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Helvetia, The IMT Group, Hapag-Lloyd, Royal Bank of Canada, Chunghwa Telecom

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.

Buyer's Guide

BMC AMI DevX vs. CA IDMS

April 2026

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