Codebeamer vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) comparison

PTC and IBM are both solutions in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category. PTC is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.7, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.5. PTC holds a 9.5% mindshare in ALM, compared to IBM’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of PTC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Codebeamer

Read 16 Codebeamer reviews

3,423 Views
3,355 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Read 19 IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) reviews

1,490 Views
1,475 Comparison Views

76% willing to recommend

Codebeamer

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) and Codebeamer compete in application lifecycle management. IBM ELM leads in enterprise support and integration, while Codebeamer excels in innovation and user-centric features.

Features: IBM ELM offers comprehensive tool integration, robust traceability, and regulatory compliance support. Codebeamer emphasizes flexibility, agile project management, and innovative workflow automation.

Room for Improvement: IBM ELM could improve its complex deployment, enhance user interface flexibility, and streamline its extensive toolset. Codebeamer can enhance its integration with non-industry-specific tools, refine its reporting capabilities, and improve template customization for niche requirements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Codebeamer provides flexible deployment both on-premise and in the cloud, with easy configuration and customization, paired with prompt customer support. IBM ELM, while more complex due to its extensive suite, benefits from IBM's global support network.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ELM involves higher setup costs but offers ROI for enterprises needing comprehensive lifecycle management. Codebeamer offers swift returns for agile teams with a more cost-effective setup focused on customization and rapid deployment.

To learn more, read our detailed Codebeamer vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Codebeamer vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

July 2025

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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

Codebeamer

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

8th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

12th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Codebeamer is 9.5%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.8%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

Featured Reviews

SHRINIVAS ALAGERI

Architect at itcinfotech

Built-in project management modules simplify processes while compatibility improvements are needed

Codebeamer could improve its customization capabilities and integration options. For instance, older versions of PDM Windchill face compatibility issues with newer versions of Codebeamer, requiring users to downgrade Codebeamer to establish integration. The installation on Linux can be tricky, and backward compatibility needs enhancement. Also, Codebeamer struggles with some DevOps integrations and lacks AI features for enhanced user assistance.

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Juergen Albrecht

Managing Director at CCC Systems Engineering Suisse GmbH

Combining tools for effective data analysis while customization and integration need improvement

The most valuable feature is how IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) allows me to present to the customer what the actual software, even hardware, will do. It helps them gain an impression of the complexity of the functionality and find an easier way to decide whether to implement it. A picture says more than one thousand words, which is why I work with the combination of ELM and the specification of DOORS. The automation capabilities I built use column-based scripts for analysis to search, fetch, and transfer information. When I open modules, it automatically analyzes the changes since the last opening by me.

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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

"Codebeamer stands out against competition due to these features."

"CodeBeamer provides full traceability, excellent collaboration, regulatory compliance, and instant reporting with its holistic approach from requirement management to testing."

"One of the most valuable features of Codebeamer is its strong performance."

"Codebeamer is user-friendly"

"Other benefits observed from using Codebeamer include its excellent release management and access management features."

"The biggest advantage of Codebeamer is its ability to directly use built-in project management modules without the need for extensive customization."

"The solution easily replaces IBM DOORS, which no longer offers maintenance in China."

"There is a lot of complexity involved, meaning it can do many things, which can be quite useful."

More Codebeamer pros

"The transition to a SaaS-based solution is a distinct advantage."

"I would rate the stability of this product a nine out of ten."

"IBM Rational ALM is a very good tool. I like the management and traceability features and the test management tool. The latter is not linked with the stories and fixed management. It is really useful, and we can create test plans. We can also test some metrics related to QA."

"It's easy to use."

"Everyone in a team can work on the same platform and share the same information."

"The planning feature is rich with Scrum concepts: Sprint, Sprint retrospective, the rules in the Scrum framework."

"The word emulation and importing is good."

"It helped us contain critical things, like source code and several documents, which is very important to us."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) pros

Cons

"The primary challenge is adapting the standard product to our workflows and specific needs."

"There should be more integration tools available. Although Codebeamer has a substantial amount of integration options with multiple tools, new technologies and software constantly emerge."

"I would like to see more, easily trackable reports."

"We would like to see more industry-specific features that are tailored to the vertical markets."

"One improvement could be to reduce the system or server requirements. For a client with a medium configuration server, Codebeamer did not work initially until the system was upgraded."

"The product's UI is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"Usability needs to be improved."

"Certain areas in Codebeamer could be improved, like addressing small issues, glitches, or bugs."

More Codebeamer cons

"The user interface requires significant improvement as it is overly complex."

"The GUI is a little bit outdated."

"The stability of this solution can be improved."

"The solution can improve in the development area and the customized applications."

"The product must be more user-friendly."

"Of course it would be related to customer experience. The solution is not user friendly at all. It needs an expert to use it, although the reporting feature was okay."

"I would like to see better reporting features. The out-of-box reporting is - I don't want to say limited - but the focus is on the Scrum and Sprint reports. We need more reporting features regarding the history of the work, tracking it more deeply."

"Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some trigger technologies."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is good when compared to similar ALM solutions."

"They're not the most expensive product on the market, but they're not the cheapest either — I'd say codeBeamer ALM is moderately priced."

"Codebeamer is not a cheap solution."

"It is reasonably priced and in accordance with the industry standards."

"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."

"The solution is not cheap."

"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."

"This product is a little expensive and we had to pay extra to have them set it up for us."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. Many of our customers are not using all the features and this could be why our clients feel the price is too high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

32%

Computer Software Company

14%

Healthcare Company

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

24%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

12%

Transportation Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about codeBeamer ALM?

The platform provided the flexibility to expand our business processes, accommodating or altering them to suit the requirements of a changing environment.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for codeBeamer ALM?

Codebeamer is fairly priced against competition. Customers prefer it due to its pricing, scalability, features, functionality, and integration with multiple tools. On a scale of one to ten, I would...

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What needs improvement with codeBeamer ALM?

I feel that Codebeamer's workflow engine is working fine for me as of now, but there are better tools than Codebeamer available. Codebeamer is an old tool, and newer tools such as Jira offer a more...

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What do you like most about IBM Rational ALM?

The solution is customizable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?

Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some trigger technologies. This would provide a visual reminder of changes in a modul...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?

Most of my primary use cases involve the combination of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) ( /products/ibm-engineering-lifecycle-management-elm-reviews ) and DOORS, including both Classic D...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 26% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

Jira vs Codebeamer

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs Codebeamer

Compared 9% of the time

Jama Connect vs Codebeamer

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 16% of the time

Polarion ALM vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 10% of the time

PTC Integrity vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 9% of the time

Atlassian ALM vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Codebeamer

August 2025

Download Codebeamer product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

August 2025

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) report

Download IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) product report

Also Known As

codeBeamer ALM

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS

Overview

codeBeamer ALM is a market-leading Application Lifecycle Management platform. It is holistically integrated, and is packed with features that help you develop better products faster. Scale, monitor, control, and report on your entire development lifecycle conveniently, and comply with safety-critical regulations. Cut development time and costs.

PTC

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management stands out for its robust Agile Scrum planning, lifecycle traceability, and tool management, offering cloud-based configurability and strong collaboration features.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management provides rich capabilities for Agile project management, facilitating requirements and test management, configuration management, and version control. Its integration with IBM Doors supports comprehensive requirements handling, and the cloud-based platform enhances collaborative efficiency across teams. Despite needing advances in user-friendliness and reporting, ELM's global configuration and compliance features make it invaluable in demanding environments.

What are the key features of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management?

Scrum-based planning: Supports Agile methodologies with rich planning tools.
Lifecycle traceability: Offers complete traceability across development stages.
Customizable workflows: Adaptable workflows with Kanban for flexibility.
Git integration: Supports efficient version control and collaboration.
Global Configuration: Manages complex configurations globally.
Compliance and reporting: Ensures robust auditing and comprehensive reporting capabilities.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Collaboration: Enhanced sharing across platforms for seamless teamwork.
Cost-effectiveness: Delivers efficient tools that optimize project spend.
Comprehensive requirement handling: Facilitates detailed requirement management through IBM Doors integration.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management is vital in sectors like automotive and manufacturing, where it implements Agile frameworks to manage requirements, conduct testing, and handle defects. It integrates into development pipelines ensuring live traceability and visibility, supporting critical engineering processes efficiently.

IBM

Sample Customers

Medtronic, Align Technology, Daimler, Samsung, Harman, Dassault

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst

Buyer's Guide

Codebeamer vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

July 2025

Free Report: Codebeamer vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

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