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Digital.ai Agility vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

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

Digital.ai Agility
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
16th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Release Automation (12th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (11th), Value Stream Management Software (5th)
IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Digital.ai Agility is 2.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.7%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)3.7%
Digital.ai Agility2.4%
Other93.9%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

PM
Lead Consultant at Innovation Roots
Collaboration and setup efficiency stand out, though integration and local support need improvement
The solution is excellent for collaboration. From the agility point of view, they have very good sprint functionality, allowing you to set up sprints effectively. For Scrum teams, it is particularly good and easy to set up. With respect to sprints and getting metrics out, such as velocity and related measurements, the functionality is robust. The Scrum boards are particularly effective. Based on my colleague's exploration and setup, I observed how easily the team was able to use it. The integration with that tool was particularly helpful.
LasseMikkonen - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at byte
Has supported highly regulated documentation needs but requires a modernized user experience
I think usability should be improved in IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) as the top priority. If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was introduced, it was already somewhat outdated. Even though it is a professional tool, nowadays people expect at least some level of usability from their tools, regardless of how professional the task is. Additionally, if you want to utilize it on a wide scale in an organization, you need to train every person to use it. There is always a threshold for new users to start using it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With some of the other tools, you have to buy 20 different plugins to get to the same capability that comes with the basic Agility capability."
"It allows my clients to have one central tool to manage their agile projects."
"The solution is excellent for collaboration; from the agility point of view, they have very good sprint functionality, allowing you to set up sprints effectively."
"Agility is highly flexible. It can do much more than what our client is doing with it. They use it in a defined way. Some at that company have a much broader knowledge of agile and SAFe, but they're given applications and a mandated way to work. We had to work within their parameters and provide an accurate transition so the data would be mapped and pushed through."
"For visualization capabilities, the automation capabilities make it possible to support the different personas. The features and capabilities are excellent and come with excellent support."
"It can generate reports showing a burndown chart, burnup chart, and the planned vs actual velocity."
"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."
"The solution is customizable."
"It is relatively easy to use and user-friendly once the setup is complete."
"The tools for requirement capture we have found very useful."
"Everyone in a team can work on the same platform and share the same information."
"The transition to a SaaS-based solution is a distinct advantage."
"The cataloging is a very valuable feature. For a lot of enterprises, they end up not knowing which applications do specific features. The cataloging helps with this. It's not that verbose, but it still gives you allowances to put in more detail."
"At the same time, if you're working from the architect or the designing team you, it's quite easy to manage the resources online."
 

Cons

"In my work as a contractor, it's always frustrating when a client has multiple software applications that don't talk to each other and they all perform the same function. That presents a huge challenge between their IT groups."
"There is room for improvement in getting the analytics portion of the solution more integrated with the rest of it."
"It was not supporting some plugins. We wanted to migrate data that we were already using."
"The machine learning features are a new capability but could be improved. This is being worked by Digital.ai currently. Multicolor simulation, specifically, could be improved."
"Improve how to create and track releases. Currently, I have to create child projects."
"The user interface can be improved by adding Save, Edit, Add, Cancel, and Return buttons to the popup windows that are displayed when you click on a child item."
"If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was introduced, it was already somewhat outdated."
"The reporting functionality needs to be improved."
"One of the complaints from users is that they have to click buttons too many times for just a simple task. Changing this would lead to a better user experience."
"The product must be more user-friendly."
"The stability of IBM Rational ALM could be improved."
"There is not enough beginner support material in the form of FAQs or simple training to help you get started."
"In the next release, we expect a traceability metrics configuration where we can configure the user stories. We also expect them to improve or simplify the query process."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You get what you pay for. Don't let your development teams dictate what the portfolio management team should use as the main tool."
"Comparing the pricing to other products, I think this solution is in the middle."
"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."
"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."
"The solution is not cheap."
"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
16%
Insurance Company
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
22%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Digital.ai Agility?
It was not supporting some plugins. We wanted to migrate data that we were already using. The migration of data and getting it up and running from the legacy system took some time to get accustomed...
What is your primary use case for Digital.ai Agility?
We were explaining how to set up the project itself, which describes the main use cases for Digital.ai Agility. This includes how to set up the workflow and how to manage and build a Kanban. I want...
What advice do you have for others considering Digital.ai Agility?
Digital.ai Agility has a bigger reach because it has many good integration points. It can be a one-stop solution for different needs, eliminating the need to use multiple pieces of software. Howeve...
What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?
I think usability should be improved in IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) as the top priority. If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was i...
What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?
For companies in heavily regulated industries who are doing product development, IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is a good tool. It helps them create documentation that satisfies auditors.
 

Also Known As

VersionOne Lifecycle, VersionOne, CollabNet VersionOne, Digital.ai Continuum
IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Siemens Health Services (HS), Cerner Corporation, Aaron's, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Kelley Blue Book, AOL, Axway, Tideworks, bwin Interactive Entertainment, AG, Intergraph, Eos Group, PeopleCube, Liquid Machines
Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst
Find out what your peers are saying about Digital.ai Agility vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.