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Endevor vs Gen comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Endevor
Ranking in Mainframe Application Development
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (3rd)
Gen
Ranking in Mainframe Application Development
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Mainframe Application Development category, the mindshare of Endevor is 17.9%, down from 33.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Gen is 9.4%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Application Development Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Endevor17.9%
Gen9.4%
Other72.7%
Mainframe Application Development
 

Featured Reviews

HB
R&D Team Leader at First International Bank of Israel
A highly stable tool for managing mainframe software development projects that require significant expertise
We use the basic feature set of Endevor to control and track all of the sales operations within our company.  It is a very good product that allows safe management of the individual components. The tools are specifically designed for mainframe environments, providing features tailored to the…
IR
Consultant
Full packets enable software implementation on the mainframe and client sides
I rate it eight out of 10. It's just very powerful tool, very powerful product to use. Nowadays, there are a couple of mainframe companies, using mainframe products, so to be honest, I'm not recommending it. Of course, if you have mainframe and you have do something in the mainframe that’s different.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The management and information CA Endevor Software Change Manager provides is very useful"
"We backup people's source code for them."
"Being able to compare versions is helpful."
"The management and information CA Endevor Software Change Manager provides is very useful."
"The flexibility, because I know a lot of the competition pigeonholes you into definitions and character limitations, and Endevor is wide open."
"The source integrity is the most valuable feature."
"It is extremely stable software."
"​Stability has been really good. I have actually never had to open an issue or report an issue since I have been running it.​"
"Advantage Gen greatly enhanced productivity as well as development of solutions in mainframes, Client, and server applications."
"The so-called full packets, so you can develop software and systems using these packets, and implement software on the mainframe side and the client side."
"If you want to be the first in market and you have a short time to generate, or to develop your application, and if you're looking for a platform that supports multiple frameworks, multiple platforms such as mainframe, Java, and .Net, or the others, you need a modelling tool, rather than a language or technology."
"You can easily manage the code, and you can easily find other changes, other group changes, other models, other components."
"Full packets, enable you to develop software and systems using these packets, and implement software on the mainframe side and the client side. You can use the same packets, so it's very powerful."
"It has lived long beyond what people thought was its life expectancy as a product, largely because it is such a quality tool that people can't replace."
"Coding on CA Gen is easy."
"If you’re writing a simple barebones COBOL program, it may take 20-30 hours, but with a solution like this it can be done in around four hours."
 

Cons

"The initial setup can be less complex and has room for improvement."
"I would like to have better integration with other products."
"I would like to have better integration with other products."
"They need to ditch the Eclipse plugin and just make the development environment for Z the standard Eclipse interface.​"
"The solution is very expensive."
"There are a lot of screens in it. The process for moving out my other solutions, it could be more convenient. There are a lot of steps to go through and a lot of screens to go through to get it accomplished."
"While CA is able to react to our requests for new features, I think the downside is they don’t use as much long, or medium term strategy anymore."
"As a release tool, there probably could have been some additional enhancements, but it was effective."
"I cannot use DB2 specifications, DB2 comments, easily."
"If I look into the native COBOL language it can be more efficient, and CA Gen adds what seems to be some unnecessary lines of code; it’s not an apples to apples comparison."
"Nowadays, there are a couple of mainframe companies, using mainframe products, so to be honest, I'm not recommending it."
"The product needs to be well marketed, then adopted. I am not seeing many customers using the product."
"The product needs to be well marketed, then adopted. I am not seeing many customers using the product."
"The weak side is, I cannot use the DB2 specifications, DB2 comments, easily."
"The world is changing, the technologies are changing - COOL:Gen needs to change as well."
"Personally, I think the tool has taken a turn for the worse."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's competitively priced and, as far as I know, it's just an enterprise license. We have found it is worth the money."
"Licensing is fairly simple, you don't need multiple licenses."
"The solution is very expensive."
"It's worth the value. The pricing is fairly good, justifiable for the return on investment."
"Just make sure if you are going to license, ensure you license the right features.​"
"The product is expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Insurance Company
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise39
No data available
 

Also Known As

CA Endevor Software Change Manager, Endevor Software Change Manager, CA Software Change Manager for Mainframe, CA Endevor SCM
CA Gen
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.
Global bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Endevor vs. Gen and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,728 professionals have used our research since 2012.