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IBM BPM vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM BPM delivers ROI by optimizing workflows, cutting errors, and reducing issuance time, despite initial costs, within a year.
Sentiment score
7.4
Pega Platform boosts user satisfaction with efficient workflows and rapid ROI, enhancing process efficiency and customer satisfaction.
I estimate that projects take days rather than weeks when using Pega Platform compared to traditional coding.
developer at Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College
Pega Platform has positively impacted my organization, as they were using different technology before and have seen tremendous success and return on investment, so they are very happy.
Pega Lead System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM BPM's customer service is highly rated for responsiveness, despite occasional delays, with quality varying by location and issue complexity.
Sentiment score
6.7
Pega Platform's support is responsive but struggles with complex issues; self-service tools are praised for aiding users.
The customer service is outstanding.
Project Manager at Ora-Tech Systems
We had a contract that provided on-site support, which was very satisfactory.
Compliance Sanctions Senior Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
On a scale from 1 to 10, support deserves a rating of 7 to 8.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
The technical support from Pega is very low, rating a one or two out of ten.
Chief Information Officer at a government with 10,001+ employees
I never needed support from the platform standpoint, but if additional features are required, we have regular meetings with the product team for feedback.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
Pega's technical support team is very helpful.
Quality Assurance Team Lead at Value Labs
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
IBM BPM is scalable, supports large workloads and complex tasks, but scalability varies by architecture, configuration, and concurrent transactions.
Sentiment score
7.5
Pega Platform effectively scales for large enterprises, excelling with solid architecture and integration, despite high-load performance challenges.
The solution has scalability issues; on a scale, I would rate it at eight out of ten.
Project Manager at Ora-Tech Systems
The architecture of the solution offers scalability; we can scale both vertically and horizontally.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
I found IBM BPM to be scalable to a certain level but it struggled with large volumes of concurrent transactions.
Compliance Sanctions Senior Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Currently, big banking providers and insurance providers, even the members for healthcare payers, are using more than millions of operations on a daily or weekly basis.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
IBM BPM is generally stable, with on-premises better than cloud, but faces challenges in migrations and occasionally infrastructure-related issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
Pega Platform is reliable and stable, excelling with large volumes, despite occasional glitches and minor version update disruptions.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM BPM needs better configuration, improved UI, flexibility, enhanced performance, affordability, cloud capabilities, and easier debugging and maintenance.
Pega Platform needs UI customization, better integration, mature AI, cost flexibility, scalability, and improved documentation and support.
Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
IBM BPM also lacks smaller solutions, so I must purchase multiple solutions to start with workflows and applications.
Compliance Sanctions Senior Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
There are negative aspects, such as IBM BPM being quite heavy and not lightweight, and the licensing cost is higher, which has caused some companies to shift away.
Senior Project Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
For customer interactions, while the Pega Platform's AI-based decisioning and predictive analytics are great, the Process AI is not very popular yet, as it works on process data rather than customer data.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
There are always areas for improvement, which they are addressing in every part of the patch releases.
Pega Lead System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Pega introduced Constellation, which allows a user to build a more engaging visual experience.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
 

Setup Cost

IBM BPM is costly with complex licensing, favored by large enterprises, but impractical for small businesses due to high expenses.
Pega Platform's high pricing favors large companies, offering robust features with flexible deployment and licensing options.
SAP is more expensive, but IBM BPM is very expensive.
Compliance Sanctions Senior Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
From a licensing perspective, it is higher than the competition.
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The pricing is expensive, and this is an issue.
Chief Information Officer at a government with 10,001+ employees
Pega is priced higher than open-source options like Flowable but is suitable for large-scale industries like banking and insurance.
Quality Assurance Team Lead at Value Labs
 

Valuable Features

IBM BPM enhances business efficiency with robust process execution, integration, responsive UI, automation, and comprehensive management tools.
Pega Platform's low-code environment offers rapid prototyping, scalable automation, and streamlined digital transformation for diverse industries.
Coordination across data silos is effective, and IBM BPM can be used for that purpose.
Senior Project Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent.
Compliance Sanctions Senior Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
With Pega Platform, the development process becomes faster. For example, coding an application can take a couple of weeks or months but can be done in weeks using Pega Platform.
developer at Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College
Management capabilities such as dashboards.
Quality Assurance Team Lead at Value Labs
Pega Platform is excellent for enterprise-level solutions with integrations to entire systems, including case management, service orchestration, CRM, decision-making capabilities, digital process automation, and AI-driven functionalities.
MEA Head at Aaseya IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM BPM
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
5th
Ranking in Process Automation
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (6th)
Pega Platform
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
4th
Ranking in Process Automation
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (8th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (7th), AI Software Development (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of IBM BPM is 4.1%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 3.9%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pega Platform3.9%
IBM BPM4.1%
Other92.0%
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise72
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

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.
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM BPM vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.