IBM Cloud Private vs Red Hat OpenShift comparison

IBM and Red Hat are both solutions in the PaaS Clouds category. IBM is ranked #20 with an average rating of 6.3, while Red Hat is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. IBM holds a 0.8% mindshare in PSP, compared to Red Hat’s 12.0% mindshare. Additionally, 60% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Private

Read 5 IBM Cloud Private reviews

505 Views
500 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

Red Hat OpenShift

Read 62 Red Hat OpenShift reviews

11,427 Views
8,342 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Private

Red Hat OpenShift

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Red Hat OpenShift and IBM Cloud Private compete in containerized application management. Data indicates Red Hat OpenShift has an advantage in flexibility and scalability, while IBM Cloud Private excels in integration capabilities and performance.

Features: Red Hat OpenShift includes automation capabilities, comprehensive orchestration tools, and seamless scalability. IBM Cloud Private features robust data integration, high-performance analytics, and powerful security protocols.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Red Hat OpenShift is known for rapid deployment and simplified processes with supportive customer service. IBM Cloud Private, despite a steeper learning curve, offers sophisticated configuration options for complex needs.

Pricing and ROI: Red Hat OpenShift is competitively priced, offering clear ROI with lower setup costs. IBM Cloud Private requires higher initial investment but compensates through advanced functionalities that provide significant returns.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Private vs. Red Hat OpenShift Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Private vs. Red Hat OpenShift

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

IBM Cloud Private

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

20th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Red Hat OpenShift

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Virtualization Software (10th), Container Management (12th), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (7th), Agile and DevOps Services (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Private is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat OpenShift is 12.0%, up from 11.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

PaaS Clouds

Featured Reviews

CristianIriazabal

Architect of solutions at Gire S.A.

A solution that ranks in the top five and integrates well with API Connect

One issue with the solution is latency because there is lag time when we connect from Argentina to IBM's data centers in Washington and Dallas. It would be a benefit to have a data center in Latin America. The solution does not offer many routes over the cloud that are available with other solutions such as AWS which is a leader in the industry.

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Pratul Shukla

Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Adopting a flexible and efficient approach with noticeable improvements in operational costs and continued challenges in job management

Currently, one of the biggest challenges we face is with services and jobs. For spawning batches, although it has crons, it is not easy to integrate with enterprise systems such as Autosys. The entire company uses Autosys, but we are not able to integrate it effectively. We need intermediate servers to run OC utility commands and initiate the cron job. We have to do a lot of modifications to ensure our batches work properly. With physical or virtual servers, even in AWS, we are able to write and manage multiple jobs. Managing batches in Red Hat OpenShift has been a significant challenge. Integrating third parties is a challenge with Red Hat OpenShift. For example, with Elasticsearch, onboarding itself was difficult, running file beats and dealing with routing issues. It is not straightforward, especially since we have some components in AWS as. AWS has many capabilities that come out of the box and are easier to work with compared to Red Hat OpenShift. Red Hat OpenShift's biggest disadvantage is they do not provide any private cloud setup where we can host on our site using their services. The main reason we went with Red Hat OpenShift was because it is a private cloud, and we have regulatory requirements that prevent us from using public cloud.

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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

"The product's framework is good, it integrates well with API Connect, and the private cloud allows for use in any location."

"Excellent technical support."

"Our core banking process was monolithic. To address this, we transitioned to a microservices-based architecture. Leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Terminals version 23, we’ve revamped our banking operations. Not all services are microservices; some remain monolithic for simplicity. Containerization is pivotal, with OpenShift (based on Kubernetes and Docker) managing our microservices."

"The most valuable attribute is the platform's ability to consistently deliver high reliability."

"We have control of the ESXi."

"OpenShift's superior dashboard is a notable strength, especially when compared to Kubernetes."

"The concept of containers and scaling on demand is a feature I appreciate the most about Red Hat OpenShift."

"This solution is providing a platform with OOTB features that are difficult to build from scratch."

"It has features that enhance security, ease of deployment, and service exposure compared to Kubernetes."

"OpenShift offers robust tools for monitoring application traffic, allowing us to analyze client requests and other business-related metrics."

"The developers seem to like the source-to-image feature. That makes it easy for them to deploy an application from code into containers, so they don't have to think about things. They take it straight from their code into a containerized application. If you don't have OpenShift, you have to build the container and then deploy the container to, say, EKS or something like that."

"OpenShift is based on Kubernetes and we try to use all the Kubernetes objects of OpenShift. We don't use features that are specific to OpenShift, except internal certificates for the services. The one feature that is missing from Kubernetes and that is really useful in OpenShift is the lifecycle of the cluster and the ease of installation. We use VMware and VMware integration internally with the OpenShift installer, which is very good. With OpenShift it's easy to spin up or scale out a cluster."

"Valuable features include time to market, avoiding vendor lock-in, and the ease of working in a multi-cloud environment."

More Red Hat OpenShift pros

Cons

"lacking in multi-cloud management."

"One issue with the solution is latency because there is lag time when we connect."

"The support and pricing need to improve."

"Auto-scaling and managing pod scaling in the microservices architecture, a core feature of IBM Cloud Private, can pose challenges, especially when dealing with larger volumes of traffic."

"I've noticed that the satellite services layer requires some improvement compared to platforms like Azure or Microsoft. While it's in development, I believe the satellite layer has room for enhancement. Additionally, the DevOps layer could benefit from closer integrations, especially for using external applications like Jenkins."

"The whole area around the hybrid cloud could be improved. I would like to deploy a Red Hat OpenShift cluster on-premise and on the cloud, then have Red Hat do the entire hybrid cloud management."

"Needs work on volume handling (although this is already better with GlusterFS). Security (SSSD) would also be an improvement."

"There is no orchestration platform in OpenShift."

"The operators need a lot of improvement, with better integrations."

"The monitoring part could be better to monitor the performance."

"The solution only offers support for one server."

"The tool lacks some features to make it compliant with Kubernetes"

"It would be great if it supported Bitbucket repositories too."

More Red Hat OpenShift cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"We pay annual licensing fees."

"In general, the cost is on the higher side."

"We had a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) license for all our servers' operating systems. By having multiple Red Hat products together, you can negotiate costs and leverage on having a sort of enterprise license agreement to reduce the overall outlay or TCO."

"The solution is cost-effective."

"The licensing cost for OpenShift is expensive when compared to other products. RedHat also charges you additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."

"The price depends on the type and the nature of the organizations, along with the types of projects that are of considerable range."

"The pricing for OpenShift includes support and licensing, which costs approximately $400."

"The cost is quite high."

"We are currently using the open version, OKD. We plan to get the enterprise version in the future."

"The product has reasonable pricing."

More Red Hat OpenShift pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Recruiting/Hr Firm

17%

Real Estate/Law Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

University

Financial Services Firm

30%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Private?

Our core banking process was monolithic. To address this, we transitioned to a microservices-based architecture. Leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Terminals version 23, we’ve revamped ou...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Private?

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Private?

I've noticed that the satellite services layer requires some improvement compared to platforms like Azure or Microsoft. While it's in development, I believe the satellite layer has room for enhance...

See all answers

How does OpenShift compare with Amazon AWS?

Open Shift makes managing infrastructure easy because of self-healing and automatic scaling. There is also a wonderful dashboard mechanism to alert us in case the application is over-committing or ...

See all answers

Which would you recommend - Pivotal Cloud Foundry or OpenShift?

Pivotal Cloud Foundry is a cloud-native application platform to simplify app delivery. It is efficient and effective. The best feature is how easy it is to handle external services such as database...

See all answers

What do you like most about OpenShift?

OpenShift facilitates DevOps practices and improves CI/CD workflows in terms of stability compared to Jenkins.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 18% of the time

More IBM Cloud Private Competitors

Pivotal Cloud Foundry vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 15% of the time

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 14% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 13% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 8% of the time

oVirt vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 2% of the time

More Red Hat OpenShift Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

PaaS Clouds

June 2025

Download IBM Cloud Private product report

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat OpenShift

June 2025

Download Red Hat OpenShift product report

Also Known As

ICP

No data available

Overview

IBM Cloud Private is a private cloud platform for developing and running workloads locally. It is an integrated environment that enables you to design, develop, deploy and manage on-premises, containerized cloud applications behind your firewall. It includes the container orchestrator Kubernetes, a private image repository, a management console and monitoring frameworks.

IBM

Red Hat OpenShift offers a robust, scalable platform with strong security and automation, suitable for container orchestration, application deployment, and microservices architecture.

Designed to modernize applications by transitioning from legacy systems to cloud-native environments, Red Hat OpenShift provides powerful CI/CD integration and Kubernetes compatibility. Its security features, multi-cloud support, and source-to-image functionality enhance deployment flexibility. While the GUI offers user-friendly navigation, users benefit from its cloud-agnostic nature and efficient lifecycle management. However, improvements are needed in documentation, configuration complexity, and integration with third-party platforms. Pricing and high resource demands can also be challenging for wider adoption.

What are the key features of Red Hat OpenShift?

Security: Comprehensive security features ensure safe deployments and operations.
Scalability: Auto-scaling and monitoring capabilities cater to high-demand environments.
CI/CD Integration: Seamless integration for efficient continuous deployment processes.
Cloud Compatibility: Supports multi-cloud and on-premise solutions with ease.
GUI: Simplifies platform management and enhances usability.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlined operations reduce time and resource investments.
Enhanced Flexibility: Adapt quickly to changing demands and environments.
Quick Deployment: Fast application deployment supports agile project timelines.
Robust Support: Access to dependable customer support services.

Red Hat OpenShift is strategically implemented for diverse industries focusing on container orchestration and application modernization. Organizations leverage it for migrating applications to cloud-native environments and managing CI/CD pipelines. Its functionality facilitates efficient resource management and microservices architecture adoption, supporting enterprise-level DevOps practices. Users employ it across cloud and on-premises platforms to drive performance improvements.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company

UPS, Cathay Pacific, Hilton

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Private vs. Red Hat OpenShift

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Private vs. Red Hat OpenShift

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