TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Atlassian Confluence vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Confluence

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AConfluence is a collaboration and content sharing platform used primarily by customers who are already using Atlassian's Jira project tracking product. The product appeals particularly to IT users.

    $6.40

    per month per user

    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is an end-to-end engineering solution used to manage system requirements to design, workflow, and test management, extending the functionality of ALM tools for better complex-systems development.N/A
    Pricing
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Editions & Modules
    Free
    $0
    Free for 10 Users
    Standard
    $6.40
    per month per user
    Premium
    $12.30
    per month per user
    Data Center
    220,000.00
    40,001+ Users - Annually
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPrices shown here reflect prices for deployments with 100 users or less. The prices decrease wien the user base surpasses 100.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Considered Both Products
    Atlassian
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    Chose IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    JIRA is simpler and much more intuitive, especially when bundled with Confluence. TFS is obvious choice if working with Microsoft technologies and has superb API.
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Although JIRA is getting popular in DevOps team, it does not work well with ITIL model as RTC does. RTC is still widely used for production management in our company.

    CA Service Desk Manager (GSD) is integrated with TPAM which is being used for privilege account management in …
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    An alternative which I have very briefly used is Atlassian's JIRA, which is very similar to IBM RTC, although has a modern UI, feels light-weight and is faster to respond and additionally has seamless integration with Bitbucket, which is a Git platform, and other Atlassian …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    89%
    Would buy again
    95 Answers
    88%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    85 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    98 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    44 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    53 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Atlassian Confluence and IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Feature
    Atlassian Confluence
    5.3
    111 Ratings
    37% below category average
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Task Management6.389 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gantt Charts7.912 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scheduling7.221 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow Automation3.960 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Access3.884 Ratings00 Ratings
    Search5.7109 Ratings00 Ratings
    Visual planning tools2.488 Ratings00 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of Atlassian Confluence and IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Feature
    Atlassian Confluence
    6.9
    111 Ratings
    13% below category average
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Chat6.415 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications5.2109 Ratings00 Ratings
    Discussions3.9103 Ratings00 Ratings
    Surveys7.015 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase7.6103 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts9.37 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook9.610 Ratings00 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Atlassian Confluence and IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Feature
    Atlassian Confluence
    5.9
    111 Ratings
    28% below category average
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Versioning6.494 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video files4.171 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio files3.765 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document collaboration6.5106 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access control8.0104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Advanced security features7.080 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive5.947 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device sync5.550 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    Score7.9 out of 10
    Jama Connect
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Google Keep
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Jama Connect
    Score9.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Likelihood to Recommend
    6.7
    (128 ratings)
    8.8
    (22 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (19 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    6.6
    (15 ratings)
    2.1
    (4 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.4
    (25 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.8
    (4 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ConfluenceIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Atlassian
    I would recommend Atlassian Confluence for companies that want to have internal documentation and minimum governance processes to ensure documentation is useful and doesn't have a lot of duplicated and non-updated content. I wouldn't recommend Atlassian Confluence for companies with a low budget since this product might be a little costly (especially with add-ons).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS former IBM Rational DOORS profits very much from the mighty market position it had till today. It had been the most favored requirement engineering tools suite with the highest investments in the infrastructure concerning hardware, software, and knowledge sources. It was embedded in knowledge sources of test stands, hardware labs, and knowledge database servers. It allowed for some of the highest profit changes and made the fame with it. But the paradigms of requirements engineering change. If not were superseded by completely different approaches for the target solution worlds. The foremost position in the selling tables is unstable if changes are not solved or coped with by the strategist at IBM and their customers. Since the highly successful alternative suits are already at the market, and some are from IBM already the lifecycle for IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS is at the later highs. But the suite is still at the very top and very popular. There are still many problems unsolved and many wishes at the customers to make the use more comfortable and efficient at the overall level. If the time of setting up the software package is passed the adoption get more extended and complicated. There is a lot of work at the stage around and the expertise will be required for a long time from now.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Atlassian
    • Cross product linking - If you use other Atlassian products then Atlassian Confluence is a no-brainer for your source of documentation, knowledge management etc. You can show previews of the linked asset natively E.g. showing a preview of a JIRA ticket in a Atlassian Confluence page.
    • Simple editing - Though the features available may not be super complex right now, this does come with the benefit of making it easy to edit and create documents. Some documentation editors can be overwhelming, Atlassian Confluence is simple and intuitive.
    • Native marketplace - If you want to install add-ons to your Atlassian Confluence space it's really easy. Admins can explore the Atlassian marketplace natively and install them to your instance in a few clicks. You can customise your Atlassian Confluence instance in many different ways using add-ons.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Easy to use with well defined template and user defined fields. New team can setup a project area easily by copying an existing template and adding customized fields for their special needs.
    • It can be used during almost the whole project cycle and give us a better view and control on the projects.
    • Lots of built-in report functions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Atlassian
    • UI Design is very simplistic and basic could make use of more visually interesting colour choices, layout choices, etc.
    • Under the 'Content' menu, it defaults to having a landing page for all L1 and L2 category pages. Meaning as long as the broader content category has a sub-category, it still creates a separate landing page. In my team's case, this often creates blank pages, as we only fill out the page at the lowest sub-category (L3).
    • Hyperlinks are traditionally shown as blue, however, this results into very monotonously blue pages in cases where a lot of information is being linked.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Wireframes are quite basic. If you need intuitive and interactive wireframes to elaborate the requirements. you probably need to define outside the tool and then upload as image.
    • ER (define data dictionaries) modeling is not there.
    • Use case modeling is quite basic. You can visualize the use case and actors relation but the tool does not enforce the rules.
    • Does not support offline work.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Atlassian
    I am confident that Atlassian can come with additional and innovative macros and functions to add value to Confluence. In 6 months, Atlassian transformed a good collaborative tools into a more comprehensive system that can help manage projects and processes, as well as "talk" with other Atlassian products like Jira. We are in fact learning more about Jira to evaluate a possible fit to complement our tool box.
    Read full review
    IBM
    At the moment we are required by contract to continue to use the IBM DOORS software for our current client. Given that it can be expensive, if we were to use it after our current client's needs were met, we would have to secure other projects in order to justify the continued use of the software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Atlassian
    Great for organizing knowledge in a hierarchical format. Seamless for engineering and product teams managing software development. Helps in formatting pages effectively, reducing manual work. Tracks changes well and allows for easy rollbacks. Granular controls for who can view/edit pages. Search function is not great which needs improvement. Hire some google engineers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    The UI is terrible and not intuitive. Users need training in order to complete tasks. Much like SAP, it's not the clearest tool. The tracing feature is especially complicated because you must write the scripts yourself. There is a learning curve. Also, even the setup, installation, and logging in each time takes a considerable amount of time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Atlassian
    I do not recall having outages or applications error so far, very reliable and available.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Atlassian
    We never worked against the tide while using Confluence. Everything loads considerably fast, even media components like videos (hosted on the platform or embed external videos from Youtube, for example). We are not using heavy media components a lot, but in the rare occasion we happen to use one we have no problems whatsoever.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Atlassian
    This rating is specifically for Atlassian's self-help documentation on their website. Often times, it is not robust enough to cover a complex usage of one of their features. Frequently, you can find an answer on the web, but not from Atlassian. Instead, it is usually at a power user group elsewhere on the net.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    It does a basic job and has the potential to complete some robust reporting tasks, however, it really is a clunky piece of software with a terrible user interface that makes using it routinely quite unpleasant. Many of our legacy and maintenance projects still use DOORS but our department and company use many alternatives and are looking for better tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Atlassian
    Overall, I am very satisfied with the initial implementation (and the subsequent upgrades and implementations made over the years).
    This product has never rose to the level of being an major issue at an executive level. It has quietly and valiantly done it's job for our company!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No problems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Atlassian
    We chose Atlassian Confluence over SharePoint because it's much more user-friendly and intuitive. Atlassian Confluence makes collaboration and knowledge sharing easier with its simpler interface and better search. While SharePoint can be powerful, it often feels clunky and complex, making it harder for our team to actually use it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    It was easier to do all the change management-related activities, even configurations were handled very effectively. New process definitions and initiatives made it easier for better project deliverables. Effective resource allocations and better reporting and defect management. The overall cost of the tool is great too and well within budget.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Atlassian
    This tool is very adaptable. So much so we use it for three completely separate projects, in three very different ways.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Atlassian
    • The AI feature which lets me find relevant documents while reading one document is really beneficial.
    • Centralising of knowledge systems is one of the key differentiators for large organisations.
    • As long as folks keep using Google Docs and Atlassian Confluence, there is going to be a challenge in building a continuum.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • If you can setup DOORS to your project, you will experience lower costs.
    • Also, less rework in the project, which means lower times to achieve your milestones.
    • Finally, the cost of setting up a related project is considerably lower, and the estimates obtained in the process are much more precise.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots