Likelihood to Recommend IBM Cloud Pak for Applications is clearly suitable for modernizing the WebSphere runtime from the heavy, complex and expensive WAS-ND, and to a lesser extent WAS-base, to the super simple, fast and lightweight WebSphere Liberty runtime. I guarantee, once you start using Liberty you'll never look back. Enough cannot be said about how awesome Transformation Advisor is. The output analysis it produces, along with the migration plan and associated artifacts, considerably simplifies both the decision-making process surrounding modernization and subsequent implementation. Without TA we would've made bad decisions by blindly picking unsuitable apps for moving from WAS to Liberty. Using the results from TA we've excluded multiple WAS apps from our immediate plans to migrate to Liberty, saving time and effort that probably would have resulted in a failed migration. We recently used Transformation Advisor to help us successfully migrate an app from Tomcat to WebSphere Liberty. We needed to make some changes to the Tomcat app, but TA helped highlight these required changes. Without TA I'm not sure we would have succeeded.
Read full review Microsoft Application Server has been incredible this past year during COVID. Previously I would have said that we could go without it, but after this past season, I’m glad we have utilized it. Without having this software set up prior to COVID, we would have been in a tough situation. I mention COVID a lot because we were able to continue our work almost seamlessly this entire year.
Read full review Pros Streamlining Application Development and Deployment Modernizing Existing Applications Read full review Microsoft Application Server has proven to be highly reliable and effective at deploying to all of its clients. Application performance is surprisingly good and responsive even in bandwidth-constrained environments and generally very reliable. All software programs are manageable from a single location, even when bandwidth is limited. Read full review Cons While the licensing is considerably simplified than it used to be, I still find it somewhat confusing. For example, WebSphere Liberty Core has an 8:1 VPC ratio. This is clear when dealing with VMs but it is still not clear to me as to whether we get an 8:1 ratio when running on OpenShift or whether we need to purchase additional OpenShift licenses to support running WebSphere Liberty Core in OpenShift. Not so much related to IBM Cloud Pak for Applications, but while Transformation Advisor is an indispensable tool to help modernize to the WebSphere Liberty runtime, I wish we could run it against WebSphere Liberty itself. The reason being, we are now using TA as a single repository for our configurations. TA also highlights many potential issues when migrating to Liberty; these issues may also be applicable for apps already running in Liberty, we just don't know it yet. Read full review Some security hotfixes and general release updates require restarts. We wish it supported more applications out of the box. Thin client support would be great for MS Application Server. Read full review Usability I have found Microsoft Application Server to be incredibly easy to use. I have used dozens of similar programs and have always struggled to navigate through all the functions. So far I have been able to adapt and learn this software with ease. I rarely run into a problem that I wasn’t easily able to move forward on with a few tips.
Read full review Support Rating Stability is one of the first things we consider when evaluating software. MS Application Server has been rock solid and has reduced the time that our IT staff dedicates to maintaining our legacy applications.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Comparing IBM Cloud
PAK for Applications against alternatives highlights its distinct advantages. Its robust support for hybrid and multi-cloud environments enables unmatched flexibility in application deployment, crucial for businesses seeking to leverage various cloud services. This contrasts with platforms that may limit their focus to a single-cloud approach or offer restricted multi-cloud capabilities.IBM Cloud
PAK 's seamless integration with AI and data analytics, particularly through IBM Watson, provides powerful tools for developing AI-driven applications. This integration is a key differentiator from competitors that might not offer as comprehensive AI and analytics tools, allowing businesses to easily incorporate advanced technologies into their applications.Furthermore, IBM Cloud
PAK for Applications prioritizes ethical AI development and compliance with regulatory standards, aligning with OpenAI’s guidelines. This commitment is essential for organizations that value responsible AI practices and need to adhere to strict privacy and security regulations.The selection of IBM Cloud
PAK for Applications was driven by its holistic approach to application development, offering a blend of flexibility, advanced technological integration, and a commitment to ethical standards, making it a superior choice for businesses focused on innovation while adhering to ethical and legal standards.
Read full review It has a similar feature to what Microsoft Application Server has but at a greater cost and also having to deal with another vendor when we could use a full Microsoft Stack for better training and support.
Read full review Return on Investment We have been able to migrate apps away from the expensive WAS-ND to the more cost-effective WAS-base without throwing away our WAS-ND licenses. With a 1:4 ratio of WAS-ND to WAS-base we've been able to we've been able to save in excess of 75% on licensing charges for these apps. By having a license model based on VPC ratios (1:4:8 - WAS-ND:WAS-base:Liberty core) we've been able to move away from using license pooling resulting in over-allocating (i.e. wasting) CPU cores for each license pool, to using consolidated license pools hosting a combination of WAS-ND, WAS-base and Liberty-core. This has allowed us to reduce our licensing costs accordingly. Read full review Our ROI has been great since it has enabled our IT staff to have a central location to perform application updates which enables us to save time and money. Deployment is very easy since the internal applications that required constant updating are now updated in one central location. It's a lot easier to be within compliance protocols requirements. Read full review ScreenShots