Compare · mainframe midrange

CICS VS IBM i_

As of 4 November 2026, IBM i is named by 1,000 companies and CICS by 309; CICS skews to companies under 200 people (31% vs 22%), IBM i to companies over 1,000 (52% vs 50%).

As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.

The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: CICS's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, IBM i rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.

CICS: 2–200 employees
31%
IBM i: 2–200 employees
22%
CICS: 1,000+ employees
50%
IBM i: 1,000+ employees
52%
Postings per company, 90 days
3.6 · 3.7
Website or DNS footprint
0 · 0
309companies name CICS
1,000companies name IBM i
0name both
1,097 · 3,733postings in 90 days, CICS · IBM i
02 — Side by side

Who chooses which

Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.

By company size
SegmentCICSshareIBM ishareLeans
Self-employed103%131%even
2-10 employees176%394%even
11-50 employees3511%455%CICS
51-200 employees4515%13313%even
201-500 employees258%14014%IBM i
501-1000 employees248%11411%IBM i
1001-5000 employees5518%24324%IBM i
5001-10000 employees155%778%IBM i
10,001+ employees8327%19620%CICS
By industry
SegmentCICSshareIBM ishareLeans
Technology & software14647%12913%CICS
Business & finance services10634%15315%CICS
Public, community & associations103%242%even
Consumer services & leisure72%182%even
Media & content72%––outside top 12
Transport, logistics & rental72%818%IBM i
Manufacturing & industry62%24725%IBM i
Commerce & trade52%16416%IBM i
Health care52%263%even
Automotive31%677%IBM i
Utilities & infrastructure31%192%even
Property & construction21%273%IBM i
Hospitality & travel––182%outside top 12
By country
SegmentCICSshareIBM ishareLeans
United States17657%61461%IBM i
France186%515%even
United Kingdom114%384%even
Canada103%576%IBM i
Germany103%414%even
Brazil62%––outside top 12
Spain62%121%even
Italy62%354%even
Australia52%131%even
India52%101%even
Portugal52%––outside top 12
Argentina41%––outside top 12
Netherlands––101%outside top 12
Belgium––81%outside top 12
Austria––71%outside top 12
Postings by team (share of each tool's postings)
SegmentCICSshareIBM ishareLeans
Software engineering82452%4129%CICS
IT operations & business systems31019%48410%CICS
Product, program & project management392%812%even
Engineering (non-software)91%722%even
Data & AI60%611%even
Sales60%1834%IBM i
Customer service & success50%2114%IBM i
logistics warehouse and transport50%70815%IBM i
Finance & accounting40%4209%IBM i
Quality, safety & environment40%1162%IBM i
Unclassified30%180%even
Administration & office20%972%even
manufacturing and production20%1724%IBM i
Education & training10%60%even
Legal, compliance & risk10%180%even
Retail & store operations––2595%outside top 12
General management & consulting––1613%outside top 12
skilled trades and field service––752%outside top 12
procurement and purchasing––711%outside top 12
hospitality and food service––331%outside top 12
healthcare support and caregiving––230%outside top 12
research and science––130%outside top 12
healthcare clinical––120%outside top 12
Human resources––110%outside top 12
Travel, leisure & events––110%outside top 12
construction and civil––80%outside top 12
Marketing & communications––80%outside top 12
Business development & strategy––70%outside top 12
social care and community––60%outside top 12
arts media and entertainment––20%outside top 12
Cite this

Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.

IBM i is named by 1,000 companies in job postings and CICS by 309; 0 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/cics-vs-ibm-i)
How we know

Read from the source, not self-reported

Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →

  • Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
  • Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
  • SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
  • Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
FAQ

CICS vs IBM i: questions

Which is more used, CICS or IBM i?

By companies naming it in their own job postings, IBM i (1,000) over CICS (309). By website-and-DNS footprint, IBM i (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.

Who chooses CICS?

31% of CICS companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 22% for IBM i. 50% of CICS companies have over 1,000 employees, against 52% for IBM i.

Do companies run both?

0 companies name both in their postings, usually CICS in marketing and IBM i in sales, or during a migration.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.

Companies and people

Get either list your way

The same data as a search, over MCP and the API, as bulk files, or pushed to you as it changes.

Every company on either tool,
with the person who owns it

Filter on CICS or IBM i, and get 1,000 records free.

  1. 01Sign up, no card
  2. 02Connect Claude, ChatGPT or an API key
  3. 03Ask for your market, 1,000 records free