CICS VS IBM IMS
As of 4 November 2026, IBM IMS is named by 403 companies and CICS by 309; CICS skews to companies under 200 people (31% vs 34%), IBM IMS to companies over 1,000 (45% 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 IMS 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 IMS: 2–200 employees
- 34%
- CICS: 1,000+ employees
- 50%
- IBM IMS: 1,000+ employees
- 45%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 3.6 · 3.3
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | CICS | share | IBM IMS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 10 | 3% | 8 | 2% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 17 | 6% | 26 | 6% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 35 | 11% | 29 | 7% | CICS |
| 51-200 employees | 45 | 15% | 82 | 20% | IBM IMS |
| 201-500 employees | 25 | 8% | 45 | 11% | IBM IMS |
| 501-1000 employees | 24 | 8% | 32 | 8% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 55 | 18% | 60 | 15% | CICS |
| 5001-10000 employees | 15 | 5% | 24 | 6% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 83 | 27% | 97 | 24% | CICS |
| Segment | CICS | share | IBM IMS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 146 | 47% | 102 | 25% | CICS |
| Business & finance services | 106 | 34% | 80 | 20% | CICS |
| Public, community & associations | 10 | 3% | 20 | 5% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 7 | 2% | 15 | 4% | even |
| Media & content | 7 | 2% | 10 | 2% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 7 | 2% | 10 | 2% | even |
| Manufacturing & industry | 6 | 2% | 62 | 15% | IBM IMS |
| Commerce & trade | 5 | 2% | 17 | 4% | IBM IMS |
| Health care | 5 | 2% | 22 | 5% | IBM IMS |
| Automotive | 3 | 1% | 14 | 3% | IBM IMS |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 3 | 1% | 37 | 9% | IBM IMS |
| Property & construction | 2 | 1% | 10 | 2% | even |
| Segment | CICS | share | IBM IMS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 176 | 57% | 236 | 59% | even |
| France | 18 | 6% | 17 | 4% | even |
| United Kingdom | 11 | 4% | 24 | 6% | IBM IMS |
| Canada | 10 | 3% | 16 | 4% | even |
| Germany | 10 | 3% | 16 | 4% | even |
| Brazil | 6 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Spain | 6 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | 6 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | 5 | 2% | 10 | 2% | even |
| India | 5 | 2% | 11 | 3% | even |
| Portugal | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Argentina | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | – | – | 6 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Denmark | – | – | 5 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Sweden | – | – | 5 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Austria | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Belgium | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | CICS | share | IBM IMS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineering | 824 | 52% | 318 | 19% | CICS |
| IT operations & business systems | 310 | 19% | 262 | 16% | CICS |
| Product, program & project management | 39 | 2% | 133 | 8% | IBM IMS |
| Engineering (non-software) | 9 | 1% | 75 | 4% | IBM IMS |
| Data & AI | 6 | 0% | 24 | 1% | even |
| Sales | 6 | 0% | 36 | 2% | even |
| Customer service & success | 5 | 0% | 19 | 1% | even |
| Logistics warehouse and transport | 5 | 0% | 85 | 5% | IBM IMS |
| Finance & accounting | 4 | 0% | 49 | 3% | IBM IMS |
| Quality, safety & environment | 4 | 0% | 32 | 2% | even |
| Unclassified | 3 | 0% | 4 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 2 | 0% | 48 | 3% | IBM IMS |
| Manufacturing and production | 2 | 0% | 17 | 1% | even |
| Education & training | 1 | 0% | 5 | 0% | even |
| Legal, compliance & risk | 1 | 0% | 9 | 1% | even |
| Healthcare clinical | – | – | 34 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Marketing & communications | – | – | 19 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Business development & strategy | – | – | 17 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Public safety and protective services | – | – | 17 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Skilled trades and field service | – | – | 14 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Construction and civil | – | – | 8 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Healthcare support and caregiving | – | – | 8 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | – | – | 7 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Research and science | – | – | 7 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Social care and community | – | – | 7 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Facilities cleaning and security | – | – | 3 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Agriculture and environment | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Procurement and purchasing | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Arts media and entertainment | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Hospitality and food service | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using CICS →
Companies using IBM IMS →
mainframe midrange ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
IBM IMS is named by 403 companies in job postings and CICS by 309; 132 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/cics-vs-ibm-ims)
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.
CICS vs IBM IMS: questions
Which is more used, CICS or IBM IMS?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, IBM IMS (403) over CICS (309). By website-and-DNS footprint, IBM IMS (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 34% for IBM IMS. 50% of CICS companies have over 1,000 employees, against 45% for IBM IMS.
Do companies run both?
132 companies name both in their postings, usually CICS in marketing and IBM IMS 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.
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