We performed a comparison between erwin Data Modeler by Quest and Visual Paradigm based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Business Process Design solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It's a safeguard for me because I'm always concerned that somebody is free handing it and will forget a key coming from the parent. The migrating keys are a great feature. Identifying relationships, non-identifying relationships, and being visually right there to understand the differences are great features. erwin is key to being able to visually understand whatever the customer is requesting. They'll give you words on a paper, but once they can actually view it as a picture, it really comes to life. The data comes to life to where they understand exactly what they're asking for."
"When you're getting down to the database level, where you're building a design and you're creating DDL out of it, or you're going in the other direction where you're reaching into system catalogs and bringing things back, that starts to really require specialization. Visio isn't going to reverse-engineer that for you. Those features in erwin are valuable."
"Drag-and-drop data modeling and reverse engineering out of databases are the most valuable features of erwin Data Modeler by Quest."
"The most valuable feature is the physical or visual representation of the database, showing the tables, the columns, the foreign keys, and the ability to generate DDL, so you can physically implement databases."
"The solution’s code generation ensures accurate engineering of data sources, as there is no development time. Code doesn't even have to be reviewed. We have been using this solution for so long and all the code which has been generated is accurate with the requirements. Once we generate the DDLs out of the erwin tools, the development team does a quick review of the script line by line. They will just be running the script on the database and looking into other requirements, such as the index. So, there is less effort from development side to create tables or build a database."
"The generation of DDL saved us having to write the steps by hand. You still had to go in and make some minor modifications to make it deployable to the database system. However, for the data lineage, it is very valuable for tracing our use of data, especially personal confidential data through different systems."
"Being able to point it to a database and then pull the metadata is a valuable feature. Another valuable feature is being able to rearrange the model so that we can display it to users. We are able to divide the information into subject areas, and we can divide the data landscape into smaller chunks, which makes it easier to understand. If you had 14 subject areas, 1,000 entities, and 6,000 columns, you can't quite understand it all at once. So, being able to have the same underlying model but only display portions of it at a time is extremely useful."
"It allows us to create logical data models. We can represent a database model in business terms, which is very useful for us."
"Using the Component Diagram, Visual Paradigm helps with design and control, reusing components."
"Stable design software with multiple functions and features. It's simple to install and easy to use."
"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."
"It is easy and intuitive to use, not excessively rigid, and quite flexible."
"Visual Paradigm is super user-friendly, especially for new team members. I always have them start with it because the interface is so simple to pick up. They usually spend about six months to a year using only Visual Paradigm before moving on to other tools. We also use the cloud repository for collaborative work, but I've had some trouble with code reviewing and limitations. Sometimes, customers even request the source file or exported XML because it's easier for them to access and review."
"It is a scalable solution since it can be used at an individual level as well as for enterprise-sized businesses."
"What I like best about Visual Paradigm is its simple GUI, especially since I'm a new user. In my two years of experience with this tool, I didn't find it complex because I was able to learn how to use it via YouTube videos. Visual Paradigm is enough for me. I also find the bridging feature in the tool valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Visual Paradigm is the ability to design form flows, add libraries, create organizational charts, and connect them all together."
"It is not a very stable solution. I rate the stability five out of ten."
"Although Quest Software has made tremendous strides in recent years, they need to evolve more in the big data arena; erwin Data Modeler could use a little more work when it comes to big database designs."
"I would like to see more support for working with the big-data world. There are so many new databases evolving and it's very hard for them to keep up with all of the new technologies. It would be good if they were able to dynamically support big-data platforms, other than Hive and Teradata."
"We are planning to move, in 2021, into their server version, where multiple data modelers can work at the same time and share their models. It has become a pain point to merge the models from individual desktops and get them into a single data model, when multiple data modelers are working on a particular project. It becomes a nightmare for the senior data modeler to bring them together, especially when it comes to recreating them when you want to merge them."
"It would be nice to have it on the Linux platform, not just Windows. If they can support Linux, there would be a huge market for it."
"I would like the solution to be more user-friendly to deploy."
"The reverse engineering in Oracle Databases needs improvement, as there are issues."
"This is a very complex product."
"Takes up a lot of resources."
"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."
"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."
"The solution can improve by updating the user interface, and graphics."
"The solution is not user-friendly. It uses a lot of memory and CPU. You have to have a good computer to use it."
"Visual Paradigm can improve by having better process mining tools and model integration."
"In terms of room for improvement in Visual Paradigm, I tried looking for one. I'm pleased with the tool, but it would be great if you could integrate Visual Paradigm with more tools. For example, when moving from Visual Paradigm to another tool, such as Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, the process could be improved a bit. Still, I wonder if it's not limited by the standards Visual Paradigm follows, such as XMI files. It could be connected to limitations related to the standards rather than a tool limitation. When you move projects from Visual Paradigm into Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect via XMI files, you lose all your notes from the elements, so this is an area for improvement in Visual Paradigm. TOGAF support is an additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Visual Paradigm. I'd also like the tool to have ArchiMate support. If both TOGAF and ArchiMate could be supported in Visual Paradigm and made part of a lower level of licensing or cheaper licensing models, that would be best for me."
"The solution could be more compatible with other products in the future."
erwin Data Modeler by Quest is ranked 9th in Business Process Design with 37 reviews while Visual Paradigm is ranked 7th in Business Process Design with 25 reviews. erwin Data Modeler by Quest is rated 8.6, while Visual Paradigm is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of erwin Data Modeler by Quest writes "The product lets users import different types of models, but it is expensive, and the interface must be improved". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Visual Paradigm writes "Very flexible and easy to use with a good pricing model". erwin Data Modeler by Quest is most compared with SAP PowerDesigner, IDERA ER/Studio, Lucidchart, Visio and No Magic MagicDraw, whereas Visual Paradigm is most compared with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, Visio, Lucidchart, Bizagi and Camunda. See our Visual Paradigm vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest report.
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