ARIS BPA Reviews

Name: ARIS BPA
Brand: Software AG
Rating: 4.1 (65 reviews)

Vendor: Software AG

4.1 out of 5

65 reviews
88% willing to recommend

3,542 followers

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What is ARIS BPA?

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

Get the ARIS BPA Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about ARIS BPA, Camunda, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and more!

ARIS BPA is the #4 ranked solution in Business Process Design tools and #6 ranked solution in BPM Software. PeerSpot users give ARIS BPA an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 65 most recent ARIS BPA reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 6.8. ARIS BPA is most commonly compared to Camunda: ARIS BPA vs Camunda. ARIS BPA is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 67% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 16% of all views.

Helped 829,634 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Libor Černý

Process manager at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

From the start, there were some difficulties on how to create outputs since there wasn't a repository tool in version 6. However, in version 7, there has been a tool for creating standards for a company, and that tool has been very intuitive. While I have been using this tool for several years, other people just starting to use it find the learning curve steep. This tool is very robust and accommodates many roles, where people can participate from compliance, IT designers, etc. This can create problems for users who have no experience with similar tools. It took me a year before I felt comfortable with this tool, because when I came from university it was the first or second tool that I worked on. It took me a year to run every feature or use it for every possibility since this tool is very robust. We sometimes have to create the link to the server and the repository twice because it is deleted once for some unknown reason. Though, this is not a big problem. There should be a more intuitive tool when creating reports.

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Laurent Salembier

DSI Functions Support at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees

In my previous company, we used ARIS to document local processes in different countries. It helped us to identify what were the main differences in terms of processes, identify best practices, and give visibility to everyone in the company into what those best practices are. ARIS gives us a place where we can have a single source of truth. Instead of having business processes documented in different software, in Word or in PowerPoint, and described in different ways, ARIS provides a framework and a central repository where we can find that single source of truth. It gives us a consistent content structure for all processes. This is something that is very valuable. In that way, indirectly, it saves us time when looking for that single source of truth. It's an enterprise application that is used by many people across our organization: the business process owners, the data owners, and the IT owners. And they are enriching the content. It is also used by anyone in the company who wants to look at our standards. The solution has also provided us with capabilities we didn't know we needed until we had them. One of the functionalities that I really like is the ability to use ARIS for application portfolio management. In addition to our applications, we have also stored, in ARIS, the footprint of where those applications have been implemented. That means we know in which country a given application has been implemented. With embedded geolocation, we have a very visual world map, where we can see the footprint of each application.

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Keith Bohanna

Head of Group BPM Standards at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The areas of ARIS where we see room for improvement are actually related to the background services that support it. Over the last number of years, Software AG has moved from an on-premises solution into deploying a SaaS solution to their enterprise base. That has been really successful from my point of view, as I have been a customer of ARIS, managing the relationship, for a couple years. Certain support functions around the knowledge base, customer service, and the information available on modules within the core ARIS component are lagging behind the SaaS movement. Traditionally, enterprise software is sold by sales people pitching to customers individually. Once you move into the SAAS environment, everything becomes more digital, and they haven't yet fully moved into that space.

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ARIS BPA mindshare

Product category:

As of January 2025, the mindshare of ARIS BPA in the Business Process Design category stands at 8.1%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Business Process Design	Jan 8, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jan 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	ARIS BPA vs Visio	Jan 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	ARIS BPA vs Camunda	Jan 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	ARIS BPA vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	Jan 8, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Camunda	4.1	12.3%	89%	77 interviews Add to research
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	3.9	11.5%	87%	99 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

ARIS BPA's most valuable features include its focus on business users and management for process modeling and analysis, a centralized repository for end-to-end business integration, and advanced reporting capabilities. It supports multiple modeling notations like EPC and BPMN and allows flexible customization and collaboration. Users appreciate its intuitive interface and robust data integration, enabling seamless process management and enterprise alignment. The repository provides a unified view, enhancing decision-making and strategic alignment.

"We chose ARIS because of its good reputation and familiarity with Software AG Tools."
"ARIS has a good collaboration function. You create a portal where any authorized users can work on the models. There are simple flows for making and approving changes."
"The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting."

Room for Improvement

ARIS BPA struggles with high complexity and costs, limited integration capabilities, and a lack of user-friendliness. Its interface needs enhancement, and technical integration with third-party tools is challenging due to the absence of external APIs. Users often find scripting difficult, and the onboarding process requires simplification. Additionally, the tool's real-time data analytics, governance, and process execution functionalities need improvement, while better customization options and intuitive reporting features are desired.

"Improvement should be made as per customer requirements."
"ARIS needs to make a better user interface. The user interface sucks.The problem with ARIS is that they have two interfaces for the same product."
"ARIS BPA is not really a platform that offers you the opportunity to execute processes that you model."

ROI

ARIS BPA requires at least 1.5 years to see ROI and is valued for improving quality and operational resilience. It's widely adopted and helps organizations save time and manage processes. It supports business growth by providing insights and control, facilitating process transparency, and acting as a single source of truth. Stakeholders benefit from reduced time-to-market, enhanced communication, and minimized bottlenecks. The financial return is difficult to measure, though substantial cost savings and time efficiency are observed.

Pricing

Enterprise users of ARIS BPA report that the solution is generally expensive, with complex licensing models tailored to various needs. While pricing can be on the higher side, it is considered a worthwhile investment for large organizations seeking comprehensive business process analysis tools. Customers are advised to negotiate and select licenses carefully since costs can vary significantly based on company size and specific requirements. A relationship manager is available to assist during the purchasing process.

"Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay."
"ARIS has different licensing mechanisms for different modules, but they are perpetual licenses. So you pay once."
"The product is inexpensive."

Popular Use Cases

ARIS BPA is primarily used as an enterprise architect tool for process modeling, analysis, and documentation. It supports BPMN for business process frameworks, risk management, process improvement, and digital transformation. Organizations use it to capture, analyze, and simulate processes, manage IT landscapes, govern compliance, and optimize operations. It is essential for enterprise process management, internal control, non-financial risk evaluation, and integration with systems like SAP.

Service and Support

ARIS BPA technical support is rated highly, with improvements noted over time. Customers appreciate prompt responses and 24-hour availability for major issues. While most feedback is positive, some find support inconsistent and suggest enhancements in communication and documentation. The partner support could use more focus. Despite some challenges, many find support helpful and knowledgeable, often seeking feedback to improve. User forums and community networks provide additional assistance, although some express difficulties with complex issues.

Deployment

ARIS BPA is generally easy to set up, especially for basic installations. Organizations find the initial setup straightforward with the help of wizards, though advanced setups can be costly and require experienced personnel. While initial deployments are manageable, complexities arise with technical configurations, especially in larger companies or when integrating additional modules. Training and planning are crucial for success. Some users face challenges with cloud deployments and security configurations, but overall, experienced users report a seamless setup experience.

Scalability

ARIS BPA offers high scalability, according to users. They view its architecture as capable of handling growth. Some found it costly but acknowledged its functionality for expanding use over time. The cloud-based deployment enhances scalability for enterprises. Users appreciate the ability to start small and increase usage as needed. Its modular system adapts to various requirements. Many express satisfaction with its capacity for large-scale deployment, and it is regarded positively for enterprise-level use.

Stability

ARIS BPA is generally stable, though some face challenges in large-scale environments and with certain versions. Stability often depends on network conditions, with cloud hosting proving more reliable. While most report no issues, earlier versions and the Java client have been problematic for some. Stability has improved with recent updates, ensuring minimal maintenance and providing good support, though a few encounter minor bugs and require specific system configurations.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our ARIS BPA Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Retailer

Construction Company

Insurance Company

University

Hospitality Company

Educational Organization

Healthcare Company

Transportation Company

Comms Service Provider

Media Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Logistics Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Consumer Goods Company

Non Profit

Legal Firm

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

Compare ARIS BPA with alternative products

Learn more about ARIS BPA

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market
Easy to use
Covers business & IT architecture from all angles
Full flexibility and >100 diagram types
Customer-driven development based on best practices
Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

ARIS BPA was previously known as ARIS, ARIS BPM.

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ARIS BPA customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.