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Toni Ojanaho - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP Senior Consultant at TMO Consulting Oy
Consultant
Top 10
A stable and scalable solution that helps to define processes
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool defines the processes. It's the documentation of everything."
  • "The solution's processes are huge and it is not easy to get an overview of how things work. It needs to improve the interface. I would like to see the product include a better overview of processes and improve search."

What is our primary use case?

The tool defines the processes. It's the documentation of everything. 

What needs improvement?

The solution's processes are huge and it is not easy to get an overview of how things work. It needs to improve the interface. I would like to see the product include a better overview of processes and improve search. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. 

Buyer's Guide
ARIS BPA
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about ARIS BPA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is scalable. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I would recommend the product to only enterprise companies because of the pricing. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user743028 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Management Consultant and Business Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Good for consultants as it offers products/views to represent info and data to different stakeholders
Pros and Cons
  • "Features like SAP SolMan sync, Alfabet EA integration (another Software AG product)."
  • "Regarding stability, when there are any customized settings being done at customer end - post upgrade to newer versions - it makes the customer environment unstable for a short duration."

What is most valuable?

Features like SAP SolMan sync, Alfabet EA integration (another Software AG product). Also, a good defined framework for BPM or any consulting practice across any verticals or domains, whether it's TOGAF methodology, running BPM Lifecycle or Six Sigma process analysis.

How has it helped my organization?

It has helped to a great extent in defining and maintaining repositories for various industries, further facilitating projects like portfolio management, etc.

What needs improvement?

Vendor continuously brings updated versions to market with bug fixes from earlier versions and fulfilling user/customer expectations, so they are inline with continuous improvement.

Regarding stability, when there are any customized settings being done at customer end - post upgrade to newer versions - it makes the customer environment unstable for a short duration. But this is made stable and back to service with their 24-hour support help.

For how long have I used the solution?

Have been using this product for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Not many issues with stability, other than as noted above.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues. They offer ARIS installation for Cloud as well as server-client scenario, so no major issues seen so far.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good and response time is good as well. They have priority request types set already, so in case of crisis with ARIS, or any major issue, we can reach 24-hour support by phone or drop them an email; they are always available to respond.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am a BPM and Enterprise Architecture consultant and hence have been using different BPM and EA tools for my consulting practice. Until now have used Opentext Provision, EA, Sparx EA, MS Visio and IBM Blueworks. All of the tools used are good and have there own unique features and capabilities. ARIS BPA is widely used by my current organization for different projects, hence the switch.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward for a user with ARIS BPA installation experience. There is not much that is complex, even for someone who is not experienced with ARIS and tries installation. But that person should be technically sound with installation practices.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing and licensing costs are available on their website. They will assign a relationship manager to assist if you show further interest in their products.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I was not given the option to choose this product, as it was already in use. But evaluation can be made on how globally and widely this product have been used by different industries over others like IBM BPM, Oracle Enterprise Manager, Appian BPM, Pega BPM, and the tools mentioned above.

What other advice do I have?

This product is excellent for any consulting assignment as it offers products and views for different stakeholders to represent the information and data. Advice to others/new users is to get trained on basic usage of this product initially to get an idea of it's benefits and usability. Study and document the exact requirements/purpose and expectations you seek from this product. Software AG should have different options/offers available for its first time users.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Vendor partner.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
ARIS BPA
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about ARIS BPA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1598529 - PeerSpot reviewer
Estagiária em processos
Real User
Professional, feature-rich tools, but it is complicated to learn and set up
Pros and Cons
  • "Aris BPA has a lot of tools that are more professional than Bizagi."
  • "The solution is difficult and not very exciting to learn."

What is our primary use case?

I am using this solution for a school project. I am using it in my laboratory back in Uni for research.

What is most valuable?

Aris BPA has a lot of tools that are more professional than Bizagi.

What needs improvement?

I didn't like working with this solution. The design and functions are lacking and they are better in Bizagi. 

The interface could be improved.

The solution is difficult and not very exciting to learn. It was a bit complicated to understand. Aris BPA is very complex and very difficult to start learning and onboarding.

When you compare it with Bizagi, Bizagi is better. The interface is nicer, the onboarding process is easier, and they have a manual for you to start with. It is better because I could understand how to start with it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I used it for a short time only. It was for a quick project that I had in college.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My experience is with Bizagi and Aris.

I have only been using Bizagi for two days. I don't have a lot of experience with it.

The only issues that I have with Bizagi are that it is resource-heavy, causing it to be slow and laggy, and there are too many visible features. It could be better organized and some of the features could be hidden which would make it better.

How was the initial setup?

Aris BPA is difficult to set up and get started with.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Bizagi a nine out of ten and Aris BPA, a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2239197 - PeerSpot reviewer
Junior Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Scalable product with an efficient object reusability feature
Pros and Cons
  • "ARIS BPA is customizable as per specific business requirements."
  • "The product is difficult to use for someone without prior knowledge of working with it. It requires a certain level of administration training."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product for modeling business scenarios and processes. It helps in designing BPMN and functions.

How has it helped my organization?

ARIS BPA is customizable as per specific business requirements. It is flexible to structure and arrange essential components in business models.

What is most valuable?

The platform’s most valuable feature is object reusability. It has occurrence copies, which help us reuse any object in any model.

What needs improvement?

The product is difficult to use for someone without prior knowledge of working with it. It requires a certain level of administration training.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using ARIS BPA for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product and quick to use.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 30 to 40 ARIS BPA users in our organization. It was highly scalable the last time I checked it with the technical advisor.

How was the initial setup?

We have deployed the product on the cloud.

What other advice do I have?

I rate ARIS BPA an eight out of ten. I advise others to appoint an executive with specific knowledge about the product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
QA Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5
Has a web portal which makes it easy to model and show to the clients
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has come up with a web portal that makes it easy to model and show to clients."
  • "The tool's installation and configuration part needs to improve."

What is most valuable?

The solution has come up with a web portal that makes it easy to model and show to clients. 

What needs improvement?

The tool's installation and configuration part needs to improve. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for a few years. 

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The solution is complex to install. The solution's configuration part is heavy and complex. The tool's setup takes one day to complete. You would need two to three people which would include, the technical lead, project manager, and developer to handle the deployment. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Manager at Entel
Real User
BPA is the main module that we use because of our need for documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "BPA, the modeling tool, is the main module used because of our need for documentation."
  • "Areas for improvement include sales, prospecting, shopping, customer service, after-sales (claims and advice for the client), and all processes pertaining to customer loyalty."

What is our primary use case?

All macro processes and processes in the area of ​​continuous improvement were modeled in the company. These were done with the primary purpose of documentation and having a centralized place for processes.

How has it helped my organization?

ARIS is an important tool for my organization. This tool is the core of our processes and different business areas.

What is most valuable?

BPA, the modeling tool, is the main module used because of our need for documentation.

What needs improvement?

Areas for improvement include sales, prospecting, shopping, customer service, after-sales (claims and advice for the client), and all processes pertaining to customer loyalty.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user827664 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior BPM Consultant, Managing Director at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Enables customizing and enforcing methodology with filters, semantic checks, and reports
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the solution to fully customize the methodology according to the company's needs, and to enforce that methodology with features like filters, semantic checks, and reports."
  • "There is a really powerful reporting API that allows you to create almost any kind of report you want out of your process and document repository."
  • "There are some things in the collaboration module that could be improved a little, such as the functionality which dynamically pushes notifications to interested people when a process changes during the Release Cycle Management workflow."
  • "While the dashboarding solution for integrating all kinds of process-related information from company sources other than ARIS is getting ever better, my personal wish would be to have a module that is more targeted to an Agile implementation of some modeled processes (model–to-execute)."
  • "ARIS has an internal fully customizable workflow system called APG, which is very good, but it’s targeted mostly at creating workflows related to ARIS content, and not general workflows to support other processes inside a company."

What is our primary use case?

Primary use case of the solution is for implementing the digital management system of a company, documenting processes, documents, IT system, roles, and organization, and, of course, their interconnections.

ARIS is really flexible in terms of what you can do to customize your methodology, so it supports various flavors of management system implementations. For example, some companies have a greater focus on Risk and Compliance management, SAP implementations and roll-outs, process improvement and reorganization, etc.

How has it helped my organization?

I can give a good example from one of my last projects, where I worked as an external consultant. At an oil and gas company, ARIS really made a big impact in offering an integrated solution where all of the employees could easily access the relevant information on critical safety processes, thus lowering the risk of accidents and potentially harmful events.

In other projects I’ve worked on, I’ve seen that it really helps people working on SAP template rollout projects, as all project members have more or less common information about which company-wide processes are part of the rollout, and what are the specifics in the local process variants.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the solution to fully customize the methodology according to the company's needs, and to enforce that methodology with features like filters, semantic checks, and reports.

Also, there is a really powerful reporting API that allows you to create almost any kind of report you want out of your process and document repository.

The functionalities for search, query, and social collaboration are getting better with every new release of the tool.

The whole redesign of the content publishing platform, and move from Business Publisher to ARIS Connect portal was a great move.

What needs improvement?

There are some things in the collaboration module that could be improved a little, such as the functionality which dynamically pushes notifications to interested people when a process changes during the Release Cycle Management workflow.

Also, while the dashboarding solution for integrating all kinds of process-related information from company sources other than ARIS is getting ever better, my personal wish would be to have a module that is more targeted to an Agile implementation of some modeled processes (model–to-execute).

ARIS has an internal fully customizable workflow system called APG, which is very good, but it’s targeted mostly at creating workflows related to ARIS content, and not general workflows to support other processes inside a company.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What other advice do I have?

I give it an eight out of 10, but I’m really happy with the product in regards to the primary use case.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senoir consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
the tool provides the facility to capture process details not just at one level but at multiple levels, depending on the audience who would consume it.
Pros and Cons
  • "Process Modeling or Process Mapping/Documentation. This is the most comprehensive tool for capturing the process details. Any organization who wants to embark on a BPM journey, process mapping/documentation, lays the foundation for the BPM led implementation."
  • "Since this is a design tool, seamless interface to make the process flows executable."

What is most valuable?

Process Modeling or Process Mapping/Documentation. This is the most comprehensive tool for capturing the process details. Any organization who wants to embark on a BPM journey, process mapping/documentation, lays the foundation for the BPM led implementation.

Since ARIS provides such a rich modeling environment, it can be leveraged not just for automation of the processes, but more importantly for maintaining the blue prints of the processes for any organization be it business, internal or support processes.

This, then, provides a real picture of the status quo of any organization at any given time.

How has it helped my organization?

Using ARIS, an organization can document their business processes.

Also, the tool provides the facility to capture process details not just at one level but at multiple levels, depending on the audience who would consume it.

It helps not only to capture the process steps but with different aspects of the processes like org, KPI, systems, roles, infrastructure, documents, etc.

Once captured, the tool helps to analyze the processes and impact of changes in the organization from the system, process, KPI, perspective.

What needs improvement?

Since this is a design tool, seamless interface to make the process flows executable.

For how long have I used the solution?

Between 9-10 years .

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

None, since the launch of ARIS 9.x, the product architecture has changed and this has made it bit more complex from Administration perspective.

How are customer service and technical support?

Three out of five.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

None.

How was the initial setup?

Medium complexity.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is a bit on the higher side.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Not really.

What other advice do I have?

Best tool for documentation of business processes.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free ARIS BPA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free ARIS BPA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.