The primary use of the solution is to analyze the processes and design.
Senior manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Overall well designed, useful analyzing tools, and reasonable priced
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's basic features are easy to use, overall designed well, and it has good process mining analysis."
- "I believe the solutions BPM tools are not very good and need improvements."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution's basic features are easy to use, overall designed well, and it has good process mining analysis.
What needs improvement?
I believe the solutions BPM tools are not very good and need improvements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for approxately three years.
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ARIS BPA
December 2024
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Most of our clients are small businesses using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support is good, we have not had any problems.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is reasonable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have been evaluating this solution with EBM.
What other advice do I have?
This solution is one of the market leaders.
I rate ARIS BPM a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller
Managing Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Good web-based portal that supports simple modeling, but the technical support has room for improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature in the latest versions is the connect portal, where you can do very simple modeling using the web-based portal."
- "If you want to create new reports then you have to use JavaScript, or ARIS script as they call it, which is beyond the competencies of most people."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and ARIS BPM is one of the products that we implement for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature in the latest versions is the connect portal, where you can do modeling in a very simple manner using the web-based portal.
What needs improvement?
If you look at the administration function, it is rather complex.
If you want to create new reports then you have to use JavaScript, or ARIS script as they call it, which is beyond the competencies of most people.
I would recommend to Software AG that they move to SaaS as soon as possible. Currently, they have a cloud offering, but they don't really have a SaaS business model in place. They are still thinking in terms of licenses and my recommendation to them would be to stop doing this and move to SaaS ASAP because all of the other competitors are moving in that direction. As a SaaS, they might reconsider the positioning of the ARIS portfolio in the markets and to have, for example, specific pricing or specific environments for mid-size companies, instead of just a single implementation for enterprises.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with ARIS BPM for between 16 and 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, it depends because there are several possibilities for how it is hosted. If it is on-premises then I can't say anything in terms of stability. However, the Amazon cloud is quite stable. We offer our own cloud environment and over the past four years, it has proven to be really stable.
Overall, if you look at the environment, it's quite stable, and if you look at the product, it's also very much improved in the last years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My clients for this product are enterprise-level companies.
How are customer service and technical support?
There is room for improvement, especially in the communication area. If you have Software AG as technical support in a partner environment, there is obvious room for improvement here.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with a lot of similar products including BiZZdesign, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, and Bizagti. We are also currently doing a lot with GBTEC BIC.
At this time, I would recommend the BIC product from GBTEC the most because it comes down more or less to a newly developed ARIS environment, but in better shape. The core code of the product is new, and you might say, in general, that this is a better product. Also, if you look at the functionalities that they are building, it is less complex. It's more of a SaaS product and it's much easier to use.
How was the initial setup?
This product is rather complex to set up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Currently, ARIS is just targeting enterprises of, for example, one-billion-plus companies. For these organizations, the price is fine. This is absolutely not the cheapest solution in the market, but for large companies, the price is fine.
If one were targeting companies of perhaps a hundred million and a billion, then the price might be a bit on the high side. For companies below a hundred million, then it's too expensive I would say.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing ARIS BPM is to have a good organization in place first. You really need to have ownership because if you implement ARIS and start using it there you have quite a few admin functions that you need to have in place. For example, looking at conventions, filtering, reports, account management, etc. There's a lot of work to be done and ownership in this regard is very important.
In summary, this is a good product but there is room for improvement in several areas.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Buyer's Guide
ARIS BPA
December 2024
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BPM Expert at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Assists with process design from discovery to delivery
Pros and Cons
- "This solution has helped us in terms of discovering business processes."
- "Integration with third-party tools should be improved (e.g. based on APIs)."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use this solution for process design, improvements, and publishing.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution has helped us in terms of discovering business processes. We analyze them and create to-be scenarios for implementation. We then design IT solutions aligned with business processes, and finally control the implemented solutions, closing the cycle.
What is most valuable?
The possibility to align Strategies, business, and IT with the architectures of support and SDLC, starting from the requirements management until the IT delivery.
What needs improvement?
Integration with third-party tools should be improved (e.g. based on APIs).
For how long have I used the solution?
Approximately twenty years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Full-Stack Developer at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees
Simplified interactions among several systems with different data formats
Pros and Cons
- "MFT is quite attractive. A large amount of data is passed in almost no time and it is quite easy to use."
What is our primary use case?
For integration purposes, where files or data from different systems are generated and passed on to the next one in the format accepted by that system.
How has it helped my organization?
Interactions between several systems with different data formats are made easy, which basically holds the whole system together. This is effective middleware.
What is most valuable?
MFT is quite attractive. A large amount of data is passed in almost no time and it is quite easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The data in the pipeline could be managed better. Sometimes previously-used data would be reflected in present variables.
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.
Business Process Management at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
it has helped in carrying out our business processes in a standard manner across the globe
Pros and Cons
- "ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats."
- "We should have the ability to download ARIS EPCs to Visio."
What is most valuable?
- ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats.
- ARIS Query – Helps visualize relationships between various components/elements of an enterprise.
- Occurrence Copy – Helps create a relational database which in turn helps in carrying out process analysis.
How has it helped my organization?
ARIS helps in creating a central repository of all processes of an organization in a standardized manner. Thus, it has helped in carrying out our business processes in a standard manner across the globe.
What needs improvement?
- We should have the ability to download ARIS EPCs to Visio.
- ARIS should also have the ability to import swimlane Visio flowcharts.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used this product for over six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't encountered any issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I haven't encountered issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
A seven out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use a different solution prior to ARIS BPM.
How was the initial setup?
Complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Prices are high. However, they are worth it if the organization utilizes the tool to its full potential.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Consultant
Caters to moving older objects into an integrated DB
Pros and Cons
- "Platform that it supports covers legacy and new. Caters to moving older objects into an integrated DB, relatively popular ones: SQL, Oracle, etc."
- "End-to-end visibility and real-time are areas that will need greater attention."
What is most valuable?
Platform that it supports covers legacy and new. Caters to moving older objects into an integrated DB, relatively popular ones: SQL, Oracle, etc.
What needs improvement?
No product is complete. As technologies evolve, so must the tools to support them. End-to-end visibility and real-time are areas that will need greater attention.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues with scalability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I do not believe that there is a site in this country that has exceeded the scalability limitation.
How are customer service and technical support?
Judging from my perspective, all the forums appear to have topical discussions. Also, requested a latest GA version date and received a response.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Staunch user of Visio, ArchiMate. A requirement for a client, decided to explore deeper. Alfabet.
How was the initial setup?
The Aris version that I have is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
Although digital business transformation (e.g. IoT, Blockchain) is top of mind for many IT professionals, many companies are facing legacy systems consuming operating budgets and have limited visibility into their enterprise architecture. It is increasingly difficult to meet RFC (requests for change) deadlines and digital business transformation demands. Therefore, a simple and easy to use enterprise architecture is important for implementing an effective digital business transformation program.
However, enterprise architecture (EA) and the frequently used methodology TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) have an image problem. Business and IT leaders are frequently bypassing the enterprise architect because they have the following issues:
- The enterprise architecture and TOGAF are not practical to complete and are difficult to explain.
- The EA terminology is difficult to understand and not aligned with operational departments.
- The EA governance methodology and EA models are difficult to understand and to maintain.
- Too much focus of project delivery and IT architecture
Because of these issues the enterprise architect, and business and IT leaders, are not always aligned and do not fully cooperate to resolve the EA issues at hand. Most of the design decisions are made by business and IT leaders who are not always in line with the vision of the enterprise architect. This has an impact on the quality of the EA. In order to improve the cooperation, the enterprise architecture should be presented in a more practical and simple way.
Needs to be driven from the top, must standardise and simplify centric environments. Architectural principals - governance a must.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
AVP & Head of Policies and Procedures Management Dept. at Union National Bank
Helpful solution for process modeling, process measurement, and simulations
Pros and Cons
- "It has the ability to scale up, as well as integrate with other systems within the organization to get real-time information from dashboards and reports."
- "Making it more customizable and easy to learn would be a benefit."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is for process modeling.
How has it helped my organization?
It has helped us design processes in a step by step, logical manner. It has helped in putting the product manuals, procedures, and policies all in the same database. It has clearly defined setting up the SLAs for each and every process and measures the SLAs at the end of the process execution for each transaction.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the leveling of processes, interfacing of processes, extracting the reports, and process manuals out of the system; the whole landscape.
What needs improvement?
It takes a long time for a new user to start working with ARIS, so perhaps it could be more user-friendly in terms of the complicated construction conventions that it uses. Making it more customizable and easy to learn would be a benefit.
In the age of artificial intelligence, the system should make suggestions as to what to do, and how to do it, rather than depending on the book or relying on the trainer to figure out how to get started.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is quite stable and there are no issues. We are using the three modules: ARIS Architect, ARIS Designer, and ARIS Process development.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, it is quite easy. It is only a matter of procuring licenses and training people, and then they can start.
There are approximately six hundred users, including four administrators and five process designers. The rest are end users.
The solution is used quite extensively, and we plan to increase the number of users in the coming years.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support from ARIS is quite responsive, and we get help whenever we need it. With the processes, it becomes a bit complicated because we have to refer it to our IT department and they have to open a log. Because of the time difference between the Gulf and the support team, it takes longer to get things resolved.
We hear back from the support team in 24 to 48 hours.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
For BPM, we started with ARIS. We were not using a solution previously, except for designing the processes on Microsoft Visio.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was a complex affair for us. We had to engage in six months of training, in-house, with a trainer. A group of people were trained and then finally started process modeling on ARIS.
Over the six months, it was easy, step by step, where we had to follow one thing at a time and there was a lot of time to practice.
We used a consultant for the deployment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not look at another vendor. We had installed a core banking system, Temenos T24, and they were the ones who recommended ARIS, back in 2011.
What other advice do I have?
As for staying with this solution, we have to look at the alternatives available in the market. If something better comes up, and we can make an evaluation and make a shift, why not, but as of now ARIS is a good solution for us, it is working well.
I do recommend ARIS as a tool for others. It is a very helpful solution for process modeling, process measurement, and simulations. It has the ability to scale up, as well as integrate with other systems within the organization to get real-time information from dashboards and reports. It has a lot of capabilities.
It has helped us in designing the processes, measuring the processes, governance of processes, making revisions and changes in processes, and incorporating the regulatory and statutory requirements into our processes very easily. It has very well served our purposes and needs.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project & Process Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is a complete tool, but it is not so user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The BPMN notation and the share flow through users. It is nice to see all flows in a common, shared space for all the stakeholders to view the same thing and the same language."
- "The usability. Others tools are easier to manage without same complexity that ARIS has."
What is our primary use case?
My first use case using ARIS was in a Brazilian tax project for a global cosmetic company. All the flows had to be analysed by the global team regarding the core model synergy.
How has it helped my organization?
Creating all the flows related to the "As-Is" process of the organization that must easily see the possible improvements and compare them with the best practices from marketing.
What is most valuable?
The BPMN notation and the share flow through users. It is nice to see all flows in a common, shared space for all the stakeholders to view the same thing and the same language.
What needs improvement?
The usability. Others tools are easier to manage without same complexity that ARIS has.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What other advice do I have?
It is a complete tool, but it is not so user-friendly.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: December 2024
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With the latest version of ARIS, I think this has nice user interface and easy to understand. It's more like a drawing tool with features and functionalities with business will appreciate.