ARIS BPA vs erwin Evolve by Quest comparison

Software AG and erwin by Quest are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Software AG is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while erwin by Quest is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0. Software AG holds a 8.8% mindshare in BPD, compared to erwin by Quest’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of erwin by Quest users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

ARIS BPA and erwin Evolve compete in the business process analysis category. ARIS BPA appears to have an advantage with its extensive modeling capabilities and comprehensive reporting features, while erwin Evolve is noted for its flexibility and strong system analytics.

Features: ARIS BPA is recognized for its comprehensive reporting, process analysis, and centralized repository, which supports effective documentation and collaboration. Users benefit from its object reusability and ability to model across various processes. Conversely, erwin Evolve is valued for its flexibility, strong system analytics, and notable integration and collaboration functionalities.

Room for Improvement: ARIS BPA users suggest enhancements in usability, integration processes, and streamlined reports generation. The complexity of its scripting language and dual interfaces also need improvement. For erwin Evolve, better integration with other systems and improved navigation and user-friendliness are desired.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ARIS BPA provides on-premises, hybrid, and cloud deployment options, and its technical support is generally rated positively despite some inconsistency. Erwin Evolve operates on public cloud and on-premises configurations, with reasonable support that customers appreciate for its direct approach but would prefer improved response times.

Pricing and ROI: ARIS BPA is considered costly with high licensing and maintenance costs, but worth it for large enterprises due to process transparency and efficiency gains. Erwin Evolve’s pricing is also high, posing challenges with licensing models. However, its adaptability and collaboration features offer benefits for ROI, especially in environments requiring extensive architectural modeling.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS BPA vs. erwin Evolve by Quest Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.5%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ARIS BPA is 8.8%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Evolve by Quest is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

Jul 5, 2023

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

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Libor Černý

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

Jan 26, 2022

I can usually find an answer to my issue on ARIS Community

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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ScottLawson

Director IT Architecture at QAD

Jun 22, 2023

Enables us to present data and objects visually, in diagrams, and to make them available via the web. Also enables web-based editing of data.

We tried their collaborative web modeling and we used it with a few people but we tend to not use that piece. We tend to collaborate with the people and then my team of architects draws up the diagram using the modeling tool. We then iterate through those. I would like to use it, but it was a little clunky when they first rolled it out. Overall, it's more about the company having room for improvement. What they need to do is to consolidate more of their products. For example, I was just looking and I couldn't figure out what erwin DT is. It's on the website but it would help if they could put information together and make it more clear as to what products they have and how they work with other things. I hear them talking in the support forums and, when I talk to the representative, they say they're going to do a bunch of stuff but it seems the progress is slow. The changes they need to make are to take their old, legacy product, which we use, and focus a lot on it so they can transform it into a modern cloud tool so that we have fewer little pieces to deal with. They could also fix their security model. It's very confusing to get new people onto the tool and to make sure that your content isn't being exposed to the wrong people.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We are you using the product as a process mapping tool and as part of a larger process improvement project. We use it with IBM BPM and IBM ODM. We get an automated workflow solution for our customers, an improved workflow automation."

"I like the two-tiered approach, that is, discover and then drill down to the main steps. You can right click and attach risk, policies, and much more. It is a user-friendly solution."

"The ease of documenting and digitizing the processes was valuable to us."

"The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic."

"For me the most valuable feature is that it's one depository for our bank. So it's not like everybody has their critical processes on SharePoint or on their desktops. Everything is centrally located. It's very intuitive, easy to use. The support that I get from IBM is always great."

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"It enables decisions based upon processes that we do model, and ultimately move forward with."

"It has the ability to document in different formats. It is not tied to a specific model. You can look at it from different angles and see the intuitive nature of it. It always generates a valid diagram. You cannot create something that is not BPMN compliant."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

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

"The initial setup is easy."

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

"The whole ARIS BPM solution is a bit special, because from the very beginning it was targeted more to Business users and the Management."

"The technical support is good."

"The most valuable feature in the latest versions is the connect portal, where you can do very simple modeling using the web-based portal."

"The shared repository allows for cross-functional cooperation instead of doing things in a silo. You can operate cross-functionally and really work end-to-end, instead of dividing everything up on a functional basis."

"The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are the centralized repository and the automatic rendering of diagrams."

More ARIS BPA pros

"Evolve's reverse engineering ability is quite useful."

"Workgroup Repository collection of data models allows research across models without worry about platform incompatibilities and provides easy KPIs about corporate data assets."

"I can send images in the PDF form, along with the relationships and the associations that are a very important part of what we do. It can show what is affected and what is impacted by a certain change in one area of the system architecture or enterprise architecture. I can very quickly draw those issues and topics to the fore."

"Evolve is like a tank. You can do whatever you want with the solution, but you need to customize it. I think that it's not very aligned with the framework for enterprise architecture. MEGA is focused on these enterprise architectures, but it's only for that. With Evolve, you can do everything you want with professional services."

"One of the most valuable features is the website that sits on top of the database. There's a database of objects and how they are related, and you can make views and diagrams and visual elements out of that information on the website. The website is the part that is called Evolve and we use the Evolve Designer and publish the website out to our employees. They can click around and navigate and search, etc."

"Forward and reverse engineering were valuable features."

"The initial setup was really straightforward and the deployment was done within one day."

"The feature that stands out for me is the ease of configuring objects and the screens to show them. It's really easy to add a new type of object in this reference. Creating a new type of object, using it, and evolving it a little bit in terms of what we can document about it are the main features that made us decide to use this provider."

More erwin Evolve by Quest pros

Cons

"The ability to create a very structured rule. With the capability that we have right now, Blueworks Live is more process focused. We should be able to enhance it to include a lot more of decisions as well."

"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."

"I wish Blueworks Live had simulations built in, but it doesn't. It also lacks a feature of reporting; ad hoc, drag and drop reporting. A lot of senior people are always asking for reports, and there's no reporting feature within IBM Blueworks."

"We haven't yet been able to dabble in case management with Blueworks Live, as it is not yet offered with the product."

"I can't insert any images. For example, within the process map, if I want to put it in the box or rectangle, or circle. If I have to use one image or icon, that's not possible."

"IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts."

"It is BPMN-compliant but the tool needs to be more involved to get into a completely 2.0 oriented tool. It has a few things but it's not the complete BPMN model."

"We'd also like to see it be Six Sigma or Lean compatible, a lot of people have asked about that."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"It needs external API and the ability to navigate back, similar to "Back" in web browser."

"The pricing of the solution can be improved and the initial setup should be made easy."

"Training is one of the important aspects for process awareness. As soon as a process is rolled out, process training is required. If ARIS could generate output in PowerPoint, it would be great for business users."

"I use it strictly for developing the business process model. I don't use it for the actual automation. I do that with Vtenext. I have standardized on Vtenext, and I don't use ARIS BPM anymore. The Vtenext UI is just as good, and it is much more tightly coupled to the underlying object model. I can get more done in one session with Vtenext rather than first going to ARIS BPM, then importing, and having to edit it for tight coupling."

"ARIS BPA is not really a platform that offers you the opportunity to execute processes that you model."

"Simulation is one area that is a bit complex."

"One of the biggest challenges is to realistically enable the defined structures of the processes that you have in ARIS documented, and then actually implement them in the business."

"The workflow approval process could be represented better in the overviews."

More ARIS BPA cons

"The way that we are using it for application management, we have several KPIs. We want to follow and monitor them regarding a number of solutions. We cannot calculate this today. We would like real-time calculations along with the KPIs in order to improve the user experience. We would like the tool to be able to display this, not only as signals, but as charts."

"If it had fewer features to model all kinds of architecture, it would be less complicated."

"erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses."

"I would like to see an improvement in the output of the solution."

"There might be improvement required to better support some of the MPP databases for non-relational data structures and NoSQL databases."

"I would like it to be easier to make changes and then deploy them into production, especially when you have multiple web servers or front-ends. It would be nice to make a change and then have it propagate to the production servers in a more automated fashion."

"With the Excel importing, the "up to date" part is the challenge. If we had a real-time integration, we could keep things up to date for whatever kinds of change points we had. With Excel, it is more that you have to export from one system then import it to another, so it's better for data that doesn't change that often."

"Add some ability to do conditional Visualization on the models and in reports (some ideas) – maybe as a specialized Theme or Diagram or Display."

More erwin Evolve by Quest cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"Prices are high. However, they are worth it if the organization utilizes the tool to its full potential."

"We have a concurrent license system."

"The product is expensive."

"This is absolutely not the cheapest solution in the market, but for large companies, the price is fine."

"If you can afford it, it's the best so far."

"It is on the higher side."

"ARIS Express is free."

"From my point of view, no, it is not cheap, but it is not too expensive because you get this big organization behind it, technical support, and all those things. It's not so expensive to use. It's a Rolls Royce in this field, I know that. Even for small organizations, they can get so much effect from using this tool, in a very fast way, so the money will be back in the customer's pocket very fast."

More ARIS BPA pricing and cost advice

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

"On a yearly basis, our licensing costs are 50,000 euro. There are no additional costs because we are on a SaaS model."

"I estimate that we pay between $40,000 and $50,000 a year for the solution, not including the upfront costs to buy things the first time."

"Unless you are a one person shop – always go with the Workgroup edition and Concurrent licensing."

"The licensing enables you to differentiate between people who edit the content and the people who consume it. We are able to keep the licensing costs down by keeping the "contributor" licenses to a minimum, and we then just roll out the content in a read-only version for the rest of our users."

"I think erwin is quite expensive. I have difficulty selling the portal, in fact."

"The cost is something like $15,000, per license. But I haven't looked at those numbers in three years. It was over $100,000 to initially set everything up and get it all configured."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put an...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use...

See all answers

What do you like most about ARIS BPA?

The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?

Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?

Improvement should be made as per customer requirements.

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What advice do you have for others considering erwin Evolve?

I rate erwin Evolve by Quest a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about erwin Evolve by Quest?

We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Evolve by Quest?

erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses.

See all answers

Comparisons

Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 37% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 17% of the time

Lucidchart vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 15% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 9% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS BPA

Compared 27% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS BPA

Compared 9% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

Visio vs ARIS BPA

Compared 5% of the time

More ARIS BPA Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 28% of the time

LeanIX vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 24% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 12% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 11% of the time

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 9% of the time

More erwin Evolve by Quest Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

October 2024

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA

November 2024

Download ARIS BPA product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve by Quest

November 2024

Download erwin Evolve by Quest product report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

ARIS, ARIS BPM

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

Learn More

IBM

Software AG

erwin by Quest

Overview

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

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.

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.

erwin is used by more than 50,000 professionals in 60+ countries to get big results from their enterprise data initiatives. erwin is the #1 choice in virtually every industry, from government and healthcare to retail and finance.

erwin Modeling provides a collaborative environment to manage enterprise data through an intuitive, graphical interface. With a centralized view of key data definitions, you can leverage information as a strategic asset and more efficiently manage your data resources to save time and money.

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

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.

AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Duke University, ESPN, Fidelity, GE, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, McGraw Hill, NASA, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland, Teradata, Union Pacific, Vodafone, Wells Fargo.

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

October 2024

Free Report: ARIS BPA vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS BPA vs. erwin Evolve by Quest and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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We monitor all Business Process Design reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.