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ARIS BPA vs TIBCO Business Studio comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live
Sponsored
Ranking in Business Process Design
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ARIS BPA
Ranking in Business Process Design
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (4th)
TIBCO Business Studio
Ranking in Business Process Design
20th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 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 8.6%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Business Studio is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Libor Černý - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Choon Hwa Khoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good flexibility to users
Improvements are required in the tool licensing area as it is a bit expensive. The tool's user interface needs improvement. If you don't know the tool as a beginner, it is very hard for you to design the workflow. The interface is actually quite confusing. There are a lot of places we need to configure here and there since there are multiple locations involved. The features or functions available are good enough for me to implement for my business activities. The tool can include topics like AI. I encountered an issue with the tool during the deployment into production. The server itself experienced a slowness-related issue caused by the configuration, where the resources were not enough for TIBCO, not because of the physical server. I raised a ticket with the support team and got some advice from them. I then went to study the server configuration, and finally, I found out that there will be a need to increase the threats in order for the server to process the multiple parallel incoming requests.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of the collaboration features, from the point of discovery, it was useful to go to load up the policies and the rule sets that the client had. And in terms of exploring options and being able to model a variety of different processes, that was incredibly useful as well."
"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."
"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."
"You can use if from your mobile device or you can be on the desktop. It doesn't matter. You are always connected. It is cloud-based, so you don't have to install anything."
"It has a built-in capability to capture process owners and managers against processes along with other process governance roles."
"The business process discovery is excellent. The diagram or blueprinting functionality of the solution are very good. It's quite easy. You can link the sub-processes and get a big overview of the whole process then."
"It enables decisions based upon processes that we do model, and ultimately move forward with."
"The reporting that we can generate from IBM Blueworks Live has been interesting. We found the KPIs, risks, process modeling, format, and colors, to be very good. We use the EY template and it is interesting to generate reporting in this format."
"ARIS BPA provides very good visibility and control of processes because we have a concurrent license system. As a result, every person in our company and group is able to look at the published processes."
"Fully-reportable database over Visio."
"I am impressed with the tool's integration. It also facilitates collaboration in the organization."
"The initial setup and installation are very straightforward."
"Collaboration and governance over enterprise artifacts."
"BPA, the modeling tool, is the main module used because of our need for documentation."
"The ability to sort via multiple criteria to identify the relationships you need for a specific object."
"The ease of use is the most valuable. I have tried a number of BPMN packages, and I find the user interface of ARIS BPM easier and more intuitive than others. If your team is knowledgeable on BPMN, it is really pretty easy to figure out on your own because it adheres to the standards extremely well. I have tried Bizagi, BizFlow, and a variety of such solutions, and I just liked ARIS BPM better."
"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."
 

Cons

"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."
"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."
"There should be an option to import from and export to Microsoft Visio. Being able to move files back and forth between Blueworks Live and Visio would be good."
"The initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."
"The APIs are great, except the normal business user doesn't know how to create APIs. So it's hard because IBM comes to us as the business users and tell us to create reporting with APIs, except we don't know that, so we have to turn around and flip it to our IT people."
"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great. And vice-versa. Some of the export and import functionality with something like Visio - which, I know it's a slightly different tool - but being able to work seamlessly with those other tool sets would've been quite useful. I know it was something that was in the pipeline to be looked at. So that would be useful."
"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."
"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."
"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."
"I believe the solutions BPM tools are not very good and need improvements."
"Since ARIS 9.X was released, the product has not been as robust and responsive as the previous versions​."
"The interface is a little archaic."
"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 cross and upselling of modules within the core ARIS component are lagging behind the SaaS movement."
"User interface (UI)."
"The pricing of the solution can be improved and the initial setup should be made easy."
"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."
"The interface is actually quite confusing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."
"The solution is very, very cost-effective."
"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."
"Making it less expensive would be good."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."
"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."
"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."
"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."
"I would recommend the product to only enterprise companies because of the pricing."
"The setup cost and pricing depend on the license (Modeler, Viewer, Administrator)."
"The tool is expensive."
"ARIS enables you to start small and grow the use of the solution over time, although it's quite expensive. So if you want to start small, it's quite an investment for a small company."
"We have a concurrent license system."
"You will never get a fixed price for this product because they will go in and ask you what kind of environment would you like to set up? How many people will you work with? How big is your organization? Today, they have a fixed price to say, "Okay, just to start the business area, buy two licenses for modeling and eight people that can look into the product." They have this kind of fixed price. It's 50,000 Danish Krone. If you divided that by about six, then you get the pricing in dollars. Still, when you are going out, negotiate and find the right price. You will never get a fixed price: "It costs this and, if you take ten of these, seven of these and eight of these, and then it costs this." No, you negotiate every time."
"Negotiate. Price is high so make sure you’re getting the best deal."
"For my company, the tool costs about 2,0,000 Euros for three years...If one is bad and ten is good, I rate the price as one out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?
The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.
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...
What do you like most about ARIS BPA?
The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.
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.
What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?
Improvement should be made as per customer requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Business Studio?
We use multiple products, such as TIBCO Business Studio, TIBCO BW, and TIBCO EMS, so a large amount of money was paid...
What needs improvement with TIBCO Business Studio?
Improvements are required in the tool licensing area as it is a bit expensive. The tool's user interface needs improv...
What is your primary use case for TIBCO Business Studio?
I use the solution in my company for file transfer, data extraction, and ETL.
 

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint
ARIS, ARIS BPM
Business Studio
 

Overview

 

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.
Airbus Helicopters, Bank of Montreal, BroadReach Healthcare, Caesars Entertainment, CargoSmart, Children's Hospital, Citibank Brazil, Citihub, Colonial Life, Con-way, Consorsbank, Deutsche Bahn, EDF Energy, FrieslandCampina, Hellmann Logistics, Ignite, Istrabenz Plini, Sage Human Capital, Siemens Healthcare
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, Software AG and others in Business Process Design. Updated: November 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.