ARIS BPA vs Visual Paradigm comparison

Software AG and Visual Paradigm are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Software AG is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.5, while Visual Paradigm is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3. Software AG holds a 8.6% mindshare in BPD, compared to Visual Paradigm’s 6.7% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Visual Paradigm users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

ARIS BPA and Visual Paradigm are both leading solutions in the business process modeling category. Based on feature comparison, ARIS BPA has the edge due to its robust enterprise-wide process capabilities.

Features: ARIS BPA provides a comprehensive business process modeling environment with SAP SolMan sync, EPC notation, and extensive simulation capabilities. It supports a database-driven architecture and excels in process documentation and integration. Visual Paradigm, on the other hand, offers a versatile modeling environment with UML and BPMN support and is noted for its flexibility and user-friendliness. It caters to enterprise architecture frameworks, which appeals to diverse engineering fields.

Room for Improvement: ARIS BPA could improve its tool integration capabilities and streamline its workflow processes. Its high costs and scripting complexity are also areas of concern. Visual Paradigm could enhance its resource consumption efficiency and broaden integration support. Its interface and documentation might benefit from improvements to enhance user onboarding.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ARIS BPA offers flexible deployment options across various cloud environments but faces criticism for complex setup processes and mixed technical support experiences. Visual Paradigm is praised for its straightforward setup and positive customer support feedback, alongside affordable pricing, making it a favorable choice for smaller teams.

Pricing and ROI: ARIS BPA is considered a significant investment due to its multiple licensing options, though its comprehensive capabilities yield high ROI for large organizations. Visual Paradigm's flexible pricing tiers, including a community edition, make it more accessible to smaller users and educational purposes, providing appealing ROI through affordability.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS BPA vs. Visual Paradigm Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. Visual Paradigm

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live

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 Visual Paradigm is 6.7%, up from 6.4% 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

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

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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DominicMackenzie

Senior data architect at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Very flexible and easy to use with a good pricing model

I have used erwin and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. The first time I used Visual Paradigm was when I was a university student. I didn't want to pay a lot of money and Visual Paradigm had a very good pricing model, so it meant that I could effectively pay for the level of sophistication that I was using at the time and dial it back down to a simpler version.

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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

"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."

"The licenses are transferrable between different users."

"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."

"IBM Blueworks Live is cloud-based and provides easy access to all your processes in one place."

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

"This solution is good at utilizing standards rules for connectivity."

"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."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"The matrix model makes building relations easier."

"The capability to integrate all information of the business and to generate simulations of processes. It can analyze the model of operations quickly."

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

"The initial setup and installation are very straightforward."

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

"ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats."

"I am an advanced user. ARIS BPM is intuitive for me because I know the UML, BPMN, and EPC methodologies implemented in this tool. It is very easy to create processes for restructuring a company with some descriptions."

"Object oriented modeling allows us to trace what's going on with the specified object."

More ARIS BPA pros

"I love Visual Paradigm because it has many different types of diagrams. For any field of engineering, we can find a diagram."

"Some of the most valuable features of this process modeling tool are process simulation and process animation."

"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."

"The solution is very user-friendly. It's easy to just open it and start working."

"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."

"I like the fact that this solution is complete."

"The pricing model is attractive."

"The most valuable feature of Visual Paradigm is the ability to design form flows, add libraries, create organizational charts, and connect them all together."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"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."

"The objects that the solution creates are not unique."

"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 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."

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

"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."

"I would like to see integration with ERP systems. This would help us to simulate the process and see where the problems are. Though IBM Blueworks Live is a good tool for documenting, it is not good for simulating."

"The font size is really, really small and it's really not useful to print out process models because you cannot read what's written in different boxes. This makes it necessary for people to have access to the tool. We view licenses to see how the printing or output is. It's not very good."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"End-to-end visibility and real-time are areas that will need greater attention."

"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."

"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 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."

"Making it more customizable and easy to learn would be a benefit."

"I could use more icons and other graphical elements."

"User interface (UI)."

"Its governance tool and integration with ESB and execution engine can be improved. Their partner support can also be improved."

More ARIS BPA cons

"The solution can be heavy on resource usage."

"I would like to see something for visualizing innovation work maps."

"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."

"From time to time, we experience some troubles when we work as teams."

"The solution can improve by updating the user interface, and graphics."

"Visual Paradigm could improve many aspects. The performance could be better because it can be low. When we have large and complicated models, it has a low speed and many bugs. Sometimes the solution stops and you have to restart Microsoft Windows on your PC. The larger database modeling cannot be done properly, I have to use another solution called SAP PowerDesigner."

"Takes up a lot of resources."

"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The solution is not very expensive."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"The tool is expensive."

"It is on the higher side."

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

"ARIS is quite expensive."

"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."

"The solution has a fair price for the value it delivers."

"ARIS Express is free."

"It is an expensive solution."

More ARIS BPA pricing and cost advice

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

"This is an open-sourced solution, it is free to use."

"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."

"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."

"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."

"The pricing of Visual Paradigm is very appropriate and affordable. There are no hidden costs involved."

"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."

"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."

More Visual Paradigm pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.

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824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

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...

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

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

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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...

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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.

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What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?

Improvement should be made as per customer requirements.

See all answers

What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?

The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features a...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?

I mentioned using the free version. The free version of Visual Paradigm does not incur any setup costs and offers a s...

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What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?

I didn't use it so deeply that I found areas that needed improvement or features that were missing. So far, its exist...

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 25% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS BPA

Compared 10% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

More ARIS BPA Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 38% of the time

Visio vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 19% of the time

Lucidchart vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 15% of the time

Bizagi vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 8% of the time

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 2% of the time

More Visual Paradigm Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

December 2024

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA

December 2024

Download ARIS BPA product report

Buyer's Guide

Visual Paradigm

November 2024

Download Visual Paradigm product report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

ARIS, ARIS BPM

No data available

Learn More

IBM

Software AG

Video not available

Visual Paradigm

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.

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

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.

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. Visual Paradigm

December 2024

Free Report: ARIS BPA vs. Visual Paradigm

Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS BPA vs. Visual Paradigm and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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