Avolution ABACUS vs erwin Evolve by Quest comparison

Avolution and erwin by Quest are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. Avolution is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0, while erwin by Quest is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0. Avolution holds a 3.8% mindshare in AM, compared to erwin by Quest’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Avolution users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of erwin by Quest users who would recommend it.

Avolution ABACUS

Read 15 Avolution ABACUS reviews

2,071 Views
968 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

erwin Evolve by Quest

Read 19 erwin Evolve by Quest reviews

926 Views
579 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Avolution ABACUS

erwin Evolve by Quest

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Avolution ABACUS and erwin Evolve by Quest compete in the enterprise architecture and modeling category. Avolution ABACUS has an edge in deployment simplicity, whereas erwin Evolve offers robust features and integration capabilities.

Features: Avolution ABACUS is flexible in modeling capabilities, enhancing enterprise architecture analysis. Its interoperability with diverse data formats increases usability. Among erwin Evolve's standout features are strong governance capabilities, extensive process modeling, and the ability to integrate various systems efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Avolution ABACUS could enhance its governance features to better suit compliance-focused organizations. Improving integration processes may augment its system functionality. Its reporting features could benefit from more advanced customization options. Erwin Evolve could simplify its initial deployment process. Enhancements in user interfaces would aid less technically inclined users. Better integration with specific data storage systems could improve utility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Avolution ABACUS is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service, ensuring smooth implementation. Erwin Evolve's deployment can be complex, but it compensates with comprehensive support and training, providing robust customer assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Avolution ABACUS may offer a lower initial setup cost, appealing to those focused on cost-efficient strategies with adaptable features promising good ROI. In contrast, erwin Evolve, with a higher setup cost, delivers substantial ROI through its extensive feature suite, potentially favoring organizations aiming for long-term strategic benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve by Quest Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

March 2025

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Helped 842,651 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Avolution ABACUS

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

erwin Evolve by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

11th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (18th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of Avolution ABACUS is 3.8%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Evolve by Quest is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

JoseCamacho

Freelancer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

Supports evaluating architecture through corporate objectives

I conducted an evaluation of enterprise architecture at the European Court in Luxembourg, reviewing and analyzing existing implementations to identify potential improvements and providing recommendations I conduct evaluations to identify potential improvements and make recommendations, forming a…

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ScottLawson

Director IT Architecture at QAD

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are a lot of different features, but the business/decision-maker feature, visibility, and dashboards are most valuable."

"If you face new challenges or issues then you can dynamically customize according to the business needs."

"The product is easy to use and well-structured for the integrations we need it to make."

"The most valuable feature is that it has a customizable meta-model, which is key."

"The ease of modeling and the ease of showing interconnectivity and relationships is the most valuable. It is fairly simple and out of the box. It is customizable in many ways. It is a pretty good tool."

"It is a very stable solution...The initial setup of Avolution ABACUS is very easy."

"It's more than just an enterprise architecture tool as it has a lot of nice features, e.g. messaging, simulation, etc."

"The tool's implementation is straightforward as everything is readily available. For instance, setting up a portal is seamless, allowing easy publishing and access to data. However, integrating with other tools like BI, Power BI, or Grafana requires setting up pipelines between them."

More Avolution ABACUS pros

"I really liked that it mapped out processes and was able to attach the data model to the appropriate process. You could map out the process, then when you got down to a specific couple of data elements, you could attach the table in the database that supported that process. You could connect it with erwin Data Modeler for that."

"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."

"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."

"The ability to share and collaborate on the solution is its most valuable feature."

"By placing the data and the metadata into a model, which is what the tool does, you gain the abilities for linkages between different objects in the model, linkages that you cannot get on paper or with Visio or PowerPoint. That is a huge discriminator."

"We use erwin Evolve to publish to the website. This allows us to enable publishing our website using parameterisation features. In a very fast, quick way, we can publish a table or chart onto a website."

"Support for a broad range of data sources from relational to big data to the Cloud."

"There is a model behind it. It's really nice that the Evolve front-end, as it builds a website, keeps those relationships in mind. You can even go to a procedure and see all the applications that are related to it. Then you can go into that application and see all the standard operating procedures that that application is a part of. It's just very connected."

More erwin Evolve by Quest pros

Cons

"The tool doesn't have any intelligence built in. We have to design the dashboards ourselves, which is a challenge because we have to depend on the vendor for customizations."

"It doesn't have the simulation capability, which would be helpful in doing some business process analysis and improvements."

"Having more control over page size is lacking in this product. Print utilization also needs to be improved."

"They should take more initiative to implement things that competing products have already come out with."

"Their local presence in the Middle East could be scaled more, particularly in customer service. It would be good if they'd also have mobile dashboards for executive management out of the box."

"Avolution ABACUS has the drawback of needing data filtering at the development level, unlike some tools that offer filtering at deployment. Two areas where Avolution ABACUS could be improved are regional support and flexibility in model selection. Sometimes, it's challenging to access support or updates in certain regions, which can slow down progress. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the tool allowed more flexibility in selecting multiple models within a single unit."

"I use reference models, which are taxonomies, in my EA work. It is a reference model/taxonomy of things with capabilities, sub capabilities, and sub-sub capabilities, so you're working it down. I haven't yet found a simple way to implement that in Abacus. It could be that it is there, but I don't know how to do it."

"While this is one of the most powerful tools on the market it does not integrate well with Microsoft Office or others."

More Avolution ABACUS cons

"I feel that the UML drawing capability needs to be improved."

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

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

"Business process modelling could be improved."

"Evolve is primarily focused on the entity's licenses diagrams, but it would be nice if erwin could integrate case development, so that it shows the ER diagram plus certain inputs on the use cases and how the data is used. That deviates somewhat from the overall scope, so maybe they could call it a different product."

"They have improved the search engine a little bit but it can always be improved more. The more data you put inside it, the more you want to use it."

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

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

More erwin Evolve by Quest cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm paying on a yearly basis. I don't know whether it's a highly expensive tool or not. I'm getting a single version of it, and I don't have the enterprise part on it because I don't need the server component, and I don't need a web browser component. My estimate would be that it's a very reasonably priced tool given that you don't need to have licenses with everyone in order to get the information and the decision support capabilities out of the tool. You use the enterprise edition on top of the studio, which is the heart of the tool. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"My company makes annual payments toward the licensing costs of the solution. Considering the product's capabilities, its prices are very reasonable."

"The cost of Avolution ABACUS is reasonable, given the features they offer in comparison to other tools."

"The solution's pricing is not an issue."

"There is a subscription for this solution. We are on an annual subscription because you sometimes receive special offers the longer you subscribe."

"This solution is expensive for some people's budgets and they need to offer a Lite version at a cheaper price"

"It is competitive. It is not chump change. I am just using the studio version. I am not using the full enterprise version, which would probably cost me three times more for single-use, but it gives a lot more capability and analysis. It is server-based as well, and it is reasonably priced compared to a lot of the other tools. There are other tools that have other sorts of capabilities, but in order to use them, you'd really have to have like 50 users for the price to become justifiable."

"To get a fairly extensive license for Enterprise Architects from Spark is approximately US $400.00, maybe less, but with Avolution Abacus it was approximately US $2000.00 per year, and that includes maintenance with the Abacus tool."

More Avolution ABACUS pricing and cost advice

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Government

14%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Government

10%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Avolution ABACUS?

The tool's implementation is straightforward as everything is readily available. For instance, setting up a portal is seamless, allowing easy publishing and access to data. However, integrating wit...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Avolution ABACUS?

It's pricey compared to Essential, Deltek, or Essential Cloud. However, its diagramming capabilities and metamodel design make it worth it. But it's not for large user bases. It has modules for app...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Avolution ABACUS?

While Avolution ABACUS is flexible, it can be complex to work with as it requires knowledge of specific configurations to customize the product. It would be beneficial to have seminars or other met...

See all answers

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

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 24% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 18% of the time

LeanIX vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 18% of the time

Visio vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 10% of the time

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 4% of the time

More Avolution ABACUS Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 25% of the time

LeanIX vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 19% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 13% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 9% of the time

ARIS BPA vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 6% of the time

More erwin Evolve by Quest Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Avolution ABACUS

March 2025

Download Avolution ABACUS product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve by Quest

March 2025

Download erwin Evolve by Quest product report

Also Known As

No data available

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

Overview

ABACUS is the enterprise architecture tool designed to have the quickest time-to-value. You can use it to build and maintain rich visual models from existing company data. ABACUS comes with standard industry frameworks as well as advanced analytic tools and best-in-class roadmapping and reporting functionality.

With Avolution ABACUS You Can:

Strategize and analyze your organizational architecture with ease using data-driven diagrams
Enjoy connected data, models, and metrics across your whole enterprise
Work directly and securely in your browser, which is ideal for global teams and remote working

Avolution ABACUS Features:

Modeling and roadmapping: ABACUS offers a fully provisioned modeling environment for enterprise and IT architecture, strategic planning, and digital business management.
Digital collaboration: Avolution ABACUS includes a feature that allows you to set up dashboards so you can tell data stories using business-friendly visualizations.
Portfolio management: Anyone can update their own data, which, in turn, reduces the workload of the enterprise architecture team.
Data-driven architecture: ABACUS’s data-driven architecture gives you the opportunity to design and automate key calculations using out-of-the-box or simple no-code algorithms.
Collaborative data management: Using this feature, you can save time with single sign-on (SSO) and AD Integrations; You can embed directly in MS Teams, Confluence, or other workplace social software.
Dynamic data visualizations: ABACUS’s graph view allows you to navigate through systems in a dynamic environment, as opposed to static diagram views.

Avolution ABACUS Benefits:

Time efficient: Models and roadmaps automatically stay up-to-date, saving your organization a lot of time so you can focus on other priorities instead.
Centralized location: With Avolution ABACUS, you can connect all data in one place, keeping everything both consistent and accurate.
Full flexibility: ABACUS gives you full flexibility to adapt and configure your own metamodels with ease.
Complete visibility: Your whole enterprise can have visibility of the architecture through the use of digital collaboration and visually clear dashboards.
Machine learning: With Avolution ABACUS, you can employ machine learning to speed data management and analysis.
Spot dependencies: ABACUS helps your organization spot dependencies and impacts that might trip up your projects.
Fully customizable: Avolution ABACUS is fully customizable; Select, configure, or adapt your repository and metamodel. You can also automate metrics and analytics specific to your business.

Reviews from Real Users:

Andre W., Enterprise Architect at Enterprise Architecture Perspectives, says, "The most valuable feature is that it has a customizable meta-model, which is key.”

The Lead Enterprise Domain Architects at a financial services firm feels that "The product is easy to use and well-structured for the integrations we need it to make.”

"There are plenty of features available, such as the ability to test applications for issues and a user-friendly dashboard,” says Suresh T., Enterprise Digital Solution Architect at a tech services company.

Avolution

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.

erwin by Quest

Sample Customers

Barclays

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

Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

March 2025

Free Report: Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve by Quest and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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