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Avolution ABACUS vs PTC Windchill comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PTC Windchill
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
21st
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Engineering Process (2nd), PLM Tools (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of Avolution ABACUS is 3.6%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PTC Windchill is 0.5%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

JoseCamacho - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
CW
Effective lifecycle management improves with strong version control and deep integration needs
There is room for improvement in implementing features fully. The user interface is inconsistent and outdated. It appears that different departments or locations have implemented features differently, leading to inconsistency. There is a significant need for improved integration, particularly using OSLC for connecting with other tools like SAP ERP or ALM tools. The version control, while consistent, lacks flexibility regarding changes in CAD data and requires manual intervention for BOM management analysis.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Avolution ABACUS allows for flexible enterprise architecture analysis."
"The most valuable feature is the traceability, you can trace any object to the other."
"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."
"There are plenty of features available such as the ability to test applications for issues and a user-friendly dashboard."
"If you face new challenges or issues then you can dynamically customize according to the business needs."
"Avolution ABACUS allows for flexible enterprise architecture analysis."
"There are a lot of different features, but the business/decision-maker feature, visibility, and dashboards are most valuable."
"It's more than just an enterprise architecture tool as it has a lot of nice features, e.g. messaging, simulation, etc."
"I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions."
"The version control maintains consistent versions, which is beneficial."
"The strong point of Windchill is its close connection between the CAD structure and the bill of materials structure."
 

Cons

"It is vastly scalable but you can't run it on a Mac or Linux so it has limitations."
"They should take more initiative to implement things that competing products have already come out with."
"The company needs to update the UML version they are using for the product as it is quite old."
"In the future, there could be improvements in integration and enhancements."
"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."
"The usability of the tool is an area with shortcomings that need improvement."
"The reporting could be easier to configure."
"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."
"Some parts of the system are exclusive, so we can't work with them."
"There is room for improvement in implementing features fully."
"I would not recommend doing business with PTC regardless of the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"This solution is expensive for some people's budgets and they need to offer a Lite version at a cheaper price"
"My company makes annual payments toward the licensing costs of the solution. Considering the product's capabilities, its prices are very reasonable."
"It is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is not an issue."
"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."
"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."
"There is a subscription for this solution. We are on an annual subscription because you sometimes receive special offers the longer you subscribe."
"I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Manufacturing Company
27%
Computer Software Company
13%
Healthcare Company
6%
Transportation Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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...
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...
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...
What do you like most about PTC Windchill?
I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PTC Windchill?
I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey. The costs are fixed, and there are no additional costs.
What needs improvement with PTC Windchill?
There is room for improvement in implementing features fully. The user interface is inconsistent and outdated. It appears that different departments or locations have implemented features different...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Windchill, Atego Artisan Studio, Integrity Modeler
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays
Bose, Valliant Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Avolution ABACUS vs. PTC Windchill and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.