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BIC Platform vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live
Sponsored
Ranking in Business Process Design
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
BIC Platform
Ranking in Business Process Design
19th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (27th)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
 

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 BIC Platform is 1.6%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.8%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MK
Jul 6, 2023
Provides good stability, but they should add a feature for enterprise architecture
We use BIC Platform for process design and workflow features The product is easy to use, and it has different roles. It is an online platform, so many users can simultaneously use it according to their assigned roles. The product’s most valuable feature is roles. So, we can assign different…
Anthony Houghton - PeerSpot reviewer
May 15, 2022
Easy to set up and had no issues with stability, but it's not a very friendly tool, and its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement
I didn't find any valuable features in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect because you cannot use it for re-engineering. I wanted to re-engineer the database, and it was almost impossible. I couldn't find a way. One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is the re-engineering of databases into logical models, if that feature's not yet there, because I haven't checked.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"IBM Blueworks Live is cloud-based and provides easy access to all your processes in one place."
"The solution is stable. All the refreshes run very well."
"Collaboration is most valuable. You can collaborate online with many people. People can comment, and you can comment back. It is just like a social network, and that, for me, is very good."
"It's very easy, very quick to create a process map. It has templates. The look and feel is very nice. What we want to achieve out of the process map, we can achieve it using Blueworks."
"While this is a new product it has a mature feel from being built by a company with many years in the business."
"The central dictionary is a valuable feature."
"This is low-cost and very user friendly. A variety of models are available depending on the needs of the customer."
"The product is easy to use."
"It is a handy tool for visual modeling that provides opportunities for analysis, design, and support of models using ArchiMate, UML."
"There are a lot of features in Enterprise Architect. It allows us to take on a lot of tasks."
"I like that there is support for software patterns."
"A feature I like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature is the integrated data model, so if I change the name of an item, all models using that object are automatically updated."
"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."
"It is simple to build the first model for the solution."
"Its ease of use and the breadth of the toolkit are most valuable. It has an incredible repository of artifacts to work with, and they're all cross-referenced. It works with a whole bunch of different standards. It works with BPMN, which is Business Process Modeling Notation, and it also works with something called TOGAF, which is the Open Group Architecture Foundation. There are different layers when you're dealing with architecture. There is the user interface, application, data, data servers, and all that kind of stuff. You have the infrastructure, hardware, and software layers, and then you have the application and business capability layers. You can model a business process and decompose it into all of the applications, data, and hardware to support it."
 

Cons

"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."
"In the Blue Works Live software boxes and lines are automatically placed by the programme and can't be easily manipulated."
"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."
"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 solution is a very basic discovery product so it doesn't have that much modeling capability. This can be improved."
"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."
"Spaces are not well organized; space controls are lacking."
"The solution could improve its connectivity to other systems."
"The product needs improvement regarding the confidentiality of the domain information for the key administrator."
"There's an issue with the current manual that they're working on."
"As the product is very new, some minor features are still missing, but everything is there to handle day-to-day process modeling."
"The templates for documentation should be enhanced to include complex documents such as template RFP, or Non functional requirements template."
"This solution has some limitations from a business perspective."
"Even if there are web-based tools in the Enterprise Architecture tool ecosystem (like Prolaborate), the main modeling application is still a fat client application."
"The database management area was not usable."
"The window froze for five or ten seconds. You can click and click again and it takes a second to come up. It might have been specific to a version."
"I would like the system to more "intellectually" build a scheme, place icons, and connect lines on the schemes."
"The presentation graphics need to be improved in future builds."
"The dashboard and connectivity could be improved."
 

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."
"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."
"Making it less expensive would be good."
"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."
"The solution is very, very cost-effective."
"Scalability-wise, it is an expensive product."
"Pricing will differ between enterprises based on needs such as customization, but the company uses a standardized algorithm for determining this."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"This product has a paid license, with a yearly subscription option."
"I think our license costs roughly $1,000 a year, but I could be wrong."
"We had a yearly license."
"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."
"It’s the best deal in town, by far."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
16%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

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 BIC Platform ?
The central dictionary is a valuable feature.
What needs improvement with BIC Platform ?
The solution could improve its connectivity to other systems. For instance, I need new connections to KPIs. KPIs are ...
What is your primary use case for BIC Platform ?
We use the solution for drawing the processes.
What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The pricing is reasonable, with the ultimate version costing around 290 Euros for renewal and the initial purchase ar...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The product could be improved in terms of its ease of use and documentation. While it offers a lot of functionality, ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint
BIC Cloud BPM, BIC Platform
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council
Daimler AG Siemens AG RWE Bundesministerium des Innern Uniklinikum Köln Vattenfall Ziemann Dermapharm AG Postbank LBBW EDEKA
OmniLink
Find out what your peers are saying about BIC Platform vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.