Bizagi vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

Bizagi and Sparx Systems are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Bizagi is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.5, while Sparx Systems is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.3. Bizagi holds a 9.7% mindshare in BPD, compared to Sparx Systems’s 11.6% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Bizagi users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Sparx Systems users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Bizagi and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect compete in the business process management and enterprise architecture space. Based on the evaluation, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect appears to have an upper hand due to its comprehensive suite and support for various standards.

Features: Bizagi offers intuitive modeling and process automation, ideal for teams without extensive technical backgrounds, with notable features including rapid development, BPMN 2.0 compliance, and integration capabilities. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect provides a comprehensive suite that covers UML and BPMN, suitable for detailed enterprise architecture and modeling, with strong simulation abilities and support for TOGAF and ArchiMate.

Room for Improvement: Bizagi needs improvement in stability and support speed, as well as in handling large projects and better integration with RPA tools. It also lacks comprehensive case management. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect faces challenges with usability due to its steep learning curve, along with the need for better reporting functions and a more intuitive interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Bizagi supports on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid deployments, offering flexibility but receiving mixed reviews on customer service due to slow response times unless paid support is utilized. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect offers similar deployment options and receives high satisfaction for its technical support, although access can initially be challenging.

Pricing and ROI: Bizagi offers a free modeler with tiered pricing for advanced features, though some users are concerned about its costs. It delivers good ROI through process automation. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect presents competitive pricing with significant value for its comprehensive functionality, allowing modular pricing to tailor investments, making it economically feasible for extensive enterprise modeling.

To learn more, read our detailed Bizagi vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Bizagi vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

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 Bizagi is 9.7%, up from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.6%, down from 12.9% 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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Sebastian

Manager at KPMG

A flexible, customizable solution that reduced time to market, but the UI and customer support could be better

The ability to write our own code inside each activity is beneficial. Sometimes we need to create functionality that doesn't come out of the box, and this allows us to do that. The orchestration capabilities provided by the solution are good; they're helpful and fully functional, plus Bizagi has a management consultant to assist. However, they could be better, and there is significant room for improvement. We can adapt processes we created with Bizagi as our business grows and more processes become automated. We have been doing that on a live process, and it works very well. If the change we are implementing is very different to a traditional workflow, we can create a new version and design cases in the new version instead of the older one. We can modify processes already in place if the change isn't too disruptive, or we can keep using the same platform but create cases in a new workflow instead of the old one, so there's a lot of flexibility. Adapting processes is straightforward, though it depends somewhat on the complexity of the process. Making minor modifications is not complicated; we go into the studio, change the piece of code, workflow, or data model we need, and then redeploy.

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Milan Sterba

Senior Enterprise Architect at Deepview S.r.o.

Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio

Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.

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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

"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."

"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."

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

"The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic."

"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."

"For me, what I find to be the most valuable is its simplicity and the association with Microsoft Office."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"The amount of control that this solution provides is great."

"The product has a comfortable GUI and a good environment for users."

"It automates a completely manual, complicated process."

"In Bizagi, all of the features are valuable."

"The user interface is pretty good."

"The product enables the users to automate the processes and provides a good user experience."

"The main feature of Bizagi is the speed to which we can automate processes and how we can modify them without a strong impact on the end users."

"This is a free solution that allows us to create quality visualizations for our company."

More Bizagi pros

"The solution saved a lot of time, about 30%."

"Ability to maintain cross-references for all models in all levels - great tractability."

"The system provides powerful tools for obtaining reports and documentation."

"It is simple to build the first model for the solution."

"The Business Process Modeling or BPM part is the most valuable. Its ability to simulate scenarios is also very useful. It can also create descriptions of the workflows. It has a feature in which if you create some BPMN process, a workflow diagram, and the description inside, you can actually simulate the whole scenario, and you get the description. That's very handy."

"The profiles allow me to customize the tool to the corporate environment instead of the other way around saving huge amounts of time and energy on trying to turn dozens of individuals into TOGAF, ArchiMate or Zachman experts, or even Sparx EA experts."

"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."

"The advantages of Enterprise are that it's cheaper and much more practical than MagicDraw."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 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 initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."

"IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts."

"The ability to create a very structured rule. With the capability that we have right now, Blueworks Live is more process focused. We should be able to enhance it to include a lot more of decisions as well."

"We haven't yet been able to dabble in case management with Blueworks Live, as it is not yet offered with the product."

"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."

"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 would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"I would like to see simulation as a free feature again. In version 3.3 it was free, but in 4.0 it isn't."

"For the small business, this is very bad because it is still fragmented. The licensing policy should be more flexible and small company oriented. In micro-small companies, there should only be one or two. That's not the problem. Maybe it is too flexible, there are so many pieces that you need to put together. When you have a small business, it can be a little complicated, not so easy."

"I'm not really satisfied with the reporting aspect."

"The gateway through which it connects with other vendors, specifically RPA vendors, is one aspect that could be improved."

"The data in Excel that comes out after running the simulation is a bit complicated sometimes to interpret."

"The solution is a bit heavy on resources and has slowed down my computer."

"Its performance needs to be improved. The main thing is that it is limited, especially in terms of the response times. When the processes become a bit large, it is very awkward to work with the Bizagi modeler. When you have already modeled but start to rearrange, it is quite a bit of an effort to change the stuff. When you rearrange lanes or have new structures, it goes rather squiggly up and down and so on, which could be improved. The visual outputs of the DIREPs of the process models are pixelated and have a bad image quality. It is a PNG or JPEG, and you cannot export it as a PDF. When you have rather large processes, you should be able to arrange them hierarchically. Currently, it is not supported. If you use sub-processes and inflate a process, suddenly the arrangement is totally different, and although you know the process, you have to look where is it now. You need a good understanding of the levels of your processes before you start in Bizagi. It can have automatic support for optimal presentation. In BPM, you should have it from the top left to the bottom right. However, in most cases, people don't know how they should arrange it. Therefore, it would be nice to have a suggestion system for different arrangements to be able to better present the process."

"There could be more documentation."

More Bizagi cons

"Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward."

"The presentation graphics need to be improved in future builds."

"It took me a while to figure out how to use the report generation features effectively. So, it would be really nice if they had a way to make that a little bit more interactive and a little bit more straightforward."

"When many users are accessing the system at the same time, Sparx slows down. It can't easily support a large team."

"Its best features are not intuitive or easy to learn. Most companies I have worked with, when I see what they are doing with it , are not using more than 5% of what they could and should be doing with it."

"What should be improved are the integration capabilities of the solution with Bizagi."

"This solution should have better ease of use for the uninitiated."

"I think the product is good. When I'm trying to do something specific for some part of project documentation, it's hard to get it figured out if you don't use it all the time. It's such a massive tool, it's hard to figure out how to dig in and get to the documentation where you have to be to get some idea of what to do. There are not a lot of examples that I'm aware of to be able to do that."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

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

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"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."

"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."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

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

"The price could be lower."

"The Bizagi modeler can be downloaded free of charge."

"I'm trying the free unlimited version with unlimited use. But you have to pay to add some features."

"The modeler itself is free. For the whole BPM suite, there are other options that may be better."

"We use the free version of the solution because the price is in dollars, making it expensive for where we are in Brazil."

"Its price is reasonable."

"The modeling part of the software is free. Most of the time, it is used for this purpose."

"My company uses the free version of the product."

More Bizagi pricing and cost advice

"It's affordable. The only additional cost that we haven't yet figured out is the floating license. If you buy a floating license, you have to have a license management server, which comes at an additional cost that's not discussed. So, we haven't yet used the floating license. That’s because I haven't had a chance to figure that out."

"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."

"It is cheap."

"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."

"Its price is very good for the value that you get with it."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."

"This product has a paid license, with a yearly subscription option."

"The licensing is not as expensive as some of the other data modeling tools such as Erwin."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

17%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software 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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How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?

I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty st...

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What do you like most about Bizagi?

The natural notation is the best feature of Bizagi because it makes it compatible with other products.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bizagi?

My company uses the free version of the product. In our company, we are doing documentation and modeling. When we rea...

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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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price...

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What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not stra...

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 14% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 9% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

Camunda vs Bizagi

Compared 27% of the time

Visio vs Bizagi

Compared 17% of the time

Bonita vs Bizagi

Compared 7% of the time

Appian vs Bizagi

Compared 6% of the time

ADONIS vs Bizagi

Compared 3% of the time

More Bizagi Competitors

Visual Paradigm vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 17% of the time

Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 12% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 10% of the time

Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

iServer vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 2% of the time

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

December 2024

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Buyer's Guide

Bizagi

December 2024

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Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

November 2024

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

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Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

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Bizagi

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Sparx Systems

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.

Bizagi’s industry-leading low-code process automation platform connects people, applications, robots, and information. As the most business-friendly and flexible solution on the market, Bizagi enables true collaboration between business and IT, delivering faster adoption and success. Fuelled by a community of 1 million users, Bizagi powers over 1,000 organizations worldwide including Adidas, BAE Systems, and Old Mutual. For more information visit www.bizagi.com

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an enterprise solution that helps streamline, accelerate, and integrate software, system, and business development. With this intuitive modeling and design solution, enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, enable collaboration, support their teams and colleagues, and manage complex projects. Software architects, business analysts, project managers, developers, support staff, and testers can unite under a single repository. Through numerous view points and potential sub-systems, users are offered a unified view in a complex environment.

With Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, users are also offered a shared model option which can be accessed quickly and securely by in-office and remote team members through the Enterprise Architect’s Pro Cloud Server. Building a coherent, verifiable model can be done by connecting and integrating a variety of behavioral and structural information in visual form. As a result, Enterprise Architect offers high performance, flexibility, and the ability to model, manage, and trace every stage of the business development and modeling process.

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Features

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect assists in creating a unified and accessible vision in business development by offering a flexible platform with a unique set of rich features. These features include:

Test and debug - Streamline software development and visualize software with the simulation process. Users can test and confirm correct behavior, set and oversee test points, and debug and examine software.

Track tasks - Track, prioritize, and assign individual and group tasks to assist in the model’s development. Users can visually monitor their progress through the Gantt chart.

Open standards - Users can visualize and analyze running software with integrated custom tools. They can also run advanced simulations, team-based repositories, testing tools, and version control. In addition, the solution supports enterprise architecture frameworks such as UPDM and TOGAF.

Simulation - Create and debug embedded solutions by simulating behaviors and state models. Users can specify events, triggers, constraints, and more. Users can also specify extensive and complex structural systems and create custom domain-specific solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect merges high-end tools, online availability, a dedication to open standards, and accessible pricing so enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, whether remote or in-office. Users particularly like the architectural frameworks and the scalability.

Marc L., a principal architecture enterprise solution adviser at Cronomagic Canada, notes, "The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

An enterprise architect at a manufacturing company writes, "Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

adidas, Audi, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Post DHL & many more - 500+ customer globally.

OmniLink

Buyer's Guide

Bizagi vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

December 2024

Free Report: Bizagi vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Find out what your peers are saying about Bizagi vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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