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BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs IDERA ER/Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

BiZZdesign HoriZZon
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
6th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (13th)
IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of BiZZdesign HoriZZon is 4.7%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.3%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

BijoyTalukder - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to get a clear overview of our enterprise architecture, especially when dealing with multiple departments
One area where BiZZdesign HoriZZon could use some improvement is in its REST APIs. While the platform offers REST APIs, they have limitations when it comes to retrieving and exporting data. Obtaining detailed information at the individual application or component level, including IDs, costs, and deployment-related data, can be challenging through these APIs. This limitation makes it difficult to smoothly export such granular data. I have raised this issue with the BiZZdesign team, and they expressed interest in addressing it, but I'm not aware of the current status of this improvement effort. Nonetheless, improving the usability and flexibility of the REST APIs for data extraction is an area that could enhance the platform's capabilities.
Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts
The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is that it allows you to work with different methods, using the same tool."
"This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool."
"I used BiZZdesign HoriZZon at two organizations. At Manchester Metropolitan University, I used it with a small team for architectural modeling of the student record system. We modeled teams, process objects, and their interactions with applications. We also used it to model a gradual rollout with plateaus showing migration over time. At the BBC, I used it to model software services for publishing content online. I showed key model views to senior stakeholders using Horizon, allowing them to modify and score applications and services."
"One of the main advantages of this solution is that they have representation in the Open Group Forum, which means that any changes in ArchiMate are immediately implemented in BiZZdesign."
"The most valuable features of BiZZdesign HoriZZon, from my experience, include its out-of-the-box connectors, such as integration with ServiceNow, Excel, and SQL databases, making data repository management more efficient."
"The initial setup of this solution was very straightforward."
"The most valuable features are the application, portfolio, data, architectures, and modeling things."
"I like the flexibility of the modeling part for standards like ArchiMate and, at the same time, BPMN. It allows us to connect elements from different areas and to have a single repository and a single source of truth. It gives us one place to do analysis throughout the organization."
"ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people."
"The tool is simple to use."
"I set up this tool and found it to be very simple."
"This application does a lot of things, as do competitor products, but the main reason to go with this product was the ability to create many automations, where we can improve our work and our process."
"The most valuable features are... those that enable me to represent the database to the development community and the business users."
"My overall rating for the solution is ten out of ten."
"We are able to document the data lineage and data flows of our data from one system to another."
"Straightforward setup."
 

Cons

"It should be more open to integrating with other existing tools. Although there has been progress in the past."
"In HoriZZon, there are different matrices. In some of the cases, there is an option to aggregate them, but in other cases, we have not done this, e.g., to see the proper costs. For example, if I have 10 different matrices, then I need to create an aggregate view out of those 10 matrices somewhere. That is where we have been struggling a bit. We have a counterpart from the HoriZZon product team with whom we have bi-weekly discussions. We have suggested to him that this can be improved."
"There is room for improvement in making it more seamless between the modeling and the analysis pieces. Sometimes you have to do some work in the backend to ensure that the HoriZZon portal really gets all of the information the way you want it. They are working on the seamlessness between what they call Enterprise Studio and HoriZZon."
"We tested it, and we had support from BiZZdesign, including patches, but it just didn't do what we wanted."
"One area where BiZZdesign HoriZZon could use some improvement is in its REST APIs."
"Scalability is a bit of a problem for BiZZdesign. There is always a possibility it will failover."
"This tool is something of a beast - it takes a long time to learn, and it isn't possible for casual users and most architects. Unless a person spends 500 or 1,000 hours on the tool or does very concentrated sessions using all its functionalities, it's very difficult to master."
"There could be simpler modelling."
"The number of options can be overwhelming at times. That is not necessarily a bad thing but for a newbie, it can be daunting."
"They allow functionalities to be released before the full tests for catching and correcting errors are completed."
"The screens are a bit outdated. They could use a new look and feel."
"There was no specific mention of areas needing improvement."
"Sometimes our version is a little unstable. But I think this problem occurs because our version is old."
"I would like to see better documentation/help for the Data Architect tool. Creation of tutorials would be nice, as there are some features which are not as clearly defined as they should be."
"I'd like the ability to debug the errors ourselves instead of having to call them. There are certain types of errors that, I wouldn't say they come up regularly, but when you have an error it is very often the same type of error. Knowing that it's a Type III or Type I, it would be nice to have some kind of debugging facility for us to use to find out where the problem that threw that error occurs. That would be a really cool feature."
"ER/Studio lacks a pure cloud option for deployment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable."
"In terms of this particular product usage, my clients currently only use per-user licenses."
"If one is very cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a seven out of ten."
"The pricing model is slightly on the high side and could be more competitive for long-term partnerships."
"[The] Orbus... pricing model was based on every single functionality having a price. The pricing was comparable but if we wanted to scale, it would have ended up being a lot more expensive. BiZZdesign gave us one price with all of the functionality, and we could scale as much as we needed."
"First and foremost within the scope of improvement for the solution would be the cost. It's very costly..."
"We were customers and bought licenses from them. We used their remote instance initially but upgraded to the on-device version due to lag. For pricing, we paid about 2200 pounds a year per seat for the client installation at an educational rate. I'm not sure about commercial rates. I managed to get a free copy at BBC since it was for evaluation purposes."
"I haven't found any issues with the scalability and licensing parts that are access-related."
"I use the product's trial version."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"The price of this product is okay."
"I am currently using the trial version, but this solution is definitely worth considering for the price point."
"The product is pricey."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
34%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BiZZdesign HoriZZon?
This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool.
What needs improvement with BiZZdesign HoriZZon?
The ability to generate charts and deal with a use case involving Kibana was quite difficult. We don't use the chart functionality much, and I think that is quite problematic at the moment. We have...
What is your primary use case for BiZZdesign HoriZZon?
I use the solution in my company for all sorts of things, like enterprise and solution architecture. As part of our design process, BiZZdesign HoriZZon is used for road mapping. We also use it for ...
What needs improvement with IDERA ER/Studio?
I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time. I need more time to assess this aspect.
 

Also Known As

HoriZZon
IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T-Mobile, Shell, HSBC, Erasmus University, VIVAT Insurance
Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.