erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs erwin Evolve by Quest comparison

erwin Data Modeler by Quest and erwin Evolve by Quest are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin Data Modeler by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2, while erwin Evolve by Quest is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0. erwin Data Modeler by Quest holds a 11.2% mindshare in AM, compared to erwin Evolve by Quest’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin Data Modeler by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of erwin Evolve by Quest users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

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2,377 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

erwin Evolve by Quest

Read 19 erwin Evolve by Quest reviews

951 Views
611 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

erwin Evolve by Quest

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Erwin Evolve and Erwin Data Modeler by Quest compete in the enterprise architecture and data modeling category. While Erwin Data Modeler is favored for its detailed data modeling capabilities, Erwin Evolve provides comprehensive enterprise architecture functionalities.

Features: Erwin Evolve offers features such as business process modeling and IT governance, enabling companies to manage their enterprise architecture holistically. It supports collaboration across geographically dispersed teams through its web interface and Evolve Designer. Erwin Data Modeler excels in complex database design, integration, and source management. It offers advanced model comparison and reverse engineering capabilities, making it ideal for creating precise data models.

Room for Improvement: Erwin Evolve could enhance its alignment with standard enterprise architecture frameworks and improve user adoption of its web deployment features. Its complexity might overwhelm users unfamiliar with intricate enterprise solutions, requiring simplification for broader usability. Erwin Data Modeler could expand support for non-relational database systems and optimize performance for handling very large data models. Enhancements in collaboration features and user-interface modernization would also be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Erwin Evolve features a flexible deployment model that adapts to various environments, boasting comprehensive support. Its client/server version offers stability, although there is ongoing development towards a more robust web-only solution. Erwin Data Modeler prides itself on an easy installation process, ensuring integration within existing data environments is seamless. Praise is often given for its intuitive setup and solid customer service focused on data-centric needs.

Pricing and ROI: Erwin Evolve typically demands a higher initial investment but shows potential for substantial ROI through extensive enterprise architecture applications. In contrast, Erwin Data Modeler has lower upfront costs, offering significant returns by enhancing data analysis capabilities. The pricing structures highlight Evolve's expansive application investment versus Data Modeler's focused data utility approach.

To learn more, read our detailed erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

January 2025

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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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

3rd

Ranking in Business Process Design

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

erwin Evolve by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

11th

Ranking in Business Process Design

18th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 11.2%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Evolve by Quest is 2.8%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

JorgeSanz

Data Governance Senior Advisor at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Streamline data modeling and automate network changes for increased efficiency

The initial setup depends on the tool if you are using the data model environment. Stopping the server could be complex and require strong expertise. If you have everything set up and configured, Erwin is straightforward. You can deploy it in a few hours. In our case, it took a couple of months to address internal conditions, assign machines, and set up everything for the services. I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

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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.

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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

"The data lineage feature is very valuable."

"I have worked with erwin Data Modeler for quite some time and familiarity is its most valuable feature."

"erwin has versioning so you can keep versions, over time, of those models and you can compare any version to any version. If you're looking at a specific database and you want to see what changed over time, that's really useful. You can go back to a different version or connect that to your change-control processes so you can see what was released when."

"One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability."

"Quest can create conceptual and physical data models to facilitate effective communication between business and IT. It can also integrate expertise from various engineering and database systems within your organization to enhance data management and administration."

"Any tool will do diagramming but I think the ability to put the stuff up in a graphical fashion, then think about it, and keep things consistent is what's valuable about it. It's too easy when you're using other methods to not have naming consistent standards and column consistent definitions, et cetera."

"We had some data integration projects, where we needed to integrate it for about 100 databases. Doing that manually is crazy; we can't do that. With erwin, it was much easier to identify which tables and columns could be used for the integration. That means a lot in terms of time and effort as well as my image to the customer, because they can see that we are providing value in a very short time."

"The modeling portion of the tool is the most valuable. There are some notes, naming standards, and other functions that we use as well. There's a whole boatload of functionality in this thing and we use maybe 10% of it. It seems to be pretty common that not all the functionality is fully utilized. But it's just got gobs and gobs of stuff that you can implement if you so choose to."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"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."

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

"You can use different kinds of diagrams to represent the architecture setting."

"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."

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

"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."

"The feature that stands out for me is the ease of configuring objects and the screens to show them. It's really easy to add a new type of object in this reference. Creating a new type of object, using it, and evolving it a little bit in terms of what we can document about it are the main features that made us decide to use this provider."

More erwin Evolve by Quest pros

Cons

"The interface must be improved."

"We are planning to move, in 2021, into their server version, where multiple data modelers can work at the same time and share their models. It has become a pain point to merge the models from individual desktops and get them into a single data model, when multiple data modelers are working on a particular project. It becomes a nightmare for the senior data modeler to bring them together, especially when it comes to recreating them when you want to merge them."

"I would like the solution to be less rigid in terms of its theory."

"The report generation has room for improvement. I think it was version 8 where you had to use Crystal Reports, and it was so painful that the company I was with just stayed on version 7 until version 9 came out and they restored the data browser. That's better than it was, but it's still a little cumbersome. For example, you run it in erwin, then export it out to Excel, and then you have to do a lot of cosmetic modification. If you discover that you missed a column, then you would have to rerun the whole thing. Sometimes what you would do is just go ahead and fix it in the report, then you have to remember to go back and fix it in the model. Therefore, I think the report generation still could use some work."

"I would like to see more support for working with the big-data world. There are so many new databases evolving and it's very hard for them to keep up with all of the new technologies. It would be good if they were able to dynamically support big-data platforms, other than Hive and Teradata."

"This is a very complex product."

"I love the product. I love the ability to get into the code, make it automated, and make it do what I want. I would like to see them put some kind of governance over the ability to make changes to the mart tables with the API, so that instead of just using the modeler's rights to a table -- it has a separate set of rights for API access. That would give us the ability to put governance around API applications. Right now a person with erwin and Excel/VBA has the ability to make changes to models with the API if they also have rights to make changes to the model from erwin. It's a risk."

"It does not have a cloud application."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"It could have had a more streamlined navigation. It seemed that when you went to the explorer panel, there were just so many different ways of doing the work that I could not remember, "How did I do this? How did I get to that point in that model to get back to it?" If I wanted to build a new one, where do I start? It just seemed like there was such a smorgasbord of ways of doing it that it was just overwhelming."

"The solution needs to focus on allowing for more integrations."

"erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses."

"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."

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

"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."

"The solution's integration capabilities with other tools in our system has not been all that well done. We have people who use ARIS, who use System Architect and, of course, Visio. erwin has very limited ways to import and export from those kinds of tools. It's not a very easy thing to do."

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

More erwin Evolve by Quest cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"There is either a one-year or three-year license. It is not a pay-as-you-go license like a SaaS solution. It’s more of a traditional licensing. They are a little bit on the pricier side."

"This company had bought the license for three years, and it's not an individual license. While you can buy a license for each individual, that would be very expensive. There is something called concurrent licenses where you can purchase licenses in bulk and 15 to 20 people can access the license and model. Concurrent licenses are scalable to the number of users and are proportional to the cost."

"Likewise, the solution is a little pricey."

"An issue right now would be that erwin doesn't have a freely available browser (that I am aware of) for people who are not data modelers or data engineers that a consumer could use to look at the data models and play with it. This would not be to make any changes, but just to visually look at what exists. There are other products out there which do have end user browsers available and allow them to access data models via the data modeling tool."

"The price of erwin Data Modeler is very expensive, in particular for this part of the world."

"It is not a very expensive solution. Only the licensing and maintenance fee needs to be paid."

"erwin Data Modeler by Quest is an expensive solution."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

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What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

As a documenting tool, it's solid, though its reporting could be more robust. The reporting mechanisms could be more intuitive regarding report creation. It can generate reports in CSV files, displ...

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What advice do you have for others considering erwin Evolve?

I rate erwin Evolve by Quest a nine out of ten.

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What do you like most about erwin Evolve by Quest?

We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts.

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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

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 28% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 17% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 16% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 9% of the time

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 1% of the time

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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 25% of the time

LeanIX vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 20% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 11% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 8% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

February 2025

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Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve by Quest

February 2025

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Also Known As

erwin DM

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

Overview

erwin pioneered data modeling, and erwin Data Modeler (erwin DM) remains trusted, award-winning software for data modeling and database design, automating complex and time-consuming tasks. Use it to discover and document any data from anywhere for consistency, clarity and artifact reuse across large-scale data integration, master data management, metadata management, Big Data, business intelligence and analytics initiatives – all while supporting data governance and intelligence efforts.

erwin by Quest

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

Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples

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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

January 2025

Free Report: erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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