SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest comparison

erwin by Quest and SAP are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while SAP is ranked #25. erwin by Quest holds a 10.9% mindshare in AM, compared to SAP’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SAP users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

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2,219 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

Read 1 SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer review

282 Views
174 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between erwin Data Modeler by Quest and SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP LeanIX, Sparx Systems, erwin by Quest and others in Enterprise Architecture Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Architecture Management Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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Helped 844,944 peers since 2012

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

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (9th)

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

25th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 10.9%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer is 0.8%, down from 0.8% 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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Artur Chyziewicz

Co-Owner at Edusolution s.c.

Great training available with traceability a key feature

I use this solution to model enterprise software architecture. We are customers of SAP and an educational organization in Poland. Traceability is a fantastic feature. They should upgrade the algorithm. The solution currently has an old algorithm and there are now free tools on the market that…

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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

"We use the Forward and Reverse Engineering tools to help us speed things up and create things that would have to be done otherwise by hand. E.g., getting a database into a data model format or vice versa."

"The generation of DDL saved us having to write the steps by hand. You still had to go in and make some minor modifications to make it deployable to the database system. However, for the data lineage, it is very valuable for tracing our use of data, especially personal confidential data through different systems."

"We find that its ability to generate database code from a model for a wide array of data sources cuts development time. The ability to create one model in your design phase and then have it generate DDL code for Oracle or Teradata, or whichever environment you need is really nice. It's not only nice but it also saves man-hours of time. You would have to take your design and just type in manually. It has to take days off out of the work."

"Another feature of erwin is that it can help you enforce your naming standards. It has little modules that you can set up and, as you're building the data model, it's ensuring that they conform to the naming standards that you've developed."

"The visual data models for helping to overcome data source complexity and enabling understanding and collaboration around maintenance and usage are excellent. A picture speaks 1,000 words. Seeing a picture that shows you how the data relates to each other helps you better understand what the data is and how to use it. Pairing that information with a dictionary, which has the definitions of the tables and columns or the entities and attributes, ensures that the users understand what the data is so that they can use it best and most successfully."

"They have a lot of features and the most up-to-date technology integration, which I haven't seen in other products."

"The principal feature that I liked is that the solution has a very graphic interface."

"The solution is excellent in providing a visual representation of a database and can generate DDL for implementing changes. We use DDL for logical purposes to review with business people, ensuring they have the required fields for processing. We also use it as a data dictionary for the physical data model to understand all the purposes of the terms. This helps us map the logical and physical terms with the business definition to understand our data."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"Traceability is a fantastic feature."

Cons

"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."

"erwin generally fails to successfully reverse engineer our Oracle Databases into erwin data models. The way that they are engineered on our side, the syntax is correct from an Oracle perspective, but it seems to be very difficult for erwin to interpret. What I end up doing is using Oracle Data Modeler to reverse engineer into the Oracle data model, then forward engineer the DDL into an Oracle syntax, and importing that DDL into erwin in order to successfully bring in most of the information from our physical data models. That is a bit of a challenge."

"There is a lack of local support in the China region."

"The interface must be improved."

"I would like the solution to be more user-friendly to deploy."

"This is a very complex product."

"The reverse engineering in Oracle Databases needs improvement, as there are issues."

"The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"The algorithm is outdated and should be upgraded."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We've continued to use the product for many years and compared it with others on the market. The pricing is reasonable considering what the solution offers and what we pay. There are cheaper tools, but they may not be as robust and easy to use, so it's worth the money."

"I don't specifically know what we're paying now. About three years ago, in another organization, I have this memory of 6,000 AUD a seat or something like that, but I am not sure. In the mid-2000s, it was something like 1,200 AUD a seat. I get the impression that there was a price jump when it was spun off from CA as a separate company, which is understandable, but it could sometimes be a barrier in some organizations picking it up. I haven't talked to erwin people yet, but I'm going to suggest to them that they could perhaps think of having an entry-level product that is priced a bit lower, and then, you can buy the extra suite."

"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."

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

"The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."

"There are two license options and the pricing is reasonable."

"The solution is expensive."

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

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

11%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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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Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 31% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 18% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 15% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 8% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 7% of the time

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest Competitors

SAP PowerDesigner vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 47% of the time

LeanIX vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 29% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 24% of the time

More SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer report

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Also Known As

erwin DM

SAP EA Designer

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

The SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer Web application is a user-friendly, collaborative tool for creating and maintaining a complete landscape architecture that is easy to capture and understand visually. People in a wide variety of roles can readily use it, so all necessary stake-holders can participate directly in the planning and design of the architecture. You can manage change by providing effective governance of your architecture changes and calculating their costs and benefits, so that you can keep implementation efficient and cost-effective. Through robust traceability in this multirole, intuitive, collaborative environment, you gain the insight to support compliance at the outset and throughout architecture change cycles.

SAP

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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