UNICOM System Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest comparison

erwin by Quest and Unicom Systems are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2, while Unicom Systems is ranked #26. erwin by Quest holds a 11.0% mindshare in AM, compared to Unicom Systems’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Unicom Systems users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

4,177 Views
2,300 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

UNICOM System Architect

Read 2 UNICOM System Architect reviews

285 Views
122 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

UNICOM System Architect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

UNICOM System Architect and erwin Data Modeler by Quest are key players in enterprise architecture and data modeling. While UNICOM has advantages in pricing and support, erwin is favored for its comprehensive feature set, indicating a justified investment.

Features: UNICOM System Architect offers comprehensive enterprise architecture modeling, visualization capabilities supporting complex frameworks, and adaptive integration. erwin Data Modeler by Quest provides strong data modeling, metadata management, and collaboration functionalities, supporting complex database environments efficiently.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: UNICOM System Architect provides a flexible deployment model with satisfactory customer support, allowing for adaptive integration. erwin Data Modeler by Quest delivers an intuitive deployment process and superior customer service for smooth transitions, emphasizing its user-friendly setup.

Pricing and ROI: UNICOM System Architect is known for a lower initial setup cost and satisfactory ROI, thanks to efficient licensing options. erwin Data Modeler by Quest, despite a higher potential cost, offers better ROI through extensive scalability and sophisticated functionalities, highlighting its long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed UNICOM System Architect vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

UNICOM System Architect vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

March 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

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (9th)

UNICOM System Architect

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

26th

Average Rating

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 11.0%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UNICOM System Architect is 0.5%, down from 0.6% 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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reviewer1261290

Project Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Useful for creating build-outs and architecture views, but requires a publisher add-on for some detailed reports

I don't use the tool or know a lot. It is going to have some shortcomings. When it comes down to publishing, we just found out this week that they actually have a publisher add-on. So, what we were trying to publish was not giving a detailed report about the architecture, views, etc. I just wish they had sent these to UNICOM and contacted them about add-on features for the publishing part of the tool.

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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 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."

"Being able to point it to a database and then pull the metadata is a valuable feature. Another valuable feature is being able to rearrange the model so that we can display it to users. We are able to divide the information into subject areas, and we can divide the data landscape into smaller chunks, which makes it easier to understand. If you had 14 subject areas, 1,000 entities, and 6,000 columns, you can't quite understand it all at once. So, being able to have the same underlying model but only display portions of it at a time is extremely useful."

"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."

"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."

"The most valuable features are the ability to reverse engineer and do model comparison. With the reverse engineering, I can understand the databases from third-party products. With the model comparison, I can track the differences between two versions of the same database."

"Drag-and-drop data modeling and reverse engineering out of databases are the most valuable features of erwin Data Modeler by Quest."

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

"It provides flexibility with the code. You can change the code as you want. Basically, you can change SQL based on what's best for your project."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"It has good end-to-end metamodel interrelationships."

"It is useful for creating build-outs and architecture views and for publishing reports and stuff like that for different programs."

Cons

"The solution's reporting side needs to be improved."

"The erwin Data Modeler is quite complex to use."

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

"I would like to see improved reporting and, potentially, dashboards built on top of that. Right now, it's a little manual. More automated reporting and dashboard views would help because currently you have to push things out to a spreadsheet, or to HTML, and there aren't many other options that I know of. I would like to be able to produce graphs and additional things right in the tool, instead of having to export the data somewhere else."

"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."

"As someone who has used it for a long time, I have seen stability vary from version to version."

"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."

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

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"I don't use the tool or know a lot. It is going to have some shortcomings. When it comes down to publishing, we just found out this week that they actually have a publisher add-on. So, what we were trying to publish was not giving a detailed report about the architecture, views, etc. I just wish they had sent these to UNICOM and contacted them about add-on features for the publishing part of the tool."

"They need to add reports that show the enterprise architecture perspectives, and the dashboards should be comfortable for the senior enterprise architects so that they can view the complete landscape."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"Likewise, the solution is a little pricey."

"The primary reasons that erwin was selected were that it was much more affordable for us [than Embarcadero] and it was easily maintainable."

"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."

"The solution is expensive."

"Pricing is very high compared to any other product."

"Though the solution is not cheap, it's worth the money."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

"I don't remember the price. It is a different cost for just buying it, and then you have a maintenance cost, which you need to renew every year."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

17%

Computer Software Company

14%

University

13%

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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erwin Data Modeler by Quest

March 2025

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Enterprise Architecture Management

February 2025

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Also Known As

erwin DM

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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

Information not available

Unicom Systems

Sample Customers

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

Apple, Facebook, Google, HSBC, PayPal

Buyer's Guide

UNICOM System Architect vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

March 2025

Free Report: UNICOM System Architect vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about UNICOM System Architect vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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