IBM Rational System Architect vs LeanIX comparison

IBM and SAP LeanIX are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. IBM is ranked #19, while SAP LeanIX is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. IBM holds a 1.7% mindshare in AM, compared to SAP LeanIX’s 16.3% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SAP LeanIX users who would recommend it.

IBM Rational System Architect

Read 5 IBM Rational System Architect reviews

883 Views
479 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

LeanIX

Read 21 LeanIX reviews

6,018 Views
3,195 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Rational System Architect

LeanIX

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IBM Rational System Architect and LeanIX are competitors in the enterprise architecture domain. While LeanIX stands out for its comprehensive feature set, IBM Rational System Architect offers notable advantages in pricing and support, presenting a clearer value proposition in these areas.

Features: IBM Rational System Architect is praised for its robust modeling capabilities, comprehensive integration with IBM tools, and its value in detailed architecture planning. LeanIX provides user-friendly collaboration, quick adaptability, and advanced features like cloud-based accessibility and streamlined data integration, making it superior for modern enterprise needs.

Room for Improvement: IBM Rational System Architect could enhance its deployment agility and update its user interface for better usability. It's also crucial to improve integration options with non-IBM ecosystems. LeanIX could benefit from reducing its high initial investment cost, expanding customization options, and enhancing offline capabilities for environments with limited internet access.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LeanIX's cloud-native deployment offers quick setup and flexibility, with a strong focus on customer-centric support. In contrast, IBM Rational System Architect may involve a more complex deployment process, yet it benefits organizations with existing IBM ecosystems through its wide range of integration options and established support protocols.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Rational System Architect provides a cost-effective setup with favorable long-term ROI when used within IBM infrastructures, making it attractive for budget-conscious clients. LeanIX, while requiring a higher initial investment, justifies this with its scalability and advanced features, promising potentially higher ROI for dynamic organizations prioritizing operational agility.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Rational System Architect vs. LeanIX Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational System Architect vs. LeanIX

April 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

IBM Rational System Architect

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

19th

Average Rating

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

LeanIX

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

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 IBM Rational System Architect is 1.7%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LeanIX is 16.3%, up from 13.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

it_user951237

Enterprise Architecture Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Modeling is useful, but many features need improvement and technical support is lacking

I find that almost every feature related to the models requires improvement. For example, I would like to see more trendy models, the look and feel of the models can be improved. This solution can be more user-friendly and easier to use, with better dashboards. The impact analysis feature is in need of heavy improvement. The is a standalone product that lacks integration with a business process automation engine. I would like to see the workflow improved, where it integrates seamlessly with the artifacts.

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Umit Sengul

Enterprise Architect at E.ON

A platform that facilitates efficient IT architecture management and integration, improving organizational coordination and decision-making

LeanIX is primarily used to create and manage architectural models, link capabilities, activities, and products and generate comprehensive reports. It serves as a central platform for overseeing the IT landscape within EON, a large organization, streamlining operations and enhancing governance…

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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 user interface is good. It's both clear and comprehensible. It's easy to work with."

"We have seen ROI with this solution over the years that we have used it."

"There are a lot of features I find valuable, but I think that the metamodel customization is one of the best features that the solution offers."

"The solution is pretty stable."

"My favorite feature of LeanIX is its ability to induct attribute-driven surveys."

"I like the tool’s integration and maps."

"The most valuable features are that it's user-friendly and the user experience. It's easy to map the fact sheets."

"For the reporting capabilities, LeanIX provides dashboards for different levels, including CXO dashboards. There are plenty of dashboards for reporting."

"The most valuable feature would be application portfolio management, which is where they came from, but over time, they have got artificial intelligence. They built up a very good repository. If I identify a system by name, from historical information, oftentimes, they can tell me that this is deployed with this number of CPUs and they can give me a really good profile of the application for me to put it into a change management database with very little effort."

"The most valuable features are the clean user interface and the fact sheet feature in Application Portfolio Management. The tool integrates well with ServiceNow, which is the usual CMDB platform."

"One of the product's most valuable features is its ability to configure hardware devices."

"LeanIX has good usability and stability. This SaaS is intuitive, easy to use, and comes with a nice reporting feature."

More LeanIX pros

Cons

"The solution needs to better integrate with other products, like Microsoft."

"There needs to be more information at the outset about how to use the solution and how to deploy it. The deployment process needs improvement."

"The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database."

"This solution can be more user-friendly and easier to use, with better dashboards."

"Does a poor job of being able to allocate detailed costings to components within the network."

"The solution’s API integration needs to improve. I would like to see a digital screen watch feature also in the solution."

"Another area for improvement is that when you're starting to look into more advanced information, using the solution's APIs and its customizations, documentation for that specific aspect is not very good. There is not too much support built into the offering for that aspect, for a developer."

"LeanIX should improve its support services."

"The modeling could be improved."

"The initial setup has room for improvement."

"LeanIX has limited in-build diagramming capabilities, requiring the purchase of another tool. That is the main drawback of LeanIX because they don't have a built-in add-on product for diagramming."

"They're probably positioned pretty well. I hope that they would not focus that much on the business architecture, and they would focus more on the overall cloud strategy and how we can leverage multi-cloud and transition back and forth from other cloud providers. With a lot of current vendors, you get locked in with one cloud, and then you try to migrate to someone else, and it becomes very problematic. What they need to do is to look at the overall data strategy, and they probably need to amplify their data strategy, especially around multi-cloud."

More LeanIX cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It cost me $91,000 a year for 300 applications. For any enterprise, 300 applications are minimal, as many have well over 1,000 applications."

"The tool needs to include more flexible licensing options. We do not use the tool all the time. So pricing should be considered only when we use the tool."

"The pricing is very good. We definitely get good value for the money."

"The solution's pricing is based on a licensing model that is competitive and in line with other products."

"I would rate the pricing a one out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"LeanIX uses application-based account licensing, where the cost is multiplied by the number of applications in the software implementation."

"As the tool is cloud-based, its cost is more affordable."

"There is a sweet spot of where they need to be on pricing right now. They could go up a little bit in pricing, but it has to do with the cost savings, and it has to do with the practitioners using it. I use it where I get cost savings and I can justify it, but they probably have the ability to flex a 10% up channel on their sales on that. So, they could increase their settle price, not their offering price, when they sell. They can probably hold that up a little bit higher than it is because there are cost savings that we can drive from it."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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Any experience with Strategic Project Portfolio Management Solutions?

Hi @Cheryl Joseph Looking at the crossover between Project and Portfolio management with EA, then Planview could be a good choice. If looking at Portfolio Management from an EA perspective then Le...

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What do you like most about LeanIX?

The ability to import data and generate reports from it. That's where its power lies.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LeanIX?

LeanIX is associated with high costs. It cost me $91,000 a year for 300 applications. For any enterprise, 300 applications are minimal, as many have well over 1,000 applications. The first pricing ...

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ServiceNow vs LeanIX

Compared 21% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs LeanIX

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MEGA HOPEX vs LeanIX

Compared 10% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs LeanIX

Compared 8% of the time

iServer vs LeanIX

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

LeanIX

April 2025

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Also Known As

Rational System Architect

No data available

Overview

IBM Rational System Architect is an enterprise architecture solution for visualizing, analyzing, and communicating enterprise architecture and business process analysis. This solution provides decision support, process optimization, and integration into solution delivery. Rational System Architect addresses all aspects of your organization's enterprise architecture, including modeling, publishing, analysis, and execution.

IBM

LeanIX delivers collaborative Enterprise Architecture designed for modern IT. Our open, data-driven architecture management model helps organizations adapt to the evolving demands of digital. From agile to multi-cloud and beyond, architecture teams using LeanIX have the power to strategically support the business and report 45% reduction in time to value delivery. More than 90,000 users across enterprises worldwide rely on LeanIX to manage their IT landscape, including adidas, Bosch, 7Eleven, and Zalando.

SAP LeanIX

Sample Customers

Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer

adidas, Bosch, Chico's, Haworth, Helvetia, KuKa, Osram, Telekom, TUI, Santander, Swarovski, Vaillant, 7Eleven, and Zalando.

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational System Architect vs. LeanIX

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Rational System Architect vs. LeanIX

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