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IBM Rational System Architect vs SAP PowerDesigner 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:
 

Customer Service

No sentiment score available
Customer service is generally praised, but transitions from IBM to UNICOM and support agreements have complicated user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
8.1
SAP PowerDesigner support is satisfactory but costly, with praised documentation, yet response times and communication need improvement.
 

Room For Improvement

No sentiment score available
IBM Rational System Architect requires UI improvements, AI model inclusion, better integration, enhanced support, and comprehensive module packages.
Sentiment score
4.9
SAP PowerDesigner needs improved user-friendliness, database connectivity, team collaboration, UI modernization, and enhanced technical support for better usability.
 

Scalability Issues

No sentiment score available
IBM Rational System Architect is scalable in modeling, but integration and license management challenges lead some to consider replacement.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP PowerDesigner is praised for scalability, effectively handling large models and teams of varying sizes with high user satisfaction.
 

Stability Issues

No sentiment score available
IBM Rational System Architect is very stable, with users experiencing no reported issues and recovering smoothly from crashes.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP PowerDesigner is stable and reliable, with minor issues in complex models, achieving high ratings for performance.
 

Valuable Features

No sentiment score available
IBM Rational System Architect excels in supporting frameworks, user-friendly modeling, customizable meta-models, and report publishing with stable versatility.
Sentiment score
8.2
SAP PowerDesigner offers user-friendly extensibility, robust data modeling, bi-directional traceability, and strong database connectivity for effective data governance.
 

Setup Cost

No sentiment score available
No sentiment score available
SAP PowerDesigner offers competitive pricing for enterprises but may be costly for small consultancies due to setup and support fees.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Rational System Architect
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
20th
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP PowerDesigner
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IBM Rational System Architect is 1.9%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP PowerDesigner is 8.6%, up from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

RK
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.
JorgeSanz - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective in terms of validating everything, but sometimes they don't allow us some flexibility and GUI could improve
I would recommend SAP PowerDesigner to others for data architecture management. It provides all the functionalities in terms of data modeling, so it's also a good tool for that. I see trends in terms of data classification, but I don't see this tool with the intelligence to do that automatically. So, like, with artificial intelligence. Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten because there are too many validations. Also, I found some gaps in terms of relationships; they didn't appear when you do reverse engineering. Also, this tool lacks artificial intelligence that should be very good in terms of automatically identifying the classification of elements and maybe also to incorporate some artificial intelligence in providing descriptions for each data element included in the solution.
report
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816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What do you like most about SAP PowerDesigner?
It allows us to have proper documentation in terms of the databases.
What needs improvement with SAP PowerDesigner?
Based on my experience with SAP PowerDesigner, I'd like to see improvements in the DMM feature. Even if I have an ETL tool, I'd like the DMM options to directly connect to ETL tool repositories lik...
 

Also Known As

Rational System Architect
Sybase PowerDesigner
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer
Medtronic, Cirque du Soleil, Antarc, B&G Manufacturing, EarlySense, eBay, Ferrero, James Austin Company, Lenovo, Sagem, RAK Ceramics, Vodafone
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational System Architect vs. SAP PowerDesigner and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.