SAP Signavio Process Manager vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

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Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.5%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Signavio Process Manager is 8.9%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.8%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

Jul 5, 2023

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

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Cirvesh-Daga

Director at T-Systems International GmbH

Feb 15, 2024

Good visual representation for modelling and business process mapping but room for improvement in reporting functionalities

There is room for improvement in analytics. People don't realize it, but the world has changed in the last six to eight months. Customers want to see AI like ChatGPT and ML capabilities in all aspects of business processes and reporting. That would be my recommendation for any OEM in this value chain. Reporting could definitely be improved. I would like to see new features in analytics. I like that they analyze the process and give it to me visually, but I'd like the option to use DPMM instead of just DPC. I'd also like the option to have the process map laid out top to bottom instead of horizontally. Especially a choice between DPMN and EPC as a format. Because there are some people who are very comfortable with the EPC notation. The process is very clearly event-driven. There's an event, there's an action. It's very simple to understand. BPMN, which is the most popular business process notation, generally tends to have multiple frames. Actually, in multiple swimlanes rather. And those frames could each represent a particular kind of entity. Maybe it's an action, maybe it's an actor, maybe it's an event. So there are two different ways of notation. I just like Signavio to give us the ability to choose that notation. Because some companies use BPMN and some use the EPC. And then, if the minute you make that change, I'd like them to give us the flexibility of having an already plotted or vertically plotted option. Moreover, I would like to see improvement in the visual part. It's the piece that needs improvement. Currently, you can plot the diagram horizontally or vertically. However, I'd like the option to change the way the diagram is created, like switching between different notations.

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Anthony Houghton

Data Architect at UK Research and Innovatio

May 15, 2022

Easy to set up and had no issues with stability, but it's not a very friendly tool, and its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement

I didn't find any valuable features in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect because you cannot use it for re-engineering. I wanted to re-engineer the database, and it was almost impossible. I couldn't find a way. One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is the re-engineering of databases into logical models, if that feature's not yet there, because I haven't checked.

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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

"It has the ability to document in different formats. It is not tied to a specific model. You can look at it from different angles and see the intuitive nature of it. It always generates a valid diagram. You cannot create something that is not BPMN compliant."

"It enables decisions based upon processes that we do model, and ultimately move forward with."

"The reporting that we can generate from IBM Blueworks Live has been interesting. We found the KPIs, risks, process modeling, format, and colors, to be very good. We use the EY template and it is interesting to generate reporting in this format."

"The solution is stable. All the refreshes run very well."

"It's very easy, very quick to create a process map. It has templates. The look and feel is very nice. What we want to achieve out of the process map, we can achieve it using Blueworks."

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"The ease of documenting and digitizing the processes was valuable to us."

"The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"For the collaboration functions, we use the commenting and quick model functions for process owners who don't have specific knowledge about Process Manager."

"As a business transformation suite, Signavio offers a number of integrated helpful tools. The Process Modeler helps with the conceptual work, but is directly integrated with the components of the Workflow Accelerator (Automation) and the Process Intelligence (Mining). This makes Signavio an indispensable service package."

"I really like the Collaboration Hub because it's so easy to communicate. And what is really important is that you can use it asynchronously. It doesn't matter if you're working in Italy or in America. You are using the same process and you can speak about the same process."

"The formatting features are quite good because you can create very complex models, but you can easily clean them up so that they look very nice."

"The collaboration hub, which helps us in terms of being able to communicate with our customers, brings everybody into the tool and close to the process, allowing them to comment and to implement their own processes."

"I have done a lot of modeling over quite a number of years, and I think that the modeling capabilities in Signavio are state of the art."

"The solution is user-friendly."

"The GUI is very easy to use, where you can sit together with your colleagues, discuss the process, and during these discussions you can build up the model."

More SAP Signavio Process Manager pros

"Customizable and tailored to the environment. Several template frameworks are provided."

"Sparx technical support is good."

"Scalability is not a problem. You can always increase the footprint of what the thing can do because it's so powerful."

"Its most valuable feature is the Zachman Framework."

"The profiles and ready-made templates are an extremely helpful feature. This is one of the biggest features that I find very useful in Sparx."

"The advantages of Enterprise are that it's cheaper and much more practical than MagicDraw."

"The profiles allow me to customize the tool to the corporate environment instead of the other way around saving huge amounts of time and energy on trying to turn dozens of individuals into TOGAF, ArchiMate or Zachman experts, or even Sparx EA experts."

"It is simple to build the first model for the solution."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

Cons

"We'd also like to see it be Six Sigma or Lean compatible, a lot of people have asked about that."

"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."

"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great. And vice-versa. Some of the export and import functionality with something like Visio - which, I know it's a slightly different tool - but being able to work seamlessly with those other tool sets would've been quite useful. I know it was something that was in the pipeline to be looked at. So that would be useful."

"In the solution Signavio, they have a customer journey mapping feature that should be added to IBM Blueworks Live. It's valuable to map or document the customer journey to identify the pains and opportunities in this process."

"The ability to create a very structured rule. With the capability that we have right now, Blueworks Live is more process focused. We should be able to enhance it to include a lot more of decisions as well."

"I would like to see integration with ERP systems. This would help us to simulate the process and see where the problems are. Though IBM Blueworks Live is a good tool for documenting, it is not good for simulating."

"The APIs are great, except the normal business user doesn't know how to create APIs. So it's hard because IBM comes to us as the business users and tell us to create reporting with APIs, except we don't know that, so we have to turn around and flip it to our IT people."

"I can't insert any images. For example, within the process map, if I want to put it in the box or rectangle, or circle. If I have to use one image or icon, that's not possible."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"There is always room for improvement is the capability of integration with other solutions."

"The solution is complex."

"The workflow automation of the solution is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The tool's navigation could be improved."

"Customized reporting can be improved to make this a more versatile tool."

"For me, given I've got a lot of experience working with BPMN and other process management tools, in terms of the interface, I think there's a little bit more that can be improved to match what the conventional BPMN offers. I've been constantly trying to give this feedback to Signavio, to let them know that it needs to be more coherent with the original BPMN version of the stencil."

"Two executives cannot work on one modeling process simultaneously."

"SAP Signavio Process Manager needs better automatic rendering of data."

More SAP Signavio Process Manager cons

"From a practical point of view, we need speed and reliability for creating a model and doing some really meaningful tasks such as application landscape, refactoring, etc. These are two primary criteria. Sometimes, when you import something, it creates the object duplicates, or it allows you to do something that you're not supposed to do. For example, validation is missing. This could be frustrating because when you work at a high speed, you need to come back and start fixing things that the tool allowed you to go with, which is not quite good. So, there should probably be some internal mechanisms to advise you about what you're doing and what is probably not the best idea."

"The initial setup of the Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect It's very complicated. It's very difficult to start with the right templates because there are many possibilities. The deployment took approximately two days."

"One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement."

"It would be great if we could decrease the use of different parts of the Toolbox."

"The stability and performance of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect could still be improved. Setup for it is also slightly complicated and could be improved."

"The elements of the modeling sets can have better customization and visual representation. It would be great to have a mobile version."

"Its usability needs to be improved. For non-technical users, it is a little difficult to understand how Enterprise Architect works. Users who are not engineers find it difficult to understand how this tool works. This is something they need to work on. They can develop a BPM model to simulate processes."

"When many users are accessing the system at the same time, Sparx slows down. It can't easily support a large team."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"My client purchased one editor license and the collaboration hub, which covers up to a hundred people."

"I think we're spending about $150,000 a year on licensing costs."

"The customer Journey Modeler is more than twice the price of Process Manager, which is a lot."

"Although Signavio is a feature-rich solution, it is expensive for companies who haven’t reached a certain maturity level in their process management initiatives."

"SaaS has no setup cost, just licensing fees."

"I rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten."

"Comparatively, it is a bit costly when you look at similar tools with similar features."

"The solution is quite expensive compared to other vendors."

More SAP Signavio Process Manager pricing and cost advice

"Its price is very good for the value that you get with it."

"There is a license for this solution. When comparing this solution to others it is priced well."

"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."

"There is no license required for this solution."

"It is cheap."

"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."

"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."

"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.

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814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Educational Organization

16%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put an...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use...

Which is better - Signavio Process Manager or Celonis?

SAP Signavio Process Manager is a very robust industrial-grade business process modeling tool. It is easy to use and ...

What do you like most about Signavio Process Manager?

The visual representation is extremely powerful and easy to use in process modeling and analysis. I can show it to ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Signavio Process Manager?

Due to its SaaS nature, it is slightly challenging as a BPM tool. The pricing could be reduced further. I don't have ...

What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

The pricing is reasonable, with the ultimate version costing around 290 Euros for renewal and the initial purchase ar...

What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

The product could be improved in terms of its ease of use and documentation. While it offers a lot of functionality, ...

Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

Comparisons

Compared 37% of the time

Lucidchart vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 15% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 9% of the time

Camunda vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

Celonis vs SAP Signavio Process Manager

Compared 19% of the time

ARIS BPA vs SAP Signavio Process Manager

Compared 17% of the time

Camunda vs SAP Signavio Process Manager

Compared 8% of the time

ADONIS vs SAP Signavio Process Manager

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle BPM vs SAP Signavio Process Manager

Compared 4% of the time

More SAP Signavio Process Manager Competitors

Visual Paradigm vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 17% of the time

Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 12% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 10% of the time

Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

LeanIX vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 8% of the time

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Competitors

Product Reports

IBM Blueworks Live

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

SAP Signavio Process Manager

Download SAP Signavio Process Manager product report

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

Signavio Process Editor

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Learn More

IBM

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SAP

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Sparx Systems

Overview

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

The Signavio portfolio of web-based business transformation solutions helps companies to understand and optimize all of their business processes quickly and at scale, providing instant insights for informed decision-making. Signavio’s intuitive analysis, change management and execution solutions around process excellence include use cases like digital transformation, operational excellence and customer-centricity, placing them at the heart of global organizations.

Over 1 million users in more than 1,500 organizations worldwide rely on Signavio products to make processes part of their company’s DNA. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Signavio was founded in 2009 to address the need for a collaborative approach to process management.

Signavio was acquired by SAP in the first quarter of 2021. For more information, visit www.signavio.com

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an enterprise solution that helps streamline, accelerate, and integrate software, system, and business development. With this intuitive modeling and design solution, enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, enable collaboration, support their teams and colleagues, and manage complex projects. Software architects, business analysts, project managers, developers, support staff, and testers can unite under a single repository. Through numerous view points and potential sub-systems, users are offered a unified view in a complex environment.

With Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, users are also offered a shared model option which can be accessed quickly and securely by in-office and remote team members through the Enterprise Architect’s Pro Cloud Server. Building a coherent, verifiable model can be done by connecting and integrating a variety of behavioral and structural information in visual form. As a result, Enterprise Architect offers high performance, flexibility, and the ability to model, manage, and trace every stage of the business development and modeling process.

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Features

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect assists in creating a unified and accessible vision in business development by offering a flexible platform with a unique set of rich features. These features include:

Test and debug - Streamline software development and visualize software with the simulation process. Users can test and confirm correct behavior, set and oversee test points, and debug and examine software.

Track tasks - Track, prioritize, and assign individual and group tasks to assist in the model’s development. Users can visually monitor their progress through the Gantt chart.

Open standards - Users can visualize and analyze running software with integrated custom tools. They can also run advanced simulations, team-based repositories, testing tools, and version control. In addition, the solution supports enterprise architecture frameworks such as UPDM and TOGAF.

Simulation - Create and debug embedded solutions by simulating behaviors and state models. Users can specify events, triggers, constraints, and more. Users can also specify extensive and complex structural systems and create custom domain-specific solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect merges high-end tools, online availability, a dedication to open standards, and accessible pricing so enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, whether remote or in-office. Users particularly like the architectural frameworks and the scalability.

Marc L., a principal architecture enterprise solution adviser at Cronomagic Canada, notes, "The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

An enterprise architect at a manufacturing company writes, "Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

DHL, Coca Cola EP, Prudential, Zalando, T-Systems, Jabil, Endress+Hauser, Rakuten

OmniLink

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect