Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

Sparx Systems and Visual Paradigm are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Sparx Systems is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.3, while Visual Paradigm is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3. Sparx Systems holds a 11.6% mindshare in BPD, compared to Visual Paradigm’s 6.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Sparx Systems users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Visual Paradigm users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and Visual Paradigm both compete in the software modeling category. Sparx is favored for its extensive features, whereas Visual Paradigm is preferred for its intuitive design.

Features: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect provides a broad range of modeling capabilities, extensive integration options, and superior flexibility. Visual Paradigm offers a user-friendly experience, advanced visual modeling features, and highly intuitive diagramming tools.

Room for Improvement: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect users point out a steep learning curve, lacking documentation, and complexity in managing large enterprise projects. Visual Paradigm users wish for more customization, improved performance speed, and a broader feature set to match its cost.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is seen as straightforward for small deployments but can become complex with larger setups. Visual Paradigm enjoys smooth deployment with strong, proactive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is cost-effective, providing good returns relative to initial costs. Visual Paradigm, while more expensive, is considered to deliver strong ROI through high user satisfaction and quality features.

To learn more, read our detailed Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm

December 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 824,053 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live

Mindshare comparison

As of December 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 Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.6%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.7%, up from 6.4% 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

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.

Read full review

Milan Sterba

Senior Enterprise Architect at Deepview S.r.o.

Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio

Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.

Read full review

DominicMackenzie

Senior data architect at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Very flexible and easy to use with a good pricing model

I have used erwin and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. The first time I used Visual Paradigm was when I was a university student. I didn't want to pay a lot of money and Visual Paradigm had a very good pricing model, so it meant that I could effectively pay for the level of sophistication that I was using at the time and dial it back down to a simpler version.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

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

"We are you using the product as a process mapping tool and as part of a larger process improvement project. We use it with IBM BPM and IBM ODM. We get an automated workflow solution for our customers, an improved workflow automation."

"For me, what I find to be the most valuable is its simplicity and the association with Microsoft Office."

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

"Valuable features include real-time modeling and design work, the ability to perform workshops with clients in real-time with the tool, and getting instant output."

"I like the two-tiered approach, that is, discover and then drill down to the main steps. You can right click and attach risk, policies, and much more. It is a user-friendly solution."

"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."

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

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."

"Simplified our task at maintaining architecture information and traceability with requirements."

"The TOGAF ADM model is most valuable. It is also very cheap as compared to other options in the market."

"The installation was very easy."

"It has led some teams to do better code reviews - to be less focussed on coding conventions (syntax) and more focussed on the semantics because of the abstraction level clear design affords."

"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports multiple modeling languages like ArchiMate for database design, software lifecycle visualization, and team management."

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

"It is a useful tool for modeling and testing automated processes."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"I love Visual Paradigm because it has many different types of diagrams. For any field of engineering, we can find a diagram."

"It is easy and intuitive to use, not excessively rigid, and quite flexible."

"The pricing model is attractive."

"I like the fact that this solution is complete."

"The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality."

"The application is easy to use and provides informative diagrams."

"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"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 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."

"The solution is a very basic discovery product so it doesn't have that much modeling capability. This can be improved."

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

"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."

"In the Blue Works Live software boxes and lines are automatically placed by the programme and can't be easily manipulated."

"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 initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"The automatic creation of reports based on the model elements could be improved."

"It should be made Windows compatible."

"When the model is large, it is a bit slow to render."

"Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward."

"The Business Process Modeling or BPM feature can be improved to make it more interactive and user friendly because it is a tool for technical people. My current use is only for business process modeling notation and putting in the icons etc. You need to take them in as a class, which makes things very complex. Because of this complexity, it is not an easy-to-handle solution. Enterprise Architect is not very good for mockups. We cannot create user screens and other similar kinds of stuff, which is bad. For these things, we prefer to use Axure RP and other similar solutions. They should either remove this feature from this product or provide some kind of connectivity with Axure RP so that people can do better mockups of screens and import them. They need to augment and strengthen the BPM feature, which is the main feature. They need to put in some elements like artificial intelligence and augmented reality. They should look into such features because these things are coming up."

"More challenging than other tools to maintain documents and document versions for an architecture board review."

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

"This solution should have better ease of use for the uninitiated."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

"The solution could be more compatible with other products in the future."

"I would like to see the ability to easily export to groupware, such as Atlassian Confluence."

"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."

"There is room for improvement in the licensing model. I would suggest implementing country-specific pricing, as many other products in India do. This would make Visual Paradigm more affordable and accessible."

"In terms of room for improvement in Visual Paradigm, I tried looking for one. I'm pleased with the tool, but it would be great if you could integrate Visual Paradigm with more tools. For example, when moving from Visual Paradigm to another tool, such as Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, the process could be improved a bit. Still, I wonder if it's not limited by the standards Visual Paradigm follows, such as XMI files. It could be connected to limitations related to the standards rather than a tool limitation. When you move projects from Visual Paradigm into Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect via XMI files, you lose all your notes from the elements, so this is an area for improvement in Visual Paradigm. TOGAF support is an additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Visual Paradigm. I'd also like the tool to have ArchiMate support. If both TOGAF and ArchiMate could be supported in Visual Paradigm and made part of a lower level of licensing or cheaper licensing models, that would be best for me."

"The user interface is not easy to navigate, so it should be made easier."

"For me, what needs improvement in Visual Paradigm is the limited features included in the $99 license, which is the cheapest option. If more features could be included in the cheapest licensing package, Visual Paradigm would be better, especially for businesses that have a limited budget for buying software."

"The solution is not user-friendly. It uses a lot of memory and CPU. You have to have a good computer to use it."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not very expensive."

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

"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 very, very cost-effective."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

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

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

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

"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."

"This product has a paid license, with a yearly subscription option."

"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is priced well. The price we pay is approximately $20 per month. Other solutions I have found to be much more expensive."

"It’s the best deal in town, by far."

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

"The licensing is not as expensive as some of the other data modeling tools such as Erwin."

"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."

"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."

"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."

"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."

"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."

"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."

"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."

"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

More Visual Paradigm 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.

See recommendations

824,053 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

Educational Organization

17%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing 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...

See all answers

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

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

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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

One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not stra...

See all answers

What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?

The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features a...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?

I mentioned using the free version. The free version of Visual Paradigm does not incur any setup costs and offers a s...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?

I didn't use it so deeply that I found areas that needed improvement or features that were missing. So far, its exist...

See all answers

Comparisons

Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 37% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 17% of the time

Lucidchart vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 15% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 9% of the time

Bizagi vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

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

MEGA HOPEX vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 5% of the time

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Competitors

Visio vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 19% of the time

Lucidchart vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 15% of the time

Bizagi vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 8% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 6% of the time

Camunda vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 4% of the time

More Visual Paradigm Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

December 2024

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

November 2024

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Buyer's Guide

Visual Paradigm

November 2024

Download Visual Paradigm product report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

No data available

Learn More

IBM

Video not available

Sparx Systems

Video not available

Visual Paradigm

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.

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."

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

Sample Customers

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

OmniLink

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm

December 2024

Free Report: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm

Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

DOWNLOAD NOW

824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm report.

See our list of best Business Process Design vendors.

We monitor all Business Process Design reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.