SAP PowerDesigner Reviews

In one company we used SAP PowerDesigner for documentation and building logical data models and a new platform in the company. Additionally, it was used for documents and resources for the data warehouse. It was a resource and module company and we had to describe every source, table, et cetera. 

SAP PowerDesigner is good because you can generate physical data models after you have a logical data model. It helped us a lot.

The most valuable features of the solution are it's built very well, easy to use, and simple to describe freely what is needed in logical and physical data models.

SAP PowerDesigner could improve by making the repository easier to understand. It is difficult to understand how the repository works because when I used logical models as part of the team, we wanted to use them together and update the older versions of the data model version but it was confusing. The repository needs to be explained.

It would be helpful to have a checking system on the objects that are generated from the physical data model on the specific database to help see if there is a difference on the database side and on the SAP PowerDesigner documentation side.

I have been using SAP PowerDesigner for approximately five years.

SAP PowerDesigner is a highly stable solution. I have been using this solution in many different companies for over five years with no stability concerns.

I rate the stability of SAP PowerDesigner a ten out of ten.

The scalability of SAP PowerDesigner is good. This solution is used in platforms that are more likely to expand over time.

There are 10 people in the company that is using this solution and it is used frequently.

I rate the scalability of SAP PowerDesigner a ten out of ten.

I have not used the support from SAP PowerDesigner.

I have used Erwin Data Modeler and it was not as intuitive as SAP PowerDesigner. I was attempting to use Erwin Data Modeler by myself and it was difficult to learn.

The main advantage of SAP PowerDesigner compared to other solutions is the various sources of database it can connect and deliver data models, and do reverse engineering. Not every modeler tool can do reverse engineering, forward engineering, versioning, version control, and additional properties on the objects, such as core physical options. I'm using Oracle connectors. You have everything you want to have and you can deliver every object code in SAP PowerDesigner.

It is easy to set up because after you download the installer you click next multiple times and you are finished. You can install every specification test and feature. It has many features, and you can install everything, instead of everything individually, it is easier.

If you want to build logical or physical data models for fun, experience, or studying, it's easy to install and set up.

I rate the initial setup of SAP PowerDesigner a nine out of ten.

We did the implementation of the solution in-house.

It would be beneficial if this tool became more popular for developers in the future.

I rate SAP PowerDesigner a ten out of ten.

We use this solution for business analysis and to generate use cases. Each model is developed based on all the requirements that are gathered. There's a small install for the setup on each machine and then we operate through a shared license server that is connected to it.

One of the things that I'm working on right now is improving the health of our models because a number of them are old. We're missing a lot of information that we need as we look towards an enterprise level data lake. This will allow us to better relate ownership of the data to a particular area within ODOT.

I've used the reverse engineering feature a lot. I can take a look at the structure of the database and what relationships it has. Some of the general modeling functions are also really valuable. It's pretty simple to show people how to add objects to model and develop relationships.

I'm trying to find some of the requirements for data cataloging within Power Designer. There are some minor things that could be easier. We're writing up procedures to bring all the modeling back into one group as this reduces delays in production.  

We have experienced one issue with stability which was connected to licensing. For two or three days, nobody could get in and use the tool. Assuming we do not experience a similar incident, I would rate them a seven or eight out of ten for stability. We are no longer signed up for support from Power Designer and so we have needed to determine our own workarounds in these situations which takes some time.

The technical support for this solution is good. When we developed the instructions, we had meetings with them and changed the order of some of the things and added things that they wanted to see. 

I would rate the support for this solution an eight out of ten. 

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. We had a problem a few years ago when we moved our from a SQL server. Out of 16 installs, we had three failures and that was because people changed from the standard setup.

We have two Power Designer administrators and I am one of them. When anyone checks in, it creates a change list. 

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten. 

We use SAP PowerDesigner for logical data modeling and physical data modeling.

The feature I found valuable in SAP PowerDesigner is extraction.

I also like that my company hasn't faced any issues because of the clear documentation about SAP PowerDesigner.

One disadvantage of SAP PowerDesigner is that you cannot reverse engineer the ALTER statements, so that's an enhancement or area for improvement I'm looking forward to seeing from the SAP team in the future. That should directly reflect on the physical data models my company builds.

I also want SAP PowerDesigner to be able to generate ALTER statements in the future.

I've been using SAP PowerDesigner for over two and a half years.

Stability-wise, SAP PowerDesigner is a seven out of ten.

SAP PowerDesigner is a highly scalable solution.

I haven't contacted the technical support for SAP PowerDesigner. Support only reaches out to me to see if there's any upgrade or patch installation issue.

My company hasn't used a different solution apart from SAP PowerDesigner. It's been the company's solution for the last twenty years. Though my company recently thought of bringing erwin Data Modeler on board, the initiation process was put on hold.

Setting up SAP PowerDesigner was straightforward, though the technical management team handled that. That team makes the software available for people to use.

My company hasn't disclosed ROI details to me, so I have no information on whether there was ROI from SAP PowerDesigner.

Regarding costs, SAP PowerDesigner is pricey, as I've heard from my team manager, which is why the company has been thinking of bringing another solution on board.

My company has implemented SAP PowerDesigner and no longer requires any other data modeling tool.

I'm using the desktop version of SAP PowerDesigner, version 16.5.7.

In the company, more than one hundred people use SAP PowerDesigner. My company only has twenty-two licenses, so most users rely on mobile licenses.

One person can handle the deployment and maintenance of SAP PowerDesigner.

I advise anyone looking into using SAP PowerDesigner to consider the only constraint that erwin Data Modeler could overcome and SAP PowerDesigner couldn't. erwin Data Modeler can generate the ALTER statements apart from the CREATE statements. In contrast, SAP PowerDesigner only generates the CREATE statements, which is why people prefer to use erwin Data Modeler. You also need to consider your budget. Cost-wise, SAP PowerDesigner is better than erwin Data Modeler.

My rating for SAP PowerDesigner is eight out of ten.

My company is a customer of SAP PowerDesigner.

I have been creating physical, logical models for data warehousing for a major bank in the Czech Republic. We have been converting these physical models into external files, generating the DDLs for objects and then deploying objects into those environments. We have 20 users in our business who use this solution but there are additional users across various branches of the bank. 

The most useful feature has been the detailed possibility to model almost anything regarding physical databases. The main goal was to create a data model for financial services in Teradata including a column description, primary case indexes and object relations. 

You have the possibility to complete a connection for abbreviations if you are creating columns or names of the tables. In the Citrix environment, this has been lagging to the point where the PowerDesigner was not usable. Various patches to fix this have not worked. Ultimately, we have abandoned PowerDesigner on Citrix. 

After working with SAP to resolve this, we found that this could be an issue with VPNs or with a firewall inside a bank institution. We haven't concluded on this for certain but definitely need an improvement when using PowerDesigner on the Citrix Server. 

In a future release, we would like to have the ability to improve the visibility of changes when doing check-ins. I have been working on a model for a few days and in those few days the repository got updated by up to 20 people. We would like to have a list of changes, the name of the user which created a change, or the login of the user who created this change in the change book. This would save us a lot of time. 

I have been using this solution for three years. 

This solution is stable but only on local devices. I have had some issues with the Citrix Server. For example, the solution has worked well when we have had users on holiday and when not running at full capacity. However, when our full operation is running, PowerDesigner does not perform well. 

This is a scalable solution. There is a lot of possibility to create many models and scale its use. 

At some point, we had an issue with the abbreviation file and we couldn't solve it on our side. We had to connect to the SAP user support and they resolved the issue for us in half a day. Overall, the support we received was really good. 

The initial setup is straightforward now but initially took some time to get used to. I've been using it as a user, not as an administrator. We connected to a repository and the name and user login was automatically remembered so it took about one minute.

At one point, we observed an error when two users have been doing check-ins of this model at the same time.

This solution offers good documentation and some cool usage types. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten because learning how to use this solution is easy. However, there have been some difficulties, especially with visibility of changes. I haven't been using other modeling tools so it makes it challenging to compare this solution to others.

I used SAP PowerDesigner as a tool for document folder flow charts and other features.

SAP PowerDesigner is helpful because you can create any type of document.

The most valuable features of SAP PowerDesigner are the creation the flow charts and folders. It is a powerful tool.

SAP PowerDesigner can improve the ease of use. It is not the best tool on the market because it is tough to navigate and use. A beginner would not be able to use it well, it requires some experience. If the solution was more user-friendly it would be able to be used by more audiences. I do not think many people are aware of this solution and they should use it.

In a future release, more features should be added. Other solutions have more features.

I have been using SAP PowerDesigner for approximately two years.

I rate the stability of SAP PowerDesigner a seven out of ten.

I rate the scalability of SAP PowerDesigner a six out of ten.

We have approximately 200 to 300 in the company but not everyone uses it. We will increase usage depending on the company's requirements.

The support from SAP PowerDesigner is great.

I rate the support from SAP PowerDesigner an eight out of ten.

Positive

I did not use other solutions similar to SAP PowerDesigner.

The initial setup of SAP PowerDesigner requires some training before they can work on it. It would be beneficial for those who want to work with the took to take a one month or 20-day training course.

The price of the solution is low. 

I rate the price of SAP PowerDesigner an eight out of ten.

I have not evaluated other solutions before using them. I use whatever the client specifies.

We use 10 to 20 experienced people for the maintenance of the solution. However, the amount of people needed depends on what needs to be worked on. We have other teams that work on the tool, such as developers.

My advice to others is they should try out the solution, it's a good tool. This solution is priced low and if it works for their use case then it is better than paying for a more expensive solution. If your requirements are too high, you can't expect this tool to meet all of your needs, it does not have all the features. You have to go for other options if your requirement needs more features.

I rate SAP PowerDesigner a seven out of ten.

We are using the enterprise architect version of the solution, using the repository to create our enterprise models; different business models that include process to data models and application architecture models. From a dimension perspective it's like a business application with data and infrastructure. We have categories of different models and we use this tool. I model a lot of these into centralized repositories, so they can be used by internal staff to view all the models or to see the lineage and navigate through them, viewing the relationship between the models and staff. 

In terms of modeling, we have large teams of around 50 to 60 people who have the license to show the different kinds of models in terms of system projects. For the web portal which allows viewing of the models, all users in our organization have access rights, meaning there are around 100 people that have access. The solution is used daily. We will likely carry out a review at the end of the year to see whether the current configuration is enough for us or whether we need to expand. We are customers of SAP and I'm a manager, data architecture. 

One of the key reasons for choosing this solution above others is because of the repository features which we're able to consolidate and work on a single repository where we store all our models in one location. In addition, the web portal feature allows us to present, or actually view these models from a browser's perspective. We have two groups of people: The first develops the models and the second views them. They can log in to a web portal and view the models. The product presented a strong case for us in deciding to establish this kind of creation and consumption model to make it really cost effective and increase the value of our organization. 

Although the presentation for viewing the models is good, I think it could be better. From my experience with other products, the SAP UI could be improved by enabling simpler navigation, especially for non-technical users. It would be ideal if there was a more seamless viewing experience of the models. Another improvement would be to adopt more industry models, especially from the enterprise architecture dimension. You could be adopting the industry standard as with made models, UML and other forms of industry enterprise architecture models. That would enhance the whole usability and enterprise nature of the modeling t

Additional features could support other model types which would improve the connectors to the increasing number of software to service packages now that a lot of the applications are moving into the cloud. We need to connect on all fronts. There is still a lot of room for improvement on the web portals in terms of the usability and the visual. 

I've been using this solution for about eight months. 

From the performance perspective, I think the tool is pretty stable. The only issue might be on the loading of the model which depends on how complex your model is. You need to be careful of those with a lot of relationships and you need to add other models when you load it in the web portal, and that can slow things down. In general, the solution is stable but it depends on your configuration. I don't have many crashes. 

The scalability seems to be okay although I haven't fully tested it yet. 

The technical support is good and they reply promptly. They also have information online. I'm happy with the support. 

I used to use ER/Studio and Techwin for modeling. In my previous job, the focus was more on the modeling and data modeling as a stand-alone kit. We selected PowerDesigner here because of the repository setup it caters to. SAP has the function to be able to establish the repositories, work in teams and then consolidate and present to a larger audience through a web browser. That was the main consideration for switching. The usability of how to model is pretty similar and there's no big difference in terms of the functionalities. But from a whole enterprise setup; the repositories, the check in, check out of those things into a central repository, are the key reasons we switched. 

One key difference is the connectivity. Besides the modeling we also do reverse engineering. We will try to connect to different data sources to extract information rather than building a model from scratch. That is one advantage because this is actually the SAP program so it has a good connection with the SAP product. We use quite a lot of SAP modules in our organization, so it's a good fit in a way that we can actually link it to some of our SAP servers and database and just reverse engineer the models. This is a main benefit over the other solutions which  are more neutral and more stand-alone products.

I carried out the initial setup myself and would say that it is moderately difficult. There's a lot of reading necessary on the documentation and if you're setting it up for the first time you might require technical support. Implementation took several days but the timing really depends because some of it requires the trust structures, opening up parts, etc.  

The key thing is really about the use case or the requirements. We are into enterprise modeling and we are looking at sharing the models and those are the requirements that shift the evaluation criteria. For those looking at stand-alone models, they may not be looking at sharing these, mainly they just want to produce their models and things, so those criteria will differentiate selecting the different products. And whether you have a large team of people or you are focusing on only a few players in a small team, that will also determine your criteria for selecting the product. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

I use PowerDesigner to take business requirements and model them from a data modeling perspective. We can then take the result and turn it into a physical model in a database like SQL Server or Oracle.

This is a tool that facilitates a more cohesive development. From a design and documentation perspective, it makes sure that all of the databases are the correct version for the code base, without running into issues with things being out of sync or out-of-date compared to production or development. 

I like the property sheet capability and the user-defined attributes that you can set up.

The central repository is helpful because they have the ability to check-in models when working as part of a larger team. It supports versioning, as well.

Checking-in models to the repository, especially when working remotely, is a slow process than can sometimes have problems with models being corrupted. Between the client tool and the repository, the process is very chatty. Consequently, sometimes it takes forever to download a model and if it is corrupted then you won't be able to check it in or out again.

It would be a nice feature if we had the ability to generate a JSON file from a model.

I have been using PowerDesigner for more than 10 years.

If you're just modeling on one computer such as your desktop, or your client's computer, then it is very stable. However, if you are not on your company's network and you are checking in models from a remote location then there can be problems.

I think that the scalability is fine, given that it's for design and development on a project team. On a large project team, we might have 10 or 20 modelers working on it. You don't have thousands or tens of thousands of users, so it scales just fine for what its purpose is.

In my department, we have 10 or 15 users who are data architects or solution architects.

We have somebody internally who supports the platform. We have client licensing, so if there is an issue then we can raise a ticket with the vendor, but that is somebody from another group. My personal impression is that technical support is fine.

I have used other tools like erwin Data Modeler and they have versioning repositories also, but it seems like their check-in and check-out processes are much simpler and much cleaner. The central repository seems to be a little more stable.

The other advantage to erwin is that you can model right in the diagram, which means less clicking. In PowerDesigner, sometimes there are so many property sheets that we are constantly clicking.

When I began using PowerDesigner, it was an independent product. Since that time, SAP acquired it. It is a very solid product that does both data modeling and business process modeling.

My advice for anybody who is implementing PowerDesigner is to make sure that the central repository for versioning models is on a high-bandwidth network with a solid database backing it up.

In summary, this product gives you all of the features that a modeler would require to produce both logical and physical data models. There really is not a lot that is lacking and my only complaint is about the versioning repository. Of course, this is only a problem when we are working remotely. If there is a large model with perhaps 600 tables and 2,500 attributes, then it is going to be very demanding on bandwidth.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

I use SAP PowerDesigner for data warehouse projects and governance projects, including physical, logical, and conceptual designs.

It is more flexible than other tools and user-friendly, making it easy to adapt. It's valid on the enterprise side as I can create data dictionaries or business glossaries and easily extend them to both business and IT sides. The solution also facilitates easy export and publish my work in different formats like HTML or PDF. PowerDesigner supports various databases, allowing for easy reverse engineering, including Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, etc. PowerDesigner fetches all objects into the design model for further needs.

SAP PowerDesigner makes data governance easy to use. IT or business users can quickly implement database or glossary objects by editing and publishing entries and creating naming standards for both database and business glossary sides. It allows dictionary or naming standard abbreviations to be easily applied to all objects, including conceptual, logical and physical models.

The reverse engineering feature allows you to create a project in your database and show it logically by publishing it for all users in your enterprise. It lets you directly connect PowerDesigner to your databases, whether it's Microsoft or Oracle, and fetch all objects, including primary keys, entities, and stored procedures. You can then edit these objects in your model.

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 like Azure Sentinel, Informatica, or ODI, helping me map all object relationships, like source-to-target mapping, directly from the ETL tool's repository.

Forward engineering in the DMM options is one area where PowerDesigner could add functionality. While it's excellent for showing source-to-target mapping and understanding data lineage, it would be helpful if it could also handle ETL functions and coding. I wish I could implement ETL operations within PowerDesigner, especially since I've already mapped and designed everything. Having everything in one place, including the ability to forward engineer databases and work on ETL coding, would be incredibly useful.

I have been working with SAP PowerDesigner for the past ten years.

Stability is also good; I would rate it as eight out of ten.

For scalability, I'd rate it around eight out of ten.

Technical support is decent, though the response time and quality could be better.

Neutral

The setup process for SAP PowerDesigner is simple.

Overall, I'd rate PowerDesigner an eight out of ten.

I recommend the product to other users.