BiZZdesign HoriZZon Reviews

My primary use cases are for consulting on enterprise architecture and support of digital transformation, and I also use BiZZdesign as a tool.

The powerful editing function in teamwork project-based, common or shared modeling, based on a powerful repository and knowledge sharing in a portal are the most valuable features. These are the most important features for me. I can add the integration of individual modeling notations like Archimate plus BPMN and DMN, and so on. We travel from one location to another and the tool allows us to keep track.

The user interface and connectivity could use further improvement. The interface could be more user-friendly and intuitive. There was a big step between version 3 and version 4. I still have to learn how to use a lot of functions in version 4. I'm looking for further adjustment or adaptation to Windows style because for me it's a little difficult to switch the experience between both tools. I guess that the tool is adapting and converting to Windows step by step.

It should be more open to integrating with other existing tools. Although there has been progress in the past.

Some of my clients need a translation of the menu into Eastern and Central Europe languages, but EA professionals are able to work in English, so it's not critical.

It is stable although there have been a few cases where it shut down. But the instances were a lot less than Windows itself. 

Scalability is up to my needs because I model just a few thousands of objects and it's powerful and scalable enough. Hopefully, it will continue like this for bigger clients also.

Only one technician is maintaining the solution itself and one enterprise architect on the client side. It only requires a small team for maintenance. 

I would rate their technical support a four out of five. It's sufficient because when I need something explained or to know, for example, how to do imports, the service desk really carefully solved my needs. Also published user/solution documentation is in the current version very comprehensive, I am satisfied.

Before this solution, I would make a model in Visio, PowerPoint and such, not enterprise architecture management tools.

The first time I set it up years ago, it was really difficult for me to customize it because I am more of a business guy than a technician. Now it's much easier because of the metamodel editor that this solution now has so now it's much easier. 

Deployment takes about a few days or weeks. It's easy to use and adapt it, but it's a little bit difficult to negotiate with the client in terms of what to implement, what to be modeled, what kind of methodological backgrounds will be used. 

It's important to plan and think in advance, to be prepared in terms of what to model, for what purpose and for whom, and to prepare an internal enterprise architecture framework. Then only afterward implement it into a tool because the tool will guide you. But if you don't know what you want it's really open and customizable, but will not guide you. It's really important to work a few days or weeks on your framework and then easily implement it in the tool. 

The other advice I would give is from the beginning be in touch with C level management as a sponsor of enterprise architecture and use the reporting possibilities of the tool to satisfy them with insight into the architecture.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten because it's really powerful and I still haven't been able to take advantage of all if its many features. 

BiZZdesign Architect makes separates model from views and has a quite extensive set of analytical stuff built in to be very useful in complex environments. Typically enterprise architecture management and strategic portfolio planning can be supported with these tools as the architecture capability matures.

Next to a useful tool for strategic planning it is really helpful in a less mature environment as well. I used the software to easily import catalogs with applications, interfaces, contracts, and many other artifacts to start the modeling of my scope of concern pretty fast and come to compelling results for a plateau planning and roadmap.

It is only available for Windows right now and it really is an outdated interface and framework that is being used. As a Mac worker I really hate that and therefore any other product with less features would be considered a really good alternative.

I find the licensing model not fitting the market.

10 years

Nope. No issues with deployment. Easy installer. It just works.

Yes, it can crash. Save your work frequently!

Nope, no issues and no need.

Good - 8

Good - 8

I used Archi at first but this is only for creating views and not for maintaining a model, which in the core is the real architectural work.

Straight forward. You have to tune to get the best practice results out of the tool. A course is highly recommended.

in-house.

n/a

You need good tools. Just choose one and be good at it!

Yes but not to much. I was certified in the tool, archimate and togaf at Bizzdesign headquarters so it is mainly because of that, that I use this product.

Choose wisely. I did not take the time to investigate on other tools until now. I am willing to let Bizzdesign Architect go for a good Mac solution that also has a separation in model, views and analytics.