ARIS BPA vs IBM Blueworks Live comparison

Software AG and IBM are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Software AG is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.2, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.3. Software AG holds a 7.5% mindshare in BPD, compared to IBM’s 3.4% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

ARIS BPA

Read 68 ARIS BPA reviews

5,843 Views
4,032 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

IBM Blueworks Live

Read 20 IBM Blueworks Live reviews

2,324 Views
1,999 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

ARIS BPA

IBM Blueworks Live

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

ARIS BPA and IBM Blueworks Live compete in the business process management and modeling category. ARIS BPA appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive feature set, including robust reporting and integration capabilities.

Features: ARIS BPA offers a robust module design, strong reporting capabilities, and comprehensive process modeling. It excels in object reusability, database structure, and flexibility, which are suitable for process modeling, analysis, and architecture. IBM Blueworks Live provides cloud-based process modeling with easy collaboration features, BPMN 2.0 support, and integration with Microsoft Office, valued for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Room for Improvement: ARIS BPA could enhance its pricing structure and simplify installation. Users seek improvements in report formatting, team activity tracking, and stability, along with a more intuitive scripting language and unified interface. IBM Blueworks Live lacks process execution and simulation features, with users suggesting enhancements in reporting, integrations, and customization options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ARIS BPA offers versatile deployment options across on-premises and cloud environments. Customer support is generally good, though responsiveness varies. IBM Blueworks Live is praised for its simple cloud-based deployment, with user support receiving positive feedback but with room for improvement in communication.

Pricing and ROI: ARIS BPA is considered expensive with complex licensing, yet its robust features are valued by large enterprises for ROI. IBM Blueworks Live is noted for its cost-effectiveness and subscription model, appealing to businesses seeking affordable solutions with quick adoption.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS BPA vs. IBM Blueworks Live Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. IBM Blueworks Live

July 2025

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Helped 865,164 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

ARIS BPA

Ranking in Business Process Design

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Management (BPM) (8th)

IBM Blueworks Live

Ranking in Business Process Design

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS BPA is 7.5%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.4%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

Tamer Eldamanhouri

Software Engineering & Manager at Arab Infromation Management Services

Empowers teams with robust business process modeling capabilities

They should examine competitor solutions to identify differentiators. One issue related to ARIS BPA is its integration with AI; it has AI features for cloud solutions, yet many in the government sector in Kuwait do not view the cloud as viable. Software AG should focus on developing AI models for ARIS BPA on-premises, particularly in user interfaces, as well as creating predefined business processes for common areas such as HR and finance. This aspect is crucial for adapting to the market's needs and streamlining custom solutions. While they have been helpful regarding pricing, I cannot compare ARIS BPA to other business process modeling tools because I understand some competitors have significantly lower costs than ARIS BPA. To maintain market share, good discounts should be provided to customers.

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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.

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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

"The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting."

"I reviewed ARIS BPA, and I noticed it was recommended by Gartner in 2024."

"Features like SAP SolMan sync, Alfabet EA integration (another Software AG product)."

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the solution to fully customize the methodology according to the company's needs, and to enforce that methodology with features like filters, semantic checks, and reports."

"The shared repository allows for cross-functional cooperation instead of doing things in a silo. You can operate cross-functionally and really work end-to-end, instead of dividing everything up on a functional basis."

"The tool defines the processes. It's the documentation of everything."

"ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats."

"ARIS BPA is customizable as per specific business requirements."

More ARIS BPA pros

"The business process discovery is excellent. The diagram or blueprinting functionality of the solution are very good. It's quite easy. You can link the sub-processes and get a big overview of the whole process then."

"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."

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

"For me the most valuable feature is that it's one depository for our bank. So it's not like everybody has their critical processes on SharePoint or on their desktops. Everything is centrally located. It's very intuitive, easy to use. The support that I get from IBM is always great."

"In terms of the collaboration features, from the point of discovery, it was useful to go to load up the policies and the rule sets that the client had. And in terms of exploring options and being able to model a variety of different processes, that was incredibly useful as well."

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

"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."

"Collaboration is most valuable. You can collaborate online with many people. People can comment, and you can comment back. It is just like a social network, and that, for me, is very good."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

Cons

"Simulation is one area that is a bit complex."

"There is not enough documentation provided for the tool's support or administration."

"Improvement should be made as per customer requirements."

"There should be a more intuitive tool when creating reports."

"ARIS has an internal fully customizable workflow system called APG, which is very good, but it’s targeted mostly at creating workflows related to ARIS content, and not general workflows to support other processes inside a company."

"The tool's installation and configuration part needs to improve."

"User interface (UI)."

"There are some things in the collaboration module that could be improved a little, such as the functionality which dynamically pushes notifications to interested people when a process changes during the Release Cycle Management workflow."

More ARIS BPA cons

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

"IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts."

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

"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."

"There should be an option to import from and export to Microsoft Visio. Being able to move files back and forth between Blueworks Live and Visio would be good."

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

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

"The objects that the solution creates are not unique."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is on the higher side."

"We have a concurrent license system."

"The price could be better."

"Their license model is really difficult to understand, and licenses are quite expensive."

"Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay."

"ARIS is quite expensive."

"Usually, our company buys technical support from the Software AG site. We bought the technical support for the first year of usage for ARIS version 6 and 7. So, when we migrated to ARIS version 7, we bought support only for the first year. Then, we didn't use it the next year. Our experience was that we use it only one to three times during the first year. Therefore, there wasn't much value for us to buy this service because we have no problem with using ARIS after the first year."

"The pricing and licensing costs are available on their website. They will assign a relationship manager to assist if you show further interest in their products."

More ARIS BPA 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."

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

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

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

"Making it less expensive would be good."

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS BPA?

The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?

Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?

ARIS BPA needs to be more accurate when generating documents. While it covers many blueprints and functions that I need, the document generation feature could be enhanced for better accuracy.

See all answers

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 any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.

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 it very effectively.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 8% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

BIC Platform vs ARIS BPA

Compared 2% of the time

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Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 29% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 23% of the time

Lucidchart vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 13% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 13% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

August 2025

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

Overview

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market
Easy to use
Covers business & IT architecture from all angles
Full flexibility and >100 diagram types
Customer-driven development based on best practices
Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

Software AG

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.

IBM

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

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

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. IBM Blueworks Live

July 2025

Free Report: ARIS BPA vs. IBM Blueworks Live

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