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Avolution ABACUS vs iServer comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

Avolution ABACUS
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
iServer
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
9th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of Avolution ABACUS is 3.0%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of iServer is 4.0%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
iServer4.0%
Avolution ABACUS3.0%
Other93.0%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

JoseCamacho - PeerSpot reviewer
Freelancer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Supports evaluating architecture through corporate objectives
I conducted an evaluation of enterprise architecture at the European Court in Luxembourg, reviewing and analyzing existing implementations to identify potential improvements and providing recommendations I conduct evaluations to identify potential improvements and make recommendations, forming a…
AHMEDIBRAHIM1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architecture practice head at Positive Side Consultancy
Enables flexible parameters for any process model and has a valuable document management feature
We use the product for various critical functions within our environment, particularly in a government entity, where it assists in governance, workflow management, and generating reports and live database activities. It enables flexible parameters for any process model iServer has valuable…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If you want a data model of flexibility and catalog scalability I would recommend it from that perspective."
"It is a great tool for helping you understand what you really want to develop in an immature EA practice, providing a lot of flexibility in meeting a client stage and serving as an excellent early development tool."
"I would recommend it very strongly."
"You can design using a diagram tool installed on your desktop, a key difference from other vendors."
"The most valuable feature is that it has a customizable meta-model, which is key."
"This product is very strong in terms of the meta-model because you can customize a lot according to the business plan."
"Scalable and stable tool for roadmapping and modeling, with a good dashboard, end-to-end impact analysis, and portfolio management."
"If you face new challenges or issues then you can dynamically customize according to the business needs."
"I love how there are no milestone swimlanes."
"This is a flexible tool compared to some other solutions."
"The product has a valuable customized model."
"We like the governance."
"Process modelling through object creation and management is beneficial as a very effective change management of processes at the object level, because if you need to modify a process and it will impact other processes as well, the object changed automatically changes in other processes as well."
"I have to think less with this solution. It's simple."
"From September 2014 through January 2015, I received help from the tech support staff of iServer, who were very prompt and almost instantaneously responded, and if it was something difficult, they brought three to four people to talk with me and then solved the problem within minutes."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
 

Cons

"Avolution ABACUS has the drawback of needing data filtering at the development level, unlike some tools that offer filtering at deployment. Two areas where Avolution ABACUS could be improved are regional support and flexibility in model selection. Sometimes, it's challenging to access support or updates in certain regions, which can slow down progress. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the tool allowed more flexibility in selecting multiple models within a single unit."
"In the future, there could be improvements in integration and enhancements."
"While this is one of the most powerful tools on the market it does not integrate well with Microsoft Office or others."
"They should take more initiative to implement things that competing products have already come out with."
"Their local presence in the Middle East could be scaled more, particularly in customer service. It would be good if they'd also have mobile dashboards for executive management out of the box."
"The usability of the tool is an area with shortcomings that need improvement."
"This solution needs to improve resource usage because it has a heavy browser. It is easy to use, but it takes time to load and to run other programs."
"The tool doesn't have any intelligence built in. We have to design the dashboards ourselves, which is a challenge because we have to depend on the vendor for customizations."
"The performance is slow, which is something that should be improved."
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"The one issue is that if you want to import predefined work, you need to put the licensing model in. So if you wanted to import work that was done before, you then need to buy a separate product for that."
"The product is more expensive than Spark."
"iServer is a solid tool. Occasionally, we needed to contact the vendor to clarify details such as porting issues, missing components, and model specifics."
"Customer service can be improved as the vendor is based in UK. Having regional support could improve time and communications."
"The migration tool needs to be included in the main package, and not as a separate license."
"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is quite good compared to the competition and it is part of the reason we chose the product."
"It is competitive. It is not chump change. I am just using the studio version. I am not using the full enterprise version, which would probably cost me three times more for single-use, but it gives a lot more capability and analysis. It is server-based as well, and it is reasonably priced compared to a lot of the other tools. There are other tools that have other sorts of capabilities, but in order to use them, you'd really have to have like 50 users for the price to become justifiable."
"I'm paying on a yearly basis. I don't know whether it's a highly expensive tool or not. I'm getting a single version of it, and I don't have the enterprise part on it because I don't need the server component, and I don't need a web browser component. My estimate would be that it's a very reasonably priced tool given that you don't need to have licenses with everyone in order to get the information and the decision support capabilities out of the tool. You use the enterprise edition on top of the studio, which is the heart of the tool. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"The solution's pricing is not an issue."
"The cost of Avolution ABACUS is reasonable, given the features they offer in comparison to other tools."
"This solution is expensive for some people's budgets and they need to offer a Lite version at a cheaper price"
"There is a subscription for this solution. We are on an annual subscription because you sometimes receive special offers the longer you subscribe."
"My company makes annual payments toward the licensing costs of the solution. Considering the product's capabilities, its prices are very reasonable."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Government
9%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Avolution ABACUS?
While Avolution ABACUS is flexible, it can be complex to work with as it requires knowledge of specific configurations to customize the product. It would be beneficial to have seminars or other met...
What is your primary use case for Avolution ABACUS?
I conducted an evaluation of enterprise architecture at the European Court in Luxembourg, reviewing and analyzing existing implementations to identify potential improvements and providing recommend...
What advice do you have for others considering Avolution ABACUS?
I rate Avolution ABACUS eight out of ten. The focus should be on implementing and understanding enterprise architecture concepts rather than the specific tool.
What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool used to draw architectural diagrams, flow diagrams, etc. It is an alternative to...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
What advice do you have for others considering iServer?
I would recommend the solution to other users. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays
Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
Find out what your peers are saying about Avolution ABACUS vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.