BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs IBM Rational System Architect comparison

BiZZdesign and IBM are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. BiZZdesign is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #19. BiZZdesign holds a 4.9% mindshare in AM, compared to IBM’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 78% of BiZZdesign users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of IBM users who would recommend it.

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Read 18 BiZZdesign HoriZZon reviews

1,869 Views
904 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

IBM Rational System Architect

Read 5 IBM Rational System Architect reviews

774 Views
421 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

IBM Rational System Architect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IBM Rational System Architect and BiZZdesign HoriZZon are key players in the enterprise architecture domain. BiZZdesign HoriZZon has the upper hand due to its modern design and flexibility, making it a compelling choice.

Features: IBM Rational System Architect offers strong modeling capabilities and extensive integration options, beneficial for managing complex system architectures. Meanwhile, BiZZdesign HoriZZon is valued for its intuitive design, advanced analytics, and flexible frameworks, suitable for enhancing decision-making and process efficiency.

Room for Improvement: IBM Rational System Architect could improve by enhancing its user interface for a smoother learning curve and developing more agile deployment options. BiZZdesign HoriZZon might focus on expanding its modeling languages and further streamlining its import/export capabilities for better integration, along with enhancing broader industry-standard compliance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BiZZdesign HoriZZon provides cloud-based deployment with efficient onboarding and comprehensive customer support, enabling rapid implementation. In contrast, IBM Rational System Architect often requires more intensive setup and technical guidance due to its on-premise focus.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Rational System Architect demands higher upfront costs, leading to a longer ROI period due to its complexity. BiZZdesign HoriZZon offers competitive prices with potentially quicker ROI, facilitated by scalable subscription models and efficient resource utilization.

To learn more, read our detailed BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 857,028 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

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (11th)

IBM Rational System Architect

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

19th

Average Rating

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of BiZZdesign HoriZZon is 4.9%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Rational System Architect is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

BijoyTalukder

Enterprise Architect at Tata Consultancy

Helps to get a clear overview of our enterprise architecture, especially when dealing with multiple departments

One area where BiZZdesign HoriZZon could use some improvement is in its REST APIs. While the platform offers REST APIs, they have limitations when it comes to retrieving and exporting data. Obtaining detailed information at the individual application or component level, including IDs, costs, and deployment-related data, can be challenging through these APIs. This limitation makes it difficult to smoothly export such granular data. I have raised this issue with the BiZZdesign team, and they expressed interest in addressing it, but I'm not aware of the current status of this improvement effort. Nonetheless, improving the usability and flexibility of the REST APIs for data extraction is an area that could enhance the platform's capabilities.

Read full review

Guy Meyongo

IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Lots of valuable features, especially the metamodel customization

In terms of what could be improved, we did not take the whole package with all the modules, and I think that the integration with other platforms like Office could be better. The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database.

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

"I like the flexibility of the modeling part for standards like ArchiMate and, at the same time, BPMN. It allows us to connect elements from different areas and to have a single repository and a single source of truth. It gives us one place to do analysis throughout the organization."

"One of the main advantages of this solution is that they have representation in the Open Group Forum, which means that any changes in ArchiMate are immediately implemented in BiZZdesign."

"t's a good tool. My colleagues that are making use of it for application, business processes, or data modeling, are very satisfied with it. They find it easy to use. The graphical representation is simple but therefore efficient, so I know that they are planning a very good commencement on the use of these tools."

"Among the valuable features is the ability to document standards. For example, we have mandatory operating standards that need to be followed by every application and every architecture. We use things like table charts and pie charts for documenting the costs incurred across the systems. All of these are good features."

"The most valuable features of BiZZdesign HoriZZon include the diagrammatic representation of BPMN models, which I find good for modeling, and things such as capability maps."

"The most valuable features are the application, portfolio, data, architectures, and modeling things."

"The enterprise studio where the modelling happens is valuable."

"The most valuable features of BiZZdesign HoriZZon, from my experience, include its out-of-the-box connectors, such as integration with ServiceNow, Excel, and SQL databases, making data repository management more efficient."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon pros

"The user interface is good. It's both clear and comprehensible. It's easy to work with."

"There are a lot of features I find valuable, but I think that the metamodel customization is one of the best features that the solution offers."

"The solution is pretty stable."

"We have seen ROI with this solution over the years that we have used it."

Cons

"Scalability is a bit of a problem for BiZZdesign. There is always a possibility it will failover."

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

"There's room for improvement. When I finished using it over a year ago, I discussed implementing C4 notation with BiZZdesign HoriZZon.They've likely done this now, but I haven't seen it. Setting up interactive views for stakeholders to score services was a bit difficult."

"I have seen table charts where, if the chart is a little too big, it does not fit in HoriZZon and it is not at all visible... There have been several times where we could not publish a chart properly and we had to break the chart into small tables and create multiple artifacts, creating a complete mess. This should be seriously taken up by BiZZdesign because there is a lot of scope for improvement in terms of usability. It's not at all good, unfortunately."

"We tested it, and we had support from BiZZdesign, including patches, but it just didn't do what we wanted."

"The automatic data collection and interface need improvement."

"This tool is something of a beast - it takes a long time to learn, and it isn't possible for casual users and most architects. Unless a person spends 500 or 1,000 hours on the tool or does very concentrated sessions using all its functionalities, it's very difficult to master."

"It takes a long time to learn and understand, which is a learning curve you have to go through, but once you know how it works, it's very nice to work with."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon cons

"There needs to be more information at the outset about how to use the solution and how to deploy it. The deployment process needs improvement."

"The solution needs to better integrate with other products, like Microsoft."

"This solution can be more user-friendly and easier to use, with better dashboards."

"The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of this particular product usage, my clients currently only use per-user licenses."

"The pricing model is slightly on the high side and could be more competitive for long-term partnerships."

"I haven't found any issues with the scalability and licensing parts that are access-related."

"[The] Orbus... pricing model was based on every single functionality having a price. The pricing was comparable but if we wanted to scale, it would have ended up being a lot more expensive. BiZZdesign gave us one price with all of the functionality, and we could scale as much as we needed."

"We were customers and bought licenses from them. We used their remote instance initially but upgraded to the on-device version due to lag. For pricing, we paid about 2200 pounds a year per seat for the client installation at an educational rate. I'm not sure about commercial rates. I managed to get a free copy at BBC since it was for evaluation purposes."

"The price is reasonable."

"First and foremost within the scope of improvement for the solution would be the cost. It's very costly..."

"If one is very cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a seven out of ten."

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Architecture Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Educational Organization

17%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

There is room for improvement in BiZZdesign HoriZZon. It's quite robust and has good online forums where people discuss it, though maybe the interface can improve, but I don't want to criticize it ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

The typical use case with BiZZdesign HoriZZon is basically for enterprise architecture and also for business process modeling.

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

LeanIX vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 17% of the time

Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 10% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 9% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 9% of the time

ARIS BPA vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 8% of the time

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 60% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 12% of the time

LeanIX vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 10% of the time

ARIS BPA vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 9% of the time

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM Rational System Architect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

June 2025

Download BiZZdesign HoriZZon product report

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

June 2025

Download IBM Rational System Architect product report

Also Known As

HoriZZon

Rational System Architect

Overview

Make smarter decisions and optimize outcomes by unifying all your strategy, capabilities, operating models and change portfolios in a single platform.

With all the data about your business in one place you can see the big picture and make properly informed strategic decisions to drive growth. Bizzdesign Horizzon brings together strategy, IT architecture, operating models, data, capabilities, change portfolios and ideas into a single, intuitive collaborative business design platform. Real-time visibility of key metrics and trends allows you to take action more quickly. Accelerating the speed and accuracy of your operations now – and into the future.

Core Platform Capabilities:

Multi-discipline collaboration
Data Integration
Advanced analytics
Models and Roadmaps
Governance & Security
Business Insight Graph

BiZZdesign

IBM Rational System Architect is an enterprise architecture solution for visualizing, analyzing, and communicating enterprise architecture and business process analysis. This solution provides decision support, process optimization, and integration into solution delivery. Rational System Architect addresses all aspects of your organization's enterprise architecture, including modeling, publishing, analysis, and execution.

IBM

Sample Customers

T-Mobile, Shell, HSBC, Erasmus University, VIVAT Insurance

Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect

June 2025

Free Report: BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect

Find out what your peers are saying about BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IBM Rational System Architect report.

See our list of best Enterprise Architecture Management vendors.

We monitor all Enterprise Architecture Management 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.