BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs IDERA ER/Studio comparison

BiZZdesign and IDERA are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. BiZZdesign is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while IDERA is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.6. BiZZdesign holds a 5.1% mindshare in AM, compared to IDERA’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 78% of BiZZdesign users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of IDERA users who would recommend it.

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Read 18 BiZZdesign HoriZZon reviews

2,981 Views
1,789 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

IDERA ER/Studio

Read 38 IDERA ER/Studio reviews

1,615 Views
1,195 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

IDERA ER/Studio

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IDERA ER/Studio and BiZZdesign HoriZZon are prominent tools in the data management and enterprise architecture solutions categories, respectively. IDERA ER/Studio holds an advantage in database-focused operations with features catering specifically to database management tasks, while BiZZdesign HoriZZon excels in enterprise architecture with strong modeling capabilities.

Features: IDERA ER/Studio provides robust graphical capabilities, reverse engineering functions for legacy database analysis, and tools for consistent builds and object creation. It supports extensive automation and database integration. BiZZdesign HoriZZon focuses on enterprise architecture with comprehensive modeling using standards like ArchiMate and BPMN. It offers seamless language integration and collaborative features via its HoriZZon platform, featuring dashboards and stakeholder views.

Room for Improvement: IDERA ER/Studio faces issues with cumbersome deployment and licensing processes, inadequate documentation, and suboptimal repository performance. BiZZdesign HoriZZon could enhance its user interface and integration capabilities. Its pricing, licensing complexity, documentation, and customer support also require refinement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IDERA ER/Studio primarily supports on-premises deployment, which limits flexibility compared to BiZZdesign HoriZZon that leverages public cloud environments for improved accessibility and scalability. IDERA's technical support is mixed, being both responsive and occasionally slow. BiZZdesign HoriZZon is known for supportive customer service, yet it is not flawless. Both products offer reliable support with varying consistency.

Pricing and ROI: IDERA ER/Studio's pricing is high, reflecting its extensive features and complex licensing process. BiZZdesign HoriZZon is considered expensive but justifiable, offering license types for diverse organizational needs. Both products deliver positive ROI, with IDERA providing competitive pricing for database functionalities and BiZZdesign's costs better suited to enterprise architectural planning tasks.

To learn more, read our detailed BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio

July 2025

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Helped 861,170 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 (9th)

IDERA ER/Studio

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database Development and Management (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of BiZZdesign HoriZZon is 5.1%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.1%, up from 4.0% 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.

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Aaron Cutshall

Enterprise Data Architect & Senior Manager at Health First Inc.

Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts

The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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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 initial setup of this solution was very straightforward."

"The most valuable feature is that it allows you to work with different methods, using the same tool."

"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."

"I used BiZZdesign HoriZZon at two organizations. At Manchester Metropolitan University, I used it with a small team for architectural modeling of the student record system. We modeled teams, process objects, and their interactions with applications. We also used it to model a gradual rollout with plateaus showing migration over time. At the BBC, I used it to model software services for publishing content online. I showed key model views to senior stakeholders using Horizon, allowing them to modify and score applications and services."

"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."

"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

"We are able to document the data lineage and data flows of our data from one system to another."

"I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts."

"Valuable features include the ability to visually represent what the database tables are going to look like and their relationships. Also, the ability to document the definitions of the tables and the columns that are in a table so that we can communicate what the data is and how it should be used."

"It's much easier to develop the database structure and change it on the fly, rather than doing it manually in SQL Server itself. That saves time."

"The tool is simple to use."

"Data lineage tracking: It allows us to identify upstream and downstream systems using data."

"I would 100% recommend the product."

"It does the job."

More IDERA ER/Studio pros

Cons

"The repository of duplicate objects is bad."

"There could be simpler modelling."

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

"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."

"The ability to generate charts and deal with a use case involving Kibana was quite difficult."

"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."

"There is room for improvement in making it more seamless between the modeling and the analysis pieces. Sometimes you have to do some work in the backend to ensure that the HoriZZon portal really gets all of the information the way you want it. They are working on the seamlessness between what they call Enterprise Studio and HoriZZon."

"In HoriZZon, there are different matrices. In some of the cases, there is an option to aggregate them, but in other cases, we have not done this, e.g., to see the proper costs. For example, if I have 10 different matrices, then I need to create an aggregate view out of those 10 matrices somewhere. That is where we have been struggling a bit. We have a counterpart from the HoriZZon product team with whom we have bi-weekly discussions. We have suggested to him that this can be improved."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon cons

"The solution's reporting could be improved because the report writer is terrible."

"I'd like the ability to debug the errors ourselves instead of having to call them. There are certain types of errors that, I wouldn't say they come up regularly, but when you have an error it is very often the same type of error. Knowing that it's a Type III or Type I, it would be nice to have some kind of debugging facility for us to use to find out where the problem that threw that error occurs. That would be a really cool feature."

"Tech support is a sticking point with me. I am really disappointed in the tech support. We pay for the Platinum level. It takes hours to get a response."

"It isn't easy to compare the thousands of tables in the model against the database. The tool should improve the synchronization within the large organization"

"The model diagram because very clumsy when you save it on the team server and the models are very big."

"This solution needs more precise documentation."

"There was no specific mention of areas needing improvement."

"The solution could be sped up, as it is a little slow (e.g., when it's doing its database compare)."

More IDERA ER/Studio cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The price is reasonable."

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

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

"[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."

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

"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 product is pricey."

"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I would rate the licensing cost as a seven or eight. It's not too expensive for us."

"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."

"The process of licensing could be much simpler, from our experience."

"I use the product's trial version."

"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."

"The price of this product is okay."

More IDERA ER/Studio pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

10%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

17%

Energy/Utilities Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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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

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER Studio?

In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IDERA ER Studio?

I have been working with data modeling tools. Personally, I have been working with Erwin for many years now. ER/Studio is something I am currently trying to evaluate for acquiring it for our organi...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IDERA ER Studio?

I would strongly recommend ER/Studio for large teams. Erwin is a very stable product, but for smaller teams, it's okay. If I had to rate ER/Studio, I would give it nine out of ten because the absen...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IDERA ER/Studio

June 2025

Download IDERA ER/Studio product report

Also Known As

HoriZZon

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition

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

IDERA ER/Studio is a powerful suite for business-driven data modeling that enables companies to create an enterprise architecture foundation for data governance. With round-trip support for multiple database platforms, data architects have the power to reverse-engineer, analyze, and optimize existing databases easily from diverse platforms. Data professionals can easily capture and share models, metadata, data sources, and glossaries across the organization for improved alignment between the organization and Information Technology. Organizational stakeholders can take part in the metadata definition workflow and access information on models and metadata at the right level for their needs.

Unlike its competition, it provides the broadest range of data platform support, industry-leading enterprise-level capabilities, visual data lineage and flow modeling, full dimensional modeling for data warehousing and business intelligence, and business data objects to bridge the gap between developers and data architects. It also provides a complete solution for enterprise architecture and data governance, extensive model change management, unique incorporation of true enterprise data dictionaries, unique linking of constructs across models, integrated visual data lineage import, and integrated data and business process modeling.

IDERA

Sample Customers

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

Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio

July 2025

Free Report: BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio

Find out what your peers are saying about BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. IDERA ER/Studio and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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