BusinessGenetics xBML vs erwin Data Modeler comparison

BusinessGenetics and Quest Software are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. BusinessGenetics is ranked #33, while Quest Software is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.3. BusinessGenetics holds a 0.3% mindshare in BPD, compared to Quest Software’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of BusinessGenetics users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

BusinessGenetics xBML

Read 1 BusinessGenetics xBML review

159 Views
159 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler

Read 40 erwin Data Modeler reviews

5,123 Views
1,537 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

BusinessGenetics xBML

erwin Data Modeler

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

BusinessGenetics xBML and erwin Data Modeler compete in business modeling and data management. Erwin Data Modeler has the upper hand with its comprehensive features that validate its cost, while BusinessGenetics xBML is noted for its affordability and support.

Features: BusinessGenetics xBML provides intuitive business modeling functions, enhancing understanding and communication in business processes. It focuses on clear business process articulation, aiding in streamlined organizational operations. Erwin Data Modeler offers robust data modeling, easily handles complex databases, and specializes in comprehensive data architecture management, empowering organizations to manage intricate data landscapes effectively.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BusinessGenetics xBML is known for straightforward deployment, ensuring seamless business integration with minimal disruption, supported by a responsive service team. Erwin Data Modeler presents a more complex deployment reflecting its advanced features but is backed by reliable support structures. The distinction lies in BusinessGenetics xBML's quick and smooth deployment against the more involved erwin Data Modeler implementation process.

Pricing and ROI: BusinessGenetics xBML offers a cost-effective solution with rapid ROI due to its simplicity in addressing business communication challenges. In contrast, erwin Data Modeler has a higher initial setup cost yet provides significant long-term ROI through its powerful data management capabilities. BusinessGenetics xBML's affordability and quick ROI differ from erwin Data Modeler's justified higher cost for extensive data management efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Business Process Design Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Business Process Design

August 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 867,497 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

BusinessGenetics xBML

Ranking in Business Process Design

33rd

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

erwin Data Modeler

Ranking in Business Process Design

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (4th), Data Governance (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of BusinessGenetics xBML is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Data Modeler is 2.1%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
erwin Data Modeler	2.1%
BusinessGenetics xBML	0.3%
Other	97.6%

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

Phumi Maduna-Ogbechi

Co-Founder and Managing Director at E&I Business Enterprise

Has built-in, existing processes that can be easily modified

In terms of what could be improved, I would not say that the solution itself needs improvement, meaning the product side, but more that the overall approach of the organization does. At the moment there are very few people who can lead training for the product. I think that area needs to improve. They should train more organizations because now they're the only ones that do training. As the product gets more and more customers, it takes longer to schedule a training. They need to get more training providers. The vendor is the only one doing the training. You schedule it in March and you find you can only do training quite far down the line and maybe you also want to do deployment. They're still entering the South African market, but I think now they have enough customers to get other providers so you won't have wait too long for the training before you can start running with the product.

Read full review

JorgeSanz

Data Governance Senior Advisor at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Streamline data modeling and automate network changes for increased efficiency

The initial setup depends on the tool if you are using the data model environment. Stopping the server could be complex and require strong expertise. If you have everything set up and configured, Erwin is straightforward. You can deploy it in a few hours. In our case, it took a couple of months to address internal conditions, assign machines, and set up everything for the services. I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

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

"One of the things that I have found most valuable is that it is very easy to use. For example, they have built-in existing processes that you can easily modify."

"It has centralized storage so that a data model can be shared by different teams."

"It allows us to create logical data models. We can represent a database model in business terms, which is very useful for us."

"The product allows us to reuse entities and attributes."

"Any tool will do diagramming but I think the ability to put the stuff up in a graphical fashion, then think about it, and keep things consistent is what's valuable about it. It's too easy when you're using other methods to not have naming consistent standards and column consistent definitions, et cetera."

"The generation of DDL saved us having to write the steps by hand. You still had to go in and make some minor modifications to make it deployable to the database system. However, for the data lineage, it is very valuable for tracing our use of data, especially personal confidential data through different systems."

"Another feature of erwin is that it can help you enforce your naming standards. It has little modules that you can set up and, as you're building the data model, it's ensuring that they conform to the naming standards that you've developed."

"Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution."

"I have worked with erwin Data Modeler for quite some time and familiarity is its most valuable feature."

More erwin Data Modeler pros

Cons

"At the moment there are very few people who can lead training for the product. I think that area needs to improve."

"I am not so happy with its speed. Sometimes, it can have problems with connections."

"The navigation is a little bit of a challenge. It's painful. For example, if you've got a view open and you want to try to move from side to side, the standard today is being able to drag and drop left and right. You can't really do that in the model. Moving around the model is painful because it doesn't follow the Windows model today."

"I would like to see improved reporting and, potentially, dashboards built on top of that. Right now, it's a little manual. More automated reporting and dashboard views would help because currently you have to push things out to a spreadsheet, or to HTML, and there aren't many other options that I know of. I would like to be able to produce graphs and additional things right in the tool, instead of having to export the data somewhere else."

"The report generation has room for improvement. I think it was version 8 where you had to use Crystal Reports, and it was so painful that the company I was with just stayed on version 7 until version 9 came out and they restored the data browser. That's better than it was, but it's still a little cumbersome. For example, you run it in erwin, then export it out to Excel, and then you have to do a lot of cosmetic modification. If you discover that you missed a column, then you would have to rerun the whole thing. Sometimes what you would do is just go ahead and fix it in the report, then you have to remember to go back and fix it in the model. Therefore, I think the report generation still could use some work."

"Some Source official systems give us DDLs to work with and they have contents not required to be part of the DDL before we reverse engineer in the erwin DM. Therefore, we manually make changes to those scripts and edit them, then reverse-engineer within the tool. So, it does take some time to edit these DDL scripts generated by the source operational systems. What I would suggest: It would be helpful if there were a place within the erwin tool to import the file and automatically eliminate all the unnecessary lines of code, and just have the clean code built-in to generate the table/data model."

"It is not a very stable solution. I rate the stability five out of ten."

"As someone who has used it for a long time, I have seen stability vary from version to version."

"This is a very complex product."

More erwin Data Modeler cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"We've continued to use the product for many years and compared it with others on the market. The pricing is reasonable considering what the solution offers and what we pay. There are cheaper tools, but they may not be as robust and easy to use, so it's worth the money."

"Pricing is very high compared to any other product."

"erwin is expensive compared to other solutions. We are paying almost $6,000 per seat a month."

"Likewise, the solution is a little pricey."

"I don't specifically know what we're paying now. About three years ago, in another organization, I have this memory of 6,000 AUD a seat or something like that, but I am not sure. In the mid-2000s, it was something like 1,200 AUD a seat. I get the impression that there was a price jump when it was spun off from CA as a separate company, which is understandable, but it could sometimes be a barrier in some organizations picking it up. I haven't talked to erwin people yet, but I'm going to suggest to them that they could perhaps think of having an entry-level product that is priced a bit lower, and then, you can buy the extra suite."

"There is either a one-year or three-year license. It is not a pay-as-you-go license like a SaaS solution. It’s more of a traditional licensing. They are a little bit on the pricier side."

"The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."

"The tool is expensive."

More erwin Data Modeler pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	29

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What do you like most about erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

As a documenting tool, it's solid, though its reporting could be more robust. The reporting mechanisms could be more intuitive regarding report creation. It can generate reports in CSV files, displ...

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 38% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 18% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 11% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 7% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 6% of the time

More erwin Data Modeler Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Business Process Design

August 2025

Download BusinessGenetics xBML product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler

September 2025

Download erwin Data Modeler product report

Also Known As

xBML

erwin DM

Overview

BusinessGenetics xBML (extended Business Modelling Language) is an intuitive graphical language that unlocks the DNA of a corporation using a system of diagrams based on five Ws (Who; What; Which; Where; When). xBML gives companies an complete and accurate map of their enterprise, that can then be re-used repeatedly to describe, plan and create improvement.

BusinessGenetics

Erwin Data Modeler provides an effective approach to visualizing and managing data models. It assists in creating, reversing, and synchronizing data models with ease, supporting logical and physical transitions while enhancing understanding across teams.

Erwin Data Modeler is a comprehensive tool designed for professional database management. It offers capabilities to organize and enforce standards, automating script generation with robust reverse engineering and DDL output. Users can manage complex data environments, capitalize on integration with data intelligence, and maintain large-scale databases smoothly. Despite its strengths, improvements in multi-language support, database integration, and reporting features are needed. Users benefit from extensive support for conceptual, logical, and physical database modeling, enhancing architectural design and data governance for platforms like SQL Server, Oracle, and Teradata.

What are the key features of Erwin Data Modeler?

Visual Representation: Facilitates clear visualization of data models, aiding comprehension.
Versioning and Editing: Enhance usability with versioning and bulk editing capabilities.
Reverse Engineering: Offers powerful tools for reverse engineering and DDL generation.
Integration: Aligns with data intelligence to streamline database management.
Naming Standards: Enforces consistency with automated script creation.

What benefits should users consider in Erwin Data Modeler reviews?

Collaboration: Promotes team understanding and collaboration through visual tools.
Automation: Reduces manual effort through automated processes and integration.
Scalability: Handles large database management efficiently, crucial for enterprise settings.
Data Governance: Facilitates effective data governance with structured modeling.

Erwin Data Modeler finds application in industries focused on robust data management, implementing it for enterprise data warehouses, business domain models, and operational systems. It supports architectural design and governance, aligning with business applications demanding precise data representation and visualization.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Qwest, Wachovia, Corporate Express, State of Colorado, Bank of America

Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples

Buyer's Guide

Business Process Design

August 2025

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Microsoft, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: August 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Business Process Design vendors.

We monitor all Business Process Design 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.