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CA IDMS vs IDERA ER/Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

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

CA IDMS
Ranking in Database Development and Management
29th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Database Development and Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA IDMS is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 3.0%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Helps us to manage user profiles very quickly and in an assertive way
I would rate this solution 9 out of 10. I would advise that they should evaluate other possibilities because this is a very quickly changing environment and there are other possible providers that have good solutions. I would do some kind of test. I would test other possible solutions too and compare them.
Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a really stable platform. It has been around for many years. We trust it implicitly. ​"
"The most useful feature is the governance feature, because it can show us and help us to manage user profiles very quickly and using it in assertive way."
"Technical support is very good. They are very knowledgeable, very quick to respond, and very nice people, too.​"
"We found a lot of duplication, a lot of non-conformity in the way our databases were designed. By identifying these situations, we're able to go back in and try to create a more standardized solution."
"Using this product has improved the way we maintain our models because they have a place where we can keep all of them, and they can be viewed using the web interface."
"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."
"We have been able to quickly create models for our enterprise-wide databases, even when some of them are third-party databases."
"The most valuable features are... those that enable me to represent the database to the development community and the business users."
"Data lineage tracking: It allows us to identify upstream and downstream systems using data."
"It's easy to model and has a user-friendly interface. I like the team portal because, once we upload, the entire team can see the model."
"I set up this tool and found it to be very simple."
 

Cons

"​I would like to see it made simpler to operate and maintain."
"Right now, it's not easy to start using this solution. You have to take long course and train people. It's not an easy path."
"One limitation I have found in ER/Studio is that when you want to make some changes to the table definitions, you have to go item by item. You cannot do it globally. Another issue concerns defining the foreign keys between the different tables. It is a little more tedious in the ER/Studio than in ERrwin. With ERwin it is direct."
"It would be helpful if they could create a generic JSON database type, as a target database, rather than a specific one like Mongo."
"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 solution is not so strong at creating modeling views and database views."
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"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."
"The solution could be sped up, as it is a little slow (e.g., when it's doing its database compare)."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Do not hold back on asking questions about the maintenance and continued support of the product."
"I'm a firm believer that all software is overpriced these days but, comparatively speaking, I think ER/Studio is worth the money."
"The process of licensing could be much simpler, from our experience."
"It is priced fairly. It's around the same as erwin and other competitors' costs."
"I am currently using the trial version, but this solution is definitely worth considering for the price point."
"At my previous company using ER/Studio, a database compare took four hours before using the product and 15 minutes after using the product."
"The product is pricey."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"Pricing is on point, but do your due diligence - not every developer needs the tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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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.
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...
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...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services Inc.
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
Find out what your peers are saying about CA IDMS vs. IDERA ER/Studio and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.