PTC Windchill vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest comparison

erwin by Quest and PTC are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while PTC is ranked #21 with an average rating of 6.0. erwin by Quest holds a 10.7% mindshare in AM, compared to PTC’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

4,005 Views
2,220 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

PTC Windchill

Read 2 PTC Windchill reviews

177 Views
139 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

PTC Windchill

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between erwin Data Modeler by Quest and PTC Windchill based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise Architecture Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed PTC Windchill vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

PTC Windchill vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

April 2025

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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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (9th)

PTC Windchill

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

21st

Average Rating

6.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Engineering Process (2nd), PLM Tools (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 10.7%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PTC Windchill is 0.5%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

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.

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ChristianWilmers

Process Method and Tool Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Effective lifecycle management improves with strong version control and deep integration needs

There is room for improvement in implementing features fully. The user interface is inconsistent and outdated. It appears that different departments or locations have implemented features differently, leading to inconsistency. There is a significant need for improved integration, particularly using OSLC for connecting with other tools like SAP ERP or ALM tools. The version control, while consistent, lacks flexibility regarding changes in CAD data and requires manual intervention for BOM management analysis.

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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

"It provides flexibility with the code. You can change the code as you want. Basically, you can change SQL based on what's best for your project."

"The solution's ability to compare and synchronize data sources with data models is fantastic. We use it for that on a regular basis to make sure that changes haven't been made to the database outside of the modeling process. I can take existing databases and reverse engineer them and understand their structure within 15 minutes. If I didn't have Data Modeler it would take hours. It increases our productivity and helps in understanding our legacy application."

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

"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 ability to collaborate between different members across the organization is the most valuable feature. It gives us the ability to work on the same model, regardless of where we are physically."

"erwin has versioning so you can keep versions, over time, of those models and you can compare any version to any version. If you're looking at a specific database and you want to see what changed over time, that's really useful. You can go back to a different version or connect that to your change-control processes so you can see what was released when."

"One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability."

"It reduces monthly savings by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Think about a company like Costco and all of the points of sale systems in Costco, all of the systems, the applications, but if all the applications in Costco all had their own data model, trying to integrate those, upgrade them and manage their different versions of the same model throughout the store, is an absolute nightmare. It's phenomenally expensive. This helps reduce that cost significantly. I'm talking on the orders of hundreds of thousands of dollars."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"The strong point of Windchill is its close connection between the CAD structure and the bill of materials structure."

"The version control maintains consistent versions, which is beneficial."

"I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions."

Cons

"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 only real complaint I have is the time it takes to do a database comparison on a large model. If they could speed that up, that would be the only thing I can think of that needs improvement."

"erwin generally fails to successfully reverse engineer our Oracle Databases into erwin data models. The way that they are engineered on our side, the syntax is correct from an Oracle perspective, but it seems to be very difficult for erwin to interpret. What I end up doing is using Oracle Data Modeler to reverse engineer into the Oracle data model, then forward engineer the DDL into an Oracle syntax, and importing that DDL into erwin in order to successfully bring in most of the information from our physical data models. That is a bit of a challenge."

"Complete Compare is set up only to compare properties that are of interest to us, but some of the differences cannot be brought over from one version of the model to another. This is despite the fact that we are clicking to bring objects from one place to another. Therefore, it's hard to tell at times if Complete Compare is working as intended without having to manually go into the details and check everything. If it could be redesigned to a degree where it is easier to use when we bring things over from one site to another and be sure that it's been done correctly, that would be nice to have. We would probably use the tool more often if the Complete Compare were easier to use."

"This is a very complex product."

"I still use Visio for conceptual modeling, and that's mainly because it is easier to change things, and you can relax some of the rules. DM's eventual target is a database, which means you actually have to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts, but in a conceptual model, you don't often know what you're working with. So, that's probably a constraint with erwin. They have made it a lot easier, and they've done a lot, but there is probably still room for improvement in terms of the ease of presentation back to the business. I'm comparing it with something like Visio where you can change colors on a box, change the text color and that sort of stuff, and change the lines. Such things are a whole lot easier in Visio, but once you get a theme organized in erwin, you can apply that theme to all of the objects. So, it becomes easier, but you do have to set up that theme."

"The erwin Data Modeler is quite complex to use."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"There is room for improvement in implementing features fully."

"I would not recommend doing business with PTC regardless of the product."

"Some parts of the system are exclusive, so we can't work with them."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"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."

"Price-wise, erwin Data Modeler is okay. You can purchase a single license and it is not very expensive."

"Though the solution is not cheap, it's worth the money."

"erwin Data Modeler by Quest is an expensive solution."

"The solution is expensive."

"This company had bought the license for three years, and it's not an individual license. While you can buy a license for each individual, that would be very expensive. There is something called concurrent licenses where you can purchase licenses in bulk and 15 to 20 people can access the license and model. Concurrent licenses are scalable to the number of users and are proportional to the cost."

"I wish it wasn't so expensive. I would love to personally buy a copy of my own and have it at home, because the next job that I'm looking at is probably project management and I might not have access to the tool. I would like to keep my ability to use the tool. Therefore, they should probably have a pricing for people like me who want to just use the solution as an independent consultant, trying to get started. $3,000 is a big hit."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

"I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

27%

Computer Software Company

13%

Transportation Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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.

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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...

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What do you like most about PTC Windchill?

I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PTC Windchill?

I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey. The costs are fixed, and there are no additional costs.

See all answers

What needs improvement with PTC Windchill?

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Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 31% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 19% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 14% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 8% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 7% of the time

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Siemens PLM TeamCenter vs PTC Windchill

Compared 22% of the time

Intralink vs PTC Windchill

Compared 21% of the time

Aras Innovator vs PTC Windchill

Compared 16% of the time

Omnify Empower PLM vs PTC Windchill

Compared 14% of the time

Arena PLM vs PTC Windchill

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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Also Known As

erwin DM

Windchill, Atego Artisan Studio, Integrity Modeler

Overview

erwin pioneered data modeling, and erwin Data Modeler (erwin DM) remains trusted, award-winning software for data modeling and database design, automating complex and time-consuming tasks. Use it to discover and document any data from anywhere for consistency, clarity and artifact reuse across large-scale data integration, master data management, metadata management, Big Data, business intelligence and analytics initiatives – all while supporting data governance and intelligence efforts.

erwin by Quest

Manufacturers have never needed real-time information sharing, dynamic data visualization, and the ability to collaborate more than they do today. With easy, secure data access for multi-disciplinary and geographically-distributed teams, quality-focused processes, and a data driven approach to manufacturing, Windchill is elevating how product development gets done.

Windchill’s open architecture enables easy integration with other enterprise systems, including IoT, providing a solid foundation for a product-driven digital thread. PTC's PLM application provides comprehensive out-of-the-box functionality and highly configurable role and task-based apps. Expand self-service access of traceable product data to non-experts who don’t typically use PLM, while avoiding over-customization and complexity.

PTC

Sample Customers

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

Bose, Valliant Group

Buyer's Guide

PTC Windchill vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

April 2025

Free Report: PTC Windchill vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about PTC Windchill vs. erwin Data Modeler by Quest and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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