IBM Rational System Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest comparison

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We performed a comparison between erwin Data Modeler by Quest and IBM Rational System Architect based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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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
"Drag-and-drop data modeling and reverse engineering out of databases are the most valuable features of erwin Data Modeler by Quest.""It allows us to create logical data models. We can represent a database model in business terms, which is very useful for us.""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.""The most valuable feature is the physical or visual representation of the database, showing the tables, the columns, the foreign keys, and the ability to generate DDL, so you can physically implement databases.""It has centralized storage so that a data model can be shared by different teams.""The visual data models for helping to overcome data source complexity and enabling understanding and collaboration around maintenance and usage are excellent. A picture speaks 1,000 words. Seeing a picture that shows you how the data relates to each other helps you better understand what the data is and how to use it. Pairing that information with a dictionary, which has the definitions of the tables and columns or the entities and attributes, ensures that the users understand what the data is so that they can use it best and most successfully.""It's a safeguard for me because I'm always concerned that somebody is free handing it and will forget a key coming from the parent. The migrating keys are a great feature. Identifying relationships, non-identifying relationships, and being visually right there to understand the differences are great features. erwin is key to being able to visually understand whatever the customer is requesting. They'll give you words on a paper, but once they can actually view it as a picture, it really comes to life. The data comes to life to where they understand exactly what they're asking for.""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."

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"The user interface is good. It's both clear and comprehensible. It's easy to work with.""The solution is pretty stable.""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.""We have seen ROI with this solution over the years that we have used it."

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Cons
"This is a very complex product.""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.""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.""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.""The Bulk Editor needs improvement. If you had something that was a local model to your local machine, you could connect to the API, then it would write directly into the repository. However, when you have something that is on the centralized server, that functionality did not work. Then, you had to export out to a CSV and upload up to the repository. It would have been nice to be able to do the direct API without having that whole download and upload thing. Maybe I didn't figure it out, but I'm pretty sure that didn't work when it was a model that sat on a centralized repository.""I would like to see the reporting capabilities be more dynamic and more inclusive of information. The API is very sparsely understood by people across the user community.""The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes.""I would like to see the ability to support more NoSQL platforms more quickly. In addition, enhancing the graphics to render more quickly would be beneficial for any user."

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"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.""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."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The primary reasons that erwin was selected were that it was much more affordable for us [than Embarcadero] and it was easily maintainable."
  • "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."
  • "An issue right now would be that erwin doesn't have a freely available browser (that I am aware of) for people who are not data modelers or data engineers that a consumer could use to look at the data models and play with it. This would not be to make any changes, but just to visually look at what exists. There are other products out there which do have end user browsers available and allow them to access data models via the data modeling tool."
  • "The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."
  • "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."
  • "There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
  • "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."
  • "The price of erwin Data Modeler is very expensive, in particular for this part of the world."
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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.
    Top Answer:The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes.
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    Also Known As
    erwin DM
    Rational System Architect
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    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.

    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.
    Sample Customers
     Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples
    Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm28%
    Insurance Company21%
    Government14%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Government10%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government11%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise60%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise10%
    Large Enterprise74%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise75%
    Buyer's Guide
    Enterprise Architecture Management
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about LeanIX, Sparx Systems, erwin by Quest and others in Enterprise Architecture Management. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    erwin Data Modeler by Quest is ranked 3rd in Enterprise Architecture Management with 37 reviews while IBM Rational System Architect is ranked 20th in Enterprise Architecture Management. erwin Data Modeler by Quest is rated 8.6, while IBM Rational System Architect is rated 7.4. The top reviewer of erwin Data Modeler by Quest writes "The product lets users import different types of models, but it is expensive, and the interface must be improved". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM Rational System Architect writes "Modeling is useful, but many features need improvement and technical support is lacking". erwin Data Modeler by Quest is most compared with SAP PowerDesigner, IDERA ER/Studio, Visio, Lucidchart and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, whereas IBM Rational System Architect is most compared with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, SAP PowerDesigner and MEGA HOPEX.

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