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IBM Blueworks Live vs erwin Data Modeler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.0
Erwin Data Modeler boosts productivity by automating data modeling, enhancing workflow efficiency, and supporting customization for business needs.
Sentiment score
8.5
IBM Blueworks Live enhances productivity, reduces costs, and is preferred for its simplicity in business process management over competitors.
It replaces manual charting in Visio with a structured tool, providing significant return on investment.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
IBM Blueworks Live seems very easy to use compared to similar products on the market.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
erwin Data Modeler tech support is praised for helpfulness and responsiveness, though improvements are needed, especially for JSON features.
Sentiment score
8.3
IBM Blueworks Live support is responsive and competent, with quick resolutions and high user satisfaction, despite occasional delays.
The quality and speed of their support are excellent; everyone is very helpful, and they can solve problems quickly.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Quest is committed to keeping the product robust.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Erwin Data Modeler requirements function at a standard level.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
Support deserves a rating of nine out of ten.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
erwin Data Modeler offers scalability across databases, excels with small user groups, but may face performance issues with large expansions.
Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Blueworks Live is scalable and adaptable, though performance and cost challenges arise with increased user numbers.
I would rate it probably a nine, making it a leader in data modeling.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
erwin Data Modeler had a very good standardization infrastructure and supported a controlled multi-user environment with check-ins and check-outs.
Data Metrics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Regarding scalability, erwin Data Modeler is performing well; from a few tables to 100 tables, it is working effectively so far.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
IBM Blueworks Live is easily scalable, but it can be expensive to scale and there may be some limitations.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
5.7
Erwin Data Modeler shows reliability but struggles with large databases, causing crashes and freezes, despite recent stability improvements.
Sentiment score
8.7
IBM Blueworks Live is praised for its reliable cloud version but may experience latency and glitches with connectivity issues.
This lack of an auto-save methodology can be improved so that if a system crash occurs, work can be saved and rework can be avoided.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
New versions often introduce enhanced features but may cause model crashes due to memory exhaustion.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when I want to open the attribute editor, it stops working and the whole application freezes.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
For the on-premise version, there aren't speed challenges, but sometimes the server goes down, preventing work.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek interface modernization, better database compatibility, improved reporting, navigation, and enhanced support for Erwin Data Modeler.
IBM Blueworks Live struggles with orchestration, lacks simulation and reporting features, and has limited compliance and deployment options.
The previous version of erwin Data Modeler used to crash unaccountably, but this one hasn't ever crashed on me, so it's been a lot more stable than the previous version that we had.
Data Warehouse Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
There are many features, and I would expect good documentation detailing each feature, including when and how to use it, to be very useful because data modeling is not very popular in the data area and there aren't many educational videos regarding erwin Data Modeler.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Erwin Data Modeler could improve in areas such as the interface, as there are features like copy and paste, creating duplicates, and the visualization elements and toolbars which feel quite old.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
Normal business users or consultants cannot perform the installation as it requires extensive technical knowledge.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
I would prefer an on-premises solution for IBM Blueworks Live, and this could be a recommendation.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
 

Setup Cost

erwin Data Modeler is feature-rich but expensive, with variable pricing and suggestions for more flexible licensing to suit diverse markets.
IBM Blueworks Live offers flexible, affordable pricing with scalable enterprise options, including minimal licensing costs and free subscriptions.
It is more targeted toward an enterprise level since organizations looking to store business information and relationship values may consider the pricing.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
 

Valuable Features

Erwin Data Modeler streamlines data lineage, database visualization, collaboration, and synchronization, enhancing efficiency with bulk editing and templates.
IBM Blueworks Live enhances efficiency with real-time modeling, BPMN compliance, intuitive collaboration, and excellent customer service for cloud-based access.
One of the key aspects of data governance is defining the data dictionary and clearly identifying which data is accessible by whom and what is not accessible, particularly regarding PII-related data.
SPM at Infosys
The way the data is organized and you have a visual of that organization helps a great deal in terms of trying to remember what you did and trying to retrieve the information.
Data Metrics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
IBM Blueworks Live provides clear ROI as it saves both time and money.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
IBM Blueworks Live helps improve operational efficiency, especially where requirements are uncertain and clarity is needed.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

erwin Data Modeler
Ranking in Business Process Design
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd), Data Governance (15th)
IBM Blueworks Live
Ranking in Business Process Design
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler is 2.5%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.1%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
erwin Data Modeler2.5%
IBM Blueworks Live3.1%
Other94.4%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Alton Thibodeaux - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Warehouse Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Data modeling has supported secure migration from legacy platforms to cloud analytics
I write code and I write code accessing erwin Data Modeler's API, the Application Programming Interface, so that I can use Excel to update erwin Data Modeler and then get those updates and put them back into spreadsheets. The only thing I wish is that their API documentation was a little bit clearer and that it had better examples of successful code. To me, examples are worth a hundred pages of reference documentation. Just give me an example of how you use it, and that really helps. I know that's a nitpicking thing, but I wish their API documentation had a lot more examples of code that actually worked to do the things that they're talking about. As far as erwin Data Modeler itself goes, when we have a lot of tables, I have some erwin Data Modeler files that have thousands of tables in them, up to 3,000 or 4,000 tables. When erwin Data Modeler files start getting that big, it takes a really long time, I'd say a minute or more, to open the file. Whenever I'm working in it, sometimes there are operations that also take a long time, so as erwin Data Modeler files get larger, the response time really slows down. An irritation is that every now and then, when I'm working and usually when I have multiple erwin Data Modeler files open at the same time, I get a glitch where a lot of the text fields get solid black, the first eight characters of column names might be blacked out with a rectangle. All I have to do is close erwin Data Modeler, shut it down, and bring it back up, and then everything is fine. It doesn't happen all the time, only occasionally, maybe once or twice a week, and those are the only two things I can say. The previous version of erwin Data Modeler used to crash unaccountably, but this one hasn't ever crashed on me, so it's been a lot more stable than the previous version that we had.
Nupur Wadhwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
Enables efficient process mapping but requires improvement in maintaining server stability
The pricing of the solution can be quite expensive when compared to competitors, though IBM Blueworks Live stands out from a technical standpoint. IBM Blueworks Live provides clear ROI as it saves both time and money. I have successfully imported Visio flowcharts into both IBM Blueworks Live and ARIS. Both tools handled the imports successfully, though some manual intervention was required because Visio is quite a basic tool. Importing flowcharts into advanced tools such as ARIS and IBM Blueworks Live requires some manual effort. The primary advantage is the ease of use. I have not encountered any features in other tools that I couldn't find in ARIS. This is a major factor because I don't have to switch between tools to find specific features. Using ARIS for the past three years has built confidence and trust in the tool.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
Regarding pricing, I am unsure what the exact price is for erwin Data Modeler, but I believe it is not useful for an individual. It is more targeted toward an enterprise level since organizations l...
What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
For the review, I would assign an eight because it has its own limitations. It has a very steep learning curve, limited support for NoSQL or streaming systems, and potentially a high licensing cost...
What is your primary use case for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
I used erwin Data Modeler for approximately two to three years on a project. I used erwin Data Modeler for multi-level data modeling, conducting conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling with...
What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?
The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not have exposure to IBM Blueworks Live pricing since this is managed by other personnel who handle the financial aspects of licenses.
What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not use Security Identity Governance and Intelligence, as it is not implemented here. I would prefer an on-premises solution for IBM Blueworks Live, and this could be a recommendation. Regardi...
 

Also Known As

erwin DM
IBM Lombardi Blueprint
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

 Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples
Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Blueworks Live vs. erwin Data Modeler and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.