Netwrix Data Classification vs erwin Data Modeler comparison

Netwrix Data Classification vs. erwin Data Modeler

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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

Ranking in Data Governance

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (1st), Business Process Design (7th)

Netwrix Data Classification

Ranking in Data Governance

22nd

Average Rating

10.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler is 0.5%. The mindshare of Netwrix Data Classification is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Governance Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
erwin Data Modeler	0.5%
Netwrix Data Classification	1.4%
Other	98.1%

Data Governance

Featured Reviews

Sushree Panigrahi

Snowflake Data Engineer| Senior PLSQL Developer |Data Modeler|Assitant Vice Pre at Jp Morgan Chase & Co.

Data modeling has transformed regulatory reporting and collaboration across cloud environments

In erwin Data Modeler, areas that have room for improvement include performance improvements. I see that large models sometimes cause it to be slow when opening. Impact analysis can lag as well. Version control is another aspect. If we have developed a current version, it is not integrated with Git where we can easily compare different versions. UI modernization is also something we cannot utilize as it is primarily for development. Additionally, cloud-specific optimizations are needed when it comes to Snowflake or Databricks. When it comes to AI aspects, auto-suggestions for normalization or identifying primary, foreign, or surrogate keys are areas that can be improved.

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Gregory Falowo

Isms Manager & Information Systems Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Automated data labeling has reduced manual work and supports our privacy compliance needs

We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is. We need a security feature so that if we have classified a document as strictly confidential and given it to a third party, that document remains strictly confidential. There has to be a way to enforce it and prevent the document from being shared with any other person apart from the person it was sent to. We do not want AI in security products for now, as AI in security products tends to be risky. AI can improve reporting and detection, but it should not execute.

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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

"When you're getting down to the database level, where you're building a design and you're creating DDL out of it, or you're going in the other direction where you're reaching into system catalogs and bringing things back, that starts to really require specialization. Visio isn't going to reverse-engineer that for you. Those features in erwin are valuable."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"The solution's ability to compare and synchronize data sources with data models is fantastic."

"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."

"It is the only meaningful way to do any data modeling."

"The best features of erwin Data Modeler include the forward engineering tool, which gives you the schema according to the data model that you generate."

More erwin Data Modeler pros

"It's highly flexible and scalable, offering customers the choice to match their needs and budget."

"Netwrix Data Classification Manager finds the data in a very efficient manner, and the efficacy of the solution is very good."

"There is a massive cost saving; it is easy to use, the reporting is clean, and it is simpler to use than the Microsoft DLP solution, Purview."

Cons

"We are planning to move, in 2021, into their server version, where multiple data modelers can work at the same time and share their models. It has become a pain point to merge the models from individual desktops and get them into a single data model, when multiple data modelers are working on a particular project. It becomes a nightmare for the senior data modeler to bring them together, especially when it comes to recreating them when you want to merge them."

"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."

"It has a very steep learning curve, limited support for NoSQL or streaming systems, and potentially a high licensing cost."

"There are some bugs here and there. The default code that comes with the customizable packages is a bit buggy on some platforms such as PostgreSQL."

"The modeling product itself is far and above anything else that I've seen on the market. There are certain inconsistencies when it comes to keeping up with other platforms' databases in the reverse-engineering process. It should also support more database platforms."

"The UI in erwin Data Modeler can be improved significantly because when any new person opens the tool, all the toolbars are kept open with many tools in view, making it appear chunky."

"Although Quest Software has made tremendous strides in recent years, they need to evolve more in the big data arena; erwin Data Modeler could use a little more work when it comes to big database designs."

"I find the UI very clunky and very difficult to use."

More erwin Data Modeler cons

"We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is."

"Netwrix Data Classification Manager is very good at network data classification, but it also has to work on endpoint data classification because clients ask for it."

"One of the key issues is its interface and querying capabilities, which can be complex, making it difficult to interpret logs."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"erwin has this option where you pay a one-time fee and you have the license for six years, which makes sense because I don't upgrade my database engine every other year. I have an application that depends on it. This is something weird about PowerDesigner. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."

"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."

"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."

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

"There are two license options and the pricing is reasonable."

"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."

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

More erwin Data Modeler pricing and cost advice

"Netwrix Data Classification Manager has an affordable price."

"The initial pricing might seem reasonable, but costs can quickly escalate when adding components."

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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Construction Company

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	42

No data available

Questions from the Community

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

I have no idea about the setup cost because I did not buy the license.

What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

The UI in erwin Data Modeler can be improved significantly because when any new person opens the tool, all the toolbars are kept open with many tools in view, making it appear chunky. If possible, ...

What is your primary use case for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

I primarly use erwin Data Modeler for modeling purposes. Once we have the business requirement, we create the models in erwin Data Modeler, and then we perform forward engineering to get the query ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?

There is a cost increase. When Microsoft moved or divided the features, they also added cost to it. In order to get those features back, we will be paying much more than before to get the same feat...

What needs improvement with Netwrix Data Classification Manager?

What is your primary use case for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?

We want to discover documents and classify them automatically rather than manually classifying them. We give them labels from internal to confidential to strictly confidential. That way all the doc...

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler

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Product Reports

erwin Data Modeler

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Data Governance

Download Netwrix Data Classification product report

Also Known As

erwin DM

No data available

Overview

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

Netwrix Data Classification automatically discovers and classifies sensitive and regulated data across file systems, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, databases, and other cloud and on-premises environments. As a core component of Netwrix data security posture management (DSPM), it enables organizations to understand where sensitive data resides, who has access to it, and how it is exposed.

The solution uses advanced content analysis and customizable classification rules to identify personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, intellectual property, regulated records, and other sensitive content. Classification tags are written directly to files and metadata, enabling integration with data loss prevention solutions, access governance controls, and security monitoring tools.

Netwrix Data Classification also supports automated remediation workflows. Organizations can move sensitive files to secure locations, adjust access permissions, redact sensitive content, apply labels, and identify redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data for cleanup. By combining data discovery, effective permissions analysis, and automation, it helps reduce data exposure and strengthen compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

Key use cases

• Discover sensitive and regulated data across hybrid environments

• Identify overexposed data by analyzing effective permissions

• Remediate data risk with automated policy actions and workflows

• Identify and clean up redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data

• Protect intellectual property with content-based classification and tagging

• Support compliance with predefined classification rules aligned to regulatory standards

• Strengthen data loss prevention effectiveness with embedded classification tags

Netwrix

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Netwrix Data Classification vs. erwin Data Modeler