Visio and erwin Data Modeler both reside in the realm of diagramming and database design tools. Visio appears to have an advantage with its user-friendly interface and integration with Microsoft Office suite, catering to a broader range of diagrammatic needs.
Features: Visio is known for its user-friendly diagramming and process mapping, with seamless integration into the Microsoft Office suite. Its templates and extensive shape library cater to diverse diagram requirements. Erwin Data Modeler specializes in database design and management, offering data lineage and reverse engineering features suitable for complex data modeling tasks.
Room for Improvement: Visio users often request improved support for exporting and importing XPDL, integration with pen input on Surface devices, and enhanced layering functionalities. Erwin Data Modeler can improve by simplifying its interface and boosting performance for large models, as users find it somewhat complex and unintuitive.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Visio provides deployment options like Private Cloud, Public Cloud, and On-Premises, broadening business flexibility. Microsoft's support, despite being generally well-rated, shows mixed feedback on resolving technical issues. Erwin predominantly offers an on-premises solution, limiting flexibility, and documentation of user engagement with its technical support is sparse.
Pricing and ROI: Visio's pricing flexibility, especially through Office 365 integration, makes it more accessible and cost-effective for general business use, with noted ROI in time savings and documentation efficiency. Erwin Data Modeler requires a higher investment, offering limited licensing flexibility, justifying its cost mainly for organizations engaged in intensive database modeling with its advanced capabilities.
It replaces manual charting in Visio with a structured tool, providing significant return on investment.
The quality and speed of their support are excellent; everyone is very helpful, and they can solve problems quickly.
Quest is committed to keeping the product robust.
The cost to deploy this 170-page solution was too high and the needed time was months. It was almost not an answer.
While I like Microsoft products in general, the main issue is with the licensing options and the problems associated with them.
We generally resolve issues internally within our IT department rather than contacting Microsoft's technical support.
I would rate it probably a nine, making it a leader in data modeling.
Regarding scalability, erwin Data Modeler is performing well; from a few tables to 100 tables, it is working effectively so far.
New versions often introduce enhanced features but may cause model crashes due to memory exhaustion.
Sometimes when I want to open the attribute editor, it stops working and the whole application freezes.
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.
Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates.
The visual icons and shapes for different vendors like Cisco network could be improved.
The price is high and should be lower because if it becomes lower, I think it would be widely used.
If asked to rate the price, I would give it around nine points out of ten, indicating it is somewhat expensive.
Currently in the market, there is no competitor to erwin Data Modeler; everything is very powerful, such as performing reverse engineering from an existing database and deploying that on Databricks or Snowflake.
Transitioning from a logical to a physical environment with just a switch is key.
When you use this template, you find directly the related buttons. It saves time and effort.
Visio was quite useful in Word and PowerPoint, which I miss in draw.io.
Visio allows me to create detailed diagrams that provide value to customers by giving them a clear view of their network and devices.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Visio | 12.5% |
| erwin Data Modeler | 2.0% |
| Other | 85.5% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 14 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 29 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 35 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 19 |
| Large Enterprise | 61 |
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?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.
Visio is an innovative collaborative solution that enables users to quickly visualize data-connected business process flows with a host of integrated intuitive features that bring the power of Microsoft 365 to Visio. Visio allows users to easily create professional diagrams, graphs, and other visual data, easily anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Users are able to confidently and easily transform data into creative powerful visuals. Visio provides dozens of easy-to-use templates along with thousands of customizable colorful shapes that bring a user's best ideas to life. Visio is available for all Microsoft 365 commercial users and is available on desktop and Web applications.
Visio Features
Visio can easily create visual data for today’s business needs. Some of its most useful visual data include:
Reviews from Real Users
“Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and essential illustrations to use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients manually.” - Michael B., Principal Consultant at Lexington Consulting
“I use it for diagramming networks, racks, data centers, data flow applications, etc. It is a useful tool to map data flows, network objects, and computer science technology and to show to clients. It does what I need it to do. It's a tool I've used the longest, so I know it the best, and that's probably the claim to fame.” - Greg S., Director of Solution Architecture at Winslow Technology Group
“We use Visio for architecture modeling. We also use it to facilitate communication with other people. The feature I like most about Visio is that it acts as a facilitator of communication, as it displays information in a way that's easier to understand.” - Guy M., IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm
We monitor all Business Process Design reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
