What is our primary use case?
My company is a leading software team. I tend to get brought in early stages for understanding and identifying problems. I look through what the customers are actually doing and I tend to move on into the system's analysis and architecture to see whether there are opportunities for interventions and gaps.
What is most valuable?
The features I find most valuable is the ability to create a document and then put it into a OneCare artifact. This feature allows me to share the visual I bring about with other communities that are not system analysts because not everyone can afford to have a copy of Enterprise Architect.
Additionally, the solution operates well as a whole and has very comprehensive capabilities.
What needs improvement?
The areas of improvement should be focused on utility service such as producing better graphics, perhaps having a wider image library set and producing better models for working directly with customers. The solution does not provide things like shadow effect and 3D computer graphics instead of 2D.
More polishing on the presentation should be included in the next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this on a regular basis for the last four years. For the additional six years, I have used the solution in intervals as I needed.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Initially, I found the stability of this solution reliable until there was an unexpected access crash leaving an LDB that prevented me from accessing my database, even after deleting the LDB file. I had to use the previous version to solve the problem which I had to work on for two days.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I find the solution very configurable. I could go in and change the format for export. I brought products into the ArchiMate from EA and the other way around. They seemed to work because they store them as common components.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support team have been very good at responding and coming back quickly with a query.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used to work on Salamander but it did not add on what I already know. I was also recently teaching Visual Paradigm and ArchiMate.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward to run as a single user on a single machine. There might have been an issue around installing access to the image library on the cloud environment. I think it was just a patch version that I needed to get to fix the issue.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licence has a costly upfront fee which gets you access. You have to pay an annual maintenance fee, which is less.
I think the pricing is justified because I use it very often.
What other advice do I have?
I would certainly recommend this solution if you are a serious business or a system architect, who are modelling complex systems. You will already be aware of the product and you will know what it could do for you.
I rate Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
