Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs iServer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

iServer
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
6th
Ranking in Business Process Design
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
2nd
Ranking in Business Process Design
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the market share of iServer is 3.0% and it decreased by 31.0% compared to the previous year. The market share of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 14.7% and it decreased by 32.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
Unique Categories:
Business Process Design
1.3%
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user153078 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 23, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

FY
Nov 22, 2022
Useful in managing artifacts but the integration capabilities are flaky
We use iServer to manage our artifacts and governance Central repository holding single version of truth. We really like the governance. The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios. The existing capabilities have integration with the office, and it's…
PO
Feb 20, 2024
Powerful tool when it comes to modeling features and traceability
In general, we now have a problem with Sparx Enterprise Architect because many analysts think it's too complicated to use in a giant environment. So, two years ago, it was used very, very often, and it was a basic tool in the organization. Now, there's a discussion. Is it worth using Enterprise Architect in the company? We need a better, lighter tool to create, for instance, user storage. So, our company is at a specific stage in our product development or software development, where there are some people who want to use it in connection with something like Papyrus, for instance. For engineering, it's not a good description because it's complicated and for analysts in a dry environment. In the agile environment, the analyst focuses on use cases or creating user stories for support. It's not user-friendly for them. It is not not user-friendly. But in general, it's complicated for very simple activities. For example, when we know and use Enterprise Architect well, and we can use all these features for such analysts, it's no problem to use it. But new analysts, modern analysts who work in a giant environment, don't want to learn how to use Enterprise Architect in the environment because they think it's too complicated and has too many functions. There should be ways to find what you need easily and use only the functions relevant to our project. For example, if we're just analyzing a small project, we don't necessarily need tracing or tons of diagrams. We've also had issues installing the Proof of Concept (POC) for Sparx Prolaborate. Many people found it overly complicated and needed improvement. Overall, user-friendliness is a major pain point for Sparx in my company. So, Sparx could look at similar products with a more user-friendly interface in the industry. There are people who use Enterprise Architect religiously, and there are others who prefer simpler tools like point UML for just drawing diagrams. It depends on the needs of the project. Another point for improvement would be enhancing the versioning of models. Although there's a way to establish timelines, it's not as powerful as it could be.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like the governance."
"The most valuable features of iServer are the integration with Microsoft Office and the interface is similar to Microsoft applications making them easy to use."
"iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management."
"Tech support is very responsive. They solved issues within a prompt response time."
"The initial setup is easy."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
"Integrating the Microsoft documents to the product and visualization matrix where we can see the end-to-end relationship of the network is of great importance to our company."
"This is a flexible tool compared to some other solutions."
"Some of the business processes are very easy to compare when you have the diagrams."
"Ability to maintain cross-references for all models in all levels - great tractability."
"It's like a repository. So far, we use it only for Information Modelling."
"The most valuable feature is the integrated data model, so if I change the name of an item, all models using that object are automatically updated."
"It is a handy tool for visual modeling that provides opportunities for analysis, design, and support of models using ArchiMate, UML."
"The installation was very easy."
"Its most valuable feature is the Zachman Framework."
"The profiles and ready-made templates are an extremely helpful feature. This is one of the biggest features that I find very useful in Sparx."
 

Cons

"Requirements management needs to be improved."
"The performance is slow, which is something that should be improved."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics."
"I haven't used this solution long enough to know what areas could be improved."
"It runs relatively slowly."
"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
"There should be a MATLAB-specific toolbox added to the solution with better compatibility. The connections currently are good but in the future, it needs a huge improvement."
"The documentation could be better. Where I work, we speak French and we don't speak English, so we don't have anything in French. It's perfect in English, but we need something in French."
"The user interface is not so good. It's not easy for someone to use it at first. The product takes some getting used to."
"It can be improved in the area of shared documentation. The idea is that the architecture tool can call back to an enterprise asset, pull that information, and link that as a sub-artifact."
"No way to implement data integrity and referential integrity constraints."
"This solution should have better ease of use for the uninitiated."
"Its best features are not intuitive or easy to learn. Most companies I have worked with, when I see what they are doing with it , are not using more than 5% of what they could and should be doing with it."
"The Portfolio Management features can be added in the next release. As it helps you to manage more portfolio of projects and architectures of cost projects on a portfolio level. This would be an important feature in the next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has a moderate pricing."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"I think our license costs roughly $1,000 a year, but I could be wrong."
"Use floating licenses strategically."
"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."
"We had a yearly license."
"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."
"It is cheaper than other solutions. Its cost is around $686 per year. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
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Answers from the Community

it_user153078 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 23, 2014
Sep 23, 2014
Thanks Dorian. We've had look at IBM Systems Architect, but due to the size of our organization and IBM licensing structure, hence we opted for the two in question.
2 out of 4 answers
it_user96945 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 22, 2014
I have not used those two. I have used/use IBM Systems Architect, Visual Paradigm and Rational Rose and my experience with those is that is you want true team cooperation, they always ask you to buy something more. Usually there is a separate tool/SW to make teamwork work. Give them all the specs ahead of time so that if something is not there, you can go back and ask for them to fix the problem. Dorian W Smith
it_user78465 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 22, 2014
I have no experience with these solutions. John Becker
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
34%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
6%
Educational Organization
14%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
What needs improvement with iServer?
They haven't introduced new features for the product's on-premise version since 2021, similar to the SaaS version. There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics.
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use the product for various critical functions within our environment, particularly in a government entity, where it assists in governance, workflow management, and generating reports and live d...
What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
It's reasonably priced for large organizations, though it may be perceived as expensive for individual users.
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
In general, we now have a problem with Sparx Enterprise Architect because many analysts think it's too complicated to use in a giant environment. So, two years ago, it was used very, very often, an...
 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
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Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.