ARIS BPA vs IBM Rational System Architect comparison

The compared Software AG and IBM solutions aren't in the same category. Software AG is ranked #5 in BPD , with an average rating of 8.1, and holds a 7.5% mindshare in the category. IBM is ranked #19 in AM , and holds a 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of IBM users who would recommend it.

ARIS BPA

Read 68 ARIS BPA reviews

4,223 Views
2,337 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

IBM Rational System Architect

Read 5 IBM Rational System Architect reviews

734 Views
384 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

ARIS BPA

IBM Rational System Architect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ARIS BPA and IBM Rational System Architect based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design.

To learn more, read our detailed Business Process Design Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Business Process Design

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,592 peers since 2012

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

ARIS BPA

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (5th), Business Process Management (BPM) (7th)

IBM Rational System Architect

Average Rating

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (19th)

Mindshare comparison

ARIS BPA and IBM Rational System Architect aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. ARIS BPA is designed for Business Process Design and holds a mindshare of 7.5%, down 9.1% compared to last year.
IBM Rational System Architect, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Architecture Management, holds 1.8% mindshare, down 2.2% since last year.

Business Process Design

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

Tamer Eldamanhouri

Software Engineering & Manager at Arab Infromation Management Services

Empowers teams with robust business process modeling capabilities

They should examine competitor solutions to identify differentiators. One issue related to ARIS BPA is its integration with AI; it has AI features for cloud solutions, yet many in the government sector in Kuwait do not view the cloud as viable. Software AG should focus on developing AI models for ARIS BPA on-premises, particularly in user interfaces, as well as creating predefined business processes for common areas such as HR and finance. This aspect is crucial for adapting to the market's needs and streamlining custom solutions. While they have been helpful regarding pricing, I cannot compare ARIS BPA to other business process modeling tools because I understand some competitors have significantly lower costs than ARIS BPA. To maintain market share, good discounts should be provided to customers.

Read full review

Guy Meyongo

IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Lots of valuable features, especially the metamodel customization

In terms of what could be improved, we did not take the whole package with all the modules, and I think that the integration with other platforms like Office could be better. The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Process Modeling or Process Mapping/Documentation. This is the most comprehensive tool for capturing the process details. Any organization who wants to embark on a BPM journey, process mapping/documentation, lays the foundation for the BPM led implementation."

"I am an advanced user. ARIS BPM is intuitive for me because I know the UML, BPMN, and EPC methodologies implemented in this tool. It is very easy to create processes for restructuring a company with some descriptions."

"It provides the discovery functionality, and you can have a simulation on top of it to get your design corrected to ensure that it is within the right state of parameters. It is a complete package that you can use from strategy to execution because you have the design layer, and within the design, you can also do analytics."

"I reviewed ARIS BPA, and I noticed it was recommended by Gartner in 2024."

"The initial setup is easy."

"This solution has helped us in terms of discovering business processes."

"The most valuable feature is the process documentation. For us, ARIS is a lifestyle more than a tool. It helps us learn how to think and how to plan for our system."

"We also have relationships specified with our IT systems and our organizational chart. That makes it possible to analyze things from the systems point of view and regarding the organizational part of the company. It all comes together in one tool and that is what gives us the most value at the moment."

More ARIS BPA pros

"There are a lot of features I find valuable, but I think that the metamodel customization is one of the best features that the solution offers."

"We have seen ROI with this solution over the years that we have used it."

"The solution is pretty stable."

"The user interface is good. It's both clear and comprehensible. It's easy to work with."

Cons

"The usability. Others tools are easier to manage without same complexity that ARIS has."

"Training is one of the important aspects for process awareness. As soon as a process is rolled out, process training is required. If ARIS could generate output in PowerPoint, it would be great for business users."

"I would like the possibility to use real data. In other words, it can use this system to integrate with others that are operating directing with users like clients, employs, and others."

"The standard out-of-the-box solutions for modeling are not so good. You have to do some configuration to make it easier and more user-friendly."

"The user interface could be more intuitive and better designed."

"The workflow approval process could be represented better in the overviews."

"The integration between ARIS, webMethods, and project versions needs improvement."

"I had a hard time with ARIS's access and licensing policy. It requires you to pay for each step you want to take forward with the solution."

More ARIS BPA cons

"The solution needs to better integrate with other products, like Microsoft."

"There needs to be more information at the outset about how to use the solution and how to deploy it. The deployment process needs improvement."

"The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database."

"This solution can be more user-friendly and easier to use, with better dashboards."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a concurrent license system."

"ARIS is quite expensive."

"Usually, our company buys technical support from the Software AG site. We bought the technical support for the first year of usage for ARIS version 6 and 7. So, when we migrated to ARIS version 7, we bought support only for the first year. Then, we didn't use it the next year. Our experience was that we use it only one to three times during the first year. Therefore, there wasn't much value for us to buy this service because we have no problem with using ARIS after the first year."

"It is well worth the investment in the enterprise."

"The tool is expensive."

"The product is a bit pricey."

"If you can afford it, it's the best so far."

"The price could be better."

More ARIS BPA pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS BPA?

The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?

Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?

I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying. I must write scripts, which requires specific knowledge. Software AG could improve this by making the database more open. ...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS BPA

Compared 24% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS BPA

Compared 10% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

Visio vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

More ARIS BPA Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 59% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 12% of the time

LeanIX vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 10% of the time

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs IBM Rational System Architect

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM Rational System Architect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA

June 2025

Download ARIS BPA product report

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

June 2025

Download IBM Rational System Architect product report

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM

Rational System Architect

Overview

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market
Easy to use
Covers business & IT architecture from all angles
Full flexibility and >100 diagram types
Customer-driven development based on best practices
Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

Software AG

IBM Rational System Architect is an enterprise architecture solution for visualizing, analyzing, and communicating enterprise architecture and business process analysis. This solution provides decision support, process optimization, and integration into solution delivery. Rational System Architect addresses all aspects of your organization's enterprise architecture, including modeling, publishing, analysis, and execution.

IBM

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer

Buyer's Guide

Business Process Design

June 2025

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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.