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ARIS Cloud vs Microsoft Azure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (15th), Business Process Management (BPM) (22nd)
Microsoft Azure
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
316
Ranking in other categories
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (1st), PaaS Clouds (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

ARIS Cloud and Microsoft Azure aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. ARIS Cloud is designed for Business Process Design and holds a mindshare of 2.2%, up 2.0% compared to last year.
Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, focuses on Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS), holds 16.6% mindshare, down 18.3% since last year.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ARIS Cloud2.2%
Visio12.5%
Camunda12.3%
Other73.0%
Business Process Design
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure16.6%
Amazon AWS15.1%
Alibaba Cloud13.0%
Other55.3%
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

BPMexp67 - PeerSpot reviewer
The dynamic and flexible approach, akin to outsourcing, is beneficial for both small and large enterprises
Security is a consideration when migrating to the cloud. It's crucial to address potential risks and include security measures in the contract with the cloud provider. While there haven't been issues so far, acknowledging the risks is essential, especially when dealing with applications like ARIS. With the increasing capabilities and advancements in technology, many current challenges are likely to be resolved in the future. Despite security concerns, utilizing opportunities in the cloud and the internet offers significant advantages. Regarding areas for improvement, security remains a key consideration, especially when deploying ARIS in the cloud. However, this is not solely a product-specific concern but also pertains to the cloud environment. Beyond security, the strength of ARIS lies in its ability to serve as a unified repository for enterprise architecture. Having all information in one place facilitates alignment with the company's vision, strategy, and business objectives. Reducing redundancies across departments is crucial for maintaining service quality and minimizing costs. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, fostering collaboration and preventing discrepancies in information and services. While I currently use Guardis for this purpose, the concept of enterprise architecture is applicable, and ARIS stands as a valuable tool to support business processes and technology alignment within the company.
Nicolas Chabrier - PeerSpot reviewer
Promotes clear, logical structures preventing impractical configurations and offers seamless integration
The only thing is regarding the management of multi-cloud environments. That's not really possible. So basically, it's wonderful if you manage Microsoft clearly and if you manage Microsoft Azure, but if you need to consume external services and have a global overview of all your consumption, it's not the case. Google, for instance, has tools that help you manage multiple environments, which makes sense because Google is really the cloud provider. So that's why they need to be compliant with the others. But for sure, Microsoft's approach is different, and it's wonderful when you're one hundred percent on Azure. But if you'd like to have something more of a multi-cloud strategy, that's a bit of a gap where they could improve.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its being very easy to use, making it a very user-friendly tool."
"ARIS Cloud offers easy query writing for retrieving information and includes a user-friendly Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) part that aids risk managers effectively."
"From a total cost of ownership perspective, running this on the cloud is more efficient than having someone in the company take care of the infrastructure."
"ARIS Cloud is scalable."
"The cloud version has the advantage that you can work on it from anywhere."
"Signavio is more intuitive, allowing users with no prior knowledge to navigate and understand its functionality more readily."
"It's very easy to collaborate with. It's very user-friendly"
"In the end, what stands out to me is the ease of using the cloud. I don't see any distinct or unique advantages in business process modeling software compared to other application software. The cloud simplifies operations and removes many operational complexities, which is a significant benefit."
"Good security, scalability, and elasticity."
"We have not had any issues with the performance, or the stability."
"Microsoft offers free courses and an exam on their products. Many of my colleagues who use Microsoft Azure take advantage of those free courses to help them learn about the solution in depth."
"Technical support, from what I understand, is quite helpful and we speak with them regularly."
"I come from the DBA side so for me it's the easy maintenance; backups are very easy as well."
"The solution is similar to a plug-and-play system, it is easy to use."
"The solution has high stability."
"Microsoft Azure is a very dynamic cloud service that allows you to migrate your workload, applications, and data."
 

Cons

"If you have multiple tiers of approvals into that update of the policy, or the process design itself, it takes ages to prepare those internal flows within the system."
"The price of ARIS Cloud is relatively high and not every firm can afford it, especially if the company is not mature enough to require such extensive process modeling and optimization."
"ARIS' flexibility and power add a certain complexity. And if ARIS could be more streamlined, I think customers would have a better handle on what to do with it in the end. So if you're not a tech geek, you might struggle to understand what you should do with it as a customer because it's that powerful."
"I would like to see more support for architectural diagrams."
"It would be very helpful if this solution were more open and could integrate with other solutions like ServiceNow."
"It seems that there could be innovations in fostering spontaneous cooperation between departments and individuals. This extends to case management and finding new paradigms for enhancing such cooperation. While some approaches, like basic case management tools, have been tried in the past, they may not have met expectations entirely. However, ongoing efforts in administrative science are focused on these areas. Companies with innovative ideas can contribute to progress, possibly involving concepts related to trust, even within the context of web 3. There are intriguing developments in how economic and business organizations can be formed. When it comes to learning about these concepts, starting with simple examples and gradually moving to more complex ones is advisable. Begin with the basics, excluding unnecessary details that might hinder understanding. Over time, you can delve into more intricate aspects, such as Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, to gain a deeper understanding of these technologies."
"Initial setup is rather complex. You have to find a way to isolate the complexity, and find common ground."
"On an enterprise level, the ability to onboard somebody quickly is cumbersome because it just has too many things in it. It's got something like a hundred or more techniques and things in it."
"I think better accelerators and better tools that can be used to migrate and leverage the existing models and data schemas are needed."
"Technical support needs to be better."
"We would like it to be cheaper. As a customer, we always want to pay less."
"Navigating the frequent changes in the interface has been a challenge, requiring effort to keep up with updates. Options or features that were once located in one window may unexpectedly move to another, making it hard to stay current with the changes."
"The market place can be raised, and the CMT can be more sophisticated to create more opportunities for the end users."
"Azure could be improved with better security. The world is changing and their security could be better. Compared to five years ago, many of these cloud systems are a lot better, especially since you can set up a private cloud and configure your services to make it more secure."
"I would like to see all of the cloud providers be more compatible with each other."
"The scalability could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cloud deployment is not more expensive. In the cloud, you pay for what you use, and there's no need for maintaining infrastructure or additional personnel, making it cost-effective. On-premises deployment, on the other hand, involves infrastructure costs and maintenance expenses."
"There is a student version of this solution that can be used for free."
"The licensing model of ARIS Cloud is leaner and more beneficial to the customer. The new license model is great. With the on-premise, you needed to subscribe to many more types of licenses. Now there are licensed bundles available on the cloud."
"We have an annual license subscription to use the solution."
"The licensing is pay per usage, so it can be both monthly and yearly."
"Monthly billing convenience reduced cost overheads up to 70 percent."
"With every cloud solution, you have to know what you need and the cost can be fine. The price can be a little bit high depending on how you manage your costs, but overall it's still a bit cheaper than an on-premise solution but with the advantage of flexibility. You're always up to date with the software, you only need to use it. You no longer have to be concerned with the on-premise physical security. We do not need to create a data center, it's more convenient for us."
"The current pricing is on a pay-as-you-go subscription."
"Microsoft Azure overall is an expensive solution."
"It is not cheap. Its price could be a little bit less."
"Its price can be cheaper. Price is always an issue. We pay around $10,000 per month for all resources."
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Comparison Review

it_user8586 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 14, 2013
Amazon vs Rackspace vs Microsoft vs Google: Cloud Hosting Services Comparison
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business136
Midsize Enterprise52
Large Enterprise146
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS Cloud?
The solution's most valuable feature stems from its being very easy to use, making it a very user-friendly tool.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS Cloud?
The price of ARIS Cloud is relatively high and not every firm can afford it, especially if the company is not mature enough to require such extensive process modeling and optimization.
What needs improvement with ARIS Cloud?
It would be beneficial for ARIS Cloud to add more customization options, such as having a landing page. Improving the importation script from Microsoft Visio ( /products/visio-reviews ) would also ...
Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?
IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to manage data and applications. One of the features we like is the cloud activity ...
Which is better - SAP Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure?
One of the best features of SAP Cloud Platform is that it is web-based and you can log in from anywhere in the world. SAP Cloud Platform is suitable for companies of any size; it works well with bo...
How does Microsoft Azure compare to Google Firebase?
I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure...
 

Also Known As

Process Live, ARIS Simulation, ARIS Aware, ARIS Connect
Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure
 

Overview

 

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 and 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.
BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: July 2025.
866,218 professionals have used our research since 2012.