Avolution ABACUS vs erwin Evolve comparison

Avolution and Quest Software are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. Avolution is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0, while Quest Software is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0. Avolution holds a 3.7% mindshare in AM, compared to Quest Software’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Avolution users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

Avolution ABACUS

Read 15 Avolution ABACUS reviews

1,978 Views
1,701 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

erwin Evolve

Read 19 erwin Evolve reviews

1,227 Views
883 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Avolution ABACUS

erwin Evolve

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

Avolution ABACUS and erwin Evolve are enterprise architecture tools that compete in delivering robust solutions for structured organizations. erwin Evolve has the upper hand with its comprehensive feature set, superior deployment ease, and customer support.

Features: Avolution ABACUS offers a customizable modeling environment, integration support for graphically representing data, and extensive catalog management. erwin Evolve is known for its robust repository, strong governance features, and comprehensive analytics tools, making it better suited for organizations requiring extensive insights and structured management.

Room for Improvement: Avolution ABACUS could enhance its deployment speed and ease of use to reduce complexity. Better integration with BI tools and predefined pipelines for easier usage would also add value. erwin Evolve may benefit from improved web-only capabilities, greater customization flexibility, and ongoing enhancements to its client/server infrastructure to meet evolving user needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: erwin Evolve is recognized for its straightforward deployment and effective customer support, offering a smooth integration experience with consistent assistance. Avolution ABACUS provides a flexible setup but may require more time and effort to deploy entirely due to its customizability.

Pricing and ROI: Avolution ABACUS is attractive for its cost-effective initial setup, appealing to smaller enterprises. erwin Evolve, although requiring a higher investment, delivers greater ROI through its comprehensive features and long-term value, justifying its higher costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve

September 2025

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Helped 868,787 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

Avolution ABACUS

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

erwin Evolve

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

11th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (19th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of Avolution ABACUS is 3.7%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Evolve is 2.8%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Avolution ABACUS	3.7%
erwin Evolve	2.8%
Other	93.5%

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

JoseCamacho

Freelancer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

Supports evaluating architecture through corporate objectives

I conducted an evaluation of enterprise architecture at the European Court in Luxembourg, reviewing and analyzing existing implementations to identify potential improvements and providing recommendations I conduct evaluations to identify potential improvements and make recommendations, forming a…

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Asish Sahu

SPM at Infosys

The reverse engineering capabilities are quite useful.

Evolve is primarily focused on the entity's licenses diagrams, but it would be nice if erwin could integrate case development, so that it shows the ER diagram plus certain inputs on the use cases and how the data is used. That deviates somewhat from the overall scope, so maybe they could call it a different product.

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

"It's more than just an enterprise architecture tool as it has a lot of nice features, e.g. messaging, simulation, etc."

"There are plenty of features available such as the ability to test applications for issues and a user-friendly dashboard."

"If you face new challenges or issues then you can dynamically customize according to the business needs."

"The tool's implementation is straightforward as everything is readily available. For instance, setting up a portal is seamless, allowing easy publishing and access to data. However, integrating with other tools like BI, Power BI, or Grafana requires setting up pipelines between them."

"You can design using a diagram tool installed on your desktop, a key difference from other vendors."

"There are a lot of different features, but the business/decision-maker feature, visibility, and dashboards are most valuable."

"Avolution ABACUS allows for flexible enterprise architecture analysis."

"The product is easy to use and well-structured for the integrations we need it to make."

More Avolution ABACUS pros

"The ability to share and collaborate on the solution is its most valuable feature."

"Support for a broad range of data sources from relational to big data to the Cloud."

"You can use different kinds of diagrams to represent the architecture setting."

"We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts."

"By placing the data and the metadata into a model, which is what the tool does, you gain the abilities for linkages between different objects in the model, linkages that you cannot get on paper or with Visio or PowerPoint. That is a huge discriminator."

"The most valuable features for us are impact analysis, where I can easily visualize the impact of change."

"There is a model behind it. It's really nice that the Evolve front-end, as it builds a website, keeps those relationships in mind. You can even go to a procedure and see all the applications that are related to it. Then you can go into that application and see all the standard operating procedures that that application is a part of. It's just very connected."

"Evolve is like a tank. You can do whatever you want with the solution, but you need to customize it. I think that it's not very aligned with the framework for enterprise architecture. MEGA is focused on these enterprise architectures, but it's only for that. With Evolve, you can do everything you want with professional services."

More erwin Evolve pros

Cons

"Their local presence in the Middle East could be scaled more, particularly in customer service. It would be good if they'd also have mobile dashboards for executive management out of the box."

"While this is one of the most powerful tools on the market it does not integrate well with Microsoft Office or others."

"While Avolution ABACUS is flexible, it can be complex to work with as it requires knowledge of specific configurations to customize the product."

"If they want to expand in the European market then they are going to have to improve their technical support."

"While Avolution ABACUS is flexible, it can be complex to work with as it requires knowledge of specific configurations to customize the product."

"The tool doesn't have any intelligence built in. We have to design the dashboards ourselves, which is a challenge because we have to depend on the vendor for customizations."

"I use reference models, which are taxonomies, in my EA work. It is a reference model/taxonomy of things with capabilities, sub capabilities, and sub-sub capabilities, so you're working it down. I haven't yet found a simple way to implement that in Abacus. It could be that it is there, but I don't know how to do it."

"The most valuable features are the catalog and the diagram."

More Avolution ABACUS cons

"Add some ability to do conditional Visualization on the models and in reports (some ideas) – maybe as a specialized Theme or Diagram or Display."

"They have improved the search engine a little bit but it can always be improved more. The more data you put inside it, the more you want to use it."

"With the Excel importing, the "up to date" part is the challenge. If we had a real-time integration, we could keep things up to date for whatever kinds of change points we had. With Excel, it is more that you have to export from one system then import it to another, so it's better for data that doesn't change that often."

"It could have had a more streamlined navigation. It seemed that when you went to the explorer panel, there were just so many different ways of doing the work that I could not remember, "How did I do this? How did I get to that point in that model to get back to it?" If I wanted to build a new one, where do I start? It just seemed like there was such a smorgasbord of ways of doing it that it was just overwhelming."

"Business process modelling could be improved."

"The way that we are using it for application management, we have several KPIs. We want to follow and monitor them regarding a number of solutions. We cannot calculate this today. We would like real-time calculations along with the KPIs in order to improve the user experience. We would like the tool to be able to display this, not only as signals, but as charts."

"They need to develop Evolve's user experience. For example, MEGA has a useful client view that helps with impact analysis. MEGA provides information about the processes, services, infrastructure, and portfolio of applications in one central view. It lets you see the periphery and relationships among components. This view is impressive, and Evolve doesn't have it."

"Evolve is primarily focused on the entity's licenses diagrams, but it would be nice if erwin could integrate case development, so that it shows the ER diagram plus certain inputs on the use cases and how the data is used. That deviates somewhat from the overall scope, so maybe they could call it a different product."

More erwin Evolve cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"To get a fairly extensive license for Enterprise Architects from Spark is approximately US $400.00, maybe less, but with Avolution Abacus it was approximately US $2000.00 per year, and that includes maintenance with the Abacus tool."

"This solution is expensive for some people's budgets and they need to offer a Lite version at a cheaper price"

"My company makes annual payments toward the licensing costs of the solution. Considering the product's capabilities, its prices are very reasonable."

"There is a subscription for this solution. We are on an annual subscription because you sometimes receive special offers the longer you subscribe."

"It is expensive."

"The cost of Avolution ABACUS is reasonable, given the features they offer in comparison to other tools."

"The pricing is quite good compared to the competition and it is part of the reason we chose the product."

"It is competitive. It is not chump change. I am just using the studio version. I am not using the full enterprise version, which would probably cost me three times more for single-use, but it gives a lot more capability and analysis. It is server-based as well, and it is reasonably priced compared to a lot of the other tools. There are other tools that have other sorts of capabilities, but in order to use them, you'd really have to have like 50 users for the price to become justifiable."

More Avolution ABACUS pricing and cost advice

"I think erwin is quite expensive. I have difficulty selling the portal, in fact."

"The licensing enables you to differentiate between people who edit the content and the people who consume it. We are able to keep the licensing costs down by keeping the "contributor" licenses to a minimum, and we then just roll out the content in a read-only version for the rest of our users."

"Unless you are a one person shop – always go with the Workgroup edition and Concurrent licensing."

"The cost is something like $15,000, per license. But I haven't looked at those numbers in three years. It was over $100,000 to initially set everything up and get it all configured."

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

"I estimate that we pay between $40,000 and $50,000 a year for the solution, not including the upfront costs to buy things the first time."

"On a yearly basis, our licensing costs are 50,000 euro. There are no additional costs because we are on a SaaS model."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

14%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Government

10%

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Avolution ABACUS?

The tool's implementation is straightforward as everything is readily available. For instance, setting up a portal is seamless, allowing easy publishing and access to data. However, integrating wit...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Avolution ABACUS?

It's pricey compared to Essential, Deltek, or Essential Cloud. However, its diagramming capabilities and metamodel design make it worth it. But it's not for large user bases. It has modules for app...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Avolution ABACUS?

While Avolution ABACUS is flexible, it can be complex to work with as it requires knowledge of specific configurations to customize the product. It would be beneficial to have seminars or other met...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Evolve?

I rate erwin Evolve by Quest a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about erwin Evolve by Quest?

We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Evolve by Quest?

erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 18% of the time

LeanIX vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 17% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 12% of the time

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 9% of the time

Planview Portfolios vs Avolution ABACUS

Compared 4% of the time

More Avolution ABACUS Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve

Compared 18% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve

Compared 13% of the time

Bonita vs erwin Evolve

Compared 12% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve

Compared 11% of the time

LeanIX vs erwin Evolve

Compared 10% of the time

More erwin Evolve Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Avolution ABACUS

September 2025

Download Avolution ABACUS product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve

September 2025

Download erwin Evolve product report

Also Known As

No data available

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

Overview

ABACUS is the enterprise architecture tool designed to have the quickest time-to-value. You can use it to build and maintain rich visual models from existing company data. ABACUS comes with standard industry frameworks as well as advanced analytic tools and best-in-class roadmapping and reporting functionality.

With Avolution ABACUS You Can:

Strategize and analyze your organizational architecture with ease using data-driven diagrams
Enjoy connected data, models, and metrics across your whole enterprise
Work directly and securely in your browser, which is ideal for global teams and remote working

Avolution ABACUS Features:

Modeling and roadmapping: ABACUS offers a fully provisioned modeling environment for enterprise and IT architecture, strategic planning, and digital business management.
Digital collaboration: Avolution ABACUS includes a feature that allows you to set up dashboards so you can tell data stories using business-friendly visualizations.
Portfolio management: Anyone can update their own data, which, in turn, reduces the workload of the enterprise architecture team.
Data-driven architecture: ABACUS’s data-driven architecture gives you the opportunity to design and automate key calculations using out-of-the-box or simple no-code algorithms.
Collaborative data management: Using this feature, you can save time with single sign-on (SSO) and AD Integrations; You can embed directly in MS Teams, Confluence, or other workplace social software.
Dynamic data visualizations: ABACUS’s graph view allows you to navigate through systems in a dynamic environment, as opposed to static diagram views.

Avolution ABACUS Benefits:

Time efficient: Models and roadmaps automatically stay up-to-date, saving your organization a lot of time so you can focus on other priorities instead.
Centralized location: With Avolution ABACUS, you can connect all data in one place, keeping everything both consistent and accurate.
Full flexibility: ABACUS gives you full flexibility to adapt and configure your own metamodels with ease.
Complete visibility: Your whole enterprise can have visibility of the architecture through the use of digital collaboration and visually clear dashboards.
Machine learning: With Avolution ABACUS, you can employ machine learning to speed data management and analysis.
Spot dependencies: ABACUS helps your organization spot dependencies and impacts that might trip up your projects.
Fully customizable: Avolution ABACUS is fully customizable; Select, configure, or adapt your repository and metamodel. You can also automate metrics and analytics specific to your business.

Reviews from Real Users:

Andre W., Enterprise Architect at Enterprise Architecture Perspectives, says, "The most valuable feature is that it has a customizable meta-model, which is key.”

The Lead Enterprise Domain Architects at a financial services firm feels that "The product is easy to use and well-structured for the integrations we need it to make.”

"There are plenty of features available, such as the ability to test applications for issues and a user-friendly dashboard,” says Suresh T., Enterprise Digital Solution Architect at a tech services company.

Avolution

erwin Evolve provides comprehensive graphical support for handling large data models. It offers features such as metadata access, version control, and model comparison, enhancing operational reports and system analytics through its collaborative web-driven design.

erwin Evolve facilitates reverse engineering and database integration, fostering collaboration and process exploration through its web interface. Customizable and easy to configure, it supports workflow configuration and architectural modeling. Users can utilize its capabilities for developing industry models, managing transformation programs, and presenting standard operating procedures. Despite its strengths, there are demands for improved integration, enhanced UML support, and a more modern user experience. Users also express challenges with legacy system updates and call for better connectors and collaborative features.

What are the key features of erwin Evolve?

Graphical Support for Large Data Models: Provides visualization capabilities for complex data structures.
Metadata Access via API: Allows integration and management of metadata across platforms.
Version Control and Model Comparison: Enhances tracking and analysis of model changes.
Collaborative Web Interface: Facilitates teamwork and process exploration remotely.
Architectural Modeling: Supports the design and configuration of enterprise architecture.

What are the benefits and ROI of using erwin Evolve?

Customization and Ease of Configuration: Reduces setup time and adapts to specific organizational workflows.
Enhanced Accessibility and Mobile Usability: Offers access to critical information on the go.
Operational Reports Creation: Generates insights and facilitates informed decision-making.
System Analytics Handling: Provides robust tools for analyzing system performance and integration.

Data-driven organizations in sectors like finance and healthcare implement erwin Evolve for data warehousing, enterprise architecture, and business process modeling. They leverage its capabilities for cataloging architectural elements, linking to CMDBs, analyzing system interfaces, and describing business processes. Utilization extends to IT solution registration, business capability planning, and strategic modeling, with frequent deployments on cloud platforms to support transformation initiatives.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Barclays

AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Duke University, ESPN, Fidelity, GE, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, McGraw Hill, NASA, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland, Teradata, Union Pacific, Vodafone, Wells Fargo.

Buyer's Guide

Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve

September 2025

Free Report: Avolution ABACUS vs. erwin Evolve

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