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erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs iServer comparison

erwin by Quest and Orbus Software are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while Orbus Software is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4. erwin by Quest holds a 10.9% mindshare in AM, compared to Orbus Software’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Orbus Software users who would recommend it.
erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews
  • 4,005 Views
  • 2,219 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
iServer
Read 18 iServer reviews
  • 2,339 Views
  • 979 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

iServer and erwin Data Modeler by Quest compete in data modeling and enterprise architecture. erwin Data Modeler by Quest has a competitive feature edge, while iServer is more attractive in terms of pricing and support.

Features: iServer offers seamless integration with various enterprise architecture frameworks, efficient reporting capabilities, and flexible deployment options. erwin Data Modeler by Quest has advanced data modeling, comprehensive metadata management, and powerful collaboration tools.

Room for Improvement: iServer could enhance its ease of use and speed of deployment and provide more user-friendly interfaces. It might also benefit from more advanced collaboration features. erwin Data Modeler by Quest could improve its pricing structure, adaptability to budget-conscious businesses, and offer simpler integration with non-Microsoft products.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: erwin Data Modeler by Quest provides a straightforward deployment process with robust customer service for smooth transitions. iServer's scalable deployment process may have a steeper learning curve, but it offers thorough support once understood.

Pricing and ROI: iServer is generally more affordable with quick ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. erwin Data Modeler by Quest, with a higher initial cost, offers significant long-term ROI due to its extensive features.

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To learn more, read our detailed erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. iServer Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. iServer
March 2025
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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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
3rd
Ranking in Business Process Design
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
iServer
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
7th
Ranking in Business Process Design
13th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 10.9%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of iServer is 4.7%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

JorgeSanz - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamline data modeling and automate network changes for increased efficiency
The initial setup depends on the tool if you are using the data model environment. Stopping the server could be complex and require strong expertise. If you have everything set up and configured, Erwin is straightforward. You can deploy it in a few hours. In our case, it took a couple of months to address internal conditions, assign machines, and set up everything for the services. I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
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Antonios Lazanakis - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, easy to use, and easy to import data
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model. It is very easy to import data, and we also have good integration with Visual Drawing Tools and SharePoint. The solution is…
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

"The principal feature that I liked is that the solution has a very graphic interface."
"It reduces monthly savings by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Think about a company like Costco and all of the points of sale systems in Costco, all of the systems, the applications, but if all the applications in Costco all had their own data model, trying to integrate those, upgrade them and manage their different versions of the same model throughout the store, is an absolute nightmare. It's phenomenally expensive. This helps reduce that cost significantly. I'm talking on the orders of hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"The fitting model is very intuitive."
"Being able to point it to a database and then pull the metadata is a valuable feature. Another valuable feature is being able to rearrange the model so that we can display it to users. We are able to divide the information into subject areas, and we can divide the data landscape into smaller chunks, which makes it easier to understand. If you had 14 subject areas, 1,000 entities, and 6,000 columns, you can't quite understand it all at once. So, being able to have the same underlying model but only display portions of it at a time is extremely useful."
"The most valuable features are being able to visualize the data in the diagrams and transform those diagrams into physical database deployments. These features help, specifically, to integrate the data. When the source data is accumulated and modeled, the target model is in erwin and it helps resolve the data integration patterns that are required to map the data to accommodate a model."
"The most valuable feature is the physical or visual representation of the database, showing the tables, the columns, the foreign keys, and the ability to generate DDL, so you can physically implement databases."
"We use the Forward and Reverse Engineering tools to help us speed things up and create things that would have to be done otherwise by hand. E.g., getting a database into a data model format or vice versa."
"The modeling portion of the tool is the most valuable. There are some notes, naming standards, and other functions that we use as well. There's a whole boatload of functionality in this thing and we use maybe 10% of it. It seems to be pretty common that not all the functionality is fully utilized. But it's just got gobs and gobs of stuff that you can implement if you so choose to."
More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros
"We like the governance."
"The product has a valuable customized model."
"This flexibility is the most helpful part in the standard version."
"It has helped having data lineage in the business cluster, which is used as control artifacts."
"iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
"There were lots of different requirements, and collaboration and review is one of the biggest things. There is also Office 360 integration, and there's flexibility to use it as a database as well."
"I have to think less with this solution. It's simple."
More iServer pros
 

Cons

"I would like to see the reporting capabilities be more dynamic and more inclusive of information. The API is very sparsely understood by people across the user community."
"erwin generally fails to successfully reverse engineer our Oracle Databases into erwin data models. The way that they are engineered on our side, the syntax is correct from an Oracle perspective, but it seems to be very difficult for erwin to interpret. What I end up doing is using Oracle Data Modeler to reverse engineer into the Oracle data model, then forward engineer the DDL into an Oracle syntax, and importing that DDL into erwin in order to successfully bring in most of the information from our physical data models. That is a bit of a challenge."
"It would be nice to have it on the Linux platform, not just Windows. If they can support Linux, there would be a huge market for it."
"I would like to see improved reporting and, potentially, dashboards built on top of that. Right now, it's a little manual. More automated reporting and dashboard views would help because currently you have to push things out to a spreadsheet, or to HTML, and there aren't many other options that I know of. I would like to be able to produce graphs and additional things right in the tool, instead of having to export the data somewhere else."
"In terms of new features, it would be great to have a cloud base. We should be able to put it on the cloud for better collaboration and data models sharing."
"I would like to see more support for working with the big-data world. There are so many new databases evolving and it's very hard for them to keep up with all of the new technologies. It would be good if they were able to dynamically support big-data platforms, other than Hive and Teradata."
"The reverse engineering in Oracle Databases needs improvement, as there are issues."
"I would like to see the ability to support more NoSQL platforms more quickly. In addition, enhancing the graphics to render more quickly would be beneficial for any user."
More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"The one issue is that if you want to import predefined work, you need to put the licensing model in. So if you wanted to import work that was done before, you then need to buy a separate product for that."
"We could allocate permissions to use only specific components to the users rather than the entire instance."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
"There are other solutions out there that have a better user interface."
"I haven't used this solution long enough to know what areas could be improved."
"There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics."
More iServer cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I wish it wasn't so expensive. I would love to personally buy a copy of my own and have it at home, because the next job that I'm looking at is probably project management and I might not have access to the tool. I would like to keep my ability to use the tool. Therefore, they should probably have a pricing for people like me who want to just use the solution as an independent consultant, trying to get started. $3,000 is a big hit."
"We've continued to use the product for many years and compared it with others on the market. The pricing is reasonable considering what the solution offers and what we pay. There are cheaper tools, but they may not be as robust and easy to use, so it's worth the money."
"erwin has this option where you pay a one-time fee and you have the license for six years, which makes sense because I don't upgrade my database engine every other year. I have an application that depends on it. This is something weird about PowerDesigner. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."
"The primary reasons that erwin was selected were that it was much more affordable for us [than Embarcadero] and it was easily maintainable."
"The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."
"erwin is expensive compared to other solutions. We are paying almost $6,000 per seat a month."
"The tool is expensive."
"There are two license options and the pricing is reasonable."
More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice
"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."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Educational Organization
35%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
See all answers
What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
As a documenting tool, it's solid, though its reporting could be more robust. The reporting mechanisms could be more intuitive regarding report creation. It can generate reports in CSV files, displ...
See all answers
What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
See all answers
What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool used to draw architectural diagrams, flow diagrams, etc. It is an alternative to...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest Logo
SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Compared 31% of the time
IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest Logo
IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Compared 18% of the time
Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest Logo
Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Compared 15% of the time
Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest Logo
Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest
Compared 8% of the time
More erwin Data Modeler by Quest Competitors
LeanIX vs iServer Logo
LeanIX vs iServer
Compared 27% of the time
OrbusInfinity vs iServer Logo
OrbusInfinity vs iServer
Compared 17% of the time
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs iServer Logo
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs iServer
Compared 16% of the time
ARIS BPA vs iServer Logo
ARIS BPA vs iServer
Compared 11% of the time
More iServer Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
erwin Data Modeler by Quest
March 2025
erwin Data Modeler by Quest reportDownload erwin Data Modeler by Quest product report
Buyer's Guide
Enterprise Architecture Management
March 2025
iServer reportDownload iServer product report
 

Also Known As

erwin DM
No data available
 

Overview

erwin pioneered data modeling, and erwin Data Modeler (erwin DM) remains trusted, award-winning software for data modeling and database design, automating complex and time-consuming tasks. Use it to discover and document any data from anywhere for consistency, clarity and artifact reuse across large-scale data integration, master data management, metadata management, Big Data, business intelligence and analytics initiatives – all while supporting data governance and intelligence efforts.

erwin by Quest

iServer is a unified software platform and enterprise modeling environment that extends and enhances the familiar, market leading Microsoft Visio and Office products. Core capabilities provided by iServer include an enhanced Microsoft Visio diagramming interface, a powerful central repository for all enterprise architecture or business process models and documentation, and a range of tools for visualization, analysis and decision making.

Orbus Software
 

Sample Customers

 Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples
Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
Buyer's Guide
erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. iServer
March 2025
Free Report: erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. iServer
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