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IDERA ER/Studio vs iServer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (9th)
iServer
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
7th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.3%, down from 4.3% 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

Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts
The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does the job."
"The most valuable features are... those that enable me to represent the database to the development community and the business users."
"Modeling with Data Architect: We can quickly reverse-engineer a database from an existing database or create a model from scratch."
"When validating the model, the ability to provide sub-models to developers, and generate a physical model from the logical, makes it easier to review a logical model with stakeholders."
"We are able to document the data lineage and data flows of our data from one system to another."
"I set up this tool and found it to be very simple."
"It was a very good tool at the time since it was complete."
"My overall rating for the solution is ten out of ten."
"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."
"We like the governance."
"It has helped having data lineage in the business cluster, which is used as control artifacts."
"The product has a valuable customized model."
"Tech support is very responsive. They solved issues within a prompt response time."
"Good and effective reporting features, which help in decision making."
"The initial setup is easy."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
 

Cons

"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"Whenever there is a new version, there are a lot of release notes on the technical side of it, but I would like to be told why are we doing the upgrade... What I would like to really see is how this benefits us from the business point of view. What are the real benefits that the user gets? I want some kind of way white paper. The release notes describe the technical enhancements but, from the layman's point of view, if someone asks me what are the business benefits of this upgrade, I don't have any documentation to explain it to the business."
"The solution could be sped up, as it is a little slow (e.g., when it's doing its database compare)."
"I would like to upload, a database with about 3,000 tables. It takes so much time and, finally, it freezes the whole solution so that I actually cannot work with that environment. For the data warehouse, it's fine because I have 20 or 30 tables. It works fine. But, when I reverse-engineer the database with 3,000 tables, it freezes and it's hard to upload and reverse-engineer such environments in ER/Studio."
"ER/Studio lacks a pure cloud option for deployment."
"The solution is not so strong at creating modeling views and database views."
"One limitation I have found in ER/Studio is that when you want to make some changes to the table definitions, you have to go item by item. You cannot do it globally. Another issue concerns defining the foreign keys between the different tables. It is a little more tedious in the ER/Studio than in ERrwin. With ERwin it is direct."
"The only thing I had an issue with was licensing, and the support was very good."
"There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics."
"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
"The product is more expensive than Spark."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"Requirements management needs to be improved."
"Enhancing integration options with ERP or ITSM-related solutions for triggering automated requests for process definitions, changes, and tracking them in the iServer."
"It definitely needs help to improve the visual aspect of the solution."
"We could allocate permissions to use only specific components to the users rather than the entire instance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this product is okay."
"The product is pricey."
"It is priced fairly. It's around the same as erwin and other competitors' costs."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"I'm a firm believer that all software is overpriced these days but, comparatively speaking, I think ER/Studio is worth the money."
"Pricing is on point, but do your due diligence - not every developer needs the tool."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
"At my previous company using ER/Studio, a database compare took four hours before using the product and 15 minutes after using the product."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER/Studio?
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
What needs improvement with IDERA ER/Studio?
ER/Studio lacks a pure cloud option for deployment. Both Erwin and ER/Studio do not have AI or machine learning features for automation. Offering a comprehensive cloud-based version could enhance i...
What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
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...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.