No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

SAP PowerDesigner vs iServer comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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

iServer
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
9th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (13th)
SAP PowerDesigner
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of iServer is 4.0%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP PowerDesigner is 8.6%, up from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP PowerDesigner8.6%
iServer4.0%
Other87.4%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

AHMEDIBRAHIM1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architecture practice head at Positive Side Consultancy
Enables flexible parameters for any process model and has a valuable document management feature
We use the product for various critical functions within our environment, particularly in a government entity, where it assists in governance, workflow management, and generating reports and live database activities. It enables flexible parameters for any process model iServer has valuable…
HemantKUMAR6 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Architect at Sopra Steria
Customer support has delayed successful upgrade to supported version
It was a long time back when my company purchased it, but I am now participating in upgrading it to the latest version. I found customer support to be tedious during the upgrade process to the latest version. I tried to upgrade to a trial version before purchasing a new license. During that process, I had some technical issues. When trying to go from 12.5 to 16.5, I could migrate but faced technical challenges. When I approached customer support, they informed me that even 16.5 is not supported. They stated I would need to go to 16.7 before they could look at my issue. They didn't spend any time on the issue because according to them, 16.5 is not supported. Until I get 16.7 and complete the migration, I'm not getting any help from them. I was not too happy with the customer support. This was my only interaction with customer support, and I haven't received any resolution to my issue. It can be rated as low as zero because that's the only time I approached them. I cannot even say zero out of ten because I approached only once. Perhaps they are correct that they don't support 16.5, so they don't want to spend any time on that.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management."
"The most valuable feature is its reporting capability. It offers various packages for different types of reports, such as business and project management reporting packs."
"We like the governance."
"I have to think less with this solution. It's simple."
"Good and effective reporting features, which help in decision making."
"The solution is easily modified to suit your needs."
"iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model."
"The most valuable features of iServer are the integration with Microsoft Office and the interface is similar to Microsoft applications making them easy to use."
"I would highly recommend this product to be used in each and every application system where you have to design a relational database."
"This product is very useful when starting a new project."
"It is a very stable solution, which is one of the advantages of using PowerDesigner, especially in big databases."
"The most valuable feature of SAP PowerDesigner is the testing of the models, it has the best function. Reverse engineering is very helpful too."
"The most valuable features of the solution are it's built very well, easy to use, and simple to describe freely what is needed in logical and physical data models."
"The most valuable feature is the way you can extend it and customize it. With most modeling tools, you fit your modeling process to fit the tool. In PowerDesigner, you can make the tool fit the way you want to work."
"It offers a lot of features in one solution, and you would have to get multiple other products to bundle together all of the capabilities that you get in just this product."
"Provides the flexibility to create logical and conceptual data models."
 

Cons

"The performance is slow, which is something that should 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."
"We could allocate permissions to use only specific components to the users rather than the entire instance."
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"It definitely needs help to improve the visual aspect of the solution."
"There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"I do not find it friendly to use."
"The portal of SAP PowerDesigner could be better. The tool also needs more features and integration with other products, such as Collibra. It would be interesting for SAP PowerDesigner to have more integration."
"UI could be improved by enabling simpler navigation."
"The focus is more on mainstream development environments, and I see a lack of focus on the open source world. I think SAP PowerDesigner probably interfaces better with SQL Server and Db2 but not with open source databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL."
"One issue is the cost, as it is a high-priced tool coming from SAP."
"Technical support could be better and more human."
"SAP PowerDesigner is not a product that's really actively developed anymore in the sense that the user interface is outdated."
"The tool lags in the area of customer service."
"I've tried to use Power Designer to bring in images, which didn't work very well at all."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"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 pricing varies based on functionality and users."
"I bought the software outright and do not pay a licensing fee."
"The ROI has been 43%."
"The price of the solution is low."
"SAP PowerDesigner is cheaper than eriwin."
"PowerDesigner is not the cheapest solution on the market, so make sure that you are using it to its full potential."
"When you purchase the license for SAP PowerDesigner, you have to buy one year of support. The tool is worth the money."
"The price of the solution is too expensive. When we asked for certain licenses in different countries it was unattainable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Architecture Management solutions are best for your needs.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Government
9%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What advice do you have for others considering iServer?
I would recommend the solution to other users. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
What needs improvement with SAP PowerDesigner?
Synchronization is vital since I experience multiple problems, such as mismatched models and manual DDL handling. Improving the synchronization between models and databases can enhance integration ...
What is your primary use case for SAP PowerDesigner?
I use SAP PowerDesigner for data modeling, which greatly enhances the clarity of my data management processes. I manage data across multiple databases, including cloud databases, Teradata, and Orac...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Sybase PowerDesigner
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
Medtronic, Cirque du Soleil, Antarc, B&G Manufacturing, EarlySense, eBay, Ferrero, James Austin Company, Lenovo, Sagem, RAK Ceramics, Vodafone
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP PowerDesigner vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.