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SAP PowerDesigner 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

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)
SAP PowerDesigner
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of iServer is 4.7%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP PowerDesigner is 8.9%, up from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

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…
JorgeSanz - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective in terms of validating everything, but sometimes they don't allow us some flexibility and GUI could improve
I would recommend SAP PowerDesigner to others for data architecture management. It provides all the functionalities in terms of data modeling, so it's also a good tool for that. I see trends in terms of data classification, but I don't see this tool with the intelligence to do that automatically. So, like, with artificial intelligence. Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten because there are too many validations. Also, I found some gaps in terms of relationships; they didn't appear when you do reverse engineering. Also, this tool lacks artificial intelligence that should be very good in terms of automatically identifying the classification of elements and maybe also to incorporate some artificial intelligence in providing descriptions for each data element included in the solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is easy."
"Good and effective reporting features, which help in decision making."
"The product has a valuable customized model."
"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."
"This is a flexible tool compared to some other solutions."
"Tech support is very responsive. They solved issues within a prompt response time."
"iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management."
"It has helped having data lineage in the business cluster, which is used as control artifacts."
"I like the connectivity or the lineage between the models and usability."
"This solution has good tools for big data, where you can manage large and complex databases."
"Has a specific template that's very helpful for importing metadata."
"It is more flexible than other tools and user-friendly, making it easy to adapt."
"The most valuable feature is that it is a very fast reverse engineering process. It does a very expansive comparison."
"In terms of operational efficiency and cause savings or return on investment, I can say that with SAP PowerDesigner, our company saves a lot of time."
"The most valuable features of SAP PowerDesigner are the creation the flow charts and folders. It is a powerful tool."
"In PowerDesigner, I primarily use BPM and modeling standards. I find it beneficial for process analysis, although I use data modeling to a lesser extent."
 

Cons

"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
"The product is more expensive than Spark."
"iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io."
"I haven't used this solution long enough to know what areas could be improved."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"The migration tool needs to be included in the main package, and not as a separate license."
"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."
"There are other solutions out there that have a better user interface."
"The solution itself does not need to be improved. However, they could add support for different languages."
"There should be a better usage of current hardware including multicore CPUs, higher resolutions, and multiple displays."
"The solution is very, very expensive. It would be ideal if it was a more affordable product."
"Based on my experience with SAP PowerDesigner, I'd like to see improvements in the DMM feature."
"UI could be improved by enabling simpler navigation."
"Not very intuitive or user-friendly."
"Technical support could be better and more human."
"It would be helpful if there were glossary, catalog and governance tools. It would help make it a true end-to-end product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"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 solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"Regarding costs, SAP PowerDesigner is pricey, as I've heard from my team manager, which is why the company has been thinking of bringing another solution on board."
"The price of the solution is low."
"The price of the solution is too expensive. When we asked for certain licenses in different countries it was unattainable."
"The ROI has been 43%."
"I bought the software outright and do not pay a licensing fee."
"When you purchase the license for SAP PowerDesigner, you have to buy one year of support. The tool is worth the money."
"SAP PowerDesigner is cheaper than eriwin."
"I would like SAP to prove free licenses to professionals that are using the solution. The free version is limited."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
35%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about SAP PowerDesigner?
It allows us to have proper documentation in terms of the databases.
What needs improvement with SAP PowerDesigner?
Based on my experience with SAP PowerDesigner, I'd like to see improvements in the DMM feature. Even if I have an ETL tool, I'd like the DMM options to directly connect to ETL tool repositories lik...
 

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: April 2025.
845,564 professionals have used our research since 2012.