Software AG's Business Process Analysis Platform, ARIS, uses robust architecture and process management / analysis capability to drive integrations with the existing business processes along with information technology and SAP systems.
$100
designer
OpenText MBPM
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
OpenText acquired BPM solution Metastorm in 2011, and has rebranded the product as OpenText MBPM. It is an alternative BPM solution to OpenText's primary BPM offering called OpenText Cordys Business Process Management.
Before first using Metastorm at a previous company, I reviewed 30 systems, shortlisted 4 and chose Metastorm as being intuitively the easiest to develop with. We have recently looked at a number of alternatives but decide to stick with OpenText BPM.
Well suited for enterprise architecture modeling where the intent to document elements beyond processes as well, such as risks and controls, KPIs, systems, org charts, etc. It also has the excellent capability of creating custom reports, hence if looking for various views right from summary to detailed, this is a great tool. It is less appropriate for implementing the processes as it is not very strong in BPMN.
Metastorm is well-suited for scenarios in which internal stress testing an application is needed in a hurry before showcasing it to potential customers. It supports different views of the process from Swimlane perspective, so different methodologies can be handled. It is an Enterprise level tool and handles both small and large projects quite well, although smaller companies may be stressed out by the amount of time it takes to properly maintain the application.
The Metastorm process engine is based on an older version of .NET. Updating to a newer version would resolve several known issues with .NET email functionality.
Metastorm builds web pages at run time. While the UI presented to the end user is fine, the Document Object Model is convoluted and subject to change with new releases. Providing a more simplified DOM or at very least a custom function to replace document.getElementById() would make client-side scripting a much more powerful tool.
One function that I've seen Metastorm competitors do well, is email wizards. Having a WYSIWYG email editor would be really nice.
I am a BPM and Enterprise Architect Consultant and hence have been using different BPM and EA tools for consulting practice. Until now I have used Opentext Provision EA,Sparx EA, MS Visio and IBM Blueworks. All of the tools used are good and have their own unique features and capabilities. ARIS BPA is widely used by my current organization for different projects.
It has good, even complex functionality that is provided by its library and ability to create relations between items, yet it is not hard to use. Anyone can use it in a short time. It provides reporting abilities and good documentation with the availability of exporting options. The only drawback I have seen was user management/login issues.
The Service area, they have been very useful. ARIS suite is covering number of applications. ARIS engine is very powerful and robust. The tool can be configured in many ways which can be beneficial but can be a curse at the same time. As a user, you need to apply this flexibility with care.
We found that OpenText MBPM held its own quite well against IBM BPM. We ended up choosing OpenText MBPM due to the analytics, complex routing, and the ease of SOA service integration. Furthermore, the ability to quickly develop simple User interfaces make this tool a daily component of our most-used toolbox components.