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erwin Data Modeler is a winner, though a little boring to look at
February 24, 2020

erwin Data Modeler is a winner, though a little boring to look at

Sean Zef | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with erwin Data Modeler

We are using erwin Data Modeler now for the ERD diagram design. We then provide the ERD to end-users or developers so they can make utilize it while designing their applications. We are also using it for some SQL Server change management. For example, when end-users request table changes, we then reverse engineer the existing DB or table, make the change, and then have erwin Data Modeler generate an Alter script that we can reuse once promoted to Production.
  • ERD diagrams
  • Publishing those ERDs for end-user consumption either on the web or PDF.
  • The GUI is a little clunky, even on the 2020 version
  • Overwhelming amount of options, which is good eventually
  • Would be painful to map databases without it, would likely be whiteboard otherwise.
  • It's kind of expensive, but licensing options are flexible and allow concurrent users.
Not listed, but I've only used alternatives built into something like the Squirrel SQL editor. That one is semi-functional but lacking many features and, in some instances, just plain wrong. The only pro there is that it's freely available and works over ODBC. I've tried some of the other free ones like Creately but didn't have much success.
They helped us renew our license and upgrade from 9.1 to 2020, which also allowed us to Decom our license server. Further, once we upgraded they gave a free overview class where my team could ask questions and see the new features. They've extended the offer to the future if we ever need a refresher. I haven't asked about any real technical issues yet, but I'm sure it would be a similar experience.

Do you think erwin Data Modeler delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with erwin Data Modeler's feature set?

Yes

Did erwin Data Modeler live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of erwin Data Modeler go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy erwin Data Modeler again?

Yes

Erwin Data Modeler great when trying to model a relational DB that is well established and mainstream. A little less useful for something like Amazon Athena, which kind of makes sense. It makes handy diagrams that have lots of information but is also not very visually appealing to view. Further, it's a little obtuse to figure out initially, again due to option overload - sometimes I wish it had a 'simple' and 'advanced' view. It is excellent for automating diagrams and generating changes for existing DBs.