ABACUS

What stands out most for me is how responsive the team is. The support team has always been helpful whenever I needed guidance during the implementation. The visualization tool is a big plus too.

Overall it's the best tool available in the market and the built-in features, as well as Abacus intelligence or integration to third-party analytics tools, make reporting and analytics, as well as impact analysis, simpler than ever. I used Abacus to plan enterprise architecture and IT portfolios and It provides a centralized repository function to enable strategic, operational planning across multiple business processes, as well as across multiple stakeholder requirements like C-level, architecture, design, and mainly operational teams. I use machine learning to accelerate data management and analysis with Avolution Abacus as well as assist our organization in identifying dependencies and impacts that may stymie projects.

It is completely customizable, so I can create an architecture that is specifically tailored to my organization and needs. The programmability furthers the customization through low code and high code so that we can really run numbers and get a better understanding of our enterprise. Collaborative editing features makes it easy for many people to work at once, or to share dashboards for others, even non-architects, to update the model.

Some clients initially find the tool a bit complex, especially if they are new to EA tools. During the demos, I always explain that with the right training or support, the learning curve becomes much easier to manage.

The main things I dislike about this product are manual visualizations and diagrams are definitely not my strong suit; in fact, I am almost always disappointed by Abacus when I have a visualization requirement. The exception is when a visualization can be data-driven, which is sufficient in Abacus more than ever. It's a good platform simple to use and implement.

There isn't an easy way to get data out of the tool and into something for more advanced reporting than what comes out of the box. It would be nice if it had some more customizable forms or surveys we could create to get people to update information, instead of relying on the same tools the EA folks use. Programmability is nice, but using an external IDE is a bit complicated, and the internal one is quite limited.