EA Software Tools Products Comparison

Key Topics of Software for Business, Systems, and Projects

This page is about how to perform an Enterprise Architecture Software Products Comparison. You can use it as a checklist or guide for your selection process.

More and more organizations are using Software for Enterprise Architects and doing product comparisons to select the software tool that best fits the organization. These comparisons often address topics like Functionality, Technicality, Usage, Modeling Standards, Architecture Frameworks, Service, and Support.

For Dragon1 as Architecture Software we will address these key topics below.

1. Functionality

Architecture Software supports architects, managers, and CIOs in creating Enterprise Architecture Products as part of an Enterprise Architecture Repository (a kind of documents database).

To make an Architecture Software Product Comparison easier on the topic of functionality, here we group the functionality of Dragon1 as EA Software as follows:

1. Publication and Reporting - Any piece of information and any kind of document can be uploaded, tagged, stored, archived, searched, checked and checked out, and published.
2. Data Management - Any data can be created, updated, and deleted in Dragon1.
3. Data Visualization - Any data can be visualized, filtered, analyzed, updated, and deleted in Dragon1.
4. Requirements Management - The process of requirements is supported fully in Dragon1.
5. Process & Application Modeling and Meta Modeling - Users can create user models and metamodels of any kind of entity class, such as processes and applications.
6. System Design - Users can do analyses and design any system at conceptual, logical, and physical levels.
7. Architecture Visualization - Dragon1 provides extensive graphical features to create and generate effective, holistic, communicable, and beautiful visualizations.
8. User Management - In Dragon1, users have role-based access to data and application functionality.
9. Dashboards and Scenarios - Dragon1 is a next-generation Enterprise Architecture Software because it is a cloud EA Software providing management dashboard features and scenario analysis and animation.
10. Tracking and Tracing of all actions

2. Architecture Products

With the features mentioned above, architects, managers, and CIOs mainly create architecture products, many of them being architecture visualizations. Below, we will list a basic set of architecture products that can be created using Dragon1:

1. Sketches of total concepts
2. Drawing of Architecture Principles
3. Enterprise Architecture Blueprints
4. Application Landscapes
5. Technology Roadmaps
6. Heat Maps
7. Capability Maps
8. Glossary of Terms
9. Architecture Description Document
10. Decision / Gap Matrix
11. Atlases

This list of products is not limited, but it gives you an impression of what you can do with Dragon1 and helps you to do the comparison on other architecture software.

3. Technicality

Architecture Software is going through enormous changes not only because of the changing interests and demands of users but also because of new technologies.

Dragon1 is a front-runner when it comes to cloud-based computing and web applications. A list of technical specifications for Dragon1 would be:

1. Cloud Based Web Application
2. Repository Based (MS SQL Server or ORACLE)
3. User data stored separately in different databases
4. Web Browser Independent
5. Vector Graphics (SVG)
6. SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS subscription

4. Usage by Target Audience

An Architecture Software comparison is used to focus only on architects as the target audience, but today more and more managers, CIOs, analysts, designers, and administrators come into sight for requirements in Architecture Software.

Dragon1 can be used by individuals and groups and even across organizations. The main target audience and where they use Dragon1 is this:

1. Analysts - doing impact analyses
2. Architects (Enterprise, Business, Information, IT, Security, Solution) - creating architecture designs
3. Designers - creating functional and technical designs
4. Managers (IT and Business) - monitoring and managing operations visually
5. Program and Project Managers- monitoring and managing changes visually
6. CxOs (CIO, CEO, CFO, etc...) - steering fundamental changes visually

5. Modeling Standards

In EA Software, you can do some kind of modeling. Without modeling features, a tool cannot be an EA Tool. Any Architecture Software Product Comparison will look at this topic. Modeling standards have proven to reduce costs in many different ways. So look out for the most common modeling standards to be present in EA Software.

Dragon1 supports the following modeling languages and standards out of the box:

6. Architecture Framework

A very important topic for Enterprise Architect Software is which EA Frameworks and Methods are supported by the software.

Dragon1 by default supports the modeling using standard frameworks like:

1. TOGAF
2. Dragon1
3. Zachman
4. UPDM
5. DoDAF
6. MODAF

The way Dragon1 is crafted users can design or import their Language, Framework, or Method and make it available to other users via CRUD_matrix, symbols, meta-models, and modeling rules.

7. Services

Organizations and people that currently do Architecture Software Products Comparisons, always require services that improve the usability of the software and increase the continuity and availability of the EA Software.

Dragon1 Inc. provides for users of Dragon1 at additional charges the following services:

1. Training and Certification in Dragon1
2. Servicedesk facilities (Phone, Email, and On-site)
3. Maintenance on Cloud, Data, and Application
4. Updates and Upgrades on Cloud, Application, and Data
5. Three service levels: Bronze (default - self-service), Silver (email/phone extended service desk), and Gold (remote architecting services)

8. Support

What use has any architecture software without support in addition to services? Software for Enterprise Architects is making this topic more and more important every year.

Dragon1 offers the following support for every user:

1. Online help
2. Online training (self-paced)
3. servicedesk & incident ticketing (email and phone)

9. Software Product Comparison Editions

The pricing of Dragon1 is based on the number of users per edition. There are three editions of Dragon1 differing in the number of users and functionality:

1. Dragon1 CONNECT - Focused on Social Networking, Presenting your ePortfolio for finding new assignments
2. Dragon1 PRO - Focused on Holistic Dynamic Visualization
3. Dragon1 BUSINESS / ENTERPRISE - Focused on Scenario Modeling and Dashboard Functionality

The Editions contain the following applications:

1. Dragon1 CONNECT - Digital Workplace - ePortfolio - Search - Viewer - Sketch Module - Watch Pages and Channels
2. Dragon1 PRO / BUSINESS / ENTERPRISE - Digital Workplace, Online Collaboration, Data Dashboard, Architecture Checker, Architecture Repository, Visual Designer, Enterprise Search, Viewer (with Chatbot Search), Import, Resource Center, Business Analyzer, Management Dashboard, eLearning, Watch Pages and Channels

10. Architecture Software Comparisons Matrix

We suggest you make use of a Software Comparison Matrix if you are performing an Architecture Software Comparison. These kinds of cross-reference overviews will help you to make a better decision on which software tool is the best for you.

If you have any questions about your software comparison, please do not hesitate to call us or mail us. We would be very happy to help you with it.

We support you to do a comparison to select the software that best fits the organization.

That is why this page addresses topics like Functionality, Technicality, Modeling Standards, Architecture Frameworks, Service, and Support.

Read Also

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• Create your FREE Trial Account - Try Dragon1 software for a month for free
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• Dragon1 in the Forrester Wave EAMS 2017
• Dragon1 in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture Tools 2019