Looking for a Microsoft PowerPoint alternative?

What is the best alternative for structuring your enterprise architecture beyond simple slides? Discover how Boldo transforms static drawings into a living, collaborative repository.


From vector drawing to intelligent modeling

Microsoft PowerPoint

Description

Microsoft PowerPoint is the universal standard for visual communication, widely used for sketching processes and architectures due to its high accessibility. However, this general-purpose drawing tool quickly reaches its limits when managing IT system complexity: the lack of structured metadata, the disconnection between objects, and the static nature of diagrams make repository maintenance tedious and error-prone.


Boldo transforms this approach by connecting visual simplicity with the power of a data repository. Unlike frozen slides, the platform offers dynamic modeling where every object is interconnected, enabling automatic updates and a single source of truth, all while maintaining a user experience as fluid and intuitive as a standard office tool.

Key Features
Freeform vector drawing
Extensive shape library
Slide animation
Microsoft 365 integration
Pros
Universal accessibility
Zero learning curve
Total graphical flexibility
Cons
Static and unlinked data
Immediate diagram obsolescence
No object repository management
Reason #1

Move from static drawings to intelligent modeling

Microsoft PowerPoint excels at creating one-off illustrations but treats every shape as an isolated drawing with no underlying intelligence or attributes. This approach forces architects to manually update every instance of an object across every slide whenever a change occurs, leading to data inconsistency and significant time wasted on maintenance.


In contrast, Boldo relies on a centralized repository where every graphical element is an instance of a unique object. When an attribute is modified, the information propagates instantly across all views, ensuring IT system consistency and reliable impact analysis without manual effort.

Reason #2

Secure your documentation assets

While PowerPoint allows cloud file sharing, managing enterprise architecture through slide decks often creates information silos and version conflicts. It is difficult to maintain precise traceability of changes, and corporate knowledge remains fragmented across scattered files that quickly become obsolete.


Boldo centralizes knowledge in a secure collaborative space, offering a complete version history and granular access control. The platform allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same model without risk of overwriting, ensuring controlled governance and total transparency regarding IT evolution.

Reason #3

Contextualize architecture for decision-makers

Since PowerPoint is designed for linear presentation, it freezes information at a specific point in time, making interactive navigation or technical "drill-down" impossible during meetings. Graphical presentations, while polished, are disconnected from operational reality and cannot answer complex questions in real-time.


Boldo offers an interactive storytelling approach, allowing you to present simplified views to decision-makers while retaining the ability to zoom into technical details instantly. Views are always up-to-date, connected to live data, transforming architecture into a true strategic dialogue tool.

Compare Boldo with 10+ other Enterprise Architecture modelling and mapping solutions.

partenaire_meeting

Designed for collaboration across all stakeholders

Architecture should not live in silos. With Boldo, business teams, IT and leadership work on the same views, in a shared and living workspace. Everyone explores, comments and aligns in real time. Architecture becomes a collective alignment tool, directly understood and adopted across the organization.

Boldo X Scaleway

Built on European data sovereignty

Boldo is a French platform, with data hosted in Europe on Scaleway, a trusted sovereign cloud infrastructure. Your architecture repository stays fully under your control, in an environment designed to meet regulatory requirements. No ambiguity, no hidden dependencies: clear hosting, clear rules, full transparency.

Page Metamodel

A flexible metamodel that adapts to your reality

Every organization has its own constraints and maturity. Boldo relies on a flexible and evolving metamodel that adapts to your context instead of forcing a rigid framework. Start simple, enrich progressively, and let your architecture evolve at your own pace.

Diagram

Visual storytelling at the core of the experience

In Boldo, diagramming is not an afterthought, it's the heart of the product. Views are intuitive, visually refined and immediately readable. Clear hierarchies, smooth navigation and embedded diagrams make architecture easy to grasp and easy to share, from executive committees to hands-on workshops.

Fair and transparent pricing

Boldo offers Pro and Team plans in self-service, with public and predictable per-user pricing. No opaque licenses, no hidden bundles, no constant renegotiation. From day one, you know what you pay, what you get, and how it scales.

We are here to drive adoption and value

Customer Success is central to our approach. We work closely with teams to build an architecture governance that is useful, alive and truly adopted. Responsive support, continuous exchanges and a long-term vision ensure architecture becomes a concrete decision-making asset, not a theoretical exercise.

Discover how Microsoft PowerPoint compares to Boldo

Microsoft PowerPoint vs Boldo

Microsoft PowerPointBoldo
Pricing
Pricing modelBased on usersUser and modelled asset packs
Price positioning$$$$
Free trial
Self-service offering
Enterprise offering
User experience
Modern interface
Consistency across views
Time to implement1 to 3 weeks~ 1 to 6 weeks
Learning curve for architectsVery FastVery fast
Learning curve for business / C-level usersVery FastVery fast
Collaboration
Access rights managementFile levelVery fine grained (fields and relationships)
Real-time multi-user modelling
Comments linked to objects and views
Mentions and notifications
Object-level history and versioning
Modelling
Custom object type creation
Object hierarchies
Custom properties per object type
Custom relationships
Process modelling
ArchiMate metamodel support
Framework-agnostic modelling
Storytelling and visualisation
Dynamic views (auto-synchronised)
Nested maps and diagrams
Data visualisation
Auto-generated diagrams
Diagram in ""conception"" mode
Bi-directional data ↔ visuals synchronisation
Storytelling mode and scripted views
Multi-dimensional impact analysis
Data and automation
Public API
Batch imports (CSV)
Native connectors
Data validation rules (Q4 2026)
Automatic triggers on changes (Q4 2026)
SaaS hosting
Sovereign hosting
On-premise hosting

Other alternatives

LeanIX

Description

LeanIX is an Enterprise Architecture and IT portfolio management platform designed to help large organizations document, analyze and govern their application landscape. Widely adopted by enterprises, LeanIX focuses on Application Portfolio Management (APM), technology risk, and transformation initiatives, often in close alignment with ERP programs such as SAP.

The platform is primarily used by architecture and transformation teams looking to structure, rationalize and govern complex IT environments at scale. LeanIX emphasizes data consistency, standardized reporting and integration with existing enterprise systems, making it a strong choice for mature, governance-driven organizations.

Key Features
Application Inventory (Fact Sheets)
Dependency Matrices
Survey Management
Compliance Reporting
SAP LeanIX Connector
Pros
Immediate standardisation
Large user community
SAP ecosystem integration
Cons
Rigid metamodel
Application-based pricing
Complex contractual structure

Ardoq

Description

Ardoq is a data-driven Enterprise Architecture platform designed to help organizations visualize, analyze and manage complex IT landscapes. By connecting applications, systems and processes into a living data repository, Ardoq replaces static diagrams with dynamic, actionable insights.

Key Features
Dynamic knowledge graph
Future-state (to-be) scenario modelling
API-driven automation
Intelligent data import
Ardoq Discover (collaborative portal)
Pros
Strong analytical power on complex relationships
High level of automation
Advanced future-state simulations
Cons
Very steep learning curve
Requires technical scripting skills
High total cost of ownership (TCO)

Bizzdesign Horizzon

Description

Bizzdesign Horizzon is a European business design and enterprise architecture platform that connects strategy, business capabilities, operating models and IT architecture within a single, unified environment.

The platform is primarily designed for large organizations looking to structure, govern and steer complex transformation initiatives at scale.

Key Features
Full ArchiMate and TOGAF support
Advanced lifecycle analysis
Strategic roadmapping
Governance and validation workflows
Advanced graphical design capabilities
Pros
Unmatched functional depth
Well suited for strict regulatory compliance
Extremely powerful for expert modellers
Cons
Usability tightly coupled with deep expertise (ArchiMate, TOGAF)
High implementation and training costs
Limited flexibility when evolving the metamodel

Bizzdesign HOPEX

Description

Bizzdesign HOPEX is a European enterprise architecture and governance platform originally developed by MEGA International, and acquired by Bizzdesign in 2024.

It is widely used in regulated industries and the public sector to formalize Enterprise Architecture, governance, risk and compliance through structured models and reference frameworks.

The platform is designed for organizations seeking exhaustive coverage, strong methodological discipline and long-term governance across IT, business processes and compliance domains.

Key Features
Unified EA, GRC, and process repository
Deep data modelling capabilities
Application Portfolio Management (APM)
Regulatory compliance analysis
Rigid validation and governance workflows
Pros
High robustness for very large organisations
Single multi-disciplinary repository (EA, GRC, GDPR, BPM), effectively an IT governance ERP
Powerful cross-domain impact analysis, from technical vulnerabilities to global financial impact
Cons
Technical configuration inertia
Degraded contributor experience
High complexity of metadata and metamodel configuration

BlueDolphin

Description

BlueDolphin is an Enterprise Architecture platform developed by ValueBlue. It helps organizations align strategy, business processes, information systems, and data within a shared repository, with strong capabilities for current and target state modeling, impact analysis, and stakeholder collaboration.

Key Features
Data collection questionnaires
Application Portfolio Management (APM)
Impact analysis
Process diagrams
Embedded BI dashboards
Pros
Strong collaborative approach
Easy data collection from contributors
Clear focus on business value
Cons
Limited visual engagement (spreadsheet-like experience)
Restricted metamodel customisation
Limited control over long-term data governance in highly regulated contexts