Sparx Systems Honoured for Innovation and Industry Leadership

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - June 17, 2014) - Sparx Systems, a global software vendor best known for its popular Enterprise Architect modeling software, has been recognized as an industry leader by the editors of Software Development Times, a leading US-based trade publication.

The magazine has just unveiled the 2014 SD Times 100, listing Sparx for the sixth consecutive year. Organizations are selected for the annual list on the basis of innovation, leadership and "buzz" in the marketplace.

Sparx was named to the list in the ALM category - application life-cycle management and development tools. Award recipients in this group - one of seven industry categories in the Top 100 - provided the market with "up-to-date tools and platforms that help developers stick to the plan and avoid falling behind." Sparx fits because of its flagship Enterprise Architect software.

Sparx COO Tom O'Reilly said he is particularly proud of the SD 100 Awards because they focus on innovation and leadership. "Right from the early days at Sparx, we have built a culture that encourages and rewards innovation," he said. "It's also part of our culture to invest in being an active leader in developing open standards.

"I'm convinced our ability to provide value to our end-users has always had its roots in our commitment to innovation and leadership, and that value is what fuels our success in the international marketplace."

O'Reilly said the five years since the company first made the SD Times 100 list have been marked by steady growth in its user-base and in its involvement in setting technical standards that are used around the globe.

The company has worked with industry associations to create standardized public-domain reference models now widely used in more than 20 vertical sectors - including geospatial, aviation and insurance. These open-standard frameworks can be plugged-in to Sparx' modelling software as extensions, saving enterprise architects and software developers "an enormous amount of time" and enhancing quality control during major projects.

O'Reilly said their software-development team "continuously and relentlessly" enhances Enterprise Architect with new features, new efficiencies and new options for customizing the interface. Many of these improvements are based on suggestions from Sparx' user-base, which has grown by 75 per cent in the five years since the company was first chosen for the SD 100. The user base now stands at almost 350,000 - and Sparx' software is now used by more than three quarters of Fortune 500 companies.

Seven major software releases have occurred since SDTimes first picked Sparx for its Top 100 list five years ago - most recently in April this year.

All this success has provided Sparx with the resources to get more involved as a leader in the worldwide user community. A senior Sparx representative sits as an active member (and Gold Sponsor) on the international Architecture Board of the Boston-based Object Management Group, one of the world's leading standards organizations.

In another international trend setting development, Sparx Enterprise Architect has been recognised by global geospatial leader, Esri Inc. as the officially recommended technology for users interested in geodatabase design with UML, as it removes the limitations presented by previous tools.

To review the latest tools and technologies generating enthusiasm around Enterprise Architect, Sparx conducts a series of monthly webinars incorporating a range of topics that provide valuable tips, tricks and best practices. Upcoming webinars as well as past presentations can be accessed at: www.sparxsystems.com/webinars.

About Sparx Systems

Sparx Systems is a global software company specializing in high performance visual modeling tools for planning, designing and constructing software-intensive corporate systems. Sparx tools are used by systems developers, enterprise architects, business analysts, corporate planners, project managers, standards developers and software engineers.

Sparx modeling software is widely used in finance, defence, government, aerospace, automotive engineering, geospatial, entertainment, health, smart grid, aviation, retail and telecommunications. Sparx' flagship modeling tool Enterprise Architect is now licensed by three quarters of the companies on the Fortune 100 list.

Sparx tools are based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML), an open standard developed by the Object Management Group (OMG), where Sparx Systems is active as a Contributing Member. Sparx Enterprise Architect software provides robust support for team-wide collaboration, and can scale up from single-user deployment to teams with dozens or even hundreds of collaborators - including remote collaborators.

Sparx software is price competitive even when deployed across the entire development team. Sparx Systems has won five consecutive SD Times Top 100 awards and two Readers Choice Merit Awards from Visual Studio Magazine and Jolt. Now at version 11, Enterprise Architect is available directly from Sparx or bundled with expert support and comprehensive training services - from a network of more than 300 technology partners active in North America, Europe, Australia, India, China, Japan, southeast Asia and Latin America.

First developed in 1998, Sparx' Enterprise Architect modeling tool was commercially released in 2000, and has enjoyed more than 15 years continuous development and growth