Fortra's Automate vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortra's Automate and IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"This tool has machine learning and voice recognition and computer vision, which are both quite useful aspects. These aren't available in other tools. It's a good addition to this tool and it gives the solution an edge on the market.""Compared to other vendors, it's the scheduling tool because a lot of vendors want to charge you extra for their enterprise-level license to have a scheduling tool built in to give you the ability to set up regular schedules to run and do certain data checks.""I actually quite liked the no-coding functionality.""The best feature of Automate is its ease of use, which is a major selling point.""I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task.""We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.""A great feature that you seldom see in these kind of systems is the ability to use a database as trigger to launch a task. This is something I asked for a few years ago and that was added.""The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."

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"The initial setup is straightforward.""If you have a business process, and once you have automated that process, you have a readily available workflow in place.""We can connect with different database types, and they have included a different package for a terminal connection to, for example, AS400. When it comes to UI development, it's not using the drivers or anything. It's not a selector-based development like UiPath.""I think simplicity is key. One of the things that we've noticed is how our developers have been able to quickly adopt the platform; but not only the developers or the techy people, also the business.""IBM Robotic Process Automation has greatly improved the organization by improving the speed of performance, as the speed of the robot is estimated to be 20 times faster than the human being.""The quality is great! It's very strong and has a very strong platform.""The good stuff about IBM is the fact that it's very easy to use, there are very nice and smart AI tools within the licensing that you don't have to pay any access. Moreover, it's more precise and more secure.""The most valuable feature is the ability to automate mundane tasks. This improves efficiency, reliability, etc. You can form critical operations which can be highly automated."

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Cons
"I would like to see some better web automation, a wizard like the one in the product WinAutomation would be very nice.""They do not encrypt passwords, so this is an issue with HIPAA compliance.""We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal.""The workflow for variables could be better. The input and output of task-level variables could be made a little clearer in terms of passing those around from one task to another upon success, etc. Things like that could be a little easier potentially.""The documentation for errors needs improvement as many of the error messages we receive are very vague.""Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap.""While this solution is continually improving, as it is now, the user interface could use improvement when I compare it to a product like UiPath.""The intelligent automation feature could be improved. It's interesting because it's simple, but the automation quality isn't always good. It's easy to use, but sometimes you need to make a slight improvement to the automation, and that's not so easy."

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"The scalability of the solution can be challenging.""Stability could be better.""One of the things I would definitely like to see is more of the machine-learning and cognitive capabilities. For example, now that we're starting to automate more and more tasks, there are some things that still require us to go back and modify the robots when we need to. But if we had more of the machine-learning integrated into it, I believe it would be easier to maintain, so that we wouldn't have to go back and adjust every time.""Capturing GUI operations is very easy, but capturing IBM Logistics automation is hard. It does not always work with browsers or automotive applications like SAP.""The product must be promoted more.""IBM’s support should improve response time.""We are looking to see how it can connect with various interfaces seamlessly, through APIs.""The product's document readers must be improved to capture the data well."

More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
  • "I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."
  • "It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
  • "While solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism cost around $11,000-$12,000 for each license, this product costs around $7,000 and you can keep it forever."
  • "I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."
  • "The pricing is quite reasonable. We can run the process with one bot. The limitation is at the server level because they have some resources, and sometimes that is enough. It isn't too expensive, so you can get a good return off of one, and you can also have a pack of five bots that is quite competitive."
  • "From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."
  • "The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
  • More Fortra's Automate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "IBM licensing is annual and based on Virtual Processor Cores (VPC). This provides flexibility as part of the containerization environment."
  • "The license is paid annually."
  • "The product has a yearly licensing fee."
  • "The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
  • "I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
  • "The product is reasonably priced compared to other tools."
  • "There is a free trial for one month, so you can use it to run your payloads or proof of concept. After that, you can pay for the license on a monthly or annual basis."
  • "IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
  • More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.
    Top Answer:I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost.
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement regarding cloud functionality; there are a few missing features, and the logging could be better, especially air logging. We can go into logging events and create our own… more »
    Top Answer:Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy.
    Top Answer:The product must be promoted more. There are no promotions.
    Top Answer:We're working with different clients from the manufacturing environment. We have implemented end-to-end solutions. We work on web automation and automation of invoices.
    Ranking
    Views
    2,000
    Comparisons
    1,043
    Reviews
    10
    Average Words per Review
    1,398
    Rating
    8.5
    Views
    4,105
    Comparisons
    2,992
    Reviews
    11
    Average Words per Review
    430
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    HelpSystems Automate, Automate
    IBM RPA
    Learn More
    Fortra
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    Overview

    Automate is an easy-to-use RPA software solution that boosts your productivity by transforming virtually any business or IT process. Get scalable automation capabilities whether you need a solution for one department, a small business, or an enterprise-wide Center of Excellence (CoE) initiative—Automate is built and priced right for employee-driven automation for any organization.

    Automate allows you to get up and running fast with no-code automation for both GUI and back-end functionalities. Form-based development lets you quickly build bots and leverage over 600 pre-built automation actions. Powerful out-of-the-box API and native integrations bring together the applications that keep your business running. And with the Automate Recorder, easily build, update, and deploy robust, UI-driven automation. Plus, bots can be deployed as attended or unattended with concurrent execution of tasks—no restrictions.

    A Key Part of Fortra (the new face of HelpSystems) Automate is proud to be part of Fortra’s comprehensive portfolio. Fortra simplifies today’s complex business landscape by bringing complementary products together to solve problems in innovative ways. These integrated, scalable solutions address the many challenges you face in streamlining your operations. With the help of Automate robotic process automation and other solutions, Fortra is your relentless ally, here for you every step of the way on your automation journey.

    IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that encompasses the use of smart robots in any process requiring efficiency, consistency and speed, with no risk of mistakes. In a nutshell, RPA simulates a human user working.

    Today, it is possible to automate processes through the use of digital robots, or bots, which execute pre-programed, repetitive tasks in a safe and mistake free manner. There are literally thousands of opportunities for Robotic Process Automation to make an impact on your organization today, including: automatic invoice emission, system integration, information reconciliation, report generation, intelligent email management to lead generation, and many others.

    Sample Customers
    Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories
    The Hanover Insurance Group
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company14%
    Security Firm14%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Insurance Company14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Healthcare Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company44%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Pharma/Biotech Company11%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Educational Organization8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business55%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise20%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise57%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business50%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise64%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fortra's Automate is ranked 5th in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with 21 reviews while IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is ranked 7th in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with 23 reviews. Fortra's Automate is rated 8.2, while IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Fortra's Automate writes "Can automate several processes with only one bot and is easy to implement, administer, and use". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) writes "User-friendly interface and good stability". Fortra's Automate is most compared with Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, MOVEit and Automation Anywhere (AA), whereas IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is most compared with UiPath, Microsoft Power Automate, Automation Anywhere (AA), Blue Prism and IPsoft 1RPA. See our Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) report.

    See our list of best Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vendors.

    We monitor all Robotic Process Automation (RPA) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.