OpCon vs Tidal by Redwood comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 12, 2023

We performed a comparison between OpCon and Tidal Automation based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

Features: OpCon offers flexibility, integration capabilities, and self-service features, reducing reliance on IT. It also excels in automation, graphical user interface, and database functionality. Tidal Automation has a strong job scheduler, real-time monitoring, and error handling. It also provides role-based access control and compliance controls for data security.

OpCon has areas that can be enhanced, such as its online platform, Solution Manager, and the process of upgrading to newer versions. It would be advantageous to have a mobile application and improved failover functionality. Tidal Automation requires improvements in its user interface, pricing structure, and integration capabilities. Additionally, it could benefit from advanced reporting, artificial intelligence, and machine learning features.

Service and Support: OpCon's customer service receives positive feedback for its promptness and successful resolutions, whereas Tidal Automation's support team is lauded for their expertise and willingness to assist. OpCon occasionally provides irrelevant solutions, while Tidal Automation sometimes overlooks less important matters.

Ease of Deployment: OpCon's initial setup necessitates collaboration with SMA consultants and training, making it complex. Tidal Automation offers a straightforward and easy setup with helpful documentation, resulting in a shorter deployment process.

Pricing: OpCon is recognized as having a high initial investment and being intricate to set up, however, it is regarded as a worthwhile product that offers good value for its cost. Tidal Automation is deemed to have a reasonable and predictable price, providing good value for the features and support it offers.

ROI: OpCon is a valuable investment that saves time, reduces errors, and eliminates the need for full-time operators. Tidal Automation provides cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved risk management.

Comparison Results: OpCon is the favored choice when compared to Tidal Automation. OpCon offers flexibility and integration capabilities, allowing users to automate tasks according to their specific requirements. The self-service feature improves productivity and reduces dependence on IT. Users particularly appreciate OpCon's graphical user interface and database functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed OpCon vs. Tidal by Redwood Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 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
"The solution has freed up employees to do more meaningful work as a result of automation. They don't have to sit there and wait for files to download. They don't have to stare at the screen while a process is running. It all runs in the background, doing it for them.""We recently did a branch acquisition of another bank, though not a full bank. With that, we had to convert all of their ACH transactions. It was a very complicated product that we received from our core provider, Fiserv, for some translation programs. It was very cumbersome to run through the process, convert it out, get output files, etc. Without anyone touching it, I was able to automate the full process from pulling in the files from this other bank, converting everything needed, and posting it to our customer's account 24-hours throughout the day.""There are a lot of valuable features. The version that we're currently casting, Self Service, is going to be the most valuable to us. It is going to allow us to open up the doors, broaden our automation capability and help other business units to be able to automate a lot of the little things that they do from day to day. I'm really looking forward to being able to help other areas with their automation needs. Self Service is really key.""The image scanning and anti-malware features are really valuable.""One of the advantages of OpCon is the ability to use the API and web services. We couldn't do that with our previous solution. We have been able to change our procedure for ticketing. When a job is down, we can immediately create a ticket from OpCon in our ticketing solution, which is ServiceNow, using the web services.""The ability to chain jobs together allows us to create complex interdependencies between our jobs, and the integration into our core system is important because it allows us, through an automated system, to do a huge number of things that used to be done manually.""The automation part of OpCon is the most valuable for us, with all the core processing. It's really mostly hands-off unless we have failures. In our old days, we'd spend a good part of the day doing processing via manual tasks. We don't have to do any of that any longer.""I rate OpCon support 10 out of 10. I've never had a problem with them. I've always been able to get answers quickly and always seem to find a knowledgeable person to assist with any questions."

More OpCon Pros →

"One of the most useful features is being able to set up a schedule and create dependencies. The calendar can kick off processes at certain times, based on dependencies that you specify, like time, or whether another process has finished. Dependencies are the most useful thing.""Tidal Automation software provides real-time monitoring and alerts, allowing users to track job progress and identify potential issues before they cause delays or errors.""With the varied features in the varied adapters provided, we use Tidal Enterprise Scheduler because we want everything to be scheduled in one place. Tidal provides that for us with its tools and varying platforms in our organization. Tidal provides all the connectors to the platforms. This is very useful because we don't want to look for another scheduler for scheduling certain jobs. We don't want to look at those schedules manually between platforms.""Tidal Automation by Redwood is a user-friendly solution.""It's easy to use and easy to administer, and it's very flexible.""We use the solution for cross-platform, cross-application workloads. The solution’s ability to manage and monitor these workloads is very easy and accurate. We have file dependencies for running jobs. The job does not start until a file exists on a completely different server, then where the job will run. So, it is cross systems.""We have to run about 12,000 jobs every day and the majority of them need to be launched from our ERP, JD Edwards. The native compatibility of the Tidal platform with JD Edwards dovetails with our greatest need. It's directly connected to the heart of our IT system. We couldn't work without it.""We wouldn't be able to do many of the complex scheduling that we do today without it. For us, it is a mission-critical app. Because if it doesn't work or has a problem, then SAP doesn't function. It is that critical. So, it's an essential tool for us to manage and run SAP jobs."

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Cons
"A way to select multiple jobs in the UI for a quick change or to hold, release, et cetera, would be nice.""The initial setup is very complex, but that's not necessarily something that needs to be improved. I'm told that in the next version they're improving the upgrade process. So that's in the works already.""The SQL database connections are the only time that we've had issues with reliability and stability of the software.""The one area it needs some help in is the mainframe area because that is not its strength. They support the mainframe but it's not something that they are good at.""It was hard to automate in the beginning because there were a lot of concepts. I had to learn a lot of things, as I never used such a software before. I learned a lot of the concepts and ideas behind it in the beginning.""Enterprise Manager is a little clunky which I know they're addressing in the solution's manager.""What can get complicated is if you're doing anything more than just the built-in jobs. If you're using the more advanced features, troubleshooting becomes extremely complicated.""Do your first install, your first upgrade, with SMA. It's simple, it's as per the manual, as per the training, but you need that little bit of confidence."

More OpCon Cons →

"They can do better reporting in terms of production statistics reporting.""The UI might have the potential to provide a more polished and user-centric encounter, promoting seamless engagements and simplifying the navigation process for individuals interacting with the software.""The GUI, the graphical user interface, gets a little bit busy.""We've had some quirky stuff happen on an occasional basis where a job does not take off. For example, a job we expected to be finished by 3:00 a.m. is sitting there and not executing when we come in in the morning. We have to go all the way back to the dependencies and then we can see that one of the dependencies has become unscheduled, for some reason. No changes were made to the schedule but this prerequisite job has, all of a sudden, become unscheduled. I have brought this up with Tidal's support but they have never had an answer for it.""From an administrative point of view, I wouldn't give really high marks to the solution. I actually entertained getting the JAWS application at one point. One of the shortcomings with the scheduler is the reporting capabilities. At least at the time, JAWS was the best that they had for a third-party integration. I think they've got things in the pipeline to help alleviate that gap.""I don't know if Tidal wants to get into the business of monitoring long-running jobs, but that could be a feature for the future: a job launching and monitoring tool. Using Tidal for monitoring doesn't seem like a good fit, but if they could offer something that did that as an add-on or include it, it might be helpful.""The current user interface of Tidal Software is functional. However, it can be improved to make it more intuitive and user-friendly.""One thing I would like to see improved is that, currently, when an action is executed and finishes in Tidal, it's marked as either "success" or "failure." I would like more options that would flag a job according to multiple options, rather than just "good" or bad"... Tidal has told us that it's possible to do so through the product or with a workaround."

More Tidal by Redwood Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "This solution is certainly not the cheapest, but we win in time."
  • "Yearly, it's around $30,000."
  • "Our licensing is on a yearly basis."
  • "Our license is for 1000 jobs. Including support, the license and upgrades are 2000 euros a month."
  • "Yearly, we're paying about $62,000. OpCon has an all-inclusive feature and module license, but you pay per task."
  • "Our annual maintenance costs are $45,000. The initial cost is separate."
  • "On a yearly basis our cost is between $25,000 and $30,000."
  • "Annually, we pay $29,000. This is for a blanket policy that covers everything, like licensing and support."
  • More OpCon Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The new prices that we've received seem reasonable and comparable to the marketplace."
  • "We pay maintenance annually through Blue House of about $9,000. That's for our two environments: production and test."
  • "The pricing is pretty reasonable. That seems to help a lot versus other companies. There are no other fees aside from the standard licensing fees. There are other products out there where you pay based on how many jobs you run and so on, and I know that's very frustrating for users."
  • "The solution’s licensing model in terms of its flexibility and transparency regarding costs is pretty good. A person can buy the license, and if you decide to stop support, you can do that but still have the product. So, it's not like you're paying constantly to keep that license alive. Certainly, you want to keep support going too. Once you buy it, you own it. It's not like I have to keep paying somebody to keep using it."
  • "If you are willing to shop around to other vendors, you can possibly get a good price on your support license."
  • "Our annual maintenance cost is competitive for what we have and what they do."
  • "There are project, system, and server costs. Some of the things that they are doing is introducing new products. They are introducing what they call their Repository, which is a way for you to move a job. That doesn't cost anything to us, because it is reusing a tool called Transporter. The repository is the successor to Transporter, so we already own it and are sort of grandfathered in. But that new product requires a server and database, so now we have to go out and get a server and database. So, there is a cost there."
  • "...it is a pretty affordable scheduler tool that lets us do a lot. You get a lot of bang for the buck... The licensing model is hugely flexible."
  • More Tidal by Redwood Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:My favorite feature is the dashboard feature, which shows jobs that are running, and completed, any failures, and provides dashboard reporting.
    Top Answer:While the overall cost is reasonable, I'm interested in exploring options for making the managed automation solution, specifically the mass solution, more cost-effective.
    Top Answer:I would like OpCon to implement a reporting feature on the dashboard that displays historical data for specific jobs. Ideally, this feature would allow us to view the past seven days or the next seven… more »
    Top Answer:Tidal Automation by Redwood is a user-friendly solution.
    Top Answer:The price is reasonable in terms of the product’s functionality.
    Top Answer:Initially, it is complicated to understand the functionalities as there is limited product documentation. The setup and configuration of the software is a bit complicated. Providing the training… more »
    Ranking
    9th
    out of 49 in Workload Automation
    Views
    2,434
    Comparisons
    945
    Reviews
    7
    Average Words per Review
    1,269
    Rating
    9.4
    2nd
    out of 49 in Workload Automation
    Views
    4,687
    Comparisons
    1,660
    Reviews
    22
    Average Words per Review
    992
    Rating
    9.5
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Tidal Workload Automation, Cisco Workload Automation, Tidal Enterprise Scheduler
    Learn More
    Overview

    OpCon is a robust and flexible platform capable of scaling up to meet the needs of clients running 140,000+ daily jobs across multiple environments and operating systems. Our proven migration framework helps clients painlessly transition from outdated or cost inefficient platforms thanks to our deep organizational expertise, REST API, and extensive library of legacy connectors. We have a variety of consulting options available for clients and offer no-cost training for the life of the contract.

    Tidal Software is a leading provider of enterprise workload automation solutions that orchestrate the execution of complex workflows across systems, applications and IT environments. With a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, Tidal optimizes mission-critical business processes, increases IT cost efficiencies and satisfies legal and regulatory compliance requirements. Hundreds of customers around the world count on Tidal for modernizing their workload automation and driving their digital transformation. Tidal Software is headquartered in Chicago with offices in Houston, London, Minsk, Belarus and Chennai, India. For more information, visit tidalsoftware.com.

    Offer
    Accel­er­ate dig­i­tal trans­for­ma­tion through work­load automation

    Automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on projects that drive your business forward. Find out how OpCon workload automation enables you to create repeatable, reliable workflows - all managed from a single platform.

    Learn more about Tidal by Redwood
    Sample Customers
    LOHR, Carnival Cruise Lines, Herbalife, Digital Federal Credit Union, Synergent, Frandsen Bank & Trust
    Information Not Available
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm78%
    Insurance Company9%
    Government4%
    Manufacturing Company2%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm35%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Insurance Company8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Retailer17%
    Manufacturing Company17%
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Manufacturing Company21%
    Financial Services Firm21%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Insurance Company8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise46%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise75%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business4%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise81%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business12%
    Midsize Enterprise10%
    Large Enterprise77%
    Buyer's Guide
    OpCon vs. Tidal by Redwood
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about OpCon vs. Tidal by Redwood and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    OpCon is ranked 9th in Workload Automation with 56 reviews while Tidal by Redwood is ranked 2nd in Workload Automation with 37 reviews. OpCon is rated 9.2, while Tidal by Redwood is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of OpCon writes "Gives us the ability to schedule dependent jobs across different mainframes". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Tidal by Redwood writes "Great visibility with a single pane of glass and a low learning curve". OpCon is most compared with Control-M, AutoSys Workload Automation, IBM Workload Automation, UiPath and VisualCron, whereas Tidal by Redwood is most compared with Control-M, AutoSys Workload Automation, IBM Workload Automation, Redwood RunMyJobs and VisualCron. See our OpCon vs. Tidal by Redwood report.

    See our list of best Workload Automation vendors.

    We monitor all Workload Automation 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.