Harish Podili - PeerSpot reviewer
Process Automation Developer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Real User
Helps improve efficiency, is easy to build automation, and reduces errors
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the easily accessible tool, such as the ARI framework, which I have used extensively."
  • "The UiPath Community Edition lacks some key features that developers find essential for learning and building their knowledge base before transitioning to the paid Enterprise Edition."

What is our primary use case?

I use UiPath for work projects that involve various applications, including license rebate processing and healthcare licensing. I develop reusable components for these projects.

Specifically, the process involves launching different licensing websites and extracting essential information such as license number, status, effective date, expiration date, and any disciplinary actions. This data is collected from providers like physicians, dietitians, opticians, and speech therapists. We validate the extracted information against existing databases or applications, updating records where necessary.

This validated information is crucial for determining the approval or denial of applications, such as those related to provider enrollment. Essentially, my work centers around creating processes with defined inputs and desired outputs.

Currently, I'm focused on a project within the manufacturing sector, specifically a constant bidding branch. Here, we gather order information for stakeholders, including tracking numbers, tracking statuses, and approximate order values. We store this data in an Oracle database, generate a CSV file from it, and distribute this file to stakeholders via email.

How has it helped my organization?

Building automation using UiPath is easy for developers. It is easy for them to manage and start building with the automation.

UiPath empowers organizations to improve their staff's time management and become more cost-effective. By automating routine tasks, it frees up employees' valuable time to focus on higher-priority work. 

UiPath enables end-to-end automation. Our process begins with meeting stakeholders to determine which processes are suitable for automation. We assess if existing tools are sufficient or if new ones need to be implemented. We also identify applications that automation could potentially replace. If all requirements are met, we obtain sign-off for automation and prepare process documentation, such as Process Definition Documents. We then consult with business stakeholders and obtain managerial approval on the Solution Design Document. This phase can take several weeks and involves outlining the specific solutions and applications required for the automation. Next, we create a video demonstrating the automation workflow and explain the process to stakeholders. After securing sign-off from management and SMEs, we begin the development phase. The completed development is sent for UAT and then moved into production. We typically monitor the automation in production for one to two months. Any errors trigger email notifications, allowing us to promptly address issues within UiPath Studio and re-deploy to the live production environment.

The UiPath User Community is a valuable resource for developers. It allows us to share knowledge and find answers to questions or issues we encounter, without needing to submit a support ticket.

It has significantly improved our efficiency by automating many manual tasks, leading to a noticeable benefit for patients. Now, thanks to automated benefit processing, patients receive instant approvals or denials from their insurance providers.

Our company encourages us to complete UiPath Academy courses to further our understanding of Robotic Process Automation. These courses equip us with the skills and knowledge necessary to solve complex problems encountered in real-world scenarios. Completing the Academy courses and obtaining certifications can be beneficial not only for career advancement within our company but also for understanding new features and process flows implemented in future updates. Additionally, these certifications can be valuable when transitioning to other companies as they demonstrate our expertise in UiPath products.

Human error is minimized by utilizing exception handling.

UiPath helps free up our time.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the easily accessible tool, such as the ARI framework, which I have used extensively. My interest in the ARI framework has grown significantly because the templates are built directly into UiPath, making it possible to automate more complex processes, while also simplifying the development and understanding for developers.

What needs improvement?

The UiPath Community Edition lacks some key features that developers find essential for learning and building their knowledge base before transitioning to the paid Enterprise Edition. To provide developers with a more comprehensive evaluation experience, UiPath could consider including all features in the Community Edition for a limited trial period. This would allow developers to fully test the solution's capabilities before making a purchase decision.

Buyer's Guide
UiPath
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about UiPath. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,740 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

UiPath operates reliably around 80 percent of the time. However, automation speed can sometimes be hindered by internal applications.

How are customer service and support?

I had to contact their support once and they were extremely helpful in resolving my issue.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

While I have experience with Automation Anywhere, I find UiPath to be more user-friendly and offer a more robust orchestration tool. Although Automation Anywhere offers child bots and AI IQ bots, it is not as well-suited for handling complex automation scenarios.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment is straightforward. We can sign up with UiPath and set it up on our local desktop, or we can deploy it from our cloud cluster.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate UiPath eight out of ten.

The amount of maintenance required depends on the project and the bots being used. On average maintenance is done monthly.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Nishant Bhushan Pandey - PeerSpot reviewer
RPA Developer at Feat systems
Real User
It is easy to build automation, helps reduce cost, and reduces human errors
Pros and Cons
  • "UiPath is a leading platform for end-to-end automation, offering advanced capabilities for streamlining workflows."
  • "On-premises deployment of UiPath requires a significant amount of RAM for optimal performance."

What is our primary use case?

I work in the banking industry and have used UiPath to automate end-to-end processes for seven projects. I am also currently using UiPath to help our clients automate their RPA lifecycle end-to-end.

In my role within the banking domain, I am typically responsible for complex bots. I currently have two applications and data messaging tasks requiring the creation of BRM reports and their subsequent email delivery to users.

How has it helped my organization?

With my UiPath experience building automation is easy to do.

UiPath enables end-to-end automation. My preferred development process begins with creating Process Definition Documents and thoroughly gathering requirements. I carefully review this information before commencing development. After that, I conduct User Acceptance Testing. Finally, I place the process in hypercare for one or two weeks, depending on the bot's complexity, before moving it to production.

The UiPath User Community is incredibly helpful, especially when I'm stuck on code during research and development.

UiPath is a leading platform for end-to-end automation, offering advanced capabilities for streamlining workflows.

UiPath Academy offers valuable courses that equip learners with both knowledge and practical experience. I recently completed some advanced coursework in the program.

UiPath speeds up and reduces the cost of digital transformation.

UiPath helps organizations reduce costs through automation by minimizing the staff needed to complete tasks.

UiPath helps reduce human error.

UiPath helps free up significant staff time. It can complete tasks in five minutes that would typically take a human seven hours to accomplish.

What needs improvement?

On-premises deployment of UiPath requires a significant amount of RAM for optimal performance.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for just over two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

To ensure the stability of our on-premises UiPath solution, a minimum of 1 TB of RAM is required for optimal performance.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also work with Automation Anywhere. While both tools offer valuable functionalities, UiPath provides additional features, such as flow and list views, for managing automation workflows. Additionally, UiPath offers an orchestrator capability for centralizing and managing automation, which is not available in Automation Anywhere.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. I can do the deployment myself within ten minutes.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate UiPath ten out of ten.

Maintenance is required for updates.

I recommend UiPath for implementing robotic process automation.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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UiPath
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about UiPath. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,740 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Eswar Sai KS - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior RPA UiPath Developer at Crystal System
Real User
Is user-friendly, helps reduce human errors, and saves time
Pros and Cons
  • "The technical support is extremely good."
  • "While it excels at handling structured and repeatable tasks, it struggles with those requiring human judgment or intervention."

What is our primary use case?

We use UiPath to replace the manual tasks done by humans through automation.

How has it helped my organization?

I recently automated a process within our SAP web portal. The bot I developed can extract data from an Excel sheet, which contains a list of approximately 200-300 company codes on average per day. It then processes each transaction by following these steps: Logs in to the SAP web portal, retrieves a company code from the Excel sheet, enters the company code into the SAP web portal, searches for the specific company details, locates the necessary data within the portal, and generates an invoice for the corresponding company code. This automation allows the bot to generate invoices significantly faster than a human operator.

UiPath saves seven minutes per transaction.

Building automation with UiPath is remarkably user-friendly and accessible, even for those with no coding experience. Its drag-and-drop interface and minimal need for coding make it easy to learn and implement, regardless of technical background. This low barrier to entry allows anyone to quickly grasp the fundamentals and build basic automation, making UiPath a great tool for both technical and non-technical users.

UiPath enables end-to-end automation. This not only helps them save costs and reduce processing time but also allows them to work faster and achieve greater efficiency. For example, sales teams can close deals quicker, increasing revenue and market share. Similarly, finance and accounting departments can streamline workflows, boosting accuracy and productivity. With these benefits, it's clear that embracing platforms like UiPath can be a significant step towards growth and development for businesses of all sizes. While there are other competitive tools like Blue Prism and Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath offers a comprehensive suite of automation solutions that cater to a variety of needs.

It offers a valuable User Community forum. This forum serves as a platform for users of any UiPath product to find quick and helpful answers to their questions and concerns. Regardless of their experience level or specific product use, the community actively responds to posted queries. This responsive support is a major advantage for UiPath users, making it easy to obtain solutions and assistance throughout their product journey. On a scale of one to ten, the effectiveness of the UiPath User Community deserves a high rating of nine and a half. Not only is the response time impressive, but the community also provides multiple solutions from diverse users worldwide. This allows us to choose the approach that best fits our needs and preferences. Overall, the User Community forum significantly enhances the UiPath user experience, and its responsiveness earns it high praise.

The UiPath Academy is a valuable resource for anyone new to UiPath. It provides a user-friendly platform where anyone can learn at their own pace through detailed videos. The Academy offers a wide range of courses, from beginner basics to advanced topics, all presented in a step-by-step format. This makes it perfect for anyone eager to learn UiPath and gain the skills they need to automate tasks effectively. By following the courses in the Academy, users can easily grasp the concepts, understand best practices, and even practice their newfound skills.

Human error is a frequent occurrence, and designing processes to deliver the desired results for clients consistently can be prone to human mistakes. UiPath helps eliminate these errors by automating tasks, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

UiPath helps save time. The bot can complete five times the amount of processes a human can in the same amount of time each day.

UiPath reduces manpower requirements and enhances daily task completion, thereby contributing to cost savings.

What needs improvement?

UiPath isn't suitable for automating every process. While it excels at handling structured and repeatable tasks, it struggles with those requiring human judgment or intervention. For instance, document verification in hospitals often involves manual checks like blood pressure measurement, which UiPath can't automate. In such cases, alternative solutions are needed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for five and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Generally, UiPath is stable. We sometimes encounter servers that crash and we have to transfer the process onto another server but overall the solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

UiPath is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is extremely good. Using the enterprise license ensures we receive a response within the hour. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

For any product deployment, we utilize dedicated virtual machines. During the proof-of-concept phase, each product is deployed onto a separate VM and scheduled for daily monitoring. A dedicated team oversees all running bots, ensuring smooth operation. Should they encounter any issues, they will flag them to the development team. Upon receiving exception reports, we, the developers, debug the code, fix the problems, and redeploy the code back to production. This iterative process ensures smooth product deployment and maintenance.

While deployment is straightforward for a single knowledgeable person, expediting multiple deployments simultaneously requires additional personnel.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate UiPath a nine out of ten. UiPath is at the top of our list of automation tools because of the ease of use for non-technical users.

While I haven't yet had the opportunity to directly work with generative AI and machine learning features, I'm actively exploring their potential. UiPath has been at the forefront of integrating these advanced functionalities, including machine learning, natural language processing, and even generative AI itself. Their offerings extend beyond core process automation, encompassing process mining, communication analysis, and mining processes in general. Moreover, they're incorporating these capabilities into their educational platform, UiPath Academy. Although I haven't encountered a project requiring these advanced features yet, I'm excited to apply them in future endeavors and leverage their cutting-edge capabilities.

I worry about the potential downsides of overreliance on technology. Like anything in excess, too much technology can be harmful, both to the environment and to society. Just as deepfake videos can damage reputations, unchecked technological advancement can have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, we should approach it cautiously and employ it strategically, not haphazardly. This applies to individual use as well. For example, virtual machines are great tools, but they're not infallible. If a scheduled job on one machine gets stuck due to a technical issue, it can be difficult to diagnose and resolve. In such scenarios, relying solely on technology becomes impractical, and alternative solutions are necessary. Overall, while I recognize the power of automation, I believe moderation and critical thinking are crucial when it comes to integrating technology into our lives and work.

While the UiPath tutorials are extremely helpful for basic automation, some situations require coding knowledge to develop custom logic or fulfill specific client requirements. This is because building any complex logic often involves using syntax from a programming language. Therefore, it's highly recommended for users to learn the basics of a coding language like Java or Python. This foundational knowledge will enable them to understand how syntax works and build logic effectively, making the automation process smoother and more achievable. While UiPath does provide syntax options even for users who don't know a programming language, these methods are limited and may not always deliver the desired outcome. Understanding coding fundamentals allows for greater flexibility and control over the logic, ultimately leading to more robust and customized automation.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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RPA manager at EVERGREEN HOME LOANS
Real User
Top 20
Improves efficiency, reduces manual labor, and enhances reliability across a wide range of business processes
Pros and Cons
  • "Our key focus is on eliminating time-consuming tasks and enhancing reliability, especially in repetitive processes, which is where automation has proven to be a significant asset."
  • "Simplification and adaptability for smaller businesses would be a welcome enhancement."

What is our primary use case?

We use UiPath across a diverse range of functions and departments, encompassing accounting, human resources, loan servicing, employee progress tracking, and loan origination.

How has it helped my organization?

Our primary objective has always been to navigate the cycles effectively, ensuring that we can manage fluctuations without the need for constant hiring and downsizing. It's all about maintaining a consistent workforce over time.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable component is Studio—it's the cornerstone of our automation efforts. Recently, we've delved deeply into Insights, which has proven to be incredibly beneficial. Our key focus is on eliminating time-consuming tasks and enhancing reliability, especially in repetitive processes, which is where automation has proven to be a significant asset.

What needs improvement?

Simplification and adaptability for smaller businesses would be a welcome enhancement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is highly reliable, and we didn't have any issues with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When it comes to scalability, one aspect to consider is understanding the licensing for on-demand bots and related components. There have been some challenges, mostly on our side, particularly concerning high-density servers. 

The ideal scaling strategy involves adding more instances to these servers. We have opted for standalone virtual machines for each partner, and while this approach offers scalability, it does require the manual setup of additional machines, which can be a slower process for a small IT team like ours.

How are customer service and support?

I contacted customer support only once when we encountered an issue related to changing the institution name within an application. Fortunately, the support team was able to resolve the matter successfully. I would rate them ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using a software called Winautomation, which wasn't very robust. So, we made the decision to switch it, which has been a beneficial change.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was relatively straightforward. The main challenge we encountered was obtaining security approvals when transitioning to on-cloud.

What about the implementation team?

Initially, there was just one automation tool in place. Our first step was to rebuild that process using UiPath and then we engaged with various business teams to explain the concept of RPA and gather input to create an initial backlog. Afterward, we collaborated with management to prioritize the tasks and determine the order in which we should proceed.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I find the licensing structure to be perplexing, and it frequently changes. The inclusion of AI units, raw document units, and Cloudmont licensing, along with various sub-licensing options, can be quite complex and non-intuitive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We were considering a few alternatives, such as Blue Prism and Automation Anywhere. The primary goal was to find a solution that we could commit to for the long term. Ultimately, it appeared that UiPath, which is an industry standard, was the best choice. I also had previous experience with it at a previous company, which made the transition more comfortable for me.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate UiPath ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Ryan Hagerman - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Business Analyst at Fortis Bank
Real User
Offers broad functionality and good customer support
Pros and Cons
  • "The use of AI has freed up time and resources for other tasks in our company. We are a little bit more of an ad hoc approach right now. I just finished up a new cross-set of processes about two weeks ago that allowed us to onboard a client. I wouldn't have been able to without this automation. It would have taken a couple of months of several people's time to get them to get all this work done in the back end."
  • "From the UiPath product perspective, this might be a problem because we're on-prem, but they add new functionalities pretty rapidly. It feels like there are releases constantly, and I don't want to update it too often."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is more of a reactive ad hoc use case to solve business problems on the fly. We can build automations to update thousands of records. 

We're putting a little bit more money and resources into it, and we're starting to go down more of the unattended automation path to actually do more end-to-end processes. 

How has it helped my organization?

The use of AI has freed up time and resources for other tasks in our company. We are a little bit more of an ad hoc approach right now. I just finished up a new cross-set of processes about two weeks ago that allowed us to onboard a client. I wouldn't have been able to without this automation. It would have taken a couple of months of several people's time to get them to get all this work done in the back end. 

It is helping. It provides value where we wouldn't be able to do certain things without it.

What is most valuable?

The broad functionality is the most valuable feature because it can interact with many different factors, and there are several ways to solve a problem. 

There's not just one cookie-cutter way to achieve what you need to achieve. You can get there in various different ways. That's a key aspect for me.

What needs improvement?

From the UiPath product perspective, this might be a problem because we're on-prem, but they add new functionalities pretty rapidly. It feels like there are releases constantly, and I don't want to update it too often. 

I feel like I'm behind even though I might not be. Sometimes, we'll go a year without doing any major upgrade to Studio or Orchestrate or anything. 

That's more of a personal problem, but that's because there are frequent updates to understand.

For how long have I used the solution?

We started using UiPath about three years ago. We're a small company, an 80-employee bank, in Denver, Colorado. 

We're smaller than a typical RPA client. Our development is probably underutilized compared to larger institutions. Still, we thought it was important to get in the game early and start establishing the foundation of an RPA environment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. We have run into some issues that they believe are more related to their environment than to the application itself.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We're in the process right now of scaling. It is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support have been amazing. It is honestly the best product support. 

I have no complaints about the support. I don't even get worried when I have a situation. I might need to open a case. I like partnering with them. It's a good experience.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was difficult because I didn't have a lot of past experience setting up a new program. This was a whole new program for us. Not only was it installing things, but it was also wrapping your head around how to set up properly so that we can get out of this.

It was a little challenging, especially with the on-prem solution and working in Citrix, to make sure these different servers were talking to each other properly, but overall, it was not too bad.

We're on-prem right now, so we're not even in the automation cloud. We're looking into that in probably the next year. The UiPath platform has been great for getting to understand those products a little better.

What was our ROI?

I see a return on investment. Even with underdeveloped automation, we definitely have a good ROI. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If people don't understand the benefits, they might think it's a bit pricey, but for me, it's very cost-effective.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism. It was three years ago.

I work in banking. We are highly regulated in our server infrastructure, so we decided to do a VDI environment that works in Citrix. 

At the time, UiPath seemed like the best product to work with Citrix which was a large reason why we chose UiPath. 

We wanted to make sure we were getting something that was going to play nicely with our environment. It has proven to be true to this day. 

We feel like we chose the right vendor.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I want to give it a ten out of ten. I have to give it an honest nine just because I haven't used other RPA solutions. But I love UiPath.

If you're going to go in, go all in. We didn't go all in at the beginning, and we should have. We're playing a little bit of catch-up because of that. My advice would be to go all in and be organized with your approach.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Robert Wanjohi - PeerSpot reviewer
Social Worker at Uwezo Fund Oversight Board
Real User
Top 20
Efficient and frees up employee time with helpful technical support on offer
Pros and Cons
  • "It's just easy. It streamlines our activities very well."
  • "It would be nice to have physical support, where UiPath can come to companies and do frequent visits for troubleshooting."

What is our primary use case?

Our company deals with data analysis and we use the RPA to help with various functions related to data analysis and to keep our operations moving 24/7.

How has it helped my organization?

Since we've automated, we've received great results in improved performance and helped increase productivity. Our business has expanded and the solution has made customer service faster. We're also able to respond to various suppliers and stakeholders more efficiently. Whatever they require they can get in just the click of a button.

The biggest benefit so far has been the upward trajectory of our productivity. Our teams have become more efficient and productive. 

We're also saving on staff and allowing staff to work more remotely.

What is most valuable?

It's very easy to deploy and we can use it without any problems. It's easy to learn. We have various staff members using the product. It's easy to troubleshoot if you run into issues. The support team is very efficient.

It's just easy. It streamlines our activities very well. Before acquiring it, we had issues with data loss and record keeping. Now, it automates everything. It's efficient for tracking and acquiring whatever data you are using. 

It took us less than a month to automate everything. From there, it's picked up very well and has been super stable. there's no buffering. We have no problems. 

We use it for a diverse group of people who come from different departments. It can be used in customer service, bookkeeping, HR, et cetera. It works across diverse projects and staff. 

The automation saves time on various tasks. It used to be handled by a human workforce that had to handle repetitive or cumbersome tasks. Now, it can be done efficiently without even using humans. Now, we can run 24 hours a day. Even when shifts are over, the robots keep working.

We can enable end-to-end automation. It's enabled now. We're even thinking of implementing it further and acquiring more products. We want to use it as the core of our automation. We do have processes that are almost end-to-end. Three-quarters of them are almost fully automated. For example, ticketing. How we attend to our customers is very extensively automated using UiPath.

The user community is very efficient. They help us a lot. We can exchange notes. For example, we've used the community to figure out how to implement benchmarking in our company. We get very efficient notes on how to improve our systems.

It's helped minimize our on-premises footprint. It's on the cloud. For example, we can have more staff working remotely. When we had our entire team in the office, our production cost was very high. However, now that we've allowed remote work, we've saved money and found more efficiency.

Some of our staff have used our Academy courses. Some staff that are not so tech-savvy have taken advantage of the courses. It's improved the general knowledge of the platform and has made onboarding more efficient so that other users can learn more about how to benefit from this platform.

It's helped us with digital transformation. It's helped us move away from manual processes and away from analog systems. We're working to be more digitally efficient. 

It has helped free up employee time. They are now able to engage in other activities within the company. It's enabled them to complete their work and assigned responsibilities on time. It's likely freed up employee time by 50% to 60%.

From a value perspective, we have seen cost savings. Tasks that have traditionally taken a week take far less time. It helps save money on the organization's part as it all takes less time. We might have seen a cost saving on tasks of 42% to 50%.

What needs improvement?

It would be nice to have physical support, where UiPath can come to companies and do frequent visits for troubleshooting. It takes a while to respond back and forth when there's an issue. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable unless we have a network problem or connectivity issues. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We use it across the organization, and within different departments. We have 500 users, and 12 people using the solution on a daily basis. 

The scalability is good. It's easy to scale up.

How are customer service and support?

Support is very friendly. They are amazing people. The time it takes to respond might be a day. When they do reach out they are super-efficient. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use a different solution. 

How was the initial setup?

We are working with the latest version of the solution. 

From what I understand for IT, who deployed it, it's not hard to maintain the solution. 

What about the implementation team?

Our IT dealt with the vendor during the initial setup.

What was our ROI?

We have witnessed an ROI since the production costs have gone down while the productivity has risen overall. Everything across operations is streamlined and staff are working more efficiently.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

For small users and startups, the price is a bit high. However, it does give good value for money. For established organizations, it's reasonable. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did evaluate other solutions, however, we found UiPath very popular and heard good things from people who used it. 

What other advice do I have?

We are not currently using the tools' AI functionality. We're just considering adopting it. We're not there yet. 

I'd recommend the solution. It helps you realize your automation journey. It's good to get some training or some general knowledge about the product so that you can use it without delay.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. It's one of the most popular options on the market. It's adaptable across departments, from product to service, to finance - everything. It can be used across the board. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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Pedro Murta - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Automation Engineer at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Makes it easy to work with different applications and quickly build automations
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very easy to develop and deploy. It is easy to work with different applications at the same time. For example, I can read an Excel file and then go to SAP or any other platform. I can then open Outlook and send an email from Outlook. I can even use Teams. Being able to combine all these applications is the main thing that I like."
  • "It would be nice to have the possibility to change the values in the middle of the debug. For example, I am debugging a process, and I write at a place. The value of that level is one, but I want to see the results of it if I change it to two. It does not seem possible in UiPath. It is possible in other software, but in UiPath, it is not yet possible."

What is our primary use case?

I have been in three different organizations working with UiPath. In all of them, I had to create the center of excellence for UiPath. For automation, we decided to use UiPath because it was easy to learn. We had citizen developers involved. Most of the use cases were typical manual repetitive tasks and did not involve too much intelligence. I did not use the AI components in any of the use cases that I have done in the past. We mainly had end-to-end automation of simple processes. They were not too complex.

I have worked in the energy sector, and there were processes that were connected to renewable energy projects, but they were not related to a good cause, such as improving sustainability. We also had processes that did not provide any financial gains for the company, but they improved the motivation of employees. For example, we automated a process to check employees' birthdays and sent an email congratulating the person and tagging their manager as well. There were no financial gains, but it had a good impact on employees.

How has it helped my organization?

In most cases, it is easy to do automation with UiPath. It is not always the best solution, but in most cases, you can imitate what a user is doing. You can substitute that and create a process. It is very easy to do this. The complexity normally comes from the reengineering of the process to make it more efficient, but that is not about UiPath. That is more about the company thinking that we have been doing this for a long time and how we can make it better. It is very easy and straightforward most of the time. From the thousands of activities UiPath has, I end up using the same activities 90% of the time. It is very easy to remember and organize in my mind. As soon as I hear a process, I know how I am going to do it. For example, on receiving an email with an Excel file, we will extract the data that goes line by line into SAP or another platform. We will then save it and then write back the status by email. This is a very simple case, but it would be very hard to implement using any other technology. When it comes to end-to-end automation, about 90% of the time, you can do end-to-end automation with UiPath, but there are times when UiPath is not the best solution.

The main benefit of UiPath is that it is easy to develop and deliver automation. We can do this while software engineers are dealing with a more robust solution for the future. For example, when we need to connect different applications, and there are no API calls they can connect to, UiPath can provide a bridge for the short to medium term while resources are working on the final solution. I do believe that UiPath has a lot of strengths, but in terms of maintenance, there is one more application in the middle that we need to make sure is working for the end-to-end process to not fail. I can deliver a solution in one to two weeks instead of waiting six months for the final solution, but there will be more maintenance.

UiPath has freed up employee time, but the time saved depends on the use case. We had some very big processes that saved a few days. Overall, it frees up about 10% of our employees' time. 

UiPath has saved us costs in theory, but in practice, I am not sure. It saves the time of our people, but we are not letting go of those people, so the cost of those people is the same. However, these people might be doing other work that might bring money to the company. 

What is most valuable?

It is very easy to develop and deploy. It is easy to work with different applications at the same time. For example, I can read an Excel file and then go to SAP or any other platform. I can then open Outlook and send an email from Outlook. I can even use Teams. Being able to combine all these applications is the main thing that I like. 

I also like how fast it is to develop a big, low-code platform engine. You just drag and drop, and most of the activities are done. It is very fast to create processes. I like it.

What needs improvement?

Its pricing changed again this year. I do not know why it just went up, but I do not like that. This is something that I would like them to improve for sure. 

It would be nice to have the possibility to change the values in the middle of the debug. For example, I am debugging a process, and I write at a place. The value of that level is one, but I want to see the results of it if I change it to two. It does not seem possible in UiPath. It is possible in other software, but in UiPath, it is not yet possible.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The Orchestrator, cloud, and everything else have been stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We have about 20 people using it. It will impact around 40 to 50 people.

How are customer service and support?

I do not have direct contact with the UiPath technical support because we have a vendor, and we go through the vendor. 

The UiPath community is very good. I myself do not contribute much to the community, but anytime I have doubts, it is very easy to find a solution in the UiPath community. The community gives a lot back. There are a lot of people writing back. It is very well established. About 90% of the time, I find the solution, and the other 10% of the time, I find a way to the solution. It normally takes me less than a day. There are a lot of activities created by the community as well, which are very helpful. I know some of the people who create these activities. People just give back.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In my current organization, we were not using any other solution previously. In other companies where I worked, UiPath was the first solution, but in one company, I also worked with Blue Prism. We had both UiPath and Blue Prism at the same time.

UiPath is easier to learn. It has certain activities that Blue Prism does not have. Visually, UiPath is much more appealing. I know the visual appeal does not matter much to a lot of people, but it matters to me.

How was the initial setup?

It is deployed on the cloud. We moved to the cloud last year, and it took us two months to set it up and go from on-prem to the cloud. About 50% of the time was spent on things related to our company in terms of security and other things. It was not on the UiPath side. On the UiPath side, it was pretty straightforward. It was pretty nice.

What about the implementation team?

Five people were involved in total, but they were not involved not full-time. 

What was our ROI?

We have seen an ROI, but I do not have the metrics.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its price is fair, but I would prefer it to be lower.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend UiPath. I would recommend starting with very simple processes. Do not go for a very big end-to-end process. Start with a part of it, gain confidence in it, and then start building on top of it. Many times, the process that people want to implement is too complex, and they do not put it down on paper. They do not do a cleanup of the process, and most of the discussion is happening while developing, which makes it complex, so I would recommend starting with something small, seeing the results, and growing from there.

Overall, I would rate UiPath an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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RPA Manager at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Real User
Top 20
Has a powerful design process and organization and has helped reduce human errors to zero
Pros and Cons
  • "RPA is a valuable feature for interacting with GUI interfaces."
  • "AI machine learning has room for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

50 percent of our business involves Digital Integration Automation, specifically in the banking and finance sectors. In this domain, we automate various processes, primarily focusing on banking processes such as lending and loan administration. Our operations primarily revolve around the core banking systems of the banks. Essentially, we maintain complex systems and infrastructure utilizing over 20 automation robots through UiPath.

We deploy on-premises, in the cloud, and also utilize hybrid models.

How has it helped my organization?

UiPath is one of the most straightforward tools when it comes to starting and modeling processes. Most of us here are experienced programmers who are also using UiPath. However, I have also noticed that people from our sales department or accounting department are beginning to automate their own processes.

We use UiPath to automate processes in healthcare, where we manage the patient's programming for medical systems and other related tasks. By determining the appropriate waiting time to access the necessary data, we aim to minimize delays and fulfill our social responsibility for a good cause.

In the past two years, our customers have shown a preference for comprehensive digital transformation rather than simply being informed about our RPA activities. This necessitates expanding our scope to achieve a more holistic view and address end-to-end automation. This can be accomplished using UiPath alone, if applicable, or by combining UiPath with another BPMN or local platform's console. An open-source file like Camunda can be utilized for this purpose. We have projects where Camunda effectively controls UiPath robots within a browser-based process, regardless of whether it is a bank or a smaller company. Camunda enables the modeling of complex processes that may span days or weeks, but eventually, RPA automation is required to deliver the desired outcomes. This has been the prevailing trend in the last two years. We are not solely relying on RPA components but also integrating them into a broader system, be it a BPMN or a local no-call system.

We derive great value from UiPath's user community. We are one of three Gold partners in Romania. I always find the information I am seeking within the UiPath user community. The user community offers a comprehensive documentation system, community forums, and other resources, allowing us to obtain what we need.

Now, engaging in automation forces us to standardize our work to a certain extent. Perhaps we should consider documenting our processes and adopting a mindset that prioritizes automation. While this doesn't necessarily mean being overly strict or inflexible, it does compel us to become more organized, and efficient, and encourages critical thinking. We find ourselves questioning why we are performing certain tasks and exploring ways to improve them. UiPath introduces us to concepts like lean management, providing further benefits from this perspective.

The UiPath implementers made significant efforts to educate us on working more in the cloud and fewer on-premises, transitioning from on-premises infrastructure to cloud ecosystems. There are several advantages that we may want to consider when deciding to do this, such as minimizing maintenance costs and scaling in seconds. Just to provide an example, we currently do not have any deployed infrastructure on-premises.

UiPath Academy courses drive us to approach and think in a way that helps increase the feasibility of automation and develop a mindset oriented toward automation. Additionally, they provide education in various technological aspects found in different fields such as business analysis, infrastructure engineering, software development, advanced development, solution architecture, and more. Therefore, apart from the technical knowledge, these courses also cultivate a mindset focused on automation and digital transformation.

We utilize AI functionality in our automation and integrate with Microsoft Cognitive Services for compatibility with Google and AWS installations.

UiPath helps us accelerate digital transformation and decrease the cost associated with it. This is one of the reasons why we are continuing to adopt this solution for our partners. Moreover, when we engage in such endeavors, we often need to demonstrate a valid return on investment or the value added to our services, including the tangible benefits we obtain through the use of this technology. This approach ensures that people are interested in not only witnessing the advantages but also the specific, concrete benefits we derive from utilizing this technology.

UiPath has helped reduce human errors to zero, which can be tracked through the dashboard. 

UiPath assists in freeing up employees' time by automating manual tasks.

It has saved our organization costs.

What is most valuable?

RPA is a valuable feature for interacting with GUI interfaces. We utilize it when there is no available API or alternative automation method, such as the previous automation stage using Java or any other means. In such cases, we rely on the interface we have been using for the past few months. The robotic process automation component proves to be powerful.

The design process and organization are powerful. When we design the workflows, we have what is called a framework that is essentially based on transactions that can be used. In case of failure, the group offers a complex and comprehensive system of logging and UI programming that is useful for debugging and so on. UiPath Studio and Designer are powerful components of UiPath, as well as the entire ecosystem that has evolved from a solution based on the Orchestrator and Studio. This ecosystem now includes the Automation Hub, machine learning, AI, and process mining, as well as tools for task discovery, and so on. It has grown from something smaller to a complete ecosystem.

What needs improvement?

AI machine learning has room for improvement. We use Google and Microsoft services. In some ways, Microsoft is more straightforward when we need to train a model compared to UiPath. There comes a point when we integrate UiPath with Microsoft Cognitive Services. For instance, we will also pay for these Microsoft Cognitive Services, not only for the UiPath license. It has an additional cost. However, in terms of usability, my impression is that Microsoft Cognitive Services are faster to configure and provide quicker results than UiPath document understanding, for example. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

UiPath is generally stable, although occasional issues may arise during upgrades.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling UiPath is easy. We can scale within minutes or hours, depending on the requirements. We simply need to provision additional machines, obtain the necessary licenses, and we are good to go.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also partners with Automation Anywhere, and we utilized Camunda and FlowX AI as well. In our consulting company, my line of business comprises ten percent of the organization's operations, with a specific focus on automation utilizing UiPath.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is moderate. We require knowledge specific to each cloud provider, databases, iOS servers, Windows administration, and so on when deploying in the cloud.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

UiPath is more affordable than Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism, which is the most expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I rate UiPath an eight out of ten.

We deploy UiPath in multiple locations.

The maintenance level depends on the criticality of the process and the Service Level Agreement for each client. Some clients may require 24/7 maintenance, while others may only need it during their work hours each week.

I recommend familiarizing oneself with UiPath and then moving to an integration partner when ready.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free UiPath Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.