Specifically, we use the solution for SAP where we have particular SAP processes that need automation.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Connects with third-party tools, offers helpful support, and is easy to implement
Pros and Cons
- "Being able to connect with third-party tools is the best feature."
- "Companies need to better justify the ROI before usage - otherwise, they might spend money on things unnecessarily."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
There were multiple processes where implementing a bot allowed us to automate processes and allow it to perform backend tasks. For example, employee onboarding, or creating orders.
We were able to remove manual tasks and we were able to justify the processes based on the ROI witnessed.
What is most valuable?
We see opportunities to operationalize AI. We aren't using it yet, however, in the future, we are looking to it. At this time, we do not have any AI use cases.
Being able to connect with third-party tools is the best feature.
All RPA tools we are using have the same benefits in terms of automation.
The learning curve is okay. Practicing it is the key thing. Doing it over and over will help a person get comfortable. We do not have a lab environment where we can use and test it. That makes it difficult for users. They need to spend time with it, to play with it, to have a hands-on approach.
It took me two weeks to learn how to do an implementation. Going from the lowest knowledge levels to more of an expert takes a month or two.
We have a few different tools and operating systems. It works well with other application data or operational items.
With respect to your use case, it's easy to use and easy to implement. However, sometimes if there are complex requirements, the automation of processes gets a bit more difficult.
What needs improvement?
If you come across any process, it can be automated via Automation Anywhere. However, companies need to better justify the ROI before usage - otherwise, they might spend money on things unnecessarily.
Buyer's Guide
Automation Anywhere
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Automation Anywhere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can provide automation at scale.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is quite responsive. Very rarely do I need to connect with the team, however, if I need to reach out, they are very good in terms of their response.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use UiPath and SAP IRP. We work with different tools according to requirements.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. It has its own orchestration and you just need to deploy it.
Any maintenance would fall under your organization's contract.
What was our ROI?
We have saved us both money and time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable. The money you spend will be worth it.
What other advice do I have?
We are an Automation Anywhere customer.
I would recommend the solution to others, so long as they have some previous knowledge before setting out.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
AGM- IT ( IT Projects Delivery & Innovation) at TFS
Performs efficiently and helps reduce workload, but is complex to learn
Pros and Cons
- "Automation Anywhere performs efficiently."
- "The GUI needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use Automation Anywhere for process automation.
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere has enabled us to eliminate manual, time-consuming tasks, and increase accuracy within our organization by automating them.
We witnessed the benefits of Automation Anywhere within six months of its deployment.
Automation Anywhere helped reduce the workload of our P2P billings by around 60 percent.
Automation Anywhere helped our organization increase its automation consumption by 25 percent on our billing automation once we resolved all the background issues.
What is most valuable?
Automation Anywhere performs efficiently.
What needs improvement?
Automation Anywhere is difficult to use and could be made more user-friendly. The GUI needs to be improved.
Using Automation Anywhere can be extremely difficult for individuals who lack technical skills.
The learning curve for Automation Anywhere is challenging. We should not need to rely on a vendor to handle the solution. The end-user should be able to use the solution independently.
The automation at scale has room for improvement.
There are many features missing from Automation Anywhere, including cloud collaboration tools provided by Google and Microsoft, that I would like to see integrated into the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Automation Anywhere for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere is stable. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability involves both the customer and the vendor, requiring significant effort to increase due to its lack of user-friendliness.
How are customer service and support?
We experience difficulties in getting our issues resolved when dealing with technical support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Microsoft Power Automate, which was not a great application at the time. However, it has now become easier to use, more cost-effective, and more scalable compared to Automation Anywhere. As a result, we are considering switching back to it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex. The vendor was unfamiliar with the process, and there was no guidance from Automation Anywhere regarding the requirements. According to Automation Anywhere, we were supposed to simply follow the onscreen instructions and click "next," which should have taken a maximum of one hour. However, due to an error and misunderstanding, it took us around three days instead.
The deployment started at the control room, then the client, and finally the developer.
One person, who was an Automation Anywhere specialist with infrastructure knowledge, was used for the deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We used a vendor for the implementation.
What was our ROI?
To realize a return on investment, we must utilize Automation Anywhere for several years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Automation Anywhere is significantly expensive. The cost is at the highest end of the spectrum.
In addition to the licensing cost, let's say, $1,000, we also have to pay the OEM vendor fee, which can be around $150. Furthermore, we are responsible for the payment of managed services, and occasionally there are additional charges for maintenance.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We considered several options, including Blue Prism, before choosing Automation Anywhere.
What other advice do I have?
I give Automation Anywhere a six out of ten.
When I joined my organization, we were using Automation Anywhere. Consequently, I am currently using it. However, all the features are also accessible through Microsoft Power Automate, which offers a free upgrade.
We attempted to train non-technical staff members for one month to utilize Automation Anywhere; however, learning proved to be quite challenging. As a result, we ultimately abandoned the endeavor and opted to hire a technical professional.
Automation Anywhere requires technical personnel who can write code to utilize the solution, making it challenging to integrate RPA bots, APIs, business applications, and documents. We are compelled to hire a vendor to write the code, which is not a practical approach.
I would recommend Microsoft Power Automate over Automation Anywhere because Automation Anywhere is excessively complex and challenging to use.
We have three users across three teams who utilize Automation Anywhere in our organization.
Automation Anywhere is self-maintained unless there is an error.
I advise exploring other options before settling for Automation Anywhere.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Automation Anywhere
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Automation Anywhere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,997 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Low Code Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Empowers business users to execute bots with AARI, and saves a lot of time for developers and users
Pros and Cons
- "AARI allows business users to trigger the bot, so I do not have to schedule everything. This convenience allows users to utilize it as they need. I can set it up to provide users with a form to fill in all required information, and then the bot operates based on those specifications. AARI is very convenient, and that is their biggest selling point."
- "AARI is very convenient, and that is their biggest selling point."
- "I have found that Automation Anywhere is prone to bugs in handling Excel. It breaks and gives vague error messages. I have had a lot of experience with that and learned that it is better to write a Python script instead of using Automation Anywhere's package when dealing with Excel because it is buggy and tends to break, unfortunately."
- "I have found that Automation Anywhere is prone to bugs in handling Excel. It breaks and gives vague error messages."
What is our primary use case?
I work for a company, and we mainly automate tasks that we deem necessary, which are often repetitive and mundane. Anything that can be automated to save costs, from the finance and manufacturing perspective, is automated.
We are currently considering how to use it for document automation so that we can read unstructured data, such as invoices, that is a little bit messy and hard for a standard rule-based OCR to understand. We are also looking at an AI solution that could do that for us.
In terms of integration, we use tools like SAP. That is a big one. We have integrated Python scripting a lot. We also use Active Directory.
How has it helped my organization?
The advantage of Automation Anywhere is that it automates the mundane jobs that are brainless or take up time out of people's day that they could use to do other tasks. That was the main challenge that we wanted to address by implementing Automation Anywhere. We wanted to free up time in other areas by automating jobs that would make good candidates to do so.
It is built keeping business users in mind. Every single human being who uses a computer uses a UI, so automating those clicks is not a very complicated thing. You are just telling the computer what to do. In that respect, they try to make it as simple as possible to use things like Excel, send emails with Outlook, and automate clicks on a computer. That part is done well.
Allowing business users to trigger the bot means that I do not have to worry about scheduling or triggering the bots. I can just give them the keys to the car and let them do whatever they want to do. It saves time. We spend less time micromanaging and more time developing.
I have heard from people who are using these bots that it is saving them hours every week, every day, or so. They start to see those time savings instantly.
What is most valuable?
AARI allows business users to trigger the bot, so I do not have to schedule everything. This convenience allows users to utilize it as they need. I can set it up to provide users with a form to fill in all required information, and then the bot operates based on those specifications. AARI is very convenient, and that is their biggest selling point.
What needs improvement?
I have found that Automation Anywhere is prone to bugs in handling Excel. It breaks and gives vague error messages. I have had a lot of experience with that and learned that it is better to write a Python script instead of using Automation Anywhere's package when dealing with Excel because it is buggy and tends to break, unfortunately.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have only been using it for about seven months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I do not remember having any problems. It usually does not lag or crash. Some packages, like Excel, can behave unpredictably, but I have never had any issues with the application itself.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I do not have much information about scalability. When use cases come, I just build them and move on.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Automation Anywhere, I used Power Automate by Microsoft. I prefer Automation Anywhere because it is more robust. It allows us to build more powerful applications. Power Automate was great for small-scale things, but it had its limitations.
How was the initial setup?
It was already deployed when I got here.
In terms of maintenance, the updates happen monthly. I do not have to do anything, but there is some maintenance when users want to get connected to run bots. There is a little bit of upkeep that happens there. Other developers sometimes do not have the necessary permissions. That process is not particularly painstaking. It is usually painless. There are two or three of us involved in the maintenance. We spend very little time on maintenance. It does not happen too often.
What other advice do I have?
In our organization, there is a fairly steep learning curve because we have a very particular framework in terms of the way that we handle our bots and our processes. This is likely not the case with other organizations that do not have a similar framework. We like to break down our bots in a very particular way, and we like to control our bots' inputs with configuration files and use Python scripting to handle a lot of work rather than using Automation Anywhere's packages because it is more effective, but then there is a little bit of a steeper learning curve.
I never had to train somebody who is not technical on how to use Automation Anywhere, but you could teach someone how to make something super simple in 30 minutes, and then give them an hour. You can quickly teach them how to send themselves email reminders or do something similar, so you could get going pretty quickly.
Overall, I would rate Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten. It does what it does well.
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.
Last updated: Jan 26, 2025
Flag as inappropriateIVR Developer at Orange
Significantly enhances our organization's efficiency, workflow, and connectivity
Pros and Cons
- "Automation Anywhere has significantly improved our organization's efficiency. Across various processes, we have achieved a 90% time savings for each use case, making our workflow much more streamlined and productive."
- "While it is easy to develop automation, deploying and running them requires some technical knowledge."
What is our primary use case?
I use it for various IT operations.
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere has significantly improved our organization's efficiency. Across various processes, we have achieved a 90% time savings for each use case, making our workflow much more streamlined and productive.
We used to do things manually, which took a lot of time. Now, with Automation Anywhere, most things are automated, making things faster and better. Sometimes we still need to do things manually, but overall, it has made our work much easier and less prone to mistakes.
What needs improvement?
To improve Automation Anywhere for the next release, standardization is key. The application should work universally across servers and desktops, without limitations on licenses tied to specific virtual machines. Currently, the one-to-one bot and VM dependency pose restrictions, and a more flexible licensing system would enhance its usability. Additionally, for business users without technical skills, using Automation Anywhere can be challenging. While it is easy to develop automation, deploying and running them requires some technical knowledge. Training is essential to navigate the platform effectively.
Upgrading Automation Anywhere can be challenging. Communication about upgrades is lacking, and an auto-upgrade feature or at least notifications would be beneficial. Currently, there is no automatic check for the latest version, and improvement is needed in providing information to users about updates.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Automation Anywhere for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. I would rate the stability as an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere can provide automation at a large scale, but the effectiveness depends on the complexity of the processes, which is common for any ERP system.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support as an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The deployment process is fairly straightforward. Deployment of Automation Anywhere typically requires just one person. If you are familiar with the entire workflow, one person can manage the deployment effectively. Maintenance for Automation Anywhere is minimal. However, due to recent use, aspects like patching and version upgrades are not entirely clear, and occasional manual intervention is needed for tasks like access management.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price for Automation Anywhere is reasonable compared to others, but there are some feature limitations. Specifically, the ability of one bot to support multiple VMs is an issue, distinguishing it from some other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
In our organization, I see great opportunities to operationalize AI, particularly in the realm of monitoring. Whether it is through comprehensive monitoring tools or leveraging Python for data analysis, there is potential to enhance our operations.
Assessing the learning curve for Automation Anywhere, it takes around a month for non-technical employees to become proficient. While an expert developer might grasp it quicker, providing training is essential for non-technical users to effectively learn and use Automation Anywhere.
Our organization is focused on expanding automation and AI use cases, continually adding more features. Additionally, there is an interest in exploring generative AI to enhance our capabilities further.
We have integrated Automation Anywhere with various solutions, including ITSM, a centralized portal, and several third-party applications.
Integrating Automation Anywhere into our workflows, APIs, and business applications is effective, but it is crucial to ensure a secure network.
Automation Anywhere has been a time and cost-saver for us. Achieving a 90% cost reduction in tasks is a significant boost to resource efficiency and overall cost-effectiveness.
We use Automation Anywhere across multiple departments, but it operates within the same environment and infrastructure, given its public nature.
My advice for those using Automation Anywhere is to start with a less complex use case. It is a good platform overall, but beginning with simpler tasks will help ease into the automation process. Overall, I would rate the solution as a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Team Lead Development at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to use, has a short learning curve, and helps increase automation consumption
Pros and Cons
- "The best features are the ease of use, the short learning curve, and the good support from our local partner."
- "The quality and speed of Automation Anywhere's support need significant improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use Automation Anywhere to automate websites and extract data from them.
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere helped us automate human tasks.
The learning curve is quite shallow.
Automation Anywhere has helped our organization by working around the clock, allowing us to rely on robots instead of humans. We no longer have errors, or if we do have some problems, we are informed. It is easy to implement and monitor the processing part of the software.
Cloud-based Automation Anywhere provides automation at scale with ease.
The integration of RPA bots, APIs, business applications, and documents in Automation Anywhere is good.
Automation Anywhere has helped our organization increase our automation consumption.
What is most valuable?
The best features are the ease of use, the short learning curve, and the good support from our local partner.
What needs improvement?
The quality and speed of Automation Anywhere's support needs significant improvement. We are not satisfied with the quality of support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Automation Anywhere for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is not good. They are slow and the level of support is poor.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We tried using Blue Prism for one of our projects but ran into a lot of complications when we tried to implement it ourselves. We found Automation Anywhere much easier to implement.
How was the initial setup?
We had an enablement package, which we could start using because Automation Anywhere turned it on automatically. We did not need to set it up ourselves, as it was only for bots running in our environment. It was not difficult.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price for Automation Anywhere is reasonable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also evaluated UiPath, which has similar quality and features to Automation Anywhere. However, we chose Automation Anywhere because we had someone in our organization who was familiar with it. Blue Prism is significantly inferior to both UiPath and Automation Anywhere.
What other advice do I have?
I would give Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten.
API is our first choice whenever possible, but it is not always feasible, depending on the use case. Sometimes, we need to perform additional process steps beyond simply calling an API. In such cases, we may consider using an RPA tool, such as Automation Anywhere, especially if we do not have an API.
Typical maintenance is required. If we get new versions of bots, we need to update Automation Anywhere. However, the cloud services are maintained by Automation Anywhere itself, so we don't have to worry about that.
I recommend looking at IQ Bots, a very good and easy-to-use intelligent document-processing feature. I also advise taking the quick training available online and trying to build a simple but real process on their own. There is also a community edition that anyone can use, so it's easy to start with that to try out Automation Anywhere.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
General Manager at LifeCell international Pvt.Ltd
Improves accuracy and reduces manpower
Pros and Cons
- "It improves accuracy and reduces manpower. It is easy to learn."
- "I would like it to have AI and ML capabilities."
What is our primary use case?
We are a biotechnology company. We are in healthcare. We receive samples, and we need to do some of the entries. We did a PoC through Automation Anywhere. Our objective was to improve accuracy and reduce manpower.
How has it helped my organization?
We were able to 100% achieve our objectives. There was an increase in accuracy, and there was also a reduction in manpower. The bot reduced the manpower required. We could reduce nearly 40 members through this project in Automation Anywhere.
Automation Anywhere has helped our organization increase its automation consumption. Earlier, we did not have any automation for the labs to increase accuracy and reduce manpower. We have now achieved the same with Automation Anywhere. We have done about 60% automation. We have used it only for the lab. We are planning to use it for the marketing team, call center, and all other departments.
What is most valuable?
It improves accuracy and reduces manpower. It is easy to learn. We trained our lab people, and they were able to achieve accuracy with the technical knowledge.
What needs improvement?
I would like it to have AI and ML capabilities.
The support can also be better. It can be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Automation Anywhere for the past two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There is 99.5% stability. It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. With a robust infrastructure, if the sample size increases, we can scale on an on-demand basis.
We plan to increase its usage. We are planning for the lab expansion. During the lab expansion, we will also increase the licenses.
How are customer service and support?
After the execution, we need to have service and support. Sometimes, there is a lag in the support. We are running labs 24/7, but when we raise a ticket, they are able to call and fix the same only on the next business day. For this reason, we have planned high availability for the RPA bots in the case of any incident. We are managing through that, and we have also highlighted the concern about the service and support. They also plan to work on it.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use any other solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was handled by the business owner and IT. It was done by our partner. It requires technical skills. We need to have a workflow. If we have a clear workflow, we can easily implement the same with the partner.
We provided hands-on training for Automation Anywhere through our partner. In the first phase, it took us at least three months to train the lab operations team and other teams supporting the project. We parallelly created a document for the initial phase. All the people who are now being onboarded use that document. They are able to support the bots without any additional training.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation with the help of our partner. They first understood the workflow of the healthcare sector and our architecture. After that, they planned the solution for us. It took them a minimum of one month to understand all those things, and then we did the PoC.
They have also done the integration with the lab software. It took them nearly four to six months for integration and report generation.
What was our ROI?
In the first year, we got 20% to 30% ROI. In the second or third year, we got the complete amount that we invested. There is also an improvement in the business because of data accuracy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not cheap, but we are able to get an ROI. I would rate it a seven out of ten in terms of pricing.
There are no costs in addition to licensing, but we had to pay our partner for one-time implementation.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also did a PoC with UiPath and other solutions. We chose Automation Anywhere because we could get significant ROI with Automation Anywhere. Its accuracy and costs were better than others. We have purchased the bot with Orchestrator.
What other advice do I have?
You need to have a good partner to assess the performance and get the best solution.
Overall, I would rate Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten.
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.
Chief Executive Officer at Bigiota Analytics LLP
Is fully configurable, includes many connectors, and reduces human presence
Pros and Cons
- "Automation Anywhere is fully configurable."
- "Business processes are more complex and require experts to be brought in to automate."
What is our primary use case?
We are the implementer and sales partner of Automation Anywhere. We have implemented hundreds of business processes for clients in the banking, insurance, and manufacturing sectors. We use Automation Anywhere to help our clients automate routine tasks.
Automation Anywhere can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises based on the client's requirements.
How has it helped my organization?
Programmers with good logical thinking will find the learning curve of Automation Anywhere to be relatively easy. Non-programmers can also learn to automate parameter configurations with relative ease, but they may find it more difficult to automate tasks that require customization or workflows.
Automation Anywhere has helped our clients' organizations during the lockdown period in the last two years, from 2020 to 2021. Our clients who were using automation were very happy because the bots could run while the people were away. We were able to control the bots remotely and scale their businesses. In fact, there are several use cases where we implemented solutions solely for scaling purposes. Our clients used to receive millions of records that needed to be processed within a defined time frame, which was not possible manually. This is where the RPA solution using Automation Anywhere came in. It allowed them to scale up their businesses. One particular use case that I still remember is the insurance for farmers' crops. Farmers need to be issued crop insurance policies within a given time frame, as the crop cycle is typically three to six months. This needs to be done well in advance, and India is a large agricultural industry with millions of partners. The scale of this process is huge. There were some complications involved in this process. For example, we had to connect to bank accounts to verify whether payments had been received, and then connect to the insurance system to issue the policies. Even though I am simplifying it, there were many complexities involved.
It can provide our clients with scalable automation to a certain extent. However, as the processes become larger, the optimization decreases and the performance suffers. This is because of the scaling and the processing that needs to be done. To address this, we also use open-source programming to do the processing outside of the RPA tool and then call those libraries from within Automation Anywhere.
It has many connectors, so we can easily integrate with other applications.
Automation Anywhere has helped our clients increase their automation consumption. For one of our banking clients, we automated 85 percent of their processes, significantly reducing the amount of human involvement and only requiring human interaction in the approval process.
What is most valuable?
Automation Anywhere is fully configurable. It has several commands that can be used to configure the parameters, and it is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
Novice users are able to automate basic applications using Automation Anywhere. Business processes are more complex and require experts to be brought in to automate. The automation process can be made more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Automation Anywhere for eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I give the stability of Automation Anywhere a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I give the scalability of Automation Anywhere a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good. They stay within their SLAs.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Automation Anywhere and UiPath, and in one place, we have also used Power Automate. We find Automation Anywhere and UiPath to be very easy to implement. Both products have a lot of features and are configurable. We can connect to any specific data source, such as Oracle Finance or Salesforce, through an API, or we can do desktop automation using either tool. Power Automate also allows us to connect to various data sources for automation. However, it is mostly cloud-based, which is not ideal for our banking and insurance clients. They prefer on-premise solutions. Power Automate does offer an on-premise solution, but it only supports desktop automation. For workflows, we need to use the cloud-based solution. This is a limitation of Power Automate. In terms of cost, Power Automate is much cheaper than Automation Anywhere and UiPath.
How was the initial setup?
Assuming that the infrastructure is in place, the deployment of the Automation Anywhere components, which include the controller, parts, and studios, can be completed within a maximum of five days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Automation Anywhere is generally more expensive than Power Automate, but they may offer a better price for large volume consumption.
On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I rate the price of Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Automation Anywhere ten out of ten.
API integration is a good thing. However, it takes longer to implement than RPA. Once implemented, API integration can execute tasks faster. The cost of API automation is higher than RPA because it requires specific programming by experts.
Automation Anywhere itself does not require maintenance. Only the processes need to be maintained, as they may need to be updated to reflect changes in compliance requirements, government regulations, or the underlying systems. Additionally, patches to the Automation Anywhere software may sometimes cause changes to the processes, which may require maintenance. We currently have 150 processes, and two experts are able to maintain all of them.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller
Business Operations Associate Consultant at ZS Associates
Easy to learn, tweak, and implement in our day-to-day tasks
Pros and Cons
- "The best part about A2019 is its ease of use. You don't need to be a coding champ or an expert to use and implement A2019 in automating tasks. It's very easy to learn, tweak, and implement in your day-to-day tasks, especially features like capture/record is completely marvelous."
- "One of the challenges that I face every now and then while working with A2019, is around the bot agent updates. Every week/alternate weeK, I receive an error while running my bots, that asks me to update the bot agent."
What is our primary use case?
I have been using A2019 for validating IC reports and scorecards that we publish every month for the client on a portal. As the reports are around 200, it used to take a lot of manual efforts previously to get this done, however now, A2019 has helped in automating the complete validation part.
Apart from this, the other major use case is validating the child level reports with the parent. Though the underlying reports are generated from the parent itself, validating individual reports just to add another level of the quality check was a tedious task initially, however, A2019 has made it very easy in comparing the two excel based reports end-to-end
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere, specifically A2019, has helped me and my organization in automating the tasks related to quality checks and assurances. As a consulting firm, it is really important to provide correct insights, reports, and deliverables to the client and it involves a lot of QC checks and validations. A2019 has helped us in automating a major chunk of such tasks, thus helped in saving a lot of time, effort, and revenue. There are trainings going on every now and then, to spread the knowledge and access of this tool to other folks in the organization, so that more number of people would be able to implement this in their projects
What is most valuable?
The best part about A2019 is its ease of use. You don't need to be a coding champ or an expert to use and implement A2019 in automating tasks. It's very easy to learn, tweak, and implement in your day-to-day tasks, especially features like capture/record is completely marvelous. Apart from these, the Excel basic and Excel advanced features are really handy and easy to use. I personally have used them frequently in all my bots as most of my work is related to excel and stuff. Last, but not least, using A2019 for automating the tasks even on the virtual machines, which is one of my favorites.
What needs improvement?
One of the challenges that I face every now and then while working with A2019, is around the bot agent updates. Every week/alternate weeK, I receive an error while running my bots, that asks me to update the bot agent. I have to download the bot agent every time and reinstall it, in order to get the work done. This thing has also created an issue for me in the past, where I need to present something to my US counterparts, and then the bot was unable to run because the bot agent update notification came few minutes before the meeting. This was really frustrating at that point in time, however, fortunately, I got that resolved within minutes during the meeting by updating the bot agent. Hence, I believe, there should be some facility available, which can help me in running my previously implemented bots, even if there are some updates in the bot agent
For how long have I used the solution?
I recently got involved in A2019 training organized within my organization as part of motivating folks for Automation. It's been around six months that I have been using this as a part of my day-to-day work.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have been using this for the past six months and have been already utilizing this for my day-to-day work. The level of involvement of A2019 for me is increasing as time passes, as now, I see things from a point of view, where I try to automate major chunk of my work using this.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This can be used to any level of tasks/processes as it allows the bots to communicate within. This helps in automating major tasks into smaller bots and then coordinating them together to automate the complete process.
How are customer service and technical support?
I used to have connections with Automation Anywhere folks every week/alternate week and I must say that they were highly professional and learned people. They always guided me before even implementing something and made me aware of all the nuances. Overall, I am really happy to get in contact with such folks, who not even helped me in shaping my imagination for automation, but also showed directions by demonstrating their example bots.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have a little experience of working on Blue Prism in my previous organization. However, Automation Anywhere is far better it in terms of features and ease of use and implementation.
How was the initial setup?
For me, the setup was quite straightforward. Yes, I did take some online help to get some issues resolved, however, the overall process was pretty easy.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented it in an in-house setup. This has really become a part of my organization's work as the Business Operations vertical is using it very frequently.
What was our ROI?
I invested around 2-3 weeks in learning this and creating my first bot. Then it took me a week to use it for targeting parts of my day-to-day work. And now, I am using it for the past 6-7 months without any investments and saving a lot of effort on a weekly basis.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The costs are just a one-time cost, but the amount of savings it will generate is uncountable. So it's better to invest in something now, learn and start saving your time, effort, and money in the future.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
One of the options was the level of features present in Automation Anywhere. It allows both back-office and front-office bots to automate. However, in the other case, only back-office bots can be automation. I personally like the UI and the overall features present in A2019 and level of ease, with which this can be implemented to any application.
What other advice do I have?
The only con is the frequent updates in the bot agent every now and then. This annoys the user at times and (s)he may land up in some trouble due to this, as the bot would be able to run without installing the updated bot agent.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: January 2025
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