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CEO at Auctus
Reseller
The platform is easy to use, especially for business users
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform is easy to use, especially for business users."
  • "I would like to see web and cloud-based platforms for future releases."

What is our primary use case?

We have several use cases for Automation Anywhere:

  • Grab data from one site to another.
  • We run all cache processes through it.
  • We can get more information using IQ Bots.

What is most valuable?

The platform is easy to use, especially for business users.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see web and cloud-based platforms for future releases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for a year and a half.
Buyer's Guide
Automation Anywhere
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Automation Anywhere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

While it depends on the customer, it generally takes about two to two and a half months to scale up bots for production.

What about the implementation team?

We are the integrator for deployment.

What was our ROI?

We have saved time and money using the solution.

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

Licensing costs range from $50,000 to $200,000.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are five to six competitors in this market.

What other advice do I have?

Make a list of all your processes before starting, then decide on two or three processes that you want to automate.

I have taken Automation Anywhere University courses. The new learning course model is more inviting and easier to use.

As a solution, RPA integrates well with other solutions.

It is very easy for us to work with the Citrix applications.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
PeerSpot user
it_user1008225 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President & Head of HR - L&T Defence at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Bot creation process is straightforward, but improvement is needed in integrations and AI
Pros and Cons
  • "We're able to create reusable components. We don't want people to have to rebuild things from scratch. In this way, developers can take the reusable components and complete their development processes more quickly."
  • "From the IQ Bot perspective, frankly speaking, they still have to improve a lot... My expectation from a straight, technical, architectural point of view was that I would be able to create my own algorithm and integrate it. But with IQ Bot, I am not able to integrate anything..."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is banking/financial. Processes we have automated include loans, ledgers, mortgage loans, and even some of the record management systems.

How has it helped my organization?

In some of our use cases, people were spending more than three hours per day just generating reports. And then we created an automation for this and it reduced the time to 30 minutes. It improves employee productivity so they can use their time in other areas.

What is most valuable?

I like the way it works with structured data in the back office and the way it does repetitive work.

In terms of ease of use for developers, we're able to create reusable components. We don't want people to have to rebuild things from scratch. In this way, developers can take the reusable components and complete their development processes more quickly.

The bot creation process is pretty straightforward. Anyone can go in and learn it easily, and then they can build a bot. I like it.

What needs improvement?

When it comes to integrating the solution with other applications, there are some challenges. For some third-party solutions, there are no direct interconnections. For example, there were no direct connections with SAP systems. So, we had to create connectivity between Automation Anywhere and some third-party solutions. They have now improved that situation a lot and we can connect SAP and other systems as well.

If they want to sustain their position in the market, they have to be flexible, working on how we can integrate with third-parties, working on a machine-learning product. People are expecting that and it would be really helpful.

From the IQ Bot perspective, frankly speaking, they still have to improve a lot. I got IQ Bot training in San Jose. My expectation from a straight, technical, architectural point of view was that I would be able to create my own algorithm and integrate it. But with IQ Bot, I am not able to integrate anything. It is already well-defined, so I have to use that particular option only. I know I can not go with any other machine-learning platform. I hope they will be coming out with version 12 where we can integrate it with Python algorithms and other stuff. It might only be in the future, it might only be on the roadmap. But as of now, it is lacking a lot in that area. We are expecting, for most of the documentation, things like tags, that there would be a checkbox option. That's lacking in IQ Bot.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has increased a lot. When we started with version 10.2, there was a lot of instability. There was no way we could keep the bots active, there were scenarios where it became disconnected. There is also the code deployment perspective and a lot of other angles. People are always only thinking from the business perspective, but as a technical architect, I think about operational effectiveness and how they can improve the product's maturity.

The stability has improved a lot.

However, when upgrading, they changed their internal architecture. They moved it to a JT Java platform. When moving, some of the existing features did not work in the new version. It might be that they have to improve their regression testing to improve clients' satisfaction. It can happen that what is running in production currently, if I move to a new version, suddenly is not working tomorrow. People are not happy with that and say, "I want to roll back to the older version." They are not able to use the new features.

When moving to a new version, they have to think about what features people are using and what kind of impact there will be. Small business users will be fine, those who have ten bots or 15 bots. But there are organizations like mine that have around 700 to 1,000 bots, and that makes changes very difficult to handle. It could be that 10,000 tasks are using something and if that thing is changed it will be hard to update. I might have to spend a year on that. People will never accept that.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, they have increased it a lot, based on the clustering method. As a technical architect, I'm going with always-on production and data centers. That means that if any data center goes down - there is a natural disaster or something else that happens - how do you make it such that you can bring up another data center? I'm coming up with a design for that based on the latest version, version 11.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple. It's Windows-based and it's a straightforward installation. We used to say they need to come up with a silent installation option, with the previous version. But now, with version 11, they have introduced, even at the server level, a silent installation. That means we can make it automated instead of manually installing it.

What was our ROI?

We measure the ROI of automated processes by how much of a benefit we're getting from it. We look at how much time it takes and how many robots we're using and we include the licensing and operations costs. Finally, we take into account how much faster the performance of the bot is, compared to how long it took to do the process before automation.

We have saved time and money, but when people think of going with RPA they cannot expect that they will immediately see ROI. They have to sustain and increase the RPA options. They will have to spend a minimum of one or two years increasing their use cases for automation. Then they will see a good ROI. They should not expect, within three months, to say, "Hey, I have automated, where is the ROI?"

What other advice do I have?

All organizations have a certain strategy or checklist. In this case, management will think first about licensing cost, about the total cost of investment. After that, they will think about the product's features and functionality. They will also look at support. They will consider the use cases, the current processes they have identified already, and based on all that they will decide whether to go with Automation Anywhere or another product.

In terms of our bot creation process, people come to me and say, "I have a process. How do we automate it?" We need to understand if it's a cognitive use case or a straightforward use case. If it's straightforward, we tell them we'll use this product and build it for them with four to six weeks of development. Then it can go to production. If it's cognitive, then we really need to understand it better. We need to use a third-party product, like Kofax or maybe an IQ Bot if it is fit for the scenario. Based on that, it takes some time and then we'll move it to production.

We have a process architecture review committee where we review all the processes. We cannot blindly go forward with all the processes that have scope for automation because it's all licensing cost. We need to think about whether we can automate a given process with any other IT automation solution, like scripting or macros. If that is not possible then we have a fit for RPA. Then we have to go through our checklist, walk through the use cases, and look at the percentage of the automation scope: Is it a 100 percent automation scope or 80 percent or 20 percent? We need to to know if there is any manual validation or manual intervention required and how that is handled.

Initially, we failed with the Citrix automation where we have a lot of use cases. We ran into a lot of limitations with Automation Anywhere in version 10.5. But with version 11, they have AI Sense which we can use for Citrix applications. We are currently exploring this option.

I have taken courses at the Automation Anywhere University and I have advanced professional certification from Automation Anywhere, which I completed for version 10.5. I'm also doing it for version 11. I also have an official certificate for IQ Bots.

At the moment, for us, everything is on-premise. We're not ready to go with cloud. So we have to build our own platform. We have to build our own bots.

I would rate this solution at seven out of ten. They have to improve on the product's maturity level. When they are introducing new versions, they have to conserve the existing commands and features, so that they work when we move to the new version. And they also have to come up with more flexibility, so their solution can integrate with our scripting and our own algorithms. That will make it easy to convince our business areas to increase the adoption of RPA.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Automation Anywhere
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Automation Anywhere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Senior Project Manager / RPA Architect at Royal Cyber Inc.
It saves time for the people who operate it, but the setup process is not easy
Pros and Cons
  • "It saves time for the people who operate it."
  • "The setup process is not easy compared to the competition, and this can be a barrier to entry."

What is our primary use case?

I have implemented it for multiple use cases. 

One of the use cases that it was implemented for is filling out timesheets from the managers. There are certain managers who have to allocate hours to multiple employees, around 40 to 45 employees. Each month, they decided how much time that they will allocate to each of resource. Using a robot, they can automatically fill in the timesheet on Zoho, which is the timesheet system that the company uses.

Another use case was that we used to have certain lists of vendors who billed every month. They had a specific format to their invoices. Using bots to read through those invoices, we were able to pick up relevant data and enter it into the finance systems.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved the efficiency and reliability of the data in the systems. A user is always going to make errors. By adopting robots, we are able to have more accurate processes, plus time is saved.

What is most valuable?

It saves time for the people who operate it. This particular bot is an attended automation bot, and before running the bot, the manager tweaks some of the values which are important. Overall, this will save the managers time during their processes and create value.

It is not always required to have a technical background. It is not necessary to know programming languages. This makes it easier for a business user to create his own bots.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is pretty stable on a day-by-day basis. It is much better than when I started working on RPA solutions three years ago.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Manually, I have worked on adding/scaling bots, but I need to work on cloud availability, possibly discussing scaling with cloud providers, like AWS.

For different processes, the scaling time period is different. For some processes, we could develop bots in two weeks, then go to production with one or two bots. For other processes, it could take three months or more. It varies based on the process.

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

We did not use another solution previously.

How was the initial setup?

The setup process is not easy compared to the competition, and this can be a barrier to entry.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it ourselves.

What was our ROI?

The time savings depends on the process. By using a bot, we have saved 40 to 70 percent. If the process uses unattended automation, it saves a lot of time.

Currently, I don't think that we have saved money with this solution.

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

When I started working on it, it was difficult to obtain a trial version (barrier to entry). Now, they have a Community Edition, which may make it easy to get started.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked into UiPath, Blue Prism, and Automation Anywhere. Our client was interested in Automation Anywhere.

UiPath has an easier setup process.

What other advice do I have?

I recently took a look at the Bot Store, and it's a good initiative. I haven't started using it. I downloaded a couple of the bots, and hopefully soon, I will try to use some of them in a production environment.

The real beauty of robotic automation is when it is running from the back-end (unattended).

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
Kishor Namburu - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Information Technology at SAISOFT
Real User
Top 10
The central command console is good
Pros and Cons
  • "Automation Anywhere's central command center is good."
  • "Productivity increased when we implemented Automation Anywhere, but it did not meet the client's expectations regarding the number of human workers it replaced."

What is our primary use case?

We deployed Automation Anywhere for our clients. It is used for tasks like HR, procurement, supply chain, visa processing, client onboarding, etc. 

How has it helped my organization?

Productivity increased when we implemented Automation Anywhere, but it did not meet the client's expectations regarding the number of human workers it replaced. We are currently trying to optimize it to use the maximum potential channels and identify ways to improve performance.

The clients are willing to use AI. They are conservative about it but still progressing in that direction.  The integration of Automation Anywhere into our clients' workflows, APIs, business applications, and documents was seamless, but it was a bit of a struggle until we realized that it has a built-in integration platform. Using the platform, we could define the process so that it also does downstream automation as well. 

What is most valuable?

Automation Anywhere's central command center is good. We've used Automation Anywhere's AI copilot. It can integrate with around 70 to 80 percent of our client's applications. There are still issues with the other 20 to 30 percent. 

What needs improvement?

We had some issues with screen-scaping and recording. Also, some of the components are not user-friendly enough compared to UiPath. The learning curve isn't very long if you come from a programming background, but it may be difficult for someone without a technical background to understand. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We used Automation Anywhere for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Automation Anywhere is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Automation Anywhere is quite scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I rate Automation Anywhere support eight out of ten. We get support from local partners. It's good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We also use UiPath. It depends on the client's preference.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex, but upgrading the automations was easy. The bots require some monitoring. It isn't more than an hour daily. We check to see if there are any issues or whether a process has gotten stuck. That's rare. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Automation Anywhere seven out of ten. There are many more tools on the market that are much better than automation anywhere.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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PeerSpot user
Yasser - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at Imbassy
Real User
Great drag-and-drop functionality with a user-friendly interface and helpful AI
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the power of AI Technologies involved in Automation Anywhere's IQBot - such as Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Fuzzy Logic, and Machine Learning."
  • "They need to improve the real-time data and analytics."

What is our primary use case?

We use Automation Anywhere to automate all the repetitive tasks that was previously done manually by individuals and to reduce the risk of human-errors so we can save time and money, It's like creating a digital employee that will work more quickly and accurately than humans. We mainly use it for the service desk tasks and to handle requests and also to create invoices and approving bills in finance and accounting departments, And we're implementing it into all of our departments since we found the benefits of it.

How has it helped my organization?

We have solved many problems we had in the past before using Automation Anywhere, Mainly we saved a lot of time and money, We reduced and minimized the risk of human-errors and got rid of all the manual repetitive tasks so we can focus on the core of our business, All the people in charge of supervision are dedicated now to a more important tasks. We succeed to reduce the response time of our business processes and this increased our performance and effected on our overall, But then when we started implementing RPA solutions for our clients, We had to switch to another product with an easier implementation and more friendly interface.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature for me is the power of AI Technologies involved in Automation Anywhere's IQBot such as Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Fuzzy Logic, and Machine Learning to automatically classify, extract and validate information from business documents and emails, I also like the Bot Insight to analyze and optimize the processes, I also like the visual flow charts and the drag-and-drop actions, I like the cloud infrastructure and security and the lightweight web-based architecture. 

What needs improvement?

They need to improve the REST Api Documentation because its not well detailed or clear enough for beginners, They need to provide some out of the box AI and ML functions such as Image classification and Objection Identification, They also need to improve the real-time data and analytics,There is less support for various data types, The .NET Framework is not completely supported and they have to add more features to fully support the .NET, Last advice is to add an option for developers for Graphical View along with the Code View option.

For how long have I used the solution?

One year before I switch to another solution
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Raphael Haroun  Ikyagh - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Letshego
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Can be used for customer service support, data extraction, data migration, and software installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The data capture feature is very valuable. I know there are also some elements where you have to be able to incorporate AI, but I haven't gotten to that level yet."
  • "The data migration could be better."

What is our primary use case?

It can be used for customer service support, data extraction, data migration, and software installation. There are so many ways that it can be put to use in a business.

I am still learning to develop it both on cloud and on-premises. I am using the community version of the solution. Our subsidiaries are also using this solution. They are still going through some training.

What is most valuable?

The data capture feature is very valuable. I know there are also some elements where you have to be able to incorporate AI, but I haven't gotten to that level yet.

What needs improvement?

The data migration could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

I'm happy with the features I've used so far.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is quite straightforward. At first I was having an issue with the password that was supposed to be sent to my email, but then it came in. Aside from that, I didn't have any issues with installing it.

The solution can be installed by yourself.

There is no technical team needed for deployment and maintenance.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have also looked at UiPath and Blue Prism, but I am very comfortable with Automation Anywhere.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1463940 - PeerSpot reviewer
Robotic Process Automation Developer at OMFYS Technologies India Pvt.Ltd
Real User
Integrates well with Python and the Recording feature is helpful for developing
Pros and Cons
  • "I found the new feature of integrating Python and HTML the most valuable."
  • "The UI can be improved a little bit to make it easier for beginners to understand."

What is our primary use case?

I am using IQ Bots for invoice indexing for many clients.

My primary use case is extracting invoice details from different vendors for validation purposes. We convert CSV files to Excel for formatting and before A2019, I used to do all validations with VBA script. Now, with AA A2019, it validation very easy using Python. It is also very fast and efficient.

I have created Task Bots for many finance-related clients and they are also working very well. Recently, I converted all of my bots to A2019.

How has it helped my organization?

Automation Anywhere has improved my organization, OMFYS Tech.

We have implemented many processes in the organisation with RPA, as we had done with HR bots for different HR processes. From these, we made most of the demo videos that we show to our clients. It helps to discover new processess to automate and use in new projects.

The A2019 version is very stable for the processes that we make. On the other platform, we have projects using Java, Oracle, Python, and HTML, where we had automated processes when required.

What is most valuable?

I found the new feature of integrating Python and HTML the most valuable. Using this, we can get the DOMXPath dynamic for every HTML property.

On the other hand, Python scripting is very helpful nowadays. We just create a Python script and integrate it with the bot, which makes the work very easy and fast.

I like the IQ Bot very much, as most of my projects use it for invoice indexing purposes.

The recorder in the A2019 version is way ahead, as it allows us to use Chrome and other browsers to capture the object properties. 

What needs improvement?

The UI can be improved a little bit to make it easier for beginners to understand.

There are many commands called Actions that are very good but sometimes, I feel that it should be more comfortable to find and search for specific commands. There should be some type of hint or notification system about what actions are useful, according to the situation or part of the process that it is in while creating the bot.

The speed of the bot processing on a whole can be improved so that the bot can run in less time than the task or processes.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Automation Anywhere for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, it is a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

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

I did not use another RPA solution prior to this one. I started my RPA journey with automation anywhere only because it is the best available solution in the market.

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

This is a value for the money product.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I evaluated UiPath and Blue Prism but neither one had IQ Bot-like features. That's why I rejected them and choose AA.

What other advice do I have?

My advice is not to think too much. Just compare the features then you will get to know why AA is the best solution of all.

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.
PeerSpot user
HR Manager at OMFYS Technologies India Pvt.Ltd
Real User
Has less coding activity as compared to other tools
Pros and Cons
  • "It has saved our HR department time since this process automatically happens without anybody's intervention. Our HR department is able to devote their time to more productive work or activities. It has also saved a lot of costs since every employee in the HR department is involved in the attendance and payroll process. Second, the process is now no more human dependent."
  • "As of now IQ Bot only takes/fetches the record of the places that we have marked. e.g. Invoices fields that are dynamic in nature are very difficult to fetch the data from the scan copy. If this feature gets added, it will save a lot of time for developers."

What is our primary use case?

Earlier, our payroll process required a lot of human intervention or human dependency as we have Biometric Application and Payroll Application separately. To complete the payroll, we first need to manually fetch the attendance from the Biometric application and manually upload it to the Payroll Application.

We have used it for an HR use case, wherein the BOT automatically fetched attendance from a Biometric application and it uploads it in the Payroll system, and calculates payroll automatically. It also sends emails to all respective employees with their respective payslips. 

How has it helped my organization?

It has saved our HR department time since this process automatically happens without anybody's intervention. Our HR department is able to devote their time to more productive work or activities. It has also saved a lot of costs since every employee in the HR department is involved in the attendance and payroll process. Second, the process is now no more human dependent.

Earlier, we used to all work manually and the chances of errors were higher since it was a sensitive process as it involves finance. However, this tool has helped us to automate our payroll process.

What is most valuable?

The most useful features of this tool are that this tool has less coding activity as compared to other tools, it has drag menus. Most Excel/VBA coding is automated in the AA tool, since, in Excel or VBA we need to do manual coding.

The following features are very valuable to us :

  • Web Recorder
  • Smart Recorder
  • Work Bench Command Library
  • Object Cloning Command
  • Business Analytics
  • Meta bot Designer
  • File or Folder Command
  • Error Handling Command
  • Control Room Administrator
  • Integrating PDF Using the PDF Command

What needs improvement?

As long as we are using this tool, it includes all features required from a process automation perspective. As of now, we are not looking for any additional features. 

However in IQ Bot if the following features can be added then I would be very grateful: The recognition of Voice /Audio

As of now IQ Bot only takes/fetches the record of the places that we have marked. e.g. Invoices fields that are dynamic in nature are very difficult to fetch the data from the scan copy. If this feature gets added, it will save a lot of time for developers.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using AA 2019 for the last year and we have been using Version-11 for the last three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is an absolutely stable tool.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Support is good. We received timely support from AA.

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

No, we did not use a different solution, since we were doing the process manually.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

It was implemented by our internal team members.

What was our ROI?

It has saved us a lot of time and money.

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

It is a very effective tool since it requires less coding and one can easily get trained on this tool with little knowledge of coding.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No, we have not evaluated any other tools.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

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

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Automation Anywhere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Automation Anywhere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.