Automation Anywhere Reviews

It is for my partner development. We primarily work in the insurance business. So, we do a lot of insurance back office operations. These are the types of processes that we have automated.

We previously had a lot of manual processes. With the bot, we were able to automate them. Therefore, we are able to see the real-time value in our business area.

We have multiple developers on our team. With its user-friendly user interface, our developers are able to quickly pick it up. The ease of use is really good.

Bot creation is a cool feature. It allows the developer to do complex things. 

There are some places where Automation Anywhere needs improve a lot, especially from an integration perspective. We have had to build our own scripts to make this happen, building a bot in Automation Anywhere, along with some scripts. However, we have not yet implemented the Automation Anywhere MetaBots. So, once the MetaBots are implemented in our area, we should be able to achieve more.

If the bots become more stable, we can completely avoid using our additional scripts.

I would like to see the record management, data tracking, and database feature. Some of these have been implemented in the version 11. I have not used the latest release, version 11. Also, if some various cable features which come out with it, that will be really helpful.

I would not give stability good marks. There are a lot of negative things stability-wise. These things need to be improved, especially regarding reliability. When we have a huge end user process or need to automate a a huge volume, the failures are high.

The product is more stable versus older versions.

We face issues when we need to increase volumes. Currently, it is failing for some reason, and we don't know the reason. It fails or stops, then we need to see what is going on. We have to fix that, then our developers need to rerun it. These are mostly practical challenges for our team who uses it on daily basis.

Timing is a problem with the technical support. A person will be assigned, but that tech support person may only be available during our morning hours. In the morning, we might be in a meeting, not able to respond when the tech support reaches us, then when we try to reach them back, the tech support person may be on a call or not in the office. This is a challenge.

The initial setup was complex.

To scale from pilot to production takes a long time because the initial setup process is complex.

I am the consultant who does the deployments.

The ROI is really good. We have saved time and money.

We evaluated Automation, Kryon, and Blue Prism. Of those, we felt Automation Anywhere was more user-friendly. On the developer side, we received feedback that development was quick in Automation Anywhere, which is why we shortlisted them.

Since using Automation Anywhere, I might be inclined towards using another product.

Automation Anywhere is currently a good product. The RPA market is growing.

The integration with other applications is good. There are some complications. With some specific applications, it may not work. We are facing some specific issues, but we have found workarounds.

I am certified in Automation Anywhere University.

I have not personally used the IQ Bot nor have I used any trial version, but the features look really good.

I do not use Citrix automation.

Since we are an insurance company, there are many administrative tasks, such as, the enrollment agreement process, address change after enrollment, issuing of various certificates, making payments, etc. We wanted to automate these administrative or back office operations, so this is where we first started. After we verified that the products by Automation Anywhere can work with our organization, we decided to expand their use to the making of sales materials and business performance documents for our sales division, as well as administrative processes for our operations division. Other uses include compliance related matters and checking of anti-social forces. We are taking the initiative to automate all sorts of administrative tasks of the company with the help of robots and RPA. 

The solution has been implemented into 27 divisions.

The immediate impact is administrative tasks which were traditionally done manually are now being done by robots. This reduces the workload for people. This not only improves efficiency, but also expands the type of work which can be done by people. 

When I spoke to people who have used the solution, they mentioned that they have much less stress. As we are an insurance company, a finance company, where avoiding administrative errors is critical. We need to check things over constantly, but with the use of these robots, there is no need for it any longer. In addition, robots take care of pre-process tasks and notify us in advance, so we don’t forget what we need to do. In these ways, it reduces stress.

This solution is valuable because it can automate tasks which would otherwise be left for us to process manually without us incurring an enormous investment for the cost of the system.

Since we are a life insurance company, our contract terms are very long. They could last for 50 years, or even a lifetime, which means we have many old contracts. If we make an investment into a system, this is an enormous cost for us. If we automate with a system, there would be a wasted cost. So, we had almost given up on automation, thinking the future of our company would have to rely on manual processes. That is when we found out about this solution. By implementing it, we were able to solve the issue of automation, which we had almost gave up on.

The fact that its robots can touch on various systems, like humans, this is what is ground- breaking. It means it can handle various systems.

It’s not about the solution itself, but our administrative work is mostly done in the morning. This is something I have been speaking to Automation Anywhere about. If they could offer licenses only for use in the morning, we’d have a bigger savings cost-wise. Currently, the license is good for 24 hours, but there is not much to do at night and plenty to do in the morning. So, if we could use more in the morning, that would be a great, as we also have a bot farm. This is also when we increase the number of tasks to be stabilized. If they are managed within the client or server, there will be a risk of losing the service in case of emergencies, such as power outage. Therefore, we are working to manage them virtually on servers. With Deloitte’s help, we have been setting up a structure where we can get the robots to work without having the client. That would hopefully ensure stability and viability in case of emergencies.

If we could hire part-time workers on shift-based employment, that would be ideal.

As far as stability is concerned, there have been some challenges. Sometimes, we experience our computers freezing up for no apparent reason or the network being inaccessible. So, when the robots stop working, the cause may be the RPA or it could be some other culprit. 

While there is room for improvement, I do think that we need to take into consideration that the robots may stop working at any given moment. That’s why we need a tool that supervises the robots. The Automation Anywhere products already include such tools within them. We need to be able to monitor them. We need to be able to find out as soon as the robots stop and where the processing has ended. These functions are included, so we just need to quickly jump on the recovery process. That is what I think is important.

It is highly scalable. At the time of implementing this solution, we thought that the scaling might be challenging if the setup process took a lot of time. However, it turned out to be very scalable because, by segmenting, it can also be applied to other new business processes. In addition, it can be done without engineers or system engineers. It does not need to be developed, but we do need to set it up based on rules. 

The cost for scalability is much cheaper than developing a new system.

We are using Automation Anywhere products, but we are getting technical support from Deloitte, from whom we purchased a license. They get back to us swiftly. When they can’t handle an issue, they elevate it to Automation Anywhere, who tackle issues daily. My impression is that we don’t really have technical issues. In general, we follow the manuals that we created, and this solves the issues. There has not been a situation where we have had to contact the technical support everyday for some technical issue. We don’t need to use them that much. That differentiates this from our more comprehensive IT systems.

The reason why we thought that we needed a solution is the management of our contracts last for long periods of time, which includes the maintenance of old products as well. It’s almost impossible to systemize everything from the cost standpoint, as well as the time standpoint, but it can be done if we use a robot. However, it can’t be solved unless we use this RPA. The fact that we can tackle this is huge. We thought that we could improve the productivity if we use it. This is what triggered us to implement it. It was shocking for us when we first saw a software that can handle tasks like a human. 

When we decided to implement an RPA solution, it was our goal to be able to set it up ourselves from the beginning. As we had no knowledge on this product, we asked Deloitte to help us create a manual which suited our needs. The systems being used are different from company to company, so we needed to make it so it work for our company. Generally, product manuals are written in a way that says this command does something. While ours does say this, e.g., to activate this system, use this command. We worked closely with Deloitte to standardize our manual. Deloitte also taught us how to build it as we attempted the skill transfer. 

We had some challenges in the beginning. However, if you have experience with Excel macros with End User Computing (EUC) or have used Access, it’s an easy transition. If you have not done any EUC, you will have to learn from scratch. So, it may take some time. In general, it is much easier than programming.

Automation Anywhere has different types of solutions. When you have a large-scale operation, you need something that is scalable, which can monitor server sinking and operations, and is suitable for the large-scale business development. In addition, it is highly adaptable with the existing systems. So far, except for the few systems, it can recognize all the systems currently used by us.

I would to give the solution a ten, but considering the stability issue and its readiness, I would say that it is between an eight to a nine. 

Foreign Language: (Japanese)

この製品を主にどのように使用していますか?また、パフォーマンスはどうですか?

まず我々が取り組んだところは、第一生命は保険会社ですので、保険にはもの凄く加入の時の 契約の手続きであったりだとか、加入されてからの色々な住所変更だったりだとか、色んな証 明書の発行だったりとかですね、で最終的には保険金をお支払いする、そういった事務がかな りの量であります。で、まずはそういう事務のオペレーション、バックオフィスですね、そう いった所を自動化していこうという所で、そこからまず始めて行きました。で、ある程度そこ で、Automation Anywhere の製品が機能するんではないかと言うことが確認できましたので、 それをもっと広げていこうっていうことで、今は営業部門の色んな資料作りであったりだと か、業績の管理の資料作りだったりだとか、あとはそれ以外の運用部門、資産運用部門の 色々、バックオフィスの事務であったりとかですね。あとは例えばコンプライアンス関係です ね、いわゆる反社会的勢力のチェックであったりだとかですね、そういったまさに第一生命の 中にある色んな事務をロボット、RPA を導入してオートメーション化していこう、そういった 取り組みを進めています。 

当ソリューションはどんな点において最も役に立ちますか?

そうですね、やっぱり機能と言いますか、なかなかシステム投資をすると膨大なコストがかか ってしまうとかですね、そういったいわゆる手作業で残っているところをこのソリューション を使うとやはり自動化できるということですね。我々は保険会社ですので、契約の機関と言う のがもの凄く長いんです。50 年であったりだとか終身保険であったりだとか、そうすると、古 い契約っていうのがもの凄く一杯あってですね、これはシステム投資をすると莫大なコストが かかってしまうと。これをシステムで自動化すると無駄な費用が掛かる。そういった所で諦め

ていて、これはもう第一生命は未来を手で処理をしていくしかないなと思っていたところに、 こういったソリューションがあるということで導入して、少し諦めていたようなところも RPA を導入することによって解決することができたということかなと思います。

やっぱりあれですね、ロボットは色んなシステムを触ることが出来る、人のようにね。そうい った所が画期的なところです。

色んなシステムを動かすことができるということです。

当ソリューションを使用するとどのようなメリットがありますか?御社が機能する上でどのよ うな改善をもたらしましたか?

やっぱり直接的な効果というのはこれまで人がやっていた事務の作業をロボットがやってくれ ることになったので、その分、業務の量が削減できるということです。で、それは単に効率化 っていうだけではなくて人がやるべき仕事をもっと拡大することができる、ということかなと 思います。もう一つがやってみてやはりユーザーの実際にこれを導入している人と話をする と、もの凄くストレスが無くなる、と。我々は保険会社、金融機関ですので事務のミスとかっ ていうのはもの凄くナーバスで、何重にもチェックしないといけないとか、そういった所がこ のロボットでなくなる、とかですね。後は前処理みたいなことはロボットがやってくれてお知 らせしてくれるので、やらないといけないことを忘れない、とかですね。そういったストレス がなくなるということがそういった効果もあるのかなと思っています。

当ソリューションの安定性に関して、どのような印象をお持ちですか?

安定性っていう意味では、やはり色々課題があって、それは通常、普通に事務作業で我々パソ コンを触っていると、たまに原因が分からないけどフリーズしたりとか、ネットワークがたま たま繋がらないとか、そういった、この RPA が原因のものとかですね、RPA が原因じゃなく てロボットが止まるということはよくあります。だから、それは色々改善していくところもあ るんですけど、ある一定程度、そういうロボットが停止するっていうこととかは織り込んでお かないといけないことなのかなと思っています。そのためにも、やはりロボットを監視できる ツールであったり、そういったものは Automation Anywhere さんの製品にはすべて入っていま すが、そう監視できるようにしておく。止まったらすぐ分かるようにしていく。どこで作業が 終わったら、止まってしまったのがすぐ分かるようにする。そういった機能も完備されている ので、それを速やかにリカバリーする態勢を取っていく。そういうことが重要なのかなと思っ ています。

当ソリューションの拡張性に関して、どのような印象をお持ちですか?

まず、拡張性についてはですね、極めて高いんではないかなと思っています。我々もこれを導 入する当初から、あまりにもセットアップしていくのに時間がかかるっていうものだとなかな か拡大できないと思っていましたが、それを部品化することによって、要は、一度作ったもの をどんどん新しい別の業務にも適用することができるというところで、その拡張性って言うの は高い。しかもあまりエンジニア、システムエンジニアがなしでできるというところですね。 開発ではなく、そのあるルールに基づいてセットアップして行けばいい、という形になってい ますので、そういったところでは拡張性と拡張するためのコストがシステム開発するよりかな り安い、ローコストでできるんじゃないかと思っています。

このソリューションにテクニカルサポートを利用したことはありますか?ある場合は、サポー トをどのように評価しますか?

我々、Automation Anywhere さんの製品を導入しているんですけど、テクニカルサポート関係 は保守っていう面ではライセンスを Deloitte さんから経由で買ってますので、Deloitte さんに一 時的なサポートをしてもらっています。あそこにはもの凄く迅速に対応していただいています し、また Deloitte さんでは解決できないところは Automation Anywhere さんが日々、解決に当 たってくれているということです。ただ、あまりテクニカルな問題で問題になるようなことは そこまで多くないというのが印象ですね。大体、自分たちが作ったマニュアルだとかそういっ たことを読み込むと、大体解決できるということで、そこまでテクニカルな問題が発生して、 日々問い合わせをしないといけないとかですね、そういったことはあまりないです。なので、 あまり、そういった意味ではあまり活用しなくても大丈夫というようなですね。そこが IT と は、完全なシステムとは違うっていうところなのかなと思います。

初期セットアップには関与されましたか?セットアップは簡単、それとも複雑でしたか?どう いった意味で簡単、あるいは複雑でしたか?

RPA のソリューションを導入するにあたっては、目標としては自分たちでできるようになるっ て言うのが最初から目標にしていました。ただ、もちろん我々もこのソリューションには何の 知識もない状態でしたので、最初は Deloitte さんに来て頂いて、我々の第一生命に合うマニュ アル作りというのを一緒に取り組んできた。例えば、会社によっては色んな使っているシステ ムも違いますので、そういったものが第一生命で合うようにしていく、と。具体的には通常用 意されている製品のマニュアルっていうのは、このコマンドは何をするコマンドというような 書き方になっているのですけど、逆に第一生命のこのシステムを起動させるためにはこのコマ ンドを使う、とかですね。そういったマニュアルで標準化をしていくということを Deloitte さ んと一緒にやってきました。で、その作り方も Deloitte さんに教えてもらいながら、スキルト ランスファーを図っていくということです。もちろん最初は少し苦労した面もありましたが、

ただある意味 EUC でエクセルのマクロを作ったことがあるとかですね、アクセスを触ったこ とがあるとかですね、そういったことにある程度知識がある人だと、すんなりとというか、ス ムーズに入っていける。まったく EUC もやったことない人だと、やっぱり一から覚えて行か ないといけないので、少し時間がかかるかなと思います。ただ、一般的にはですね、プログラ ミングをするとかよりはずっと容易にできるのかなと思います。

当ソリューションの次のリリースに含まれていたらいいなと思うのはどのような機能ですか? また、それはなぜですか?

ソリューション自体ではないんですけど、どうしてもわれわれの事務の仕事っていうのは、朝 やりたい仕事が多くてですね。なので、これは Automation Anywhere さんともお話ししている んですけど、午前中だけ使えるライセンスとかですね。そういうのがあると、コスト的にもも っとメリットが出てくるのでは。今、24 時間動かすと、なかなか夜中にやらせる仕事があんま り少なくてですね、朝一でやりたい仕事が多くてですね。それをもっと沢山稼働できるように なれば。ボットファームなんかもあるんですけど、そういった所をもっと充実して頂ければい いかな、と思います。ここもやはり製品というよりも、安定化していく業務数が多くなってく ると何か、サーバーとかクライアントとかに、例えば停電が起こったりした時にクライアント で管理していると、全部止まってしまうとかですね、そういったリスクもありますのでロボッ トについてはバーチャルで、サーバーで管理できるようなですね、そういったことを今取り組 みを進めています。Deloitte さんに手伝っていただいたりしながらですね、クライアントを持 たずにロボットを動かすような仕掛けづくりを今、検討を進めていると言うところです。それ によって安定性もありますし、何かトラブルがあった時の堅牢性が確保できるという風に思っ ています。

パートの人を雇ってシフト勤務とかですね、そういったことが出来るといいなと思っていま す。

新しいソリューションに投資をする必要があると思ったのはどうしてですか?

まずソリューションが必要だと思ったところはやはり、我々は...さっきの話と繰り返し になりますが、契約の管理と言うのはもの凄く長期間に渡っていかないといけない、 と。そうすると、古い商品の管理って言うのも沢山あります。それを全部システム化し ていくっていうのはコスト面、その時間の面でも不可能な話なので、そういったところ をこのロボットが解決できる。逆にこの RPA でないと解決しようがないというところ ですね。そういったところが取り組めるというところがもの凄く大きい。これであれば そういったことも解決できるんではないかと思ったところです。それが、導入のきっか けです。人と同じように作業ができるというソフトウェアと言うのは、見た時はかなり 衝撃的なもので、これであればもっと生産性を高めることができるんではないかと言う 風に考えたものです。

最終的に当ソリューションを選択した理由は何ですか?

Automation Anywhere さんの製品は色々なソリューションがあると思いますが、やはり 大規模で展開している上で、さきほど質問があった拡張性ですね、サーバー撃沈を監視 できる、運用を監視できる、それか大規模に展開することに適したものかなと思ってい ます。あとは既存のシステムとの認識度合いも極めて高いということですね。今まで、

一部の例外を除いて第一生命が使っているシステムをすべて認識して触ることができる という風になっています。

このソリューションに 1 から 10 の評価(10=最高)を付けるとしたら、どのように評 価しますか?そしてその理由は何ですか?

10、と言いたいところですが、さっきの安定性の所とかでまだまだ工夫していかないといけな い所があるので、でもそれは製品だけじゃなくて我々の態勢を含めてですね、そういった意味 では 8 点。8 点から 9 点くらいです。

I use Automation Anywhere to automate processes for other businesses.

Automation Anywhere is user-friendly for individuals with a technical background and can also be utilized by those without specific knowledge.

The learning curve for Automation Anywhere is easy. The steps are nicely designed and of high quality, making it easy for users to learn.

Automation Anywhere has helped our customers' organizations speed up their processes and reduce the workload for their staff.

It offers automation at scale, enabling our customers to accomplish their objectives.

Integrating RPA bots, APIs, business applications, and documents is easily achievable with Automation Anywhere.

Automation Anywhere has helped to increase automation consumption.

The dashboard has room for improvement.

I have been using Automation Anywhere for one and a half years.

It is stable.

Automation Anywhere is scalable.

The technical support has been helpful, and we have not experienced any delays.

Positive

We used Power Automate before switching to Automation Anywhere as per the client's request.

The initial setup is straightforward and takes one or two days to deploy.

I believe our clients do see a return on investment because they continue to use the solution for their automation needs.

I think the pricing is reasonable, but clients often perceive it as expensive. This perception might change once we see the benefits, understand the full process, and realize what is required to achieve our goals.

I give Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten. Power Automate has better cloud flows.

For those who prefer API integration over robotic process automation, I would use an API if it's more logical to do so. It all depends on the situation. If I need to fill some Excel documents, I will use bots; and if I need to display that data on a web page, I will use APIs if available.

We have used it for many projects and many different types of companies. For example, we have used it to solve problems that companies have with backups, as well as issues of integration with legacy systems. We also use it for human resources and suppliers.

With Automation Anywhere, we can digitize a process, optimize it, and reduce the cost and the time that process takes. It has also reduced failures in processes.

We have used it to increase automation by 100 percent.

The development tools are very good. It's very user-friendly and easy to develop and deploy with Automation Anywhere. Ordinary people, within a few weeks, can develop a bot using the tool. It's very easy for business users, who don't have technical skills, to use.

The learning curve is low. Within two months, non-technical people can be trained to use it.

Administration of the environment of the solution is also a valuable aspect. Scheduling the bots and the Control Room are very good.

Another element that is easy is the integration of RPA bots, APIs, business applications, and documents.

I have been using Automation Anywhere for four years.

It has good stability. It's a 10 out of 10.

The platform gives you an environment that you can easily scale within your company. The scalability is a nine out of 10.

Their technical support is good, but it could be better.

Positive

I have not used another RPA solution.

ROI is very good. We measure processes that we automate and calculate the reduced cost.

It's the best RPA tool, but the pricing could be improved.

Whether to use an API integration or an RPA solution depends on the use case. If there is a possibility of using an API integration, it could be better because the integration can be more secure. But if you have a legacy system where API integration is not possible you can use Automation Anywhere. It also depends on the expectations of the customer. Sometimes, the implementation via Automation Anywhere can be faster. If the customer doesn't have a lot of time and you need to deliver the solution, RPA could be the best solution.

And Automation Anywhere doesn't require any maintenance.

Automation Anywhere is one of the best tools on the market. It's a little expensive but if you implement it in your company, you should see return on investment.

I have used AA to automate various business processes varying from HR and AR teams to Sales.

Starting with HR, we have automated various processes from auto-downloading the data and uploading it to a database without human intervention, to combining multiple file data into one.

For the AR team, we have automated the process to download data from the server and generate the AR report, then updating the dashboards for senior management.

For Sales, we created a form where the Bid Manager would update pursuit details and the tool would pull that data and then send the request to required teams for SPOC allocation.

For HR, the automated download and upload of data (every half hour) resulted in getting the latest performance data to the BPHRs in real-time, as per their access. This helped in saving the manual effort every time a report is asked for including the downloading and sharing of data, as per the access. This way, the BPHRs would directly log into the dashboard and see the data.

Similar effort savings were recorded in other processes as well. Automation of such tasks helped in clearing the bandwidth of the users and requestors alike and saved a lot of to and fro just asking for the latest data.

Automation also resulted in tracking, analytics, and defining a structure for the processes that would help in faster onboarding and easier handover.

Object cloning, Excel, web recorders, database, if-else, loops, and string are some of the most commonly used commands, by me.

Pulling data from web pages using Object Cloning has been an absolute delight. It is very accurate and runs flawlessly.

Up until v11, the Excel commands were very limited compared to what Excel has to offer. We had to use macros mostly, to cover up the gap and avoid using keystrokes. However, A2019 has Excel Advance, which has a lot more functions and covers that gap significantly. 

We are still exploring all the new features and functions of A2019, but one thing I noticed was that it has introduced variable type. While helpful at certain places, I miss the previous method, where one variable can handle any type include a string, numerical, or boolean value.

If the option were available to use the old generic-style variable type, it would be helpful. Now, I need to create one variable for holding a numerical value and convert it to a string value to display it on a message box, which is a little inconvenient. This is purely based on past experience. Once I get used to it, I might find it better and more convenient.

I have been using Automation Anywhere for the last three years. Started with v10 to exploring vA2019, AA has come a long way with excellent features and updates with A2019.

For the HR process, a macro script was created to download data. But the main requirement was that the screen should be locked. As in the working of the tool should not be visible to people around. Hence, the macro script was not working, on lock screen as expected. This is why we moved to AA.

We able to able to replicate the downloading of files and uploading it to database using object cloning and database functions provided by AA.

Most of our ROIs were calculated based on the FTE hours saved since the teams were internal. for some projects it was around 4 hours weekly to 13 hours weekly for others.

The Sales team would take care about pricing, since other teams were also using AA. Licensing was modified based on the runners needed as per the projects. Number of developer licenses were fixed.

We had somebody to teach us about AA, so we directly started with it.

We are currently working on a vendor bill reconciliation process. It is in production now. We are also working on an incident management process for customer service. Within the customer services, there are four or five different processes that we are working on. All of them are incident management but for different categories at different levels. The next use case that we will be working on is bank reconciliation, and then we are planning to expand into HR for onboarding and recruitment. These are unattended robots. 

We are able to integrate it with other products through APIs, which we may not have thought about. For example, there are some in-house solutions that we have for which we have built APIs, and we're able to integrate those APIs with Automation Anywhere. We didn't expect that we'll be working on that but it happened.

The ease of use for the end user and the very low complexity in trying to build a bot are the big factors for us. We are able to work on a project, identify a use case, come up with a design spec, and execute and build a bot within a span of six to eight weeks. In nine to ten weeks, we are able to go live, which reduced complexity. Once we go live, the user interface and the user experience are extremely good.

Their bot runners could be made to handle multiple payloads at the same time because if I want to run multiple parallel operations, the number of bot runners that I have to buy just keeps increasing. It is adding to the cost. However, there is a possibility that we don't need that many bot runners, and we can run multiple operations in a bot runner. This would be a great addition to have.

I have been using this solution for six months.

You get what you paid for. What it says on the tin is what you'll get inside. As a customer, you will not be disappointed. If you're thinking that you want to build rockets using Automation Anywhere, then you will be disappointed. As long as you know your business needs, the automation that you want to focus on, and you understand the product's functionalities in a good way, you will not be disappointed.

Scalability depends on how many parallel processes you want to run. A bot runner basically runs a bot. How many bots can it run? How many of these need to run in serial? How many of these need to run in parallel? This information will determine how much you have to scale. Now, if you're willing to pay a lot of money and have multiple bot runners, that means for each and every bot runner, you can have multiple processes running at the same time. So, if you are willing to pay, yes, you can scale. It depends on your budget. The product works whether you're on 1 bot or 20 bots. The product just goes off and does its thing. That's not a problem.

If it is 1 bot that you're running once a day at 10:00 in the morning, then you need one bot runner. If you have 20 processes that you're automating and these 20 things have to run throughout the day at different points in time at 10:00, 12:00, or 2:00, you can still run them with one bot runner. In those use cases, scalability is not a problem. Scalability becomes an issue when you have multiple processes. If a reconciliation process needs to run along with the general ledger balancing, month-end closing, and everything else, and all of them need to run at the same time, then you're looking at about 10 bot runners running 10 different bots at the same time. If you're willing to pay, you can get what you want, but it becomes a very expensive affair.

We have 15 to 20 people who are touching the application for various purposes. We have business analysts, developers, testers, and the external implementation team. We also have business users.

I have used both UiPath and BluePrism in my previous organizations. Automation Anywhere gives me the flexibility for both on-prem and SaaS, and the difference is not huge for me in terms of performance, security, and all that stuff. It gives me the flexibility, but honestly, on paper, all these three products pretty much do the same. There is a plus or minus 5% difference here or there, but you'll not go wrong with any of these products.

The initial setup was very straightforward. There are specific things that they ask in terms of the environments that we need to build in our typical Windows server, that is, what kind of memory and what kind of processing capability we require. I can't talk from the SaaS perspective because we have an on-prem deployment, but giving on-prem equipment based on the defined specs is pretty much child's play. There is nothing complex about it. It is very easy for developers who understand the platform. You can quickly roll out something and get it live, but you need to understand a lot of logic and the complexity behind the applications such as ServiceNow, Workday, Salesforce, etc. 

We started off with an implementation partner, and our experience with them was good. They had about three people in their team, and we had our business people who were giving the requirements. We also had our technology people who were basically acting as the bridge between our business people and their developers.

We are expecting a significant ROI by the end of the year. 

From a business angle, understand what is it that you need. Where do you see inefficiencies? If you're going to fix inefficiencies that are going to be fixed as part of a larger company-wide transformation program, then use the transformation program and fix those inefficiencies as part of the existing solution. If you think that that larger transformation program is not going to touch some places or if that larger transformation program will touch some of these inefficient areas but not in the near future, and you want some immediate wins, then going in for an RPA tool is a good decision.

At the end of the day, the business needs to be aligned with why you're making the decision, and where and what is your priority? What is your sense of urgency with respect to the places where you're implementing it. For example, in my office, we are working on customer service. There is a massive transformation program going on right now, but that transformation program is touching sales, marketing, finance, and all those areas. It is not touching customer service at all, but customer service has its own inefficiencies. So, we introduced automation in customer service because it's not being touched by the transformation program, and we don't want to keep waiting to gain the ROI of whatever we can get or the reduced cost we'll get from customer service. For example, if I'm going to implement a massive cloud ERP like Oracle or SAP, then I will fix the process as part of that cloud ERP implementation and not wait for a bot to be developed.

From a technical perspective or an integration perspective, use an API to directly communicate between the apps, if you can. You don't need a bot or an RPA to do what an API can do.

I would rate Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten.

We use Automation Anywhere to implement robotic process automation solutions for complex and time-consuming scenarios, especially legacy systems, SAP, & mainframes.

I have recently used Automation Anywhere successfully for a system that is very old, and didn't even have API support. In fact, the creators are no longer providing support for their product, but we successfully implemented the solution and helped the client to reach their customers.

The other use case we have implemented is for invoice processing, where there are a number of templates available. 

AA helped our clients to achieve their goals faster and more efficiently, also reaching ROI very quickly. We, as an organization, now have a very positive image from our clients' perspective by suggesting Automation Anywhere instead of their competitors. This product has helped them to implement RPA in their organization.

In addition to providing services to our clients, we have used AA in HR management and the payroll processes, where it helped our employees to get rid of tedious and repetitive work. Our employees are engaged in better and more productive tasks compared to the past.

Automating Mainframes, Legacy systems, SAP applications, IQ Bot, & Natural language processing abilities are its strong points. By using its AI & ML capabilities, we have solved many problems for our clients.

No other tool is as stable as Automation Anywhere, considering the ML & AI capabilities & ease of use.

Automation Anywhere's interface is pretty awesome and easy to use, even for a business user. The dashboard & Bot analytics are very clear, even for a guy without any technical knowledge. 

I still believe there is a long way to go when it comes to ML & AI capabilities, though Automation Anywhere is the leader here in the market.

A2019 is awesome with its features but I don't find it as stable as v11.

I suggest having more ways to perform string manipulations and string operations, instead of just what is pre-defined in the V11 tool. 

I would like to have a buffer-type thing where the bot should throw an exception to the production support team when it is looping through a record.

Date operations can be improved without using VS script. 

I have been using Automation Anywhere for the past four years.

The solution is pretty stable but A2019 can be improved. 

The scalability is the best of all the RPA tools that I have seen.

Their technical support is the best. I always find the best solutions in the customer portal.

I did not switch from another tool. Instead, I select AA as per my client's requirements. That said, my choice is Automation Anywhere any day.

The initial setup is very simple and straight forward.

We implemented using our in-house team. 

Our ROI is 70% annually.

The pricing is reasonable and one can achieve ROI faster when compared to other tools.

Automation Anywhere is your best choice if you want to implement RPA.

The primary use case was related to automating a daily job, which involves a lot of manual effort and was error-prone. We did involve RPA to automate the job and also have a pretty useful notification system in place too.

We had a requirement of pulling in data from a location, dumping it all into some spreadsheets, and then applying logic. Once that is complete, the distribution also needs to be controlled, and we have achieved all of this by implementing RPA.

There are also use cases for us where it is still a work in progress, including tasks in finance/accounting, and HR as well.

AA has helped our organization to improve productivity with less manual dependence. It has come up with certain paradigms in RPA that largely reduce human efforts.

The use case that is mentioned above had a dependency on three FTE on a daily basis to process data for us, and implementing RPA has helped us save this effort. 

There have been processes that were tedious and had dependencies on resources, as well as being error-prone. The involvement of AA has reduced problems to a considerable extent.

RPA is a feature that really helped eliminate errors during the execution of structured business processes. In particular, with our requirements, we have seen reduced dependency on the workforce and we had proper execution of our business process.

It has also opened doors for an intelligent notification system as well, with the help of which, we are getting the proper input from the different stages of our program.

Cognitive Automation helps by self-improving, using AI and ML for complex data.

Altogether, these important features help to form the organization as a digital force.

The product should improve on Voice Recognition and IoT pretty soon, as this is the next big thing in and I would like to see this upgraded in the next release.

This is the age of Voice Recognition where systems like Alexa and Cortana are ruling. I would love to see certain features for these.

In addition to this, there should also be a community version that will be able to provide support without a cost. This will make sure that the outreach for Automation Anywhere would increase up to a considerable extent.

I have been using the solution for approximately one year.

The solution is quite stable. I have used it for features like RPA and cognitive intelligence and didn't find any instability.

This is certainly scalable and the support is quite good too.

They have pretty decent customer service support. I had reached out a couple of times and I found them decent and knowledgeable. In addition, they have a good SLA too.

Other than evaluating UiPath, I have not used a different RPA solution.

The ROI is pretty good. I have used it in one of my use cases where I have a dependency on three FTE, and I was able to reduce it by a considerable margin.

UiPath was the option that I was evaluating but ended up choosing Automation Anywhere.