ActiveBatch by Redwood vs AutoSys Workload Automation comparison

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. AutoSys Workload Automation

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

JAMS

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Workload Automation category, the mindshare of JAMS is 2.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ActiveBatch by Redwood is 3.0%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AutoSys Workload Automation is 7.7%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Workload Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
JAMS	2.8%
AutoSys Workload Automation	7.7%
ActiveBatch by Redwood	3.0%
Other	86.5%

Workload Automation

Featured Reviews

reviewer2770605

Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Has streamlined complex job scheduling across scripting languages while reducing manual effort

JAMS could be improved with a web client that is accessible and as fast as a normal website, eliminating the need to RDP to the servers to access the JAMS client. A functionality running on the JAMS server to continuously check the JAMS agents would ensure they are working properly. If an agent is not responding, a feature to restart the service from the job server machine would be beneficial. The upgrade process, particularly when switching from V6 to V7, could be clearer in terms of documentation, ideally with screenshots showing exactly what needs to be done on each screen.

Read full review

Abdul_Samad

Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem

Manages thousands of jobs daily and reduces downtime through secondary node support

The current feedback I receive from my end users regarding ActiveBatch by Redwood highlights issues with the tabs or panes during job modification. When the next user monitors it, they need to close the pane or job and reopen it to see the changes reflected. If the end user makes an update, it will not be visible unless they start from the beginning again. Implementing a refresh button would be helpful for real-time updates when the end user needs to see changes immediately. We currently face issues with the web console of ActiveBatch by Redwood. When users operate through an RDP session, every user has their own ActiveBatch by Redwood application. However, on the web console, users encounter daily activity issues where the job instances do not appear or update correctly, and they cannot view the latest logs. This issue is only present on the web console, as the application itself works without any problems. ActiveBatch by Redwood can be improved by adding more features, as we are not currently handling cloud-based applications like S3 buckets and Azure. Connecting to these cloud platforms would be a helpful enhancement.

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Pavan Katta

Assistant VP at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Experience significant automation with robust integration and user-friendly interfaces

There are areas of AutoSys Workload Automation that have room for improvement. They are implementing good enhancements in the R24 release. The web UI needs some improvement. Cloud integrations are limited to 25 or 30 configurable plugins and integrations to the cloud. They can improve in that area. They have separate tools, not AutoSys Workload Automation, such as Atomic and other SaaS-based solutions that can run inside the cloud. AutoSys Workload Automation can be configured in the cloud, but it requires a substantial number of VMs depending on the load. For on-premises deployment, it is a very good solution. They need to increase their footprint in the cloud and improve the web UI. They are making excellent progress in the R24 release.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It has definitely drastically improved our capabilities to scale our automation. Before JAMS, there were a lot of manual processes. We had a couple of operators who spent all day doing that. A lot of the time with human intervention and human processes, it is as good as the person who may be following a procedure and human error is a big problem."

"The user-friendly and adaptable scheduler allows us to manage various scheduling scenarios."

"I like how you can add new execution methods on the fly. It isn't overly complex to add Python script support to an execution method in the JAMS system. The scheduling is excellent. You can schedule a maintenance window and take that resource unit out of everything. It halts all of the jobs."

"The product is easy to use."

"JAMS offers diverse scheduling capabilities for any kind of job, including Linux, PowerShell scripts, and SQL, enabling automation of jobs, which has proven beautiful after three years of usage."

"Because we have gone from a lot of manual processes to automated processes with JAMS, we have been able to free up IT staff time, and for just the Technical Operations Center team that I manage, it has saved about 20 hours a week."

"The fact that we no longer need to use Excel spreadsheets is huge. Before JAMS, every group was keeping track of their own batch jobs. Nobody really knew what the other jobs were. So, if jobs failed, other groups wouldn't necessarily know. With JAMS, everything is done through a single scheduler. You can choose who to notify."

"Previously, we manually managed file transfers by writing our scripts. The automated MFT feature is great for me and the company. It helps us know where the files are going and enables us to track errors if anything fails. It also makes the connection seamless for third-party vendors."

More JAMS pros

"I found ActiveBatch Workload Automation to be a very good scheduling tool, and what I like best about it is that it has very less downtime when managing many complex scheduling workflows, so I'm very impressed with ActiveBatch Workload Automation."

"We look at different products and this is definitely a very good one."

"One of the valuable features is the ability to trigger workflows, one after another, based on success, without having to worry about overlapping workflows. The ability to integrate our BI, analytics, and our data quality jobs is also valuable"

"It's a critical component of how we do things now."

"We are able to integrate it into multiple third-party tools like email, backup, tracking systems, SharePoint, Slack alerts, etc."

"From a scheduling point of view, it is pretty good."

"ActiveBatch provides summary reports and logs for further analysis and improvements in monitoring servers, which is very handy."

"I found ActiveBatch Workload Automation to be a very good scheduling tool. What I like best about it is that it has very less downtime when managing many complex scheduling workflows, so I'm very impressed with ActiveBatch Workload Automation."

More ActiveBatch by Redwood pros

"It's a dynamic product, it's been stable and we've never had a real outage with the product."

"Virtual machine usage: It helped us to schedule the job to run on multiple servers based on the workload."

"The Inherit Dependencies feature reduces scheduling errors for holiday processing."

"It has improved my organization by automating IT applications."

"Integration with multiple services and applications across the enterprise."

"It is very valuable for us when we are trying to arrange or orchestrate jobs into a system. It is helpful for triggering jobs for a scheduled task."

"The customized views that each individual can create, and views that can be made free-form, makes this very popular with the programmers."

"The benefits I have seen from AutoSys Workload Automation are significant; I would say it is about ease of administration."

More AutoSys Workload Automation pros

Cons

"The only thing that they could improve on is the fact that they don't have a browser version of JAMS. They've got all the bits and pieces there if you want to build your own web version of it. It does come with a web client, but it's pretty clunky. They could improve on that."

"I want JAMS to implement a global search function."

"The error messages from JAMS often need clarification, hindering our ability to resolve issues swiftly."

"JAMS could be improved with a web client that is accessible and as fast as a normal website, eliminating the need to RDP to the servers to access the JAMS client."

"I would like to see the ability to interface with Microsoft group-managed service accounts, but they're still in the research phase. They need to ensure everything's legit and safe. The report designer and dashboards could also be improved. We're running 7.3, so I don't know if they have updated the reporting in 7.5, but I think the reports and dashboards could be better."

"JAMS notifications for hung jobs could be improved."

"The only thing that they could improve on is the fact that they don't have a browser version of JAMS. It does come with a web client, but it's pretty clunky."

"The tabs in the JAMS file transfer could be clearer. It would help us demonstrate to our client that JAMS not only automates jobs but also does fast transfers, and it's an alternative that supports and filters different kinds of platforms. Filtering file transfers will be highly beneficial to them."

More JAMS cons

"There is this back and forth, where ActiveBatch says, "Your Oracle people should be dealing with this," and Oracle people say, "No, we don't know anything about ActiveBatch." Then, it all falls back on me as to what happens."

"It could be easier to provide dashboards on how many jobs are running at the same time; more monitoring."

"They have some crucial design flaws within the console that still need to be worked out because it is not working exactly how we hoped to see it, e.g., just some minor things where when you hit the save button, then all of a sudden all your job's library items collapse. Then, in order to continue on with your testing, you have to open those back up. I have taken that to them, and they are like, "Yep. We know about it. We know we have some enhancements that need to be taken care of. We have more developers now." They are working towards taking the minor things that annoy us, resolving them, and getting them fixed."

"Any product is going to have some room for improvement, no matter what. I see the company has already ventured into AWS and they're constantly trying to improve the managed file transfer which they have recently improvised. I think they bought a software called JSCAPE and they're trying to improve it, which is good. I am not sure if JSCAPE would be part of the base product but currently, you have to buy a separate license for it, which doesn't make sense. If it was Microsoft, ServiceNow, or integrating with other software vendors, I would understand but JSCAPE is now in-house and I'm not sure if they can justify having a separate license for JSCAPE. I would probably expect them to be packaging JSCAPE into the base product. They did switch over from a perpetual license model to a subscription model, which hurt the company a little bit. Nobody is offering the perpetual model anymore. As long as the transition is fair for both the companies, I think it should be fine and not burn us out."

"The interface is not that user-friendly and is a little tough to navigate."

"An area for improvement in ActiveBatch Workload Automation is its interface or GUI. It could be a little better. There isn't any additional feature I'd like to see in the tool, except for the GUI, everything looks good."

"The thing I've noticed the most is the Help function. It's very difficult, at times, to find examples of how to do something. The Help function will explain what the tool does, but we're not a Windows shop at the data warehouse. Our data warehouse jobs actually run on Linux servers. Finding things for Linux-based solutions is not as easy as it is for Windows-based solutions. I would like to see more examples, and more non-Windows examples as well, in the Help."

"There are some issues with this version and finding the jobs that it ran. If you're looking at 1,000 different jobs, it shows based on the execution time, not necessarily the run time."

More ActiveBatch by Redwood cons

"We had a few issues, however, the issues were more on the infrastructure rather than with the application itself."

"I think the interface could be unified in a better way."

"They could do better supporting it. They have too many of the same type of products, so sometimes it doesn't get as much attention as it should."

"When we started the new product and we introduced it, we started getting some new alarm types and the agent went offline."

"An area for improvement in AutoSys Workload Automation is that it lacks advanced features or advanced built-in functionalities found in competitors, for example, an advanced workflow feature. Even the handling or notification from AutoSys Workload Automation isn't the best in the industry. Other products have very good workflow-related functionalities such as ActiveBatch that's missing in AutoSys Workload Automation, so I wish the tool had those features."

"The graphical interface can be improved."

"The scalability could be improved upon."

"Once we realized how much we were leveraging this feature on the mainframe version, and that we wouldn’t have it on ESP-DE, we were a little disappointed."

More AutoSys Workload Automation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is reasonably priced, and we don't have any add-ons."

"The pricing of JAMS has not been an issue for us, as it has allowed us to save time."

"It's expensive, to be honest, but it does the job."

"JAMS is relatively inexpensive, with additional costs only incurred for tags, other services, and optional support renewals."

"There are no additional costs other than the license for Fortra's JAMS which is affordable."

"The product is reasonably priced, and we don't have any add-ons."

"JAMS is priced competitively compared to similar solutions and offers flexible licensing options to cater to user needs."

"It was $10,000 for the first year. Then, there is a maintenance cost for licensing every year that we get billed $5,000 for every year."

More JAMS pricing and cost advice

"I like ActiveBatch Workload Automation's licensing model because they're not holding you down on an agentless model or agent model, where every server needs to have an agent. That's the main selling point of the solution and I hope they stay that way."

"ActiveBatch is currently redesigning themselves. In the past, they were a low cost solution for automation. They had a nice tool that was very inexpensive. With their five-year plan, they will be more enhancement-driven, so they're trying to improve their software, customer service, and the way that their customers get information from them. In doing that, they're raising the price of their base system. They changed from one pricing model to another, which has caused some friction between ActiveBatch and us. We're working through that right now with them. That's one of the reasons why we're why we were evaluating other software packages."

"The pricing was fair. There are additional costs for the plugins. We have the standard licensing fees for different pieces, then we have the plugins which were add-ons. However, we expected that."

"The price was fairly in line with other automation tools. I don't think it's exorbitantly expensive, relatively speaking."

"If you compare ActiveBatch licensing to Control-M, you're looking at $50,000 as opposed to millions."

"I don't think we've ever had a problem with the pricing or licensing. Even the maintenance fees are very much in line. They are not excessive. I think for the support that you get, you get a good value for your money. It's the best value on the market."

"It allows for lower operational overhead."

"Currently, we are paying approximately $7,000 yearly, which includes support."

"Validate how many agents you need beforehand."

"It is overpriced."

"The pricing needs to be improved. Some of my client's complained that it was too expensive."

"We paid to use the solution monthly."

"People need to pay attention to how they use their ESP agents on the distributed platform. That's where some of the cost comes in, based on how many you need or how many you use."

"The price of this solution is reasonable and there is an annual license required."

"I certainly think the pricing is worth the value."

"The return on investment would be very high because doing things manually without this product would be extremely expensive."

More AutoSys Workload Automation pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

40%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	19

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	47

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	77

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about JAMS?

I find the historical tracking feature of JAMS invaluable for reviewing past events.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JAMS?

My thoughts on the pricing of JAMS are that I won't say it is cheap, but it is cost-efficient, and that should be acc...

What needs improvement with JAMS?

An area that has room for improvement is related to the AWS RDS and database part, where they said that is in progres...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for ActiveBatch by Redwood has been great; we recently renewed ...

What needs improvement with ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

I believe ActiveBatch by Redwood could be improved because the UI could be modernized.

What is your primary use case for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

My main use case for ActiveBatch by Redwood is file processing. I use ActiveBatch by Redwood for file processing for ...

How does Control-M compare with AutoSys Workload Automation?

Control-M acts as a single, centralized interface for monitoring and managing all batch processes, which is helpful b...

What do you like most about AutoSys Workload Automation?

The most valuable aspects of AutoSys Workload Automation are its performance, scalability, and ease of getting starte...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AutoSys Workload Automation?

It is reasonably priced compared to the market.

Redwood RunMyJobs vs JAMS

Comparisons

Control-M vs JAMS

Compared 14% of the time

Stonebranch vs JAMS

Compared 9% of the time

Compared 8% of the time

VisualCron vs JAMS

Compared 7% of the time

Nintex Process Platform vs JAMS

Compared 4% of the time

More JAMS Competitors

Control-M vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 13% of the time

Stonebranch vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 8% of the time

Redwood RunMyJobs vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 6% of the time

VisualCron vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 5% of the time

Automic Automation vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 5% of the time

More ActiveBatch by Redwood Competitors

Control-M vs AutoSys Workload Automation

Compared 28% of the time

Stonebranch vs AutoSys Workload Automation

Compared 11% of the time

Automic Automation vs AutoSys Workload Automation

Compared 7% of the time

IBM Workload Automation vs AutoSys Workload Automation

Compared 5% of the time

Astro by Astronomer vs AutoSys Workload Automation

Compared 3% of the time

More AutoSys Workload Automation Competitors

Product Reports

JAMS

Download JAMS product report

ActiveBatch by Redwood

Download ActiveBatch by Redwood product report

AutoSys Workload Automation

Download AutoSys Workload Automation product report

Also Known As

No data available

ActiveBatch

CA Workload Automation, CA Workload Automation AE

Interactive Demo

JAMS Software

Demo not available

ActiveBatch by Redwood

Demo not available

Broadcom

Overview

JAMS is an automation and job scheduling solution designed for workflow optimization, catering to businesses large and small with flexible licensing and integration options.

Offering both Core and Advanced packages, JAMS supports a range of environments from small teams to large-scale operations. Its standout features include integration with platforms like PowerShell, SQL, and SAP, coupled with capabilities such as dependency management and natural language scheduling. JAMS simplifies job management, centralizes workflows, and boosts productivity with its robust automation features. Customizable workflows and insightful logging make it adaptable for diverse needs, supported by responsive customer service ensuring seamless operations.

What are JAMS's key features?

Automation & Scheduling: Flexible automation helps manage complex job schedules efficiently.
Integration: Connects seamlessly with platforms like SQL Server, SAP, and Python for diverse applications.
Centralized Job Management: A unified interface for handling thousands of jobs daily.
Dependency Management: Supports complex workflows with efficient dependency tracking.
Insightful Logging: Provides detailed logs and notifications for precise task execution.

What benefits should users look for in JAMS reviews?

Enhanced Productivity: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives.
Scalability: Flexible licensing models grow with business size and needs.
Efficient Workflow Automation: Streamlines job orchestration across environments.
Responsive Support: Helps ensure smooth operations with quick troubleshooting.

In industries, JAMS is employed for automating workflows and managing batch jobs. Organizations utilize it for SSIS, SQL Server tasks, file transfers, and integrating with vendor systems, achieving efficient file automation and data management. Scheduler enables precise execution of thousands of tasks daily, enhancing operational efficiency.

JAMS Software

ActiveBatch by Redwood enhances efficiency with features like job scheduling, integration, and real-time monitoring. It supports diverse platforms, automates tasks, and offers a single-pane view with robust security.

ActiveBatch streamlines automation by offering drag-and-drop functionality, pre-built job steps, and native integrations. Its customizable workflows and alert system aid in managing complex workloads like data processing and server monitoring across hybrid environments. While it effectively reduces manual errors and enhances productivity, areas like navigation and support for cloud platforms need enhancement. New users may face challenges due to its complexity and steep learning curve, and further improvements in reporting, mobile access, and training could provide additional support to users.

What important features does ActiveBatch offer?

Comprehensive Job Scheduling: Manages and automates complex workloads efficiently.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly connects with different platforms and applications.
Real-time Monitoring: Offers a single-pane view for quick issue identification.
Customizable Workflows: Tailors processes to specific organizational tasks.
Robust Alert System: Ensures timely notifications for critical events.
Data Protection: Incorporates strong security measures for secure operations.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating ActiveBatch?

Enhanced Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks, reducing manual intervention.
Improved Productivity: Streamlines processes across hybrid environments.
Error Reduction: Decreases likelihood of manual errors.
Platform Support: Provides integration with diverse systems.

In finance, ActiveBatch is implemented for orchestrating batch processes and data management. The healthcare industry utilizes it for automating patient data updates and server monitoring, while the retail sector benefits from file transfers and inventory management automation.

ActiveBatch by Redwood

AutoSys Workload Automation efficiently manages complex workloads across platforms, offering high availability and seamless platform integration. Its reliability and scalability are valued for enterprise-level automation, enhancing job management and reducing manual effort with robust scheduling and advanced security.

AutoSys Workload Automation is known for its user-friendly capabilities, effectively handling cross-platform job scheduling with mainframe integration. It supports high availability, ensuring reliable performance for critical operations. Despite enhancements needed in its GUI and integration capabilities, AutoSys remains effective for batch processing, file transfers, ETL, and managing dependencies across servers and applications. Improvements are suggested for deployment complexity and monitoring features. More effective licensing and scalability solutions, along with modern subscription models and cloud integration, could address cost and automation barriers.

What are AutoSys Workload Automation's key features?

Robust Scheduling: Automates job scheduling across multiple platforms efficiently.
Advanced Security: Ensures secure management of workloads.
High Availability: Maintains performance during critical operations.
Platform Integration: Seamlessly integrates with diverse systems.
Scalability: Supports growing enterprise demands.

What benefits should users expect from AutoSys Workload Automation?

Reduced Manual Effort: Minimizes manual task management.
Enhanced Job Management: Improves oversight and control over job processes.
Flexibility in Scheduling: Offers adaptable scheduling and monitoring options.
Reliability: Consistent job execution without failures.
Security: Protects enterprise-level operations.

In industries like banking, insurance, and retail, AutoSys Workload Automation facilitates 24/7 automated job execution, ensuring smooth task automation. It allows companies to manage enterprise workloads effectively, catering to batch processing, file transfers, and handling job dependencies in a consistent manner.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Teradata, Arconic, General Dynamics, Yum!, CVS Health, Comcast, Ghiradelli, & Boston’s Children’s Hospital

Informatica, D&H, ACES, PrimeSource, Sub-Zero Group, SThree, Lamar Advertising, Subway, Xcel Energy, Ignite Technologies, Whataburger, Jyske Bank, Omaha Children's Hospital

Gaumont, Mercantil do Brasil, CCEE, Hanwha Life

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. AutoSys Workload Automation