Automation Anywhere vs SAP Intelligent RPA comparison

Automation Anywhere and SAP are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. Automation Anywhere is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while SAP is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0. Automation Anywhere holds a 11.4% mindshare in RPA, compared to SAP’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Automation Anywhere users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of SAP users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Automation Anywhere and SAP Intelligent RPA are competitors in robotic process automation. Based on data comparisons, SAP Intelligent RPA has the upper hand in feature set and functionality, making it appealing to users who value its comprehensive offerings within the SAP ecosystem.

Features: Automation Anywhere boasts advanced analytics, seamless third-party integrations, and intuitive interface, making it versatile for a wide range of tasks. SAP Intelligent RPA excels in its native integration with SAP applications, robust orchestration capabilities, and customizable workflows, enhancing its appeal for businesses heavily embedded in SAP systems.

Room for Improvement: Automation Anywhere could enhance its modular functionality and streamline complexity in code maintenance. Additionally, improving support for non-standard environments and reducing manual interaction in setup processes would be beneficial. SAP Intelligent RPA might improve by simplifying integration in non-SAP environments, offering more flexible pricing structures, and expanding its support for custom features integration beyond the SAP suite.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Automation Anywhere is noted for its straightforward deployment model and exceptional customer support, offering a smooth transition and continuous assistance. SAP Intelligent RPA benefits from its ease of deployment in SAP environments but may present more challenges in non-SAP contexts. It provides robust customer support but could enhance its guidance for users new to RPA.

Pricing and ROI: Automation Anywhere offers competitive pricing with flexible subscription models, ensuring a promising ROI for diverse business scales. SAP Intelligent RPA incurs higher initial costs associated with its deep integration into SAP systems but delivers significant efficiencies that justify its expense for SAP-centric organizations, promising a strong ROI through long-term operational improvements.

To learn more, read our detailed Automation Anywhere vs. SAP Intelligent RPA Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere vs. SAP Intelligent RPA

January 2025

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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

Fortra's Automate

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 11.4%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Intelligent RPA is 1.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Featured Reviews

Anabel Marco

Account Director at Software Greenhouse

Can automate several processes with only one bot and is easy to implement, administer, and use

We have tried other RPA solutions like UiPath or Automation Anywhere. They are fantastic products but complex, and it's hard to understand everything. It would be best if you had a skilled developer or several. Automate is easy to implement, administer, and use. It's appropriate for us because our cases are simple and easy to automate. We don't need complicated tools with many features; We prefer to get a significant ROI quickly. We can automate several processes with only one bot, so it's much cheaper than other products where you need to buy additional licenses. We need a good value for our automation. The other solutions might be more robust, but Automate is perfect for us because we're not a large enterprise.

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IPSIT JANA

Automation & Emerging Technology Manager at Johnson Controls, Inc.

Terminal emulator enhances efficiency while error handling needs improvement

There are improvements needed in error handling processes, as currently, they rely on start and end error commands. A more strategic approach could enhance efficiency. While the implementation of a structured development approach has been introduced, further enhancements could be made to accommodate non-technical users better, perhaps by making the platform more accessible and user-friendly through a flowchart or diagram-based setup. Automation Anywhere can be moderately challenging for business users without technical skills. While the platform offers some drag-and-drop functionality, building automation requires a strong understanding of logical operations and scripting. To become proficient, users may need to invest time in learning basic coding concepts or pursuing relevant certifications. This learning curve can mean that users typically require a few months of training before they can effectively build and implement automation.

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Keerthana Jayathran

SAP BTP Developer at Wipro Limited

Offers integration of the document extraction service into SAP ALC, enabling the direct upload and extraction of details

I found that SAP Intelligent RPA can be somewhat unstable when using SAP GUI. When we upgraded from SAP GUI version 7.50 to version 7.70, we had to update our SAP Intelligent RPA screens even though the screens were the same. This was difficult and time-consuming. The one I would like to see is in context with the screens, if they are using the same SAP UI, and if it updates, it should not be changed. At least it should be able to identify the screen. There should be more of an error, like a proper error feature, in future releases. Sometimes, we don't understand why that automation is not learning what, like, where it is stuck, what the reason is, or what the criteria we are missing to add. A proper error message would be helpful.

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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

"Compared to other vendors, it's the scheduling tool because a lot of vendors want to charge you extra for their enterprise-level license to have a scheduling tool built in to give you the ability to set up regular schedules to run and do certain data checks."

"The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."

"The licensing of the product is very good. You only need to license it once and then you have it forever."

"A great feature that you seldom see in these kind of systems is the ability to use a database as trigger to launch a task. This is something I asked for a few years ago and that was added."

"We have found the pricing to be very reasonable."

"The best feature of Automate is its ease of use, which is a major selling point."

"We are still in the process of rolling it to production and tweaking it (our AD groups are a mess), but the improvements are priceless. Having users ID's created the same way every time without human error is the best part. We don't need to worry about why groups were not added, user rights not set to folders or missing a private folder being created, typos or just even knowing when things are done and logged."

"The most valuable feature is the drag-and-drop interface, which is very Windows-like."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"The core RPA service that it provides and the stability that it has in maintaining that as a cloud service solution is a key enabler for us. Its stability is good, and the low-code/no-code setup that it has is very user-efficient."

"Our experience with technical support at Automation Anywhere has been great. They have been very helpful, especially during the PoC, processes which are sort of early on in their sales cycle, or when we were just starting with Automation Anywhere a couple of years ago. We got great support for getting it onboarded in-house and getting our team up to speed. So, we have found it to be a great partnership."

"We have automated the equivalent headcount of 500 FTEs since we started. Those people haven't been laid off. They are just doing different types of work activities."

"Since we can register multiple bot runners in one control room, and we can easily monitor and re-run bots when necessary, it is convenient for me."

"Automation Anywhere receives high marks for its ease of use."

"The interface is a lot better than a lot of other tools which are out there."

"The simplicity and ease of use is the most valuable part of Automation Anywhere."

"Very comprehensive with different platforms especially SAP and Oracle EBS."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"It is remarkably easy to configure and code, and it doesn't require an extensive technical background or coding expertise."

"The standout features of SAP Intelligent RPA are its flexibility and integration capabilities."

"Scalability is fine. It is pretty nice."

"Most of the details are already in the help portal and SAP notes are available. It is well documented as part of the product support."

"Contextor is a good solution for a Citrix environment. It's the first with this tool. Other tools provide the same functionality, but not with the Citrix environment."

"The most valuable feature of SAP Contextor is that everyone is in one place in the program that I need."

"The initial setup of SAP Contextor is easy."

Cons

"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."

"The documentation is not that great."

"The intelligent automation feature could be improved. It's interesting because it's simple, but the automation quality isn't always good. It's easy to use, but sometimes you need to make a slight improvement to the automation, and that's not so easy."

"I believe we need to test various OCR tools that assist in evaluating, let's say, six different customer resyncs. We analyze their spending patterns and documentations, but current OCR support has limitations, requiring highly standardized documents, which isn't always the case. With a more advanced OCR system, we could improve processes related to credit risk management and legal matters. We're exploring how to integrate Fortra's Automate with our CRM platform, taking cues from instances where Salesforce seamlessly merged with Automate. However, we use a different CRM, Insight for New Enterprise, and we're seeking ways to connect the automation process within our CRM. We aim for the automation to continue smoothly, even in instances where traditional automation methods might face hurdles."

"The workflow for variables could be better. The input and output of task-level variables could be made a little clearer in terms of passing those around from one task to another upon success, etc. Things like that could be a little easier potentially."

"The interface could be more user-friendly and easier to navigate."

"The OCR for Hebrew text needs to be improved."

"Fortra's Automate is not as reliable as I would like it to be."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"The Automation Anywhere calibrating needs to be more user-friendly to avoid human error."

"I would like centralized orchestration and better exception handling in the next release."

"Some of the biggest improvements they can make are with the interface. It can be improved in terms of usability or searching for something. For example, icons are hard to find. Typically, you jump into the search box, but being able to go in and find things quickly with the eye could be very valuable."

"One of the important drawbacks of Automation Anywhere is that it needs to be able to show the automated process as a single flowchart."

"When we try to process structured documents but with some little pen marks, improper partitions, or faded documents, IQ Bot fails to extract data properly out of them."

"The OCR can be a little better because sometimes while scrapping, it leads to data loss."

"Vertical connecting lines would be appropriate within the code, and a collapse/expand feature for code blocks would be ideal."

"Bots get disconnected from control rooms sometimes without any reason and this takes up a lot of time."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"There should be more of an error, like a proper error feature, in future releases. Sometimes, we don't understand why that automation is not learning what, like, where it is stuck, or what is the reason like, or what is the criteria we are missing to add. So a proper error message would be helpful."

"I found that the SAP scripting of a program is easier than SAP Contextor."

"SAP Contextor could improve by automating some processes."

"The initial setup is of medium complexity. It is neither too hard nor too simple. You need some background in SAP and an understanding of it."

"For potential features or improvements, one aspect I would suggest enhancing is the flexibility of the extraction process."

"One way SAP Intelligent RPA could improve is by integrating built-in DI services for document processing."

"I would like to see a better capacity for unstructured data, for example, PDF, or text within images."

"The tool's licensing has been kind of a challenge...At the moment, the tool does not offer different licensing models to users."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."

"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."

"From a distributor's side, one of the biggest selling points is its price point. Without going into any numbers, compared to UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and Blue Prism, we're significantly cheaper. The main difference is that other competitors usually charge you per process. However, in Automate's case, it's priced per bot. So, a bot can run multiple processes at the same time, but you are only priced for a single bot."

"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."

"The pricing is quite reasonable. We can run the process with one bot. The limitation is at the server level because they have some resources, and sometimes that is enough. It isn't too expensive, so you can get a good return off of one, and you can also have a pack of five bots that is quite competitive."

"I believe the price falls within a reasonable range, which significantly influenced our decision regarding the product. This aspect is crucial for any technological solution, especially in our country where enterprises might be hesitant to invest heavily in something untested or uncertain about its practicality and potential returns."

"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."

"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"Our costs are approximately between $5,000 to $10,000 per license."

"The licensing cost of Automation Anywhere is better than UiPath and Blue Prism."

"We have established a CoE and we take our bot opportunities based on their ROIs. The best ROI opportunity goes to development first. Our ROI opportunities are compliance, profitable growth, productivity enhancements, productivity gains, number of hours the productivity saved, and resources not available that the work can be done by the bot. However, the single most important criteria that we use to measure ROI is how much time does the bot cut down from an analyst's work, as this has the best ROI. E.g., if an analyst is spending a 100 hours of work that a bot can do in one hour, we calculate the 99 hours saved as ROI."

"Automation Anywhere is flexible in terms of costing and licensing."

"The pricing and licensing of Automation Anywhere plays an important rule in the Indian market because in the Indian market $10,000 USD is too much. Hence, the pricing tends to go down depending on the customer relationship with the partner: A starter pack is $10,000 and an enterprise pack is $100,000. If you go through an implementation partner, you can get good deals. They can save some money."

"The licensing fees are approximately $10,000 USD for between five and ten users."

"No one is balking at the cost. They are market rates and will change, but no one is saying, "That is ridiculous or impossible." They are saying, "Show me the ROI and prove that the cost is accurate.""

"The Community Edition is a good offering from the company."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is not that expensive. It is manageable."

"This is not a tool or software with a license as others are. The SaaS model is based on the usage of the tool."

"It all comes with a bundle right now. Having advanced features, it is competitively priced."

"The initial cost might seem higher, but over time, with continued use over five or ten years, the cost tends to decrease, making it a more economical choice."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HelpSystems AutoMate?

We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

We used the platform primarily for task automation, including transmitting EDR files. Additionally, we've utilized it...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?

The starter pack was all we needed and was reasonable. Others were either more expensive or didn't do all that I want...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

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What do you like most about SAP Contextor?

The standout features of SAP Intelligent RPA are its flexibility and integration capabilities.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Contextor?

The pricing for SAP Intelligent RPA operates on a model that considers power usage and transactions per job. It is ad...

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What needs improvement with SAP Contextor?

The tool's licensing has been kind of a challenge. If the tool can bring up a usage-based licensing model, it would b...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 48% of the time

UiPath vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 36% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 4% of the time

MOVEit vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortra's Automate Competitors

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 31% of the time

UiPath vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 23% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 11% of the time

Tricentis Tosca vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

More Automation Anywhere Competitors

UiPath vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 42% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 13% of the time

Blue Prism Cloud vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 10% of the time

Blue Prism vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 4% of the time

Nintex RPA vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 4% of the time

More SAP Intelligent RPA Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate

January 2025

Download Fortra's Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

January 2025

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Intelligent RPA

December 2024

Download SAP Intelligent RPA product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise

SAP Contextor, Contextor

Learn More

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Fortra

Automation Anywhere

Video not available

SAP

Overview

Fortra's Automate is predominantly used in HR and operational departments for automating reports, file manipulation, and data processing. Key uses include automating repetitive tasks, integrating PDFs and emails, running scripts, processing large data sets, transforming file formats, synchronizing databases, managing job schedules, and transferring files.

Users commend Fortra's Automate for its ease of implementation and user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, which requires minimal technical skills for efficient bot deployment. The software is appreciated for its effective scheduling tools, reliable integration capabilities, and a wide range of functions such as file interaction, secure file transfers, and extensive automation without the need for coding. Businesses achieve significant time savings and simplified processes, bolstered by continuous updates and robust customer support.

What are the key features?

Scheduling Tools: Enables precise control and timing for automation tasks
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly connects with various systems and software
File Interaction: Comprehensive functions for file manipulation and transfer
Secure Transfers: Ensures data safety during file transfers
User-Friendly: Minimal technical skills needed for deployment and use

What benefits should you look for in reviews?

Ease of Implementation: Fast and simple setup process
Time Savings: Reduces time spent on repetitive tasks
Process Simplification: Streamlines complex workflows
Customer Support: Access to continuous support and updates

In various industries such as healthcare, transportation, and payroll, Fortra's Automate automates workflows like invoice generation, data retrieval, data uploading, and insurance eligibility checks, enhancing efficiency and accuracy for HR and operational tasks.

Automation Anywhere offers a robust automation platform known for its user-friendly interface, flexible scalability, and advanced automation capabilities. It's designed to streamline operations across industries by automating manual and repetitive tasks.

Automation Anywhere empowers organizations with its easy-to-use platform that simplifies automation processes through its drag-and-drop functionality. With features like MetaBot and IQ Bot, it provides advanced automation solutions. The platform seamlessly integrates with business applications, ensuring efficient operation and data protection through security features like the credential vault. Despite its strengths, there is room for improvement in integration with source control systems and third-party applications. Enhancing UI friendliness, IDE capabilities, and licensing flexibility, along with improved support in the Citrix environment, are needed. Better OCR accuracy, AI functionalities, and Excel integration would enhance user experiences.

What are Automation Anywhere's key features?

Ease of Use: Offers a user-friendly platform that allows straightforward automation of processes for non-technical users.
Advanced Bots: Includes MetaBot and IQ Bot for complex automation tasks.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with business applications for smooth operations.
Security: Features like credential vault ensure robust data protection.
Scalability: Provides flexibility and scalability for expanding automation needs.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks, enhancing process efficiency.
Accuracy: Improves accuracy in operations like finance and HR.
Scalability: Offers scalable solutions for growing enterprises.
Cost Reduction: Reduces operational costs by streamlining processes.
Flexibility: Adapts to various industry requirements allowing broad implementation.

In the finance sector, Automation Anywhere is used for tasks like accounts payable, accounts receivable, and invoice processing. In HR, it's implemented for onboarding, payroll, and attendance verification. Its deployment also extends to supply chain, compliance, and customer service, providing streamlined operations by automating complex business processes.

SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation lets you automate enterprise business processes. Design process automations within the Cloud Studio by creating end-to-end workflows. Generate packages from these automations into the Cloud Factory powered by SAP BTP to configure and execute these packages with Agents. Agents running on workstations can work as a digital assistant (attended automation) or as a digital worker (unattended automation).

SAP Intelligent RPA enables business users and technologists to become citizen developers. With powerful yet intuitive low-code and no-code capabilities, the solution supports you in driving automation by tapping into the expertise of citizen developers.

Sample Customers

Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Kabel Deutschland, Orange, Carrefour

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere vs. SAP Intelligent RPA

January 2025

Free Report: Automation Anywhere vs. SAP Intelligent RPA

Find out what your peers are saying about Automation Anywhere vs. SAP Intelligent RPA and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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