AutomationEdge vs VisualCron comparison

AutomationEdge and NetCart AB are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. AutomationEdge is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.1, while NetCart AB is ranked #20 with an average rating of 8.5. AutomationEdge holds a 1.0% mindshare in RPA, compared to NetCart AB’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of AutomationEdge users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetCart AB users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

AutomationEdge and VisualCron compete in the automation landscape. AutomationEdge takes the lead with its seamless integration with enterprise systems, crucial for handling complex processes efficiently.

Features: AutomationEdge offers advanced AI capabilities, enabling precise automation of complex processes. It integrates effortlessly with various enterprise systems and includes technology products like OCR and a reporting dashboard. VisualCron provides a highly configurable environment with custom scripting options, extensive scheduling features, and seamless integration with databases, emphasizing flexibility.

Room for Improvement: AutomationEdge could improve by enhancing user-friendliness and offering more comprehensive plugin support. A reduction in dependency on coding for complex tasks would benefit non-technical users. VisualCron would benefit from a streamlined setup process and expanding its documentation for more intuitive use. Better support for cloud-based deployments and enhanced integration with external systems would be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AutomationEdge stands out with its smooth cloud-based deployment process complemented by comprehensive support, suitable for organizations with limited technical resources. VisualCron, requiring a more involved setup process using local resources, offers detailed documentation and reliable customer support, essential for tech-savvy teams.

Pricing and ROI: AutomationEdge provides competitive pricing with scalable plans, ensuring substantial ROI through efficient automation. VisualCron, while having higher initial setup costs, delivers significant ROI by allowing customization and reducing manual interventions. Its pricing strategy reflects its capacity for more complex automation needs.

To learn more, read our detailed AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

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 March 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AutomationEdge is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 0.8%, up from 0.6% 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 a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Automates processes efficiently with cost-effective scaling and robust customer support

Web scraping is quite good since it offers a lot of possibilities. Another important feature for me is its compatibility with MBI, the Power that is ISEQUADO Centers. I appreciate the ability to scale and increase the number of bots or studios without additional expense. Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.

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BhargavJotva

Associate Manager - Retail Banking Operation at IDFCFIRST

An RPA tool to automate functions, tasks, and processes that also allows users to do coding from the scratch

The initial setup of AutomationEdge was satisfactory for our company. For deployment for a large process, it will take around two months to develop the process. Else, it can be done in fifteen days. My organization gets to automate the banking processes using the solution. There are different requirements for different departments. Finance departments need something to automate their processes, and the requirements may vary for the information management department. There is a different type of automation requirement if there are some secretive documents that we have to keep on triggering mail.

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Sourav-Dutta

Technical Lead - Database Administrator at SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS LLC

It's user-friendly, and I didn't need long to understand the process

We use VisualCron for all our automation needs, like connecting to FileZilla, calling APIs, generating PGP keys, creating encryption files with the PGP key login to Azure, etc. It can automatically log in to SQL Server and execute SQL script jobs in bulk. We had 2,000-3,000 users at my previous…

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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

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

"The most valuable features for my client are timing and scheduling."

"I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous."

"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."

"The solution is continuously adding more integrations to help with workflows and bot and task creation."

"I find it very user-friendly. Our IT department and other departments can seamlessly collaborate without requiring extensive training. As a business department, we particularly value this aspect, as our team doesn't consist of many IT users. However, we couldn't solely rely on a drag-and-drop approach to implement and utilize the solution within our departments."

"This tool has machine learning and voice recognition and computer vision, which are both quite useful aspects. These aren't available in other tools. It's a good addition to this tool and it gives the solution an edge on the market."

"It's very easy to use. That's a big selling point for it. It has got a drag-and-drop interface, so you can quickly deploy bots."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"If we want to change your processes, we can code it from scratch, making it a beneficial feature of the product."

"The most valuable feature of AutomationEdge is creating accounts."

"The studio design is fine compared to other similar products. There is nothing extraordinary about it, but at the same time, there are not any negatives."

"We can quickly adapt to our end users."

"The product's most valuable feature is the executor."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...I rate the technical support of the solution a nine out of ten."

"The ability to automate our processes with external plug-ins and zero code is the most valuable feature."

"The support from the vendor is very good."

More AutomationEdge pros

"VisualCron is a very powerful program to automate different steps in your business processes. We use it to automate replacing files and inform departments about the replacement."

"The most valuable feature of VisualCron is its ability to schedule interactive jobs so that you can have interdependencies within the job and interdependencies of a job on another job, and so on."

"What I found most beneficial from VisualCron is that you can directly connect it with different databases, user accounts, and credentials. You can run queries from one machine to another using the credentials, unlike PowerShell, that's run by the machine itself. With VisualCron, you can directly ask other machines and run requests through user credentials. Suppose you have an AWS or Azure environment. In that case, you can maintain the connection between on-premises and cloud-based machines, which is the type of setup in the organization I'm working for. You can directly call some of the services via VisualCron on your local on-premises machine, and I found that an excellent feature of the tool."

"We don't have to do any coding. We just plug and play and it works."

"The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%."

"I love VisualCron because we previously spent a lot of time writing Power switches to connect to SQL Server. VisualCron makes it easier to execute services or connect to FileZilla by only adding the credentials to the master credentials stored in the solution."

"What I like about VisualCron is that like its name, it's a very visual tool. In my previous company, there were a lot of scripts for all kinds of services, and through VisualCron, you get to group all flows and get a nice visual overview. VisualCron also has an alerting feature, so you receive alerts from it. VisualCron makes everything clearer and easier to maintain. Every other solution that I was looking for almost always needed a programmer, but with VisualCron, you can do what you need to do without programming skills, so this is another valuable feature of the tool."

"It has improved our organization with more automation within the business departments and less administration and development in the IT department. Usually, as the IT department, we are the bottleneck for many requirements within the business. With this tool, the business departments are able to perform many task themselves."

More VisualCron pros

Cons

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

"They do not encrypt passwords, so this is an issue with HIPAA compliance."

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

"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."

"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."

"Error messages should be better. For error status, there should be better documentation because a lot of times, error messages that you get are quite vague. For example, you get a message saying that the workflow has run into an unknown status, which is vague. It just tells you that it failed, but you don't know how or why it failed. It makes debugging difficult."

"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."

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

More Fortra's Automate cons

"We cannot use extra modules while working with AutomationEdge. It crashes if we have lots of data to process in Excel."

"They could provide more technologies for IT and security to enhance machine learning capabilities."

"With other automation solutions in the market, we can simulate the process in our notebooks where the solution creates the code for us, but with AutomationEdge we can't do this."

"It's not an intuitive tool."

"AutomationEdge's primary issue is its price point, especially compared to other products."

"AutomationEdge's ecosystem has shortcomings and needs improvement. When we compare AutomationEdge to other RPA tools in our company, we find that it has a very minor online community."

"In the future, they should have a similar version for the cloud and on-premises, and the installation should be flawless within few minutes."

"With the solution, customizing software can be time-consuming."

More AutomationEdge cons

"VisualCron's command console is a little bit difficult to understand and needs to improve."

"I would like for VisualCron to expand audit log to show who changed job variables that are initialized per job run."

"The error timeout and info could be better. When making web request calls, it will time out sometimes and we won't get any useful info out of the error response."

"VisualCron seems to operate like an efficient machine when it comes to improvements and enhancements and new features. I always appreciate the quick response I get when bringing up an issue or coming up with suggestions. I've mentioned before that it would be great to see a move away from SQLCE and XML configuration files."

"I want to improve the UI in VisualCron, as it's not as user-friendly, particularly when setting up the task scheduler. If you're familiar with the tool, then no problem, but if not, you'll have a problem typing text because sometimes, the cursor points to other places, so there's an issue with text box alignment in VisualCron. That was painful for me when I was just a VisualCron novice, but when you become used to it, there won't be a problem."

"The only problem I face when I use the tool is that it doesn't contain much documentation or it doesn't have many video tutorials on its features."

"An area for improvement in VisualCron is its cluttered interface. It isn't always easy to find all functionalities, so what VisualCron needs is a user interface expert who can improve the interface. There's a learning curve in terms of finding what you need from the interface of VisualCron. The technical support for VisualCron also needs improvement in terms of response time. Currently, there's no live support or hotline you can call to get quick answers, so this is what I'd like to see in the next version of VisualCron. A less cluttered and more streamlined interface, where you don't need to hunt for some of the features, is also what I'd like to see in the next VisualCron update."

"VisualCron is software, and you will experience performance degradation when you scale up. VisualCron takes too much memory or CPU power. We have to increase the hardware resources of a specific server or system."

More VisualCron cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."

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

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

"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."

"It has gone up in price. The price of Fortra's Automate has increased since we first started using it. It does a lot but also costs a lot. It was a lot more affordable before Fortra owned the software."

"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."

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

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"It is expensive but its value can justify the cost."

"Price-wise, AutomationEdge is pretty affordable, making it not so expensive when you compare this with other tools in the market."

"I give the price of the solution a nine out of ten."

"The licensing for this solution should have a more competitive pricing model. The price is in the top five of similar products."

"If you are looking for a budget solution, you can consider AE. It has all the features. Scaling it is way easier because of the cost itself."

"The product is available at the lowest price."

"Pricing can be made better. Currently, I think the pricing is based on the market. The pricing also depends on the business partners that offer you the solution."

"ROI is 95 percent."

"The price is a bit high."

"VisualCron is correctly priced because it wasn't very cheap, and it wasn't overly expensive, so the price for it was set correctly. When my previous company bought VisualCron, it was €800 per server per year. On a scale of one to five, I would rate the pricing for VisualCron a five because it was just right. The tool was affordable, and it has one of the most competitive pricing in the market."

"We are fine with a rather cheap setup. Licensing with VisualCron is fair. You have a simple one-year licence in different sizes. There isn't a licensing jungle with hundreds of options and opt-ins."

"The pricing is extremely fair, and because of that I recommend purchasing multiple instances to split out the processing load across multiple application servers."

"ROI is one month."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

14%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

15%

Energy/Utilities Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

28%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Insurance Company

Healthcare 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?

I am a consultant and I am making a lot of processes in human resources, payroll, certifications, trainings, web scra...

See all answers

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

The pricing is quite good compared to its competitors. Competitors are often more expensive than Automate. I would ra...

See all answers

What do you like most about AutomationEdge?

It helps us with cost optimization and easy implementation.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AutomationEdge?

I rate AutomationEdge's pricing as a six to seven. It is expensive but its value can justify the cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AutomationEdge?

AutomationEdge's primary issue is its price point, especially compared to products from companies like Microsoft that...

See all answers

What do you like most about VisualCron?

The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VisualCron?

The price is a bit high. However, it is okay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with VisualCron?

The documentation is a bit weak. The tool must provide a better set of documentation.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 49% of the time

UiPath vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 38% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 8% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortra's Automate Competitors

UiPath vs AutomationEdge

Compared 38% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs AutomationEdge

Compared 34% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs AutomationEdge

Compared 29% of the time

More AutomationEdge Competitors

Microsoft Power Automate vs VisualCron

Compared 47% of the time

Control-M vs VisualCron

Compared 20% of the time

Stonebranch vs VisualCron

Compared 8% of the time

OpCon vs VisualCron

Compared 7% of the time

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs VisualCron

Compared 7% of the time

More VisualCron Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge

March 2025

Download AutomationEdge product report

Buyer's Guide

VisualCron

February 2025

Download VisualCron product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

No data available

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.

Fortra

AutomationEdge is an Intelligent Robotic Process Automation product which comes bundled with key essential technologies for automation of front office, middle office, back office and IT operations.
AutomationEdge provides Chatbots, Intelligent Automation bots, AI and Machine Learning capabilities that help clients reduce costs, improve response time, grow business and achieve compliance. AutomationEdge provides ready Bots and development environment to build new Bots.

AutomationEdge

VisualCron automates tasks like file encryption, scheduling SQL jobs, system integration, data workflow management, and application triggering, making it ideal for handling nightly syncs, FTP server file replacements, job scheduling, and invoice processing.

VisualCron provides an efficient automation solution with features like error and status reporting, API connections, PGP key generation, encryption file creation, and bulk SQL script execution. It simplifies task automation through its mail and event triggers, job variables, conditional execution, and logging with error alerts. Users benefit from its integration capabilities, scheduling flexibility, visual interface, and support for databases and credential management without extensive coding.

What are the most important features?

Simplicity: Easy-to-use interface for seamless automation.
Mail and Event Triggers: Automate tasks based on specific events.
Job Variables: Customize tasks using various input variables.
Conditional Execution: Execute tasks based on predefined conditions.
Error Alerts: Logging and error reporting to ensure task reliability.
Integration Capabilities: Easily connect and integrate with systems and APIs.
Scheduling Flexibility: Create complex schedules with ease.
Visual Interface: User-friendly GUI for efficient management.
Database Support: Manage and automate database tasks efficiently.
Credential Management: Securely handle credentials for various tasks.
PowerShell Commands: Execute PowerShell commands directly.

What are the benefits or ROI users should look for in the reviews?

Efficiency: Streamline and automate repetitive tasks to save time.
Cost Savings: Reduce manual labor and associated costs.
Reliability: Ensure consistency and accuracy in task execution.
Integration: Enhance workflows by integrating with different systems.
Flexibility: Adjust quickly to changes and handle complex scheduling needs.
Support: Benefit from extensive post-sales support and configuration options.
Innovation: Foster innovation by eliminating the need for coding.

Industries like finance, healthcare, and logistics implement VisualCron to automate data workflows, secure file transfers, and schedule critical tasks. It is used to streamline invoice processing, manage large-scale data operations, and ensure compliance through encryption and error reporting. VisualCron enhances operational efficiency, scalability, and security in various sectors, making it essential for businesses requiring robust automation capabilities.

NetCart AB

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

Smart Dubai Government (SDG)

7 Eleven, ABB Sécheron SA, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Amazon Europe Core, Apple, Assa Abloy, Aston Martin, Banco Santander, BMW (Australia)

Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

January 2025

Free Report: AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

Find out what your peers are saying about AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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