Fortra&#39;s Automate vs WorkFusion comparison

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Fortra's Automate

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Fortra's Automate and WorkFusion both compete in the automation software category. Fortra's Automate seems to have the upper hand in ease of use and quick deployment, while WorkFusion excels in advanced cognitive features and document processing capabilities.

Features: Fortra's Automate is known for its ease of use with a drag-and-drop interface, seamless system integration including SAP, and comprehensive automation features like email and FTP/SFTP integrations. WorkFusion offers robust machine learning, advanced document processing, and extensive RPA capabilities but requires more technical expertise.

Room for Improvement: Fortra's Automate could improve its web automation features, handling of global variables, and provide better documentation and community support. WorkFusion needs to simplify its setup, lower the technical requirements for non-technical users, and improve its OCR capabilities. Pricing models and high infrastructure costs are also areas for improvement for WorkFusion.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortra's Automate is typically deployed on-premises, offering stability but potentially restricting scalability. Its customer service is highly rated for responsiveness. WorkFusion offers flexible deployment across public, private, and hybrid clouds but receives mixed reviews on customer service due to product complexity requiring additional assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Fortra's Automate provides competitive pricing with a per-bot pricing model allowing concurrent multiple process execution without extra costs, achieving ROI within 90 to 120 days through reduced labor costs. WorkFusion, while not the most expensive, initially costs more than Automate due to significant infrastructure investment, resulting in a longer time to ROI. However, its comprehensive features are valuable for larger enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Automate vs. WorkFusion Report (Updated: December 2024).

Fortra's Automate vs. WorkFusion

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Fortra's Automate

Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WorkFusion

Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

15th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Process Automation (22nd), Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, 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 WorkFusion is 1.6%, up from 1.5% 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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Brock Miller

Senior Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Helps improve our accuracy and compliance, but the analytics module can be confusing

Machine learning models for document-heavy processes have room for improvement because they require significant effort to train and update. WorkFusion can be easy to use for non-technical people. It has two modules: a workspace for analysts to use on a daily basis, and an analytics module for tracking throughput, recall, precision, and other model metrics. The workspace is very easy to use, similar to any other case management tool. The analytics module, on the other hand, can be confusing at times and could benefit from some improvements. The biggest challenge I've had with WorkFusion is employee turnover. On both of my projects with them, the primary developer, the PMO, and some of the product SMEs have all turned over. There's been a lot of turnover in their organization over the past two years.

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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

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

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

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

"I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task."

"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."

"I actually quite liked the no-coding functionality."

"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."

"The ability to connect to websites and pull data is the solution's most valuable feature."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"The Robotic Desktop Automation Express component allows us to do rapid development outside the normal, time-consuming processes."

"We have been very pleased with the speed and decisiveness of WorkFusion, which is able to quickly provide a disposition note or escalate to a human for additional review."

"The tool itself is easy. I started using it without really having any coding experience... After just a few clicks, it was doing reconciliations for me."

"The solution is stable, we have not had any glitches or problems."

"For automating mundane activities, I can recommend WorkFusion."

"We can see that its competitive ability is quite good."

"The cognitive features of this solution are good."

"The document processing engine is good. We're extracting around 70 data points from a given document, and we have an automated extraction rate of 80 percent for those fields."

More WorkFusion pros

Cons

"I would like to see some better web automation, a wizard like the one in the product WinAutomation would be very nice."

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

"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 documentation for errors needs improvement as many of the error messages we receive are very vague."

"Sometimes when we communicate with the ERP system and there is an issue, we are not always aware of the specifics of Automate and the source of the problem."

"There is room for improvement regarding cloud functionality; there are a few missing features, and the logging could be better, especially air logging. We can go into logging events and create our own task, but it would be nice if this were more detailed."

"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."

"The technical support could be better. We suffer from language barriers, as we are in Argentina."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"WorkFusion comes packed with certain libraries and .jars. At times, you understand that you're using a system in which a library or .jar is outdated and you need to upgrade it... They need to better manage quickly making changes in WorkFusion to accommodate a situation where other technologies are not supporting the platform."

"It is difficult for non-technical users to use WorkFusion. If we really want to build automation, we definitely need Java developers. Their RPA is not for non-technical people. If I look at competing products, like Automation Anywhere, UiPath, Blue Prism, or even Power Automate, a non-technical person can build basic automations and deploy them. Since non-technical people can easily build basic automations, they can be deployed in no time. With WorkFusion, there isn't a similar feature that works well. One needs to write code from scratch to build automation. That is definitely a deterrent if we really want to do quick, dirty automation. I would not rate WorkFusion very high on their no-code, low-code paradigm. In this area, I would definitely expect them to improve."

"The product could do more to expand its 'codeless' coding options by adding drag-and-drop assistance in building bots for non-technical users."

"We had some issues in the past, but it is fairly stable now. From what I hear, it is more stable in the later versions. With version 10.1.4, there were some issues relating to load distribution. However, it is good now."

"The product needs to be "simple and easy" to use. A good example of this is the use of Python code to perform automations. It is free and the skills transfer is able to happen quickly and the operation and initiation of the completed automation is easy to execute."

"One thing we didn't like was their OCR solution. We felt it's somewhat inefficient."

"There could be better version control through their web platform. That is something that could be improved on. Integration from the IDE, e.g., from WorkFusion Studio directly into Control Tower, would be nice to have too."

"The solution is not user-friendly, this is something they should improve."

More WorkFusion cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"While solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism cost around $11,000-$12,000 for each license, this product costs around $7,000 and you can keep it forever."

"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."

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

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

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

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

"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."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"We are on an annual contract to use the solution."

"We have a good deal from WorkFusion. We have an unlimited global licensing deal with WorkFusion. For us, it is a no-worry solution. We can go ahead and use it as much as possible anywhere we need it. If WorkFusion has a different kind of a deal for licensing with others, then their business decisions need to be evaluated based on that."

"Find it online."

"The pricing is fair because WorkFusion's out-of-the-box solution is appealing."

"I can't speak to pricing. It's a contract signed by upper management."

"My client is using RPA Express, which is available for them to use free of charge."

"The overall cost could come down a bit in terms of maintaining the servers. Because it can handle complicated things in big use cases, the infrastructure is also correspondingly big. It would be nice to bring that cost down."

"As a first-time customer who wants to engage with WorkFusion, not working for my company, then I would want to do a PoC. The cost is prohibitive because they will ask me to get infrastructure with six or seven servers. Then, you must buy a WorkFusion license to do a PoC, which is expensive. I would then have to set up a team to build the PoC and see the benefits. That is very prohibitive."

More WorkFusion pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions are best for your needs.

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824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Insurance 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.

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 for repetitive tasks, such as downloading web-based reports using the browser a...

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 wanted to do without an addon.

What do you like most about WorkFusion?

If you compare it to its competitors in the market, it is more Java-native.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WorkFusion?

Everything should be cheaper. However, it's fairly priced. They have a pricing scale. We've been with them for a while, so we've already hit the roof. We've been with them so long that they are ver...

What needs improvement with WorkFusion?

For non-technical users, it may be easy to use. It depends on what perspective we're talking about. From a business perspective, like manual tasks, it's good. However, it's all about what the devel...

Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Comparisons

Compared 48% of the time

UiPath vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 37% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 7% of the time

MOVEit vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 5% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortra's Automate Competitors

UiPath vs WorkFusion

Compared 49% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs WorkFusion

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs WorkFusion

Compared 10% of the time

Blue Prism vs WorkFusion

Compared 7% of the time

ELMA 365 vs WorkFusion

Compared 6% of the time

More WorkFusion Competitors

Product Reports

Download Fortra's Automate product report

Fortra's Automate

December 2024

Download WorkFusion product report

November 2024

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

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Fortra

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.

WorkFusion, Inc. is the creator of AI-enabled Digital Workers designed specifically for banking and financial services organizations. Its Digital Workers are true knowledge workers that effectively augment existing teams in functions like anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, customer onboarding, Know Your Customer (KYC), and customer service. WorkFusion’s digital workforce solutions help solve talent shortages, increase workforce capacity, save money, enhance employee and customer satisfaction, and ensure ongoing compliance. For more information visit workfusion.com.

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

Deutsche Bank, Amerant Bank, Bank of Asia, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, LPL Financial, Carter Bank & Trust, Selective Insurance, HPE, Canadian Tire, Standard Bank, Humana, New York-Presbyterian, Houston Methodist, Six Financial, State Street