IBM Datacap vs Pega Robotic Process Automation comparison

IBM and Pega are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Pega users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Datacap and Pega Robotic Process Automation based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Datacap vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Datacap vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation

March 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

Automate

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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DeekshithShetty

Software Development Senior Specialist at NTT Data

High-accuracy document processing with easy integration and good image enhancement

The OCR extractions are very good, almost 100% accurate now. The integration with other tools is very easy, with inbuilt actions to configure and directly export to multiple depositories. It is also good at image enhancement, including the removal of lines, which is helpful in processing and automation and ensures very little user intervention, thus saving time.

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VISHNU VARDHAN CHENNURU

Application Development Team Lead at Accenture

Great for UI creation, helpful support services, and reliable

Excel connectors need to be improved as there are a few connectors in Excel areas. The recording is not at best in Pega Robotics. They could look into it. The interactions with some applications, like Windows and web applications, are a little slow. They need to improve their speed. It should be normal, to open it with other tools. However, right now, it's a little hard. Users should feel they can develop easily. It will sometimes hang while interacting with third-party applications. Instead of adapters, if we had direct interaction of the applications with API and had scripts, that would be better. We have only CSharp supported right now. We'd like to have Python supported. If it was, it would be easier for us and make the solution more flexible. Currently, we are adding three different configuration files, however, if I had the option, I'd prefer to make a single configuration file and then differentiate it in all three environments. It can be difficult to create logic in automation. It's hard than if we used other RPA tools. If they could add more toolbox options, that would be ideal. They need to do what they can to help us reduce complexity in the automation and combine things under, for example, a single control.

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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

"I find the ease of use from a programming perspective very valuable."

"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."

"Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money."

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

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

"The interface is simple, user-friendly, and very intuitive."

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

More Automate pros

"I work for an insurance company, and we use Datacap for document processing."

"It is highly extensible, which we found to be most valuable. It is a very extensible solution because it is based on configurable rule sets. We were able to amend and adjust the solution and very easily add custom code and custom components. It does require some programming experience, but we found that not to be an issue. We liked its extensibility."

"The most valuable features of IBM Datacap is the capturing and recognizing of pages, documents as well as the scanner and barcodes."

"It's a platform, not a configured application, so you can do what you want with it."

"It is the best solution for scanning purposes."

"While we are doing indexing, we tag the document type. It's programmed inside of Datacap to automatically detect the document based on a given template. It auto-indexes that document, which means that it automatically tags the correct document type to the scanned document."

"The OCR extractions are very good, almost 100% accurate now."

"The most valuable feature is its ability to capture data, which changes all the time into different formats."

More IBM Datacap pros

"Pega is very mature. It's very old. They have grown with time, and they have learned. Other robotic process automation solutions are basically focused on only doing the automation, whereas Pega also gives you a workflow system so that you can create a workflow."

"The solution's ability to create adapters quickly is its most valuable feature."

"Pega Robotics offers all the required features to build end-to-end process automation like any other similar tools. It's unique development style using data line and control flow line makes it easy to debug through the flow."

"They are leaders in the same industry."

"Its stability has been good."

"It helped cut short the release cycle by almost 40% compared to the previous solution."

"The workflow system is very intuitive."

"The feature I like best in Pega Robotic Process Automation is that I'm able to add external DLL section codes. I can inject the JavaScript, and I can write VB.NET, C#.NET, and DLL codes, then inject those codes into the existing process. Mainly, from a development perspective, I like that feature a lot, so if anything is not supported by Pega Robotic Process Automation, then I can build that either in JavaScript or in .NET, then use those functions within the IP."

More Pega Robotic Process Automation pros

Cons

"The documentation is not that great."

"The product also has a limited use case in some respects."

"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."

"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."

"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."

"While this solution is continually improving, as it is now, the user interface could use improvement when I compare it to a product like UiPath."

"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."

"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."

More Automate cons

"There should be an increase in the capacity of the workflows. Datacap is a little limited in this aspect. So, you cannot really implement all the possibilities."

"Recognition between certain numbers and letters could be improved. Sometimes this solution misreads five with an "S" for Singapore."

"It can take some time to implement."

"Its weaknesses are primarily tied to the lack of available resources and expertise in the market to effectively support and provide solutions and services to each customer for seamless implementation."

"They have to stop focusing on new development and stabilize the latest release. It is not stable."

"The interface can be more intuitive."

"When a client's requirement is not available in Datacap, out-of-the-box actions should be simpler to implement and not very complex."

"Third-party integration could be improved; it's very slow."

More IBM Datacap cons

"It's difficult not knowing when alerts will arrive."

"The handwritten structured and semi-structured data recognition accuracy is much lower and is an area that definitely needs to improve."

"The OCR capabilities of the solution could be improved."

"In this modern world, in this automation space, if Pega could provide more options that are user-friendly and provide a way to quickly develop an automation solution that is drag-and-drop with a minimal coding approach, then it would be great for automation."

"I feel like it doesn't get updated frequently enough. There aren't a lot of new features or a clear roadmap for future improvements."

"The new players such as UiPath and ABBYY are moving very quickly, but Pega is not. I'd definitely like to see Pega doing a few more interesting things on the AI or machine learning front so that we can use the platform for multiple things."

"What I don't like that much in Pega Robotic Process Automation is its monitoring tool because that tool is tightly connected with the platform. If the Pega team can deploy the monitoring tool separately, so that it's a separate solution altogether, then that would be good because currently, if you have to use the monitoring tool, then that means you have to use the Pega Robotic Process Automation platform. The initial setup for Pega Robotic Process Automation also needs improvement because it is complex. The only additional feature I'd like to see in the solution is for the monitoring tool to be a stand-alone rather than being tightly coupled with the Pega platform. Looking at the current features of Pega Robotic Process Automation concerning application automation, it covers most of my needs currently."

"The development experience needs to be improved."

More Pega Robotic Process Automation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

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

"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."

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

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

More Automate pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"Pricing needs to stay competitive."

"This solution is the most expensive in the market."

"This solution offers seamless integration with other enterprise products, which is my area of responsibility, focusing on government sector projects. Larger enterprise projects don't pose problems. It might be suitable for small businesses as well."

"We were using the User Value Unit licensing, which means we get charged per active user of the system, and if I'm not mistaken, we also had it for the rule runner service. They had a PVU license model, which is a processor value unit. For each process that we have in our system, we pay a certain amount of money. We found the pricing to be quite steep. It was really an expensive solution in comparison to Kofax, which had a different licensing model and was actually cheaper overall because they charge per page and not per user and per process."

"You save a lot of time and money, but the benefit is you have people who are able to run the systems, check to see if there are any errors at all, and there are a lot less errors than a human system."

"If you want IBM Datacap on cloud, which is a service run by IBM, the price can be quite expensive, but if you want to just purchase the licenses and own those yourself, then the price is very competitive."

More IBM Datacap pricing and cost advice

"In terms of Pega Robotic Process Automation pricing, I would rate it a five out of five because the solution has a good price. Pricing is not very high, though I'm unsure of the exact cost, based on my experience, the price for Pega Robotic Process Automation is less than Blue Prism because I worked with a few clients that have both solutions and my clients prefer Pega Robotic Process Automation over Blue Prism particularly because of the licensing costs."

"Pega Robotic Process Automation is an expensive solution."

"I was not involved in licensing and pricing, but it is worth the cost."

"The licensing cost is too high."

"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten."

"Pega is as competitive as the basic players such as UiPath or Automation Anywhere. UiPath is the most expensive, but Pega is at par with Automation Anywhere."

"Pega is pretty costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

13%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

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.

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...

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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...

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What do you like most about IBM Datacap?

The installation of the solution is very simple.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Datacap?

This solution is the most expensive in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Datacap?

When a client's requirement is not available in Datacap, out-of-the-box actions should be simpler to implement and no...

See all answers

What do you like most about Pega Robotic Process Automation?

The solution's automation handling capability has positively impacted the overall automation process in my experience.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pega Robotic Process Automation?

I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pega Robotic Process Automation?

The solution's configuration and settings could be more comprehensive.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automate

Compared 42% of the time

UiPath vs Automate

Compared 38% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Automate

Compared 8% of the time

VisualCron vs Automate

Compared 6% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automate

Compared 6% of the time

More Automate Competitors

ABBYY Vantage vs IBM Datacap

Compared 32% of the time

Amazon Textract vs IBM Datacap

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs IBM Datacap

Compared 16% of the time

Tungsten TotalAgility vs IBM Datacap

Compared 12% of the time

OpenText Intelligent Capture vs IBM Datacap

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Datacap Competitors

UiPath vs Pega Robotic Process Automation

Compared 43% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Pega Robotic Process Automation

Compared 37% of the time

Blue Prism vs Pega Robotic Process Automation

Compared 13% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Pega Robotic Process Automation

Compared 7% of the time

More Pega Robotic Process Automation Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automate

April 2025

Download Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Datacap

April 2025

Download IBM Datacap product report

Buyer's Guide

Pega Robotic Process Automation

March 2025

Download Pega Robotic Process Automation product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

Datacap

Pega RPA, OpenSpan

Overview

Automate offers a user-friendly solution with a drag-and-drop interface for efficient task automation and integration with major platforms like SAP and Azure, making it ideal for quick deployment with minimal coding and training.

Automate provides powerful features for businesses seeking efficient automation, offering compatibility with databases, email integration, and cloud platforms. Its simple interface supports both beginners and experienced users, simplifying tasks like invoice processing, HR automation, and data transformation. Cost-effective pricing and flexible licensing enhance its appeal while integration capabilities and scheduling tools ensure smooth workflow automation.

What are Automate's Key Features?

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies automation with intuitive design.
Integration Capabilities: Connects with platforms like SAP and Azure for seamless data flow.
Database and FTP Triggers: Enhances automation potential through direct data interaction.
Efficient Scheduling: Automates tasks with precise timing and control.
Web Scraping: Automates data extraction for quick analysis and reporting.

What Benefits and ROI Should Users Expect?

Rapid Deployment: Minimizes coding efforts for quick implementation.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers flexible pricing models to suit budget constraints.
Operational Efficiency: Reduces manual workloads and enhances productivity.
Comprehensive Integration: Facilitates improved data management across systems.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs with ease.

In industries such as healthcare, banking, and logistics, Automate is used for tasks like invoice payment automation, data transformation, and task automation. This leads to streamlined processes and reduced manual workload, illustrating its value in enhancing operational efficiency through diversified workflows.

Fortra

IBM Datacap helps you streamline the capture, recognition and classification of business documents and extract important information. Datacap supports multiple-channel capture by processing paper documents on scanners, mobile devices, multi-function peripherals and fax. It uses natural language processing, text analytics and machine learning technologies, like those in IBM Watson, to automatically identify, classify and extract content from unstructured or variable documents. The software can reduce labor and paper costs, deliver meaningful information and support faster decision making.

IBM

With Pega Robotic Process Automation (RPA), organizations can automate the mundane, tedious, time-consuming, manual work that is hampering productivity and efficiency. Whether adjudicating claims, onboarding customers or employees, reconciling financials, updating customer information in systems record, Pega RPA can manage the work across your enterprise.

Pega

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

Turkcell, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Central Nacional Unimed, Conqord Oil

eBay Enterprise, M&I Bank

Buyer's Guide

IBM Datacap vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation

March 2025

Free Report: IBM Datacap vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Datacap vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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