Microsoft Power Automate vs SAP Intelligent RPA comparison

Microsoft and SAP are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2, while SAP is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 21.2% mindshare in RPA, compared to SAP’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Microsoft 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

SAP Intelligent RPA and Microsoft Power Automate offer robotic process automation solutions. SAP Intelligent RPA leads in customization, while Microsoft Power Automate stands out with its integration capabilities.

Features: SAP Intelligent RPA offers advanced automation for complex processes and a library of pre-built bots that simplify automation tasks. It also features flexible orchestration and job factory for seamless deployment. Microsoft Power Automate provides seamless integration with Microsoft's ecosystem and extensive connectors, supporting a wide range of applications. It also includes intuitive flow creation and the ability to automate office tasks.

Room for Improvement: SAP Intelligent RPA could enhance integration options beyond its current scope and simplify the initial setup process. It also needs better documentation to assist users. Microsoft Power Automate can improve in customization for complex automation scenarios, provide more robust automation features, and improve its user interface for more complex operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Power Automate offers a straightforward setup due to its deep integration with the Microsoft suite, providing ease in operation across platforms. Its extensive customer support options aid smooth deployment. SAP Intelligent RPA's deployment can be more intricate, but it offers strong support structures for users dealing with complex automation scenarios.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Intelligent RPA generally requires a higher initial investment, with potential for significant ROI through optimization of complex tasks. Microsoft Power Automate offers a competitive pricing structure, which is appealing for businesses seeking cost-effective, scalable solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Power Automate vs. SAP Intelligent RPA Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power Automate 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 Microsoft Power Automate is 21.2%, down from 21.8% 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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Nilesh Pundkar

IVR Developer at Orange

Good for email routing and management features but additional costs for plug-ins

Power Automate has fewer features and more limitations in general. It's not as mature a product as some of the others, like UiPath or Automate Anywhere. One of the main issues I've found is that Power Automate struggles with accessing Excel or other Office documents on servers. Even though it's a Microsoft product, we often have to log in through remote systems, and syncing can be problematic due to the way we use servers. At the very least, they should provide access to Office 365 directly, without requiring additional logins on servers. Most people utilizing Power Automate are already working within the Office 365 environment. Any proof of concepts (POCs) using Power Automate would naturally be built on top of Office 365.

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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

"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."

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

"This product is quite easy to install, learn, and use, with our new employees being able to start using it in projects for clients after only two weeks of internal training."

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

"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."

"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."

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

More Fortra's Automate pros

"It servers our purposes in bringing together all types of applications, being able to automate them with the right intelligent output from the data that we plugin."

"We have a good overview of our processes now thanks to Power Automate."

"Microsoft Power Automate is very easy to use."

"The solution is pretty customizable. Even big automation tasks are done rather simply."

"This product has an easy-to-use interface with nice detail in the features."

"I believe document reading has been beneficial when dealing with Microsoft."

"The approval feature is the most important feature. We also use the flow history feature. It is a very useful product as compared to other products. We can automate easily when a list is updated. We can also handle approval-related issues and integrate it with emails."

"The interface is user-friendly."

More Microsoft Power Automate pros

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

"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 initial setup of SAP Contextor is easy."

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

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

"Scalability is fine. It is pretty nice."

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

"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."

Cons

"The vendor is currently working on a solution that allows us to automatically create a process that is based on a document that we receive via email."

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

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

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

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

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

"It's possible that they could use a stronger community for seeking guidance and help."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"The BPM component needs improvement."

"We expect Microsoft Power Automate to work like any other RPA software, but at present, it is fairly lax, especially in the RPA space. We have a very limited set of use cases today for Microsoft Power Automate. Microsoft should make it a full-featured RPA product like other solutions that we use, such as Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and UiPath. This is predominantly the area that they need to improve on. Microsoft Power Automate is quite complex to use as well, especially if you want to do advanced workflows or advanced automation. The regular simple workflows are quite easy and straightforward, but the moment you want to do something complex, it is almost impossible for one of our employees to work on it."

"There is a limitation in setting up loops, where it does not support multiple conditions."

"From an improvement perspective, Microsoft just needs to make sure that they have a real enterprise RPA tool. PowerApps and Power Automate are still not at the level of UiPath and Automation Anywhere. It could be because Automation Anywhere and UiPath have been in the market for quite some time. It's just about Microsoft increasing their focus in terms of product reviews and development and making them competitive products that one can consider at an enterprise level. Right now, their use cases are limited as compared to what one would consider doing with UiPath and Automation Anywhere."

"If the product had onscreen help, it would be easier to learn and use."

"Sometimes, Microsoft changes the game rules, and the free tools are no longer free, which makes it too hard to explain to customers. It is a SaaS service, so the cost is calculated based on the execution hours. However, we don't know the background of this cost because we cannot touch the infrastructure. They can be more open to developers or customers about this. The infrastructure part must be open for the customers."

"I would like to see better data integration with different sources."

"They've already improved it, but I guess a testing suite would be nice to be able to test your automations in real time."

More Microsoft Power Automate cons

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

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

"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

"Comparatively, WinAutomation is cheaper than the other automation tools. When we purchased the license, it was around $50 or $60 per user most probably per month."

"With our Microsoft Office 365 license, we are able to use Microsoft Power Automate."

"The solution is $150 per month for the unattended add-on, and the normal Power Automate comes with an E3 license."

"This is a cost-effective product and now that it has been acquired by Microsoft, we don't expect the cost to increase with the next release."

"We are using the free version of Power Automate."

"There is zero licensing cost. It comes with our Microsoft Office subscription."

"The license cost could be better."

"I don't deal with the financial side. I know that we pay for a per-user license. It is probably less than $20 a user, but I am not sure about the exact figures."

More Microsoft Power Automate pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

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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RPA that Bots can run without centralized control?

Yes, Attended Bots which can run without centralized control Module. RPA Tools like Automation Anywhere, uiPath ,Pow...

See all answers

How do I choose between UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate?

Microsoft‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Automate‌ ‌is‌ ‌intuitive‌ ‌and‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌integrate‌ ‌and‌ ‌use.‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌that‌ ‌there‌ ‌...

See all answers

How is Automation Anywhere compared to Microsoft Power Automate?

‌Neither‌ ‌solution‌ ‌requires‌ ‌any‌ ‌coding‌ ‌experience,‌ ‌and‌ ‌both‌ ‌are‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌use‌ ‌and‌ ‌have‌ ‌great...

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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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

UiPath vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 36% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 7% 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

UiPath vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 34% of the time

Blue Prism vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 19% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 17% of the time

Python RPA vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 3% of the time

Pega Robotic Process Automation vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Power Automate Competitors

UiPath vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 42% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 26% 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

Microsoft Power Automate

January 2025

Download Microsoft Power Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Intelligent RPA

December 2024

Download SAP Intelligent RPA product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

Power Automate, Microsoft Flow, MS Power Automate, WinAutomation by Softomotive, ProcessRobot by Softomotive, Minit

SAP Contextor, Contextor

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Fortra

Microsoft

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.

Microsoft Power Automate is a powerful tool that streamlines and automates tasks within an organization.

It is used for workflow automation, data integration, and creating automated notifications and approvals.

Power Automate connects different applications and services, such as SharePoint, Excel, and Outlook, to automate data transfer and synchronization.

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

1. Coca-Cola 2. General Electric 3. Siemens 4. Accenture 5. Deloitte 6. Johnson & Johnson 7. Ford 8. Nestle 9. Procter & Gamble 10. IBM 11. Amazon 12. Google 13. Microsoft 14. Adobe 15. Cisco 16. Oracle 17. SAP 18. Intel 19. HP 20. Dell 21. Verizon 22. AT&T 23. T-Mobile 24. Walmart 25. Target 26. Home Depot 27. McDonald's 28. Starbucks 29. Nike 30. Apple 31. Facebook 32. Twitter

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power Automate vs. SAP Intelligent RPA

January 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Power Automate vs. SAP Intelligent RPA

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