SAP Intelligent RPA vs VisualCron comparison

SAP and SMA Technologies are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. SAP is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while SMA Technologies is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0. SAP holds a 2.4% mindshare in RPA, compared to SMA Technologies’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of SAP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SMA Technologies users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

SAP Intelligent RPA and VisualCron compete in the automation landscape. SAP Intelligent RPA is considered superior for robust integration capabilities and enterprise settings, while VisualCron leads in flexibility and ease of use.

Features: SAP Intelligent RPA is noted for its machine learning capabilities, strong integration with SAP ecosystems, and advanced automation for complex systems. VisualCron highlights include straightforward task scheduling, integration with various applications via open APIs, and solutions for repetitive tasks.

Room for Improvement: SAP Intelligent RPA could improve usability, simplify its user interface, and reduce setup complexity. VisualCron may enhance its integration depth, offer more advanced automation options, and provide improved analytics features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Intelligent RPA involves a more complex deployment process necessitating initial configuration, with comprehensive support channels. VisualCron, in contrast, offers a simpler deployment model using user-friendly tools and provides responsive support focused on ease and speed.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Intelligent RPA typically has higher initial setup costs due to its complexity and extensive capabilities, potentially leading to a higher ROI for large enterprises. VisualCron's accessible pricing model with lower setup costs aligns with faster ROI for small to medium-sized businesses concentrating on cost-effective automation solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP Intelligent RPA vs. VisualCron Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SAP Intelligent RPA vs. VisualCron

September 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

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 2.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Intelligent RPA is 2.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Automate	2.3%
SAP Intelligent RPA	2.4%
VisualCron	0.9%
Other	94.4%

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Featured Reviews

Jane Rachma Kiniti

IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires

Automate has streamlined workflows and increased efficiency with powerful automation

The best features of the solution are the flexible automation features, it is rich with beautiful connectors, and it is easy to use with little to no coding knowledge required to get started, so anybody can use the tool. The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design, which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag-and-drop interface, which makes everything so easy and straightforward. The error handling capabilities in complex automation tasks are powerful, as it handles all types of tasks, whether complex or simple. I've never faced any problems even when dealing with complex tasks, so everything is super smooth and highly reliable, even when dealing with big tasks, as it has never slowed down. Automate's compatibility with existing IT infrastructure has impacted our business operations positively by providing smooth integration with other software that we use, such as Gmail, Jira, and Microsoft 365 apps, which gives us a unified platform instead of having to keep switching from one software to another, saving a lot of time and streamlining the whole workflows. The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies. It is also cost-saving. By minimizing manual labor, it decreases human errors that can lead to costly mistakes. By automating the tasks, it helps to save costs, and it also improves our accuracy by reducing these errors to ensure that tasks are done almost perfectly.

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Sibanshu Samantaray

SAP Lead Consultant at Bosch Global Software Technologies

Well-documented in the help portal, scalable and automates redundant processes, with additional functionality for a low code or no code approach

I would recommend you to visit SAP's partner site. They have various testimonies given by various diamond clients that they have, those who have implemented this solution, and go through those testimonies and relayed them to their case studies. If it relates to you and you feel the product is right, you should go for it. I would recommend using the solution. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. The reason is that the SAP IRPA is a very nice product, part of it completely under the SAP Umbrella, but it's a bit late in the game. The reason is that people already have automation, which is not something new. People have already had their alternatives with outside offering products that are available. So only they can tap into the new implementation or green the new projects that are coming up, they can push for that. There is something that has to be tested in terms of different industries and how it can be having more use cases around it, being a new product.

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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

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

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

"The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag and drop interface which makes everything so easy and straightforward."

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

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

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

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

"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."

More Automate pros

"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."

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

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

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

"Scalability is fine. It is pretty nice."

"The initial setup of SAP Contextor is easy."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

"The ability to clone jobs to shorten the time it takes to implement a process has been invaluable, but its flexibility also gives us the ability to create a job that can handle a multifaceted process with a complex workflow."

"It helped us reduce manual steps."

"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."

"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."

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

More VisualCron pros

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."

"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."

"Regarding customer support, I face challenges sometimes. They're not always available, and you may need to wait for assistance, but overall their support is acceptable."

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

"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."

"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."

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

More Automate cons

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

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

"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."

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

"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."

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

"SAP Contextor could improve by automating some processes."

"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."

"Our suggestion to make it better and more manageable in terms of GDPR: Implement it in a very partnership way."

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

"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."

"The documentation is a bit weak."

"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."

"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

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

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

More Automate pricing and cost advice

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

"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 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."

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

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

"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."

"ROI is one month."

"ROI is 95 percent."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Energy/Utilities Company

Computer Software Company

28%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

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.

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What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

My main use case for Automate is automating my everyday tasks, such as reporting, task assignment, and updating proje...

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

The pricing for Automate is affordable, even for a small organization, and it's well-packed and affordable.

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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...

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

UiPath Platform vs Automate

Compared 19% of the time

Nintex RPA vs Automate

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automate

Compared 14% of the time

Redwood Software - Finance Automation Edition vs Automate

Compared 9% of the time

Control-M vs Automate

Compared 5% of the time

More Automate Competitors

UiPath Platform vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 28% of the time

SAP Build Process Automation vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 18% of the time

Automation Anywhere vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 10% of the time

Jacada Intelligent Agent Engagement vs SAP Intelligent RPA

Compared 6% of the time

More SAP Intelligent RPA Competitors

Microsoft Power Automate vs VisualCron

Compared 32% of the time

Control-M vs VisualCron

Compared 22% of the time

OpCon vs VisualCron

Compared 8% of the time

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs VisualCron

Compared 8% of the time

JAMS vs VisualCron

Compared 6% of the time

More VisualCron Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automate

November 2025

Download Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Intelligent RPA

October 2025

Download SAP Intelligent RPA product report

Buyer's Guide

VisualCron

October 2025

Download VisualCron product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

SAP Contextor, Contextor

No data available

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

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.

SAP

VisualCron offers task automation through a visual interface, eliminating the need for programming skills. With capabilities like alerting and variable usage, users benefit from integration with databases, timely task execution, and cross-platform operations.

VisualCron empowers users by simplifying complex workflows. It allows seamless task automation through features like interactive scheduling and role-based operations. Users appreciate its integration capabilities, replacing multiple tools with a comprehensive automation solution. The support system ensures quick assistance, making it a reliable choice for workflow visualization and task execution. However, areas like error handling and interface design require enhancements for improved user experience.

What are the key features of VisualCron?

Visual Interface: Users automate tasks without needing programming skills.
Integration: Connects with databases and multiple systems to streamline operations.
Alerting: Notifies users about tasks and system statuses.
Task Scheduling: Allows interactive management of automated tasks.
Credentials Management: Enables cross-platform operations securely.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating VisualCron?

Increased Efficiency: Reduces the time spent on manual processes.
Cost Reduction: Eliminates the need for multiple tools by consolidating functionalities.
Enhanced Support: Offers robust post-sales support for quicker assistance.
Streamlined Workflows: Simplifies complex task automation.

Organizations leverage VisualCron in industries like finance and logistics to automate tasks such as encryption and secure file transfers. It's also integral in managing data operations, facilitating communications between systems, and executing SQL jobs, enhancing operational efficiency across sectors.

SMA Technologies

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

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

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

Buyer's Guide

SAP Intelligent RPA vs. VisualCron

September 2025

Free Report: SAP Intelligent RPA vs. VisualCron

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