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Data Automation Engineer at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 20
Saves time and human errors, but I would like more reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to connect to websites and pull data is the solution's most valuable feature."
  • "Fortra's Automate is not as reliable as I would like it to be."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for automating processes to pull down reports from the web. The company posts these reports on websites, and we want to download them. We then scrape the reports to create database files that can be pulled into other applications.

How has it helped my organization?

On occasion, it is easier to use the solution's recorder for recording desktop and browser-based activities.

The solution saved users a lot of time. They are thrilled that they no longer have to manually pull reports and go through large amounts of data to find the information they need. Previously, they had to spend 20-30 minutes every day going through reports, but now we can condense that down to a few minutes.

Fortra's Automate is a drag-and-drop development platform that makes it easy to connect and pull data from visual websites or visuals. Users can simply drag and drop elements to create their automation. This makes Automate a very user-friendly platform, even for those with no coding experience.

Fortra recommends 20 hours of hands-on use before their formal training, which is four, two-hour sessions. I think that is a pretty good plan.

As we use Automate more, it will help us reduce the need to hire more people to process repetitive tasks.

Automate helped our organization reduce human error.

What is most valuable?

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

What needs improvement?

Fortra's Automate is not as reliable as I would like it to be. For example, it sometimes has trouble finding elements on a page. I noticed that on occasion when I come in the morning and check the automation, it did not run properly.  I am not sure if it is because of the way I programmed it, but this happens more often than I would like.

Buyer's Guide
Fortra's Automate
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortra's Automate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortra's Automate for four months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For the most part, the solution is stable. We're still finding ways to program around hiccups in our runs.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?


How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very good. They are responsive and work through issues with me. I called them two or three times.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What was our ROI?

I'm not involved in the dollars side, but we're saving lots of time. Users are moving routine and mundane tasks to Automate so they can get to pertinent information with minimal effort.

What other advice do I have?

I give Fortra's Automate an eight or nine out of ten.

Creating the logging is easy enough. We have to do our own logging in Automate. Maybe that's just how it has to be, but I need to understand how to diagnose problems better. Overall, I'm happy with the product so far.

I recommend taking advantage of the training that Fortra offers on its website. It is good quality training. Fortra requires us to complete 20 hours of training, followed by their formal instructor-led training (via Zoom) and certification. I believe that a lot of this instructor-led training could have been delivered through video from their website and that more time could have been spent discussing real-world use cases for the company. I don't know if this is possible, but the training costs $1500, so I think a more personalized experience would have been better value for money.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Assistant IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 20
Ensures reliable task execution and has an easy setup process
Pros and Cons
  • "The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."
  • "The product also has a limited use case in some respects."

What is our primary use case?

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 and programming it to perform them automatically on a scheduled basis.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features are reliable task execution and ongoing development, which brings continuous enhancements. 

What needs improvement?

We were waiting for the product's FTP capabilities to be updated as they needed to catch up in some areas for which ciphers were permitted. The module for those file transfers or communications had issues with partners tightening their security and turning off certain cyber suites. We stopped communicating until we could resolve some problems. A part of it may have evolved into an actual version upgrade. They've recently made some release notes and added enhancements regarding that topic. I'm glad to hear that attention is still being given to getting the required changes.

The product also has a limited use case in some respects. However, it offers vast more capabilities than what we're utilizing.

The only thing they can improve on is its marketing sales. The costs have become exponentially more than what we used to apply it for. It was only about 200 to 300 bucks when I first purchased it. Now it has become five grand receipts.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Fortra's Automate for more than 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We rarely encounter stability issues. The platform works well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product effectively handles all the tasks we require. While I cannot confirm with certainty, other customers are likely testing its capabilities more extensively than we are. Nevertheless, it is scalable and meets the requirements of our environment.

How are customer service and support?

I can reach the support team easily via email or phone calls. The resolution process varies depending on the complexity of the issue. For some problems, the support team provides straightforward solutions, such as trying different approaches. They are consistently available to address queries.

My most significant challenge involved agreeing on FTP ciphers between the host and server or client. The support team assisted in resolving this issue, which was the most prolonged troubleshooting engagement I experienced.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are about to start with a proof of concept for Power Automate. Additionally, a few lower-cost solutions are available, but they are not feature-rich enough.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy to work with, involving no code to create automation scripts. The time taken depends on the complexity of the task. Simple tasks can be done in minutes, like setting up a script to move files between two locations.

Maintenance is minimal. There are periodic updates, generally at least once a year, and intermittent releases for patches or enhancements as needed.

What about the implementation team?

One person can handle the implementation if they have the time to learn and are diligent. Much of it is intuitive, like writing code without actually writing code. Before using the tool, one must have a high-level idea of the workflow and the steps needed to accomplish the end goal.

In general, if you want to use any process automation tool, don't just duplicate what you're doing by hand; instead, rearchitect the process to be more efficient. Have a high-level series of steps mapped out before you start coding.

What other advice do I have?

For somebody who just started using Fortra's Automate, they would see the benefits fairly immediately. Once a task is set up, they can immediately observe its performance and reliability.

It can be configured to inform you of an error message. It could indicate a success or a failure, depending on the expected outcome. At least we are kept aware that the tasks are running regularly. A lot of bigger control can be utilized to ensure the tasks function properly.

If the product functions aren't broken, there is nothing to fix. However, it is crucial to complete updates quickly as they could make system upgrades difficult later.

As mentioned before, I advise ensuring they have a well-thought-out process for how they will build your tasks. They shouldn't attempt to automate a poor process; ensure it is optimized or tuned before starting. It applies regardless of the platform they use.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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PeerSpot user
Peter Hegland - PeerSpot reviewer
Peter HeglandManaging Director, Automation at Fortra
MSP

Hi reviewer2534466 - Thanks so much for leaving us a review and for being a long-time, loyal customer! I'd love to talk to you and learn more about how we can improve the Automate product and pricing. I am the Managing Director/General Manager for Automate. Please reach out if you are able to chat - peter.hegland@fortra.com. Best, Peter Hegland

Buyer's Guide
Fortra's Automate
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortra's Automate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
BahatiAsher Faith - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Developer at Appnomu Business Services
Real User
Top 5
Affordable, excellent support, and makes it easy and quick to deploy bots with its drag-and-drop interface
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

We're a value-added distributor for HelpSystems Automate. We distribute Automate along with other solutions to various customers. Each customer has a different use case. Usually, we develop a proof of concept solution for them or the whole project for them. 

We've done multiple projects. We've done projects for hospitals for insurance eligibility checking. We've done HR automation. We've done price comparisons for various vendors where they want to know how their competitors are pricing the same products.

For the insurance eligibility checking that we have done for a hospital chain in the region, the requirement was that they have thousands of patients coming in every day, and they need to know the insurance these patients have and what's covered under the insurance for them. So, the front desk employee takes a person's ID and enters the identification number from the ID. After that, the bot that we've developed picks up that ID from the backend, goes into the insurance portal, searches for that particular ID, and then finds out if they're eligible or not. If they're eligible, it finds out what's their copay, what's their coverage, what's their network, etc. This is the process that we developed for a hospital chain in the region.

How has it helped my organization?

For no-code automation specifically, it's very good. It's all just drag and drop, so as a developer, you don't see any underlying code that's there. It's very friendly in that regard. You don't need to have someone who is extremely technical or proficient to start developing solutions with Automate, which is huge. However, you do have to work on integration. For example, if you want to integrate a PowerShell script into your workflow, there are actions for that. If you are a proficient developer who wants to use more traditional coding languages, you can still integrate that with your regular workflow. It's very useful for clients who don't want to dedicate too many technical resources to develop and automate. Some of our clients have regular IT staff. Even though they're in IT, they're not doing much coding per se. They're able to automate pretty well and pretty quickly with Automate. They can easily start developing and working with it, which is a big selling point. We also have clients who are more used to having traditional scripting languages and are less willing to try out Automate. So, it varies on a case-by-case basis, but in the vast majority of cases, having no code is a huge factor.

It's pretty good at reducing human errors. Whatever you set up, it does that logically. If any errors come through, it's almost always because of some gaps in the implementation logic, which can be tricky to catch. That's where the bulk of the errors come from. There might be some edge cases that you didn't consider while developing, which might cause some errors. That's quite possible, but if you set it up right, it works pretty well. The other area of errors would be if you're incorporating OCR or something like that. There's inherently some ambiguity in that. It can read some letters differently. There's a possibility for errors to come in there as well. However, based on what I've seen, at least for the insurance eligibility process, there is about 90% to 95% accuracy. In the vast majority of cases, it's pretty accurate.

What is most valuable?

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.

The implementation time is pretty quick, which is another big selling point. The web browser of Automate is pretty good as well. If you want to do any web scraping or log into a website and pick up information, it's pretty easy to set that up. These are some good features of it.

What needs improvement?

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. From a developer's perspective, it gets a little difficult to debug at times due to these error messages. It's not with all the errors, but for quite a few errors, the documentation is vague.

Event logging and failure notifications could be improved because you can set up logging for each individual step, but you have to go and manually add it to each step or task. The same issue is there with the failure notification. You can set up an action so that when a task fails, you can take a screenshot and send an email notification, but you have to go into the task and build a condition for that. It would be better if event logging and error failure notifications can be done at a global level without having to go inside the code and add it for every single task.

Its stability could be improved a little bit, and it could also have a few more third-party integrations. Currently, you can integrate with almost any third-party service. You can integrate either through the API or through the GUI, but it would be nice if there were native actions built into Automate. It already has a lot of integrations. For example, we have Microsoft Dynamics, SharePoint, etc. We do have a fair bit of third-party integrations, but it would be nice to have a few more software integrations.

There is a community portal, but it's not particularly active. It's not a very big community. If you run into an error, you can't just look it up on Stack Overflow or something like that. However, the tech support from the vendor side has been excellent, so it isn't a big issue.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for a year and two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability can be better. It's not a very big concern, but once in a while, you lose connection to the main central server for Automate from the developer console. If your developer console loses connection to the main console, which is not a very frequent occurrence, you don't realize it until later. So, you're saving your task thinking it's working fine, but it's not being saved on the server. You lose a little bit of data once in a while, but these are not very frequent occurrences. It happens once in a while, but it's something to be careful about. There are also occasional crashes. Sometimes it slows down, and it crashes. I'd rate it an eight out of ten in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a very scalable solution. We have an unlimited bot version as well, so we can deploy multiple agents. We can have load balancing across these agents. We can set up agent groups as well. We can have an agent group running a certain task, and we can have a load balancer to distribute that task across agents. We have failover support and high availability support. So, it's a very scalable solution.

It's usually deployed in one location. I don't have much experience with clients deploying in multiple locations. I've only seen them use multiple servers, but they're all local servers. It's only supported for Windows, so there's no Mac or Linux support.

We've done implementations for enterprise-level customers to small and medium-sized customers. Its biggest selling point is that small and medium customers usually find solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism far too expensive. They find Automate's pricing much more competitive. 

How are customer service and support?

Their support is excellent. You can raise a support ticket, and within four hours, you'll have a response. Because we're a distributor, we also have direct email access to a few of their technical support team members based out of Europe. They're also pretty responsive. Usually, they help us out with almost any issues that we run into. So, their support is excellent. I'd rate them a nine out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

It's agnostic. It can work on the cloud or on-prem. Some customers want it on-prem, and some customers want it on the cloud. It doesn't make much of a difference from Automate's perspective. It's the same software, and where you deploy it doesn't make much of a difference. We have integration with AWS and Azure. 

I work in development, so I am involved in deployment for clients. It's pretty straightforward. You just install it and set it up. There are some prerequisites where you have to open a few ports and do things like that. Overall, it's straightforward. You can do it in maybe an hour.

After you have it up and running, you can just start working on it. You have a developer console, and as soon as it's set up, you can start developing and deploying from there. A simple, basic task such as reading an email, taking a file, and moving it to a folder can be developed in two hours. 

In terms of the ease of setting up and deploying the attended or unattended bots, we don't do much differentiation between attended and unattended bots. They're the same thing for the most part. It's just about how you'd set up the workflow. If you are setting up an attended workflow, for example, you'd have some actions in the workflow saying that wait for a user's input or something like that. For unattended, it's going to be completely end-to-end. We don't make much differentiation in that case. The pricing is the same, and it's pretty easy to deploy them after you've developed them. 

What about the implementation team?

For deployment, it's just me for the most part. It's pretty straightforward.

In terms of maintenance, we offer two pricing models. We offer subscription models where you just pay an annual cost every year, and there's also a perpetual model where you pay some amount initially, and then every year, you pay the annual maintenance cost.

What was our ROI?

We see that there's usually a very quick ROI on it after implementation. It's pretty easy to develop, which means you can get solutions out pretty quickly. At times, you have to maintain certain parts of it, but that's expected. What I've seen is that after implementing it, organizations usually see a quick return on the initial investment they have made. There is going to be a maintenance cost for it to ensure that it keeps running, but that's fair.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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. That's a big selling point. It isn't like most of the competitors where if you're running three processes on a single bot, they would be charging you for three processes. We're also the only vendor to offer an unlimited option where you can have unlimited bots, and each bot can do an unlimited number of tasks. Price-wise, we're very competitive.

What other advice do I have?

I'd definitely recommend it. It's a very good product. It's a very affordable product, especially if you're a small or medium-sized organization. My biggest suggestion is to invest internally in your organization so that your employees can build and develop their own bots for their use cases. That's the biggest thing that customers who are looking to buy Automate can do. It's very easy to use and very easy to pick up. It's unlike most of the competitors where you need to have a highly certified individual to develop. So, invest in your people or employees who are doing the day-to-day work because they know what they can automate and what they cannot automate. Embrace automation fully and not just as a small part of your organization. 

It's pretty easy to automate any manual tasks that are currently repetitive. So, you can see a very quick return on investment with Automate. I also advise companies that are planning on doing automation to also invest in maintaining and scaling it. Don't just be satisfied with automating a single process, but take it further and set up an automation center of excellence and also look at other departments, such as HR and finance, that can use automation. It doesn't have to be just in IT. You can do this for almost any business flow that you have. You need to embrace it and invest in it more than just having a consultant come in and do one project and leave. You don't need to have too many technical or certified people to start working. It's very easy to use compared to other competitors' solutions.

In terms of training required to use Automate, HelpSystems offers Automate Academy on its website. It's free of cost, and anyone can access it. It has got multiple modules and hours of videos going over from the very basic concepts to more advanced concepts of Automate, including workflows and other more technical features. You can go through that, and you can also get certified through it. Those resources are freely available. Any of our customers can use them. That's one place where you can get support for training. There's also something called Bot Store, which is provided by HelpSystems. You can just go there and download prebuilt bots, and you can freely modify them, edit them, and use them for your use case. They are also mostly free. When you combine both of these, there is a fair bit of support for the developers for training. In terms of the amount of training required, it varies on a case-by-case basis. Some people learn it faster, and some people learn it slower. It also depends on your technical background. For example, they still have the concepts of loops and if statements. Even though it's drag-and-drop, you still need to know those concepts to develop with Automate. You need to have that kind of algorithm thinking. If you come from a development background, it's very easy to pick up and use. With a couple of hours of training and just playing around with it, you should be good to go, and of course, there are all the resources from the vendor side to fill in many gaps.

There is the Recorder feature in Automate, but I don't personally use it that much because anything that you can do with the Recorder feature can be done with the regular drag-and-drop actions. Recorder doesn't make it a lot easier to use than it already is.

Overall, I'd rate Automate a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
PeerSpot user
EDI Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 201-500 employees
Real User
Has the capability to alert us of any issues and does the job effectively
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

We use Fortra's Automate to run job schedules for data processing to and from our ERP systems. We extract important data to send to customers and upload it to our ERP system.

The solution is deployed on-premises in just one location.

How has it helped my organization?

Fortra's Automate does the work we wanted to do in the expected steps, and it's really a throughput process that enables our system to have a steady flow of transactions.

Our company's goal is to use Fortra's Automate to build and create automation. Of course, we have to instruct the solution as to what to do, but this would be a great enhancement for our organization.

The ability to automate using drag and drop is very important to our organization.

We did not need any training before using the solution.

I was not with my organization when they did not have Fortra's Automate. Therefore, it is difficult for me to measure what they did before. Manual work would have likely caused errors, and the solution is helping to improve that.

I work with EDI, which is the business process that we use. We need to get EDI data into an ERP system, and Fortra's Automate is the tool that can help us do that.

The solution has saved us time, as it is an automated process that runs independently and transfers data.

What is most valuable?

The solution is quite sound and it is a reliable workhorse. Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues.

What needs improvement?

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. Automate simply states "failure" and nothing else. This is an area that could be improved by having wizards available to assist.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution appears to be scalable, however, our lack of time to analyze and experiment is a major setback.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is excellent. I enjoy chatting with technical support, as it allows me to get a quick response to any solutions or problems. This has saved us a lot of time, and we are able to get an immediate response. The support person will join us online in a Zoom session to resolve our issue. Not many solutions offer this, which is very advantageous for us. We can also email, but they give us the option to chat, which is very quick, easy, thorough, and effective.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment due to the reduction of manual effort required for certain tasks.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

There are no additional fees.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten because we never received any training or exposure to Fortra's Automate. We had to learn it through hands-on experience with a mentor when we started. We weren't given any resources to help us learn, so we had to figure it out on our own.

We have two people that directly use the solution.

The biggest issue we face is failure when attempting to use the ERP system at times, so we have nothing to maintain.

Potential users without experience should view demonstrations of how Fortra's Automate works to gain an understanding of its capabilities.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Katie R Thompson - PeerSpot reviewer
Katie R ThompsonMarketing Campaign Lead at Fortra
Vendor

Thanks for the awesome review! We appreciate your feedback. We’re glad Automate is helping your organization reduce manual work and human errors. Additionally, we love to hear it's saving your employees time by automating processes that run independently to transfer data. Sorry to hear you're having issues identifying the source of a communication error within Automate. I have shared this information with our product/support team. If you ever find you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to Support as they are always at your disposal. Thank you again!

    Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
    Consultant
    Provides a central place to schedule tasks and has good monitoring features and support
    Pros and Cons
    • "It gives us a central place to schedule tasks and run them distributed."
    • "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."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it for running reports.

    How has it helped my organization?

    It gives us a central place to schedule tasks and run them distributed. 

    It's fairly important to us that it's based on a drag-and-drop, form-based development. It required very little training.

    It has helped to reduce human errors. I can't provide the metrics, but humans are prone to creating errors when doing things manually.

    It hasn't recently helped reduce our organization's need to hire more people to process repetitive tasks. That's because it's a mature instance that we're supporting.

    What is most valuable?

    Some of the monitoring features and the dashboard are valuable.

    What needs improvement?

    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.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for about four months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's fairly stable. We're seeing some issues. I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It seems scalable to an extent. We've 15 users using this solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    I've contacted them. They were very helpful. I'd rate them a ten out of ten.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I've used other solutions, but there wasn't another one I know of doing this work at this company.

    How was the initial setup?

    I wasn't a part of the deployment process. It was done several years ago, and I joined the team just this year.

    In terms of the setup and the environment, it's virtualized on-premises. We have three EXE servers, one service box, and one server that we run the client on.

    In terms of maintenance, I'm not aware of any maintenance requirements.

    What other advice do I have?

    To those evaluating this solution, I'd advise having your migration plan in place.

    I played around with a few of the things, and it seems like a viable option for building and creating automation using no-code automation, but it also depends on the use case.

    I'd rate Fortra's Automate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
    PeerSpot user
    Clinical business analyst senior at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Reasonably priced with responsive technical support and good stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "We have found the pricing to be very reasonable."
    • "The documentation is not that great."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution either for uploading and downloading files on vendor SFTP sites, reading data and files and looking at files to alert and take action, and internally moving files such as data extract and reports from one destination to another, including moving into a network folder or server.

    We also use it for data transformation and manipulation, such as converting files from text to Excel or CSV, unzipping files, leading rows and columns, reformatting rows and columns, and combining files.

    And then we also use the solution to connect them to databases to execute SQL statements to produce reports.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We've automated all the vendor processes so that we don't have to manually load any files. Basically, it just automates the entire process for over 70 vendors, which is great.

    What is most valuable?

    The file interaction features are the most valuable aspect for us. We use them a lot and data interaction is our main use case.

    Technical support is responsive.

    The initial setup is straightforward.

    The stability is very good.

    We have found the pricing to be very reasonable.

    What needs improvement?

    The OCR needs improvement. 

    The solution needs image recognition to integrate front-end and back-end workflows. They need to offer better organization of image capturing for image recognition.

    The documentation is not that great. There have been times where I've had to reach out to HelpSystems to just try to accomplish what we're looking for. I've used other solutions that have much better documentation available.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for five years. It's been a while. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We haven't really tested the scalability. We haven't tried too many integrations, for example.

    We have six full-time users on the solution right now.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I've used tech su[pirt in the past and I have found them to be helpful and responsive. I'm satisfied with the level of service they provide. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is probably pretty straightforward, or, at least, that's my understanding. We had people System Engineers that we're able to set up pretty easily.

    The biggest part about deployment is setting up the dedicated servers, which we're actually installing on the services, and therefore it is pretty painless.

    What was our ROI?

    We have seen ROI in terms of saving and cutting down on resources related to specific workflows. You don't have to have IT staff to manipulate files or pick them up or automate some things for end-users. Since they don't have to perform those actions, we get ROI savings there.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We pay the licensing fees on a yearly basis. The pricing is good.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're just a partner and an end-user.

    We don't really use the reporting or the dashboards within the product, although they are available. 

    There are other solutions that companies can use to integrate with AutoMate. I would recommend that organizations also look to pair it with other solutions like the AutoMate Intelligent Capture Solution as that can integrate very well with the RPA product.

    I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been very happy with its capabilities.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Continuous improvement coordinator at a insurance company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Boosts productivity with cost-effective, easy-to-use automation software
    Pros and Cons
    • "I find it very user-friendly. Our IT department and other departments can seamlessly collaborate without requiring extensive training. As a business department, we particularly value this aspect, as our team doesn't consist of many IT users. However, we couldn't solely rely on a drag-and-drop approach to implement and utilize the solution within our departments."
    • "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."

    What is our primary use case?

    Before we started using Fortra's Automate, we developed a business case in collaboration with the enterprise to determine how to implement the solution in our business. 

    We explored ways to monetize our automation efforts and considered whether to create a specialized automation department or have multiple employees across various departments working on automation. We decided to appoint one dedicated person to focus on teaching and troubleshooting issues related to the Fortra Automate solution, while employees from different departments would engage in building and refining the RPA processes.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We automated processes across security, IT, and credit cards, addressing numerous time-consuming manual tasks such as modifying credit card parameters and managing user passwords within the IT department. With Fortra's Automate, we've significantly streamlined these processes, enabling a much faster and more transparent workflow for both the IT team and the employees involved in these processes.

    What is most valuable?

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

    What needs improvement?

    I believe we need to test various OCR tools that assist in evaluating six different customer resyncs. We analyze their spending patterns and documentation, 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.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortra’s Automate for more than a year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a distinct challenge. We lack a direct path to the internet; instead, our server connections pass through Argentina, and our Microsoft server is situated in Brazil or the United States. This setup sometimes causes connectivity issues, leading to timeouts. We're actively addressing these concerns within our cloud environment, but overall stability relies heavily on our internet infrastructure, which currently impacts the functioning of our entire setup.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Based on our records, I'd rate it around nine to ten, which is excellent. However, our on-premise servers need improvement, consistently posing challenges, prompting our decision to transition away from this setup. I'd rate on-premise performance at around five at most.

    How are customer service and support?

    They are good.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    This is our very first solution in this category.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was challenging as we, being the first bank in the country, had limited knowledge about transitioning to the cloud. Obtaining authorization from the central bank was a critical step. With significant assistance from the enterprise and Microsoft, leveraging Azure, setting up on the cloud posed its difficulties. Although Fortra's Automate is on-premise, our CRMs are cloud-based. We're in the process of using APIs to bridge our CRM with the on-premise database, creating a hybrid solution, although the CRMs are entirely cloud-based.

    What was our ROI?

    Regarding the return on investment, I may not have the exact figures at the moment, but our primary focus is on enhancing efficiency. We are actively measuring and analyzing the efficiency gains we've achieved, and the results have been quite promising.

    We are currently engaged in several automation projects, and we are closely tracking the benefits and returns generated by our automation efforts.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    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.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We conducted research on various solutions, but we were already familiar with Fortra as we had previous positive experiences using it in different organizations.

    What other advice do I have?

    Firstly, it's crucial for individuals to understand the essence of automation and why it's necessary for their tasks. Many express the need for automation without a clear vision of their existing processes or the roadmap towards automation. It's essential to have a clear understanding of current workflows and the desired destination before considering solutions to facilitate that transition.

    Overall, I would rate it 8 out of 10.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Administrative Officer at rpa total centroamerica
    Real User
    Good pricing, with great Azure integration and very good forms
    Pros and Cons
    • "The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."
    • "The technical support could be better. We suffer from language barriers, as we are in Argentina."

    What is our primary use case?

    With Automate, as an example, if I have a supplier that provides me with items in bulk, the bot of the system will take the bulk order and divide it into individual units for sales. If the company that supplies me also charges for transportation, the system will divide those costs among each item so that I am invoicing and charging correctly when I am selling items on an individual basis. It does this based on the rules I set up on my end. It basically takes the work of many people and automates it.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution integrates well with Microsoft Azure. We get AI, artificial intelligence, resources from the solution and it's working very well for us. 

    The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard.

    The deployment is not too complicated. It's pretty easy.

    The forms are very good.

    What needs improvement?

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

    The OCR (optical character recognition) capacity could be improved a bit.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have about two years of experience with the solution. It hasn't been too long.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is very good. As far as I know, we haven't had any issues so far. It's very reliable. The performance is good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability has been very good so far.

    We have been using it in a Home Depot-like organization in Costa Rica. It's deployed in over 42 stores there, across different servers, and it is working very well for them. They love the solution and plan to use it more and to increase usage as well.

    Typically, we work with medium and large-sized organizations.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is a bit of an issue.

    We have our technical support team from Argentina. We can't even speak the same language. That aspect is quite bad. 

    However, we have been trained by them, and we had some RPA experts. We were given very good training and they provided it to us.

    How was the initial setup?

    I found the initial setup to be quite straightforward. It's nice and easy. It's not an overly complex process.

    The deployment is pretty fast. We got it done in under one day.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing of the product is reasonable. We don't find it overly expensive. It's very competitive.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We've compared the solution to, for example, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and UiPath. And we have done a lot better with HelpSystem. It offers much better pricing, for example, and offer very good forms.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are a representative of the company. We are integrators and HelpSystems partners and we sell the platform to companies in Costa Rica, Central America, and Puerto Rico. We do the integration for clients. Therefore, we do the mapping, and we do the bots also.

    We are using the latest version of the solution. However, I'm not sure what the exact number is.

    I would advise others to have an expert that understands the solution assist in the onboarding process. The platform can be very good. It is really good. However, if you don't have experts to train your people and also to implement the solution properly within your company, it's likely the project will fail.

    Overall, I would rate the product at a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Fortra's Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: November 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Fortra's Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.