Fortra's Automate Reviews

We didn't actually deploy the solution. It was basically testing the product. It was just some simple testing we were doing. We've tried downloading reports from the new RP system, using RPA, and doing some manual uploading from some PDF files into our ERP. It was just used for some super simple operations to try it out and get a feel for it.

I actually quite liked the no-coding functionality. You don't have to be too technical or be a coding expert to utilize the solution. 

The platform was fairly user-friendly in terms of designing the bot. I was able to make it do what I needed it to do.

It's difficult for me to answer as I'm not really an expert on HelpSystems and I don't know it well enough to really give great feedback just yet. I'm not really that comfortable critiquing the platform. I'm sure there are some of those issues there. 

It's possible that they could use a stronger community for seeking guidance and help. For example, I know with Automation Anywhere or UiPath, there are strong community areas where I can ask questions and search for information. I don't know if that exists for HelpSystems. I find, for example, it's helpful, if I'm using UiPath, to go onto some of the community pages and I have found answers to my questions fairly easily. I don't know if that's something that exists with HelpSystems. 

The user interface could use a bit of an improvement.

I've only been working with the solution for a short period. I've only used it a little bit for about a month or two, however, I don't have great experience in RPA's.

The solution was quite stable. We didn't have to deal with bugs or glitches. It didn't crash or freeze. We found it to be reliable for the most part.

We were only using the free version and not the paid option. However, that said, I did find it to be fairly flexible. It could scale if you needed it to.

We haven't really used the solution for too long at this point. There aren't too many people using it in our organization.

I haven't really had much experience with technical support, as I haven't used the product that much or for that long. I wouldn't be able to critique their level of service.

I tried to download and use Micro Focus. However, it was too complicated for my skill level and I gave up before I really got too far into the process.

The installation of HelpSystems was not difficult at all. I'm not technically strong, however, I could do it myself without too many problems. It's pretty straightforward, even for non-technical users.

I don't remember how long the deployment took, to be honest. It was one of the easier installations I've dealt with on the platform. When I've looked at other platforms, I've found that some of their rivals were very difficult to install for a person with my lack of experience. For example, Micro Focus was one I tried to download and install and I gave up due to the fact that it was just too complicated. I can compare this experience to Micro Focus where I just found I wasted a lot of time and got very poor feedback. I found HelpSystems refreshingly easy to install. 

I handled the implementation myself.

I was not using a paid version. I was using a free version. We didn't have to pay for any licensing.

We're evaluating RPA at the moment, and therefore we haven't made any payments yet, or we haven't made any purchases to commence operations. We are looking at that, however, we haven't started anything officially. I have a good idea of the pricing of the HelpSystems and UiPath solutions. We're comfortable with what it would cost if we decide to continue with either option.

I've been looking at UiPath for a couple of months, however, I don't have a great amount of knowledge in the topic and I'm not an expert in the area.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.

So far, from my limited experience, I would recommend the solution to other organizations.

However, based on my limited understanding of the product, as I haven't used it for too long just yet, I would rate it at a seven out of ten.

We use Fortra's Automate to handle a variety of tasks, such as moving files for FTP and pulling files from AWS S3 storage. The solution is also utilized for web scraping. It provides multiple functionalities that we need for efficient operations.

By implementing Fortra's Automate, we wanted to automate so that there are fewer manual processes. The more manual processes there are, the higher the chance of failures or errors. By automating something, we make it more consistent.

It enhances my workflow by allowing both static scheduling and dynamic job execution. It allows us to schedule things based on a static schedule, but we also use the feature where it watches for files to be available or delivered. That makes it more dynamic. If we cannot predict a schedule to run, it allows us to dynamically run automation jobs when files become available.

We run it in a Windows environment, and it integrates with everything we need it to, whether it is an API call or Python code. If there are certain things that we cannot do with Fortra's Automate, we call it a secondary piece of Python code. It gives us the ability to communicate with the entire environment.

The most valuable features of Fortra's Automate include its FTP functionality and file manipulation capabilities. We also use it for decompression and encryption.

I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking. I know they are working on improving this with Amazon S3, which would greatly benefit my use case since I rely heavily on it. Improving these aspects would make the solution more seamless.

I have been using Fortra's Automate for around five years.

The stability of Fortra's Automate is excellent. I would rate it a nine out of ten. It is very reliable.

We have not done any scaling with it. 

We are currently using it in one place. Its users include myself.

Their support definitely has your back in getting things sorted out. They are very responsive and have been able to resolve any issues I have encountered. I would rate them a nine out of ten. 

Positive

Before switching to Fortra's Automate, we used more code-based solutions like WinBatch. It was older and required a strong knowledge of coding, which took too long to develop. Fortra's Automate is easier to use, allowing new users to pick it up quickly.

We just migrated to AWS. We had it on-premises in our data center, and now we are using it in AWS on an EC2 instance.

The initial setup of Fortra's Automate was very straightforward and easy. Migration was also very easy. We just needed to purchase a second license. We were able to back up all of our jobs and import them into the new environment. It took less than a day.

In terms of maintenance, it only requires updates. We have to update occasionally. The updates are fine. It would be nice to do in-place updates, but we have to uninstall and reinstall the application to apply an update.

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

It has gone up in price. The price of Fortra's Automate has increased since we first started using it. It does a lot but also costs a lot. It was a lot more affordable before Fortra owned the software.

The standard fee includes a yearly license with support. Although its cost has risen, it remains an essential application for us.

Fortra's Automate is very easy to use, and the robust support makes it a reliable solution. I would definitely recommend it to others.

I would rate Fortra's Automate a ten out of ten.