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 for repetitive tasks, such as downloading web-based reports using the browser and programming it to perform them automatically on a scheduled basis.

Our primary use case is to automate the onboarding user process. This includes creating the user ID, enabling mailboxes in Exchange, adding user groups based on user types and sites, enabling third-party software like archiving for users on external sites, creating specific home directory and private directory structures, SQL querying if certain IDs already exist on our Document management system (our ID's don't match AD), creating logic to alert and email notifications. We will also be using it to monitor mailbox messages to create tickets via API for our ticketing system based on the type of email content and assigning it to appropriate departments.

We go case by case. We use Automate for various file transfers: SFPP, FTP, cloud to cloud, file to cloud, cloud to file, file to banks, and banks back and forth. We're happy with it, though it's mainly for file transfers.

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.

We use Fortra's Automate primarily to automate different tasks that different users would otherwise have to do manually, whether running secret queries, pulling files off FTP servers, or uploading files to FTP servers, primarily logistics. You'd be sending and receiving EDI documents, sending inventory files, transferring data to and from customers, and running general reports, whether exception reporting or regular inventory. We're even using it in payroll to set notices when people work overtime. We get reports from the payroll provider. We have automated reports for our transportation business. The solution is the whole company.

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.

My company, where I work, is a value-added distributor for Fortra's Automate. We distribute Automate and other solutions to various customers, each with a different use case. We develop a proof of concept solutions and full projects for them. We have done projects for hospitals for insurance eligibility checking, HR automation, and price comparisons for vendors. A specific use case is the insurance eligibility checking we have done for a hospital chain in the region. Whenever a front desk employee takes a person's ID, they enter the identifying number and our bot picks up the ID from the back end, searches the insurance portal for the ID, and finds out if they are eligible, what their copay is, what their coverage is, and what network they are in. The solution can be deployed on-prem or on the cloud depending on the organization's requirements and preferences.

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.

One use case is to automate single sign-on for different applications with the Active Directory. When people change roles within the company, we need to alter the permissions for multiple users. Another use case is assigning tickets to technicians. We classify what the customer needs and then automatically transfer the ticket to the person in our company who will handle this case. We also have some financial automation dealing with bank transactions. We sometimes use Automate to help us with data migration. When we have a new CRN that is a hotspot, we make a little robot for data migration because the company has accumulated a lot of data in 30 years. We only did this once and changed the bot after three months. These are some of our use cases. We have had 40 different automation cases in three years. We like to deploy on-premises because we have many related programs. When our customers make some tickets, we prefer to have everything in-house rather than on the cloud. We have servers in our office. One of the principal applications is on the server, and we have five bots in different areas, including finance, human resources, and operations.

We use HelpSystems Automate primarily for file manipulation, such as moving files from folder to folder and tasks that other tools can't do without some programming. When files come in, we want to send them to specific locations based on their names and based on the results of IF statements. The solution makes this kind of work more straightforward and more drag and drop. We also use the product to move Excel spreadsheets or PDF files and to convert PDF files; it's a powerful tool for transferring information. It has a playback feature, but we don't use that in our current environment. We have two servers running the solution; one for development and one for production. Going from development to production is as simple as dragging the object over and putting it into production with little to no change, which makes promotion straightforward. We get a data file comprised of multiple reports, and it's a text file. We use the solution to split the text file into individual reports, and then we can drop them into a folder, and they get picked up by another tool, OnBase. That is an essential task for us. We also use the tool for retrieving data files and sending them out via AWS or Google Cloud, as it has cloud-based capabilities. The tool works behind the scenes; we created a process that reads many data files, matches them to a SQL database and moves them to the correct folder while collecting information required for other processes further down the road. That's mainly what we use it for, and I'm responsible for maintaining it. Automate makes my job easier because I don't have to keep rewriting scripts or changing file names; we can quickly change a database file, and the solution picks that information up and processes it. For example, we get a file that has ten reports in it. We take that file and run it through Automate, which reads the data file line by line and breaks it up. Line one through 1000 is one report, and 1001 may be a second report. Automate handles that repeatedly very well. It then reads the database to determine what the report is and where it is supposed to go. If a report doesn't match any database parameters, it's simple to go into the report in Automate and add the condition.

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.

We primarily use this solution in order to automate manual processes in our operations.

I primarily use the solution for giving the sessions to the clients and trying to get them to set up AutoMate in their organization and also help them to design and create a workflow. For example, one of our clients, for a healthcare chain, was having a lot of COVID patients coming in in 2020. Their SAP systems are on 15(16) Field information had to go on to the Department of Health site, as all the blood samples are tested in the government hospitals. There were lab technicians keeping the SAP application open and they were copying all these 15(16) Fields of 2000 patients end of the day into the DOH website. That was taking them a lot of time. Two other people were hired to help. What we did for them was automate the process. We went into the SAP system and every three hours would download that information, then, we would go to the DOH site, upload these 15 Fields for all of the patients. After two days, we could go to the DOH website, and download their PDF document, which was a report on whether they had detected COVID or not. For the data we download we would enter the date into that Excel file for the hospital and attach that PDF document onto the top record of the patient. This way, there's complete information about the patient. With this solution, the cycle was complete.

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.

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.

We use the solution to automate some repetitive tasks which we execute in IT areas, such as backups, for instance. Also, we developed a systems support enterprise related to the transport industry that captures information that comes from electronic sources like Excel and other types of forms. In addition, we also make prototypes supporting the inbox and in the backend. The system looks for information that the user requests.

We are a solution provider and this is one of the RPA products that we have evaluated for our clients. We do have experience with it because one of our clients has been using it. However, this is not the right tool for our clients and I would not be comfortable bringing it up. It is used for very rudimentary stored-procedure automation. Basically, it is for running scripts.

Adaptive Growth is a reseller for HelpSystems' AutoMate Robotic Process Automation software system. Our primary target markets are manufacturing and distribution companies. We also feel that nursing homes and trucking companies are markets that RPA will provide tremendous benefits in operational cost reductions. HelpSystem's PDF and email integration into business software workflows is a great benefit for most any company.

Our use case for this solution is in the HR department. We are a company that has external consultants that perform services for other companies, and each employee has to give us reports describing their hours each month. Based on these reports, we charge the customer accordingly. We have PDF files that are scanned and sent to us by phone. These are from our employees on the customer's site, and our human resources personnel review them afterward. The reports are compared with our in-house system, the files are reviewed, and the hours are approved. Once this is complete, an invoice is sent to the customer.

We are a service provider and we use this solution to automate processes for our clients. Our customers are in a variety of businesses including banking, insurance, energy, and healthcare. There are lots of use cases, especially in the insurance and banking industries, but we are expanding into other industries as well. An example use case for our clients is the automation of invoice payments.