We deployed Automation Anywhere for our clients. It is used for tasks like HR, procurement, supply chain, visa processing, client onboarding, etc.
Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)
Automation Anywhere, Inc.External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
The central command console is good
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Productivity increased when we implemented Automation Anywhere, but it did not meet the client's expectations regarding the number of human workers it replaced. We are currently trying to optimize it to use the maximum potential channels and identify ways to improve performance.
The clients are willing to use AI. They are conservative about it but still progressing in that direction. The integration of Automation Anywhere into our clients' workflows, APIs, business applications, and documents was seamless, but it was a bit of a struggle until we realized that it has a built-in integration platform. Using the platform, we could define the process so that it also does downstream automation as well.
What is most valuable?
Automation Anywhere's central command center is good. We've used Automation Anywhere's AI copilot. It can integrate with around 70 to 80 percent of our client's applications. There are still issues with the other 20 to 30 percent.
What needs improvement?
We had some issues with screen-scaping and recording. Also, some of the components are not user-friendly enough compared to UiPath. The learning curve isn't very long if you come from a programming background, but it may be difficult for someone without a technical background to understand.
For how long have I used the solution?
We used Automation Anywhere for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere is quite scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Automation Anywhere support eight out of ten. We get support from local partners. It's good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use UiPath. It depends on the client's preference.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex, but upgrading the automations was easy. The bots require some monitoring. It isn't more than an hour daily. We check to see if there are any issues or whether a process has gotten stuck. That's rare.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Automation Anywhere seven out of ten. There are many more tools on the market that are much better than automation anywhere.
“RPA Automation”, finance prospective
* Helps in reducing cost & time.
* Helps in integrating finance applications to the ERP.
* Developers need a lot of time to build this.
* Could be expensive for the license purposes.
* Helps in exporting the structure data to the different analytical tools like power BI
* Helps in auto managing the reconciliation of customer accounts.
It's cloud-based, so you don't need on-prem infrastructure to host it, but more user training would be helpful
What is our primary use case?
We use Automation Anywhere in a DevOps environment.
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere helps us resolve some friction between IT needs and business requirements. In an agile environment, the first questions are always: How much money do you have? What is your budget? Automation Anywhere or any other RPA solution can help you achieve your goals within budget constraints by lowering operational costs. It increases productivity and reduces errors.
What is most valuable?
I like Automation Anywhere's cloud-based nature. You don't need any on-prem infrastructure to host it. If you have suitable infrastructure, you can easily integrate it with Automation Anywhere. The learning curve is reasonable. Automation Anywhere has a user-friendly environment, but digesting all the platform's features takes significant time.
What needs improvement?
It's challenging to train users on Automation Anywhere. There should be more organized training sessions. I prefer interactive classes to one-on-one training. You can create super users and organize conferences or workshops where users can learn from experts. Maybe you only have a few of these super users in your organization, so that's why you need to have workshops on a weekly basis.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Automation Anywhere for three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Automation Anywhere seven out of ten for stability.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Automation Anywhere support seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used UiPath at a past job but switched when I started work at my current company.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Automation Anywhere seven out of ten.
Future generation RPA
Ease to use , learn , reduce human error and also cut short process steps .
Most of the organization planning for automation process to reduces expenses and time saving
if it's pre defined process automation can work smoothly
Reduces of Job opportunities
RPA: The next stage of Automation
More time is required to build the tool.
Less support from the developer side.
Helped in building low code tools.
Integration of SAS applications with ERP.
PLC PROGRAMMING
Improves productivity but there should be better support for dependencies
What is our primary use case?
We use it for P2P, AP, O2C, AR, inventory management, finance and general ledger, and HR.
Moving forward, we see opportunities to operationalize AI within our organization for loss cash discounts, payment term mismatch, credit blocks for vendors, duplicate invoices, accounting entries, and invoicing in SAP.
How has it helped my organization?
By implementing Automation Anywhere, we wanted to achieve productivity and decrease the complexity of the processes. The key issue has been the complexity. RPA is not meant for complex processes. When a process becomes complex, we face a lot of errors. That creates slowness of processing, some interactions at critical moments, and frustration in the business because the job is not done. As an alternative, we have to work manually.
We built many complex bots, and that was not the best strategy. It is better to simplify and then automate, and not automate to avoid simplification. When you take this wrong approach, you have to deal with many technical issues, and you are not able to leverage and benefit from the other tools as part of the automation itself. In the business roadmap of an RPA project, there should be some reporting or dashboards of bots' portfolio so that you can see the percentage of successful processing, the rate of failures per bot, and the rate of exceptions. There should also be something to measure the return on investment to be able to say that this bot is meeting expectations and productivity. It was worth it to invest in this bot, and it costs less than manual work. If the bot is always facing issues, it will be better to come back to manual processing. We should not move from manual to automation without thinking about simplification. We need to simplify first and then automate.
We have a centralized infrastructure, but we have a decentralized business strategy. We gained 60% productivity, which is at a high level.
Automation Anywhere is easy to use for business users who do not have tech skills, but first, they need to be able to play the role of business analyst. You should not have many points of contact. You should have a single point of contact, which we call SPOC, and this person should be a business analyst. This single point of contact should collect all the requirements and needs and be able to communicate them in a structured way in order to enable the solution team to tackle the points. It is easy if the person who is supposed to do it follows the learning of the business analyst and is able to speak English. We have English speakers because we are in a multinational group. They should also have a minimum level of experience in IT or in general business. If the training is intensive, it takes three months to train non-technical employees on Automation Anywhere usage.
What is most valuable?
The RPA automation itself is valuable. We are not using the other components that are part of the platform much because we want to first stabilize the platform, the environment, and the infra.
What needs improvement?
It could be improved in terms of the global analysis of all the issues caused by the dependency components. For example, if bots are running on virtual machines on Microsoft Windows 2019, sometimes an issue might come from the virtual machine. Automation Anywhere should work closely with Microsoft or any other editor with which there are some issues occurring and stopping the bots from running properly. They need to collaborate together to enhance and improve the platform and the dependencies. It should not be that because the problem comes from Microsoft, Automation Anywhere does not tackle the issue. They should tackle the issue even when they are not responsible 100%. Microsoft or any other editor should work with Automation Anywhere.
I would like them to include process mining.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Automation Anywhere for three years, and I have been using UiPath for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate it a five out of ten in terms of stability because of the issue of dependency components, such as Microsoft components.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate it a seven out of ten in terms of scalability.
How are customer service and support?
Their support can be improved in terms of understanding the issue more deeply and involving enough resources based on the criticality or urgency of the issue. They should involve the right resources and the right number of resources. If we need an architect, they should bring us an architect. If we need an engineer, we should have an engineer in front of us. They should provide the right person at the right time.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with UiPath. The move to Automation Anywhere was not my choice. It was a group choice.
How was the initial setup?
We have a hybrid cloud. The implementation is easy if you are business-oriented, you first tackle simple use cases, and you involve all the teams. The complexity is always there, but to have less complexity, it is important to ensure these three elements.
What about the implementation team?
We include people from development, monitoring, management of development and monitoring, central IT management, and central business management.
In terms of upgrades, it is difficult to upgrade Automation Anywhere. The upgrades of Automation Anywhere are sometimes not adapted to the clients. They sometimes choose to upgrade the platform during a critical period, such as accounting month-end closing. It is definitely not the right moment to launch the upgrade. Automation Anywhere sometimes pushes general upgrades during critical periods. The best will be to take into account the constraints of the clients in order to not make it difficult for them.
In terms of maintenance, if the bots are running 24 hours a day, you need three people or at least two people for monitoring. The upgrade of bots requires one developer.
What was our ROI?
You get a return on investment only after 18 months. You can get 50% savings.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It depends. For example, for my group, we are centralizing the infrastructure in Paris. Our contract is signed with Automation Anywhere in France. The currency and the pricing of Automation Anywhere in France can appear beneficial and interesting for Germany and Scandinavian countries, but when we share our infra and are internally charging other countries such as Poland, Brazil, or some other country with a lower currency value as compared to Euro, it becomes less beneficial. They would prefer to sign the contract directly with Automation Anywhere because they will benefit from a price that is as per their local market.
The price works well for France, but it becomes a bit complex when you centralize it for all the countries or groups. In the international context, you have to propose something a little bit tailored for some countries, such as Romania or Brazil.
What other advice do I have?
When it comes to automation and AI, I always think about being business-oriented. Always start with the needs of the business and do not automate just for automation. You have to think about relevant use cases and also scalable use cases. In a multinational group, it is important to not think individually. This way you can collaborate more and reuse more things. You can reuse the components that have already been built. It is also economical.
Each center of automation should have a governance plan. The governance plan should be very precise, and it should expand the roles. Each stakeholder should know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it at each cycle or phase. After that, you should come to the functional and technical aspects. Without a governance plan, nothing is possible.
Overall, I would rate Automation Anywhere a seven out of ten.
Significantly enhances our organization's efficiency, workflow, and connectivity
What is our primary use case?
I use it for various IT operations.
How has it helped my organization?
Automation Anywhere has significantly improved our organization's efficiency. Across various processes, we have achieved a 90% time savings for each use case, making our workflow much more streamlined and productive.
We used to do things manually, which took a lot of time. Now, with Automation Anywhere, most things are automated, making things faster and better. Sometimes we still need to do things manually, but overall, it has made our work much easier and less prone to mistakes.
What needs improvement?
To improve Automation Anywhere for the next release, standardization is key. The application should work universally across servers and desktops, without limitations on licenses tied to specific virtual machines. Currently, the one-to-one bot and VM dependency pose restrictions, and a more flexible licensing system would enhance its usability. Additionally, for business users without technical skills, using Automation Anywhere can be challenging. While it is easy to develop automation, deploying and running them requires some technical knowledge. Training is essential to navigate the platform effectively.
Upgrading Automation Anywhere can be challenging. Communication about upgrades is lacking, and an auto-upgrade feature or at least notifications would be beneficial. Currently, there is no automatic check for the latest version, and improvement is needed in providing information to users about updates.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Automation Anywhere for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. I would rate the stability as an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Automation Anywhere can provide automation at a large scale, but the effectiveness depends on the complexity of the processes, which is common for any ERP system.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support as an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The deployment process is fairly straightforward. Deployment of Automation Anywhere typically requires just one person. If you are familiar with the entire workflow, one person can manage the deployment effectively. Maintenance for Automation Anywhere is minimal. However, due to recent use, aspects like patching and version upgrades are not entirely clear, and occasional manual intervention is needed for tasks like access management.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price for Automation Anywhere is reasonable compared to others, but there are some feature limitations. Specifically, the ability of one bot to support multiple VMs is an issue, distinguishing it from some other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
In our organization, I see great opportunities to operationalize AI, particularly in the realm of monitoring. Whether it is through comprehensive monitoring tools or leveraging Python for data analysis, there is potential to enhance our operations.
Assessing the learning curve for Automation Anywhere, it takes around a month for non-technical employees to become proficient. While an expert developer might grasp it quicker, providing training is essential for non-technical users to effectively learn and use Automation Anywhere.
Our organization is focused on expanding automation and AI use cases, continually adding more features. Additionally, there is an interest in exploring generative AI to enhance our capabilities further.
We have integrated Automation Anywhere with various solutions, including ITSM, a centralized portal, and several third-party applications.
Integrating Automation Anywhere into our workflows, APIs, and business applications is effective, but it is crucial to ensure a secure network.
Automation Anywhere has been a time and cost-saver for us. Achieving a 90% cost reduction in tasks is a significant boost to resource efficiency and overall cost-effectiveness.
We use Automation Anywhere across multiple departments, but it operates within the same environment and infrastructure, given its public nature.
My advice for those using Automation Anywhere is to start with a less complex use case. It is a good platform overall, but beginning with simpler tasks will help ease into the automation process. Overall, I would rate the solution as a seven out of ten.
RPA & AA Ups & Downs
Has a short learning curve and is easy to integrate with other tools but is expensive
What is our primary use case?
Our use cases are around finance processes and one business function that we have a lot of automation. We're an agriculture and supply chain company, so we also have a lot of processes that would deal more with order processing, order management, customer service, and those types of processes.
We also have a use case from a document processing standpoint. We have a use case where farmers in Asia, in the APAC region, would handwrite inventory of that particular product, send a photo of it, and then someone would manually take that information and put it into the system or put it into a spreadsheet. We've been able to automate that. It not only saves time, but the data is 85% to 90% accurate versus it used to be about 60% beforehand.
How has it helped my organization?
We're finding time savings as a benefit. One example would be a customer service rep might get a question about an order, usually through email. It can take a good three to seven business days to answer a customer's question about their order. When we automate it, it takes hours, if not minutes.
We also are building out a new model for our metrics. Our biggest challenge is because Cargill is an international traditional company, we work with many different regions that have to abide by certain local rules and regulations.
We don't have just one order management process at Cargill. We have over one hundred and trying to simplify those processes first before we automate it is our biggest challenge.
We're in conversations with Automation Anywhere now about process discovery. We've just kicked off. We are installing a tool with process discovery that we still haven't figured out what the best practice for utilizing it with Automation Anywhere will be.
We have a federated model. We are a center of excellence. We own the platform, and we build out the governance framework. We also provide training and updated communications to all of the users.
The learning curve is small. It takes only about four hours to learn it, but hands-on experience is different. That's what takes a little bit longer. Some users sit within IT, and some of the users sit within the business. It's fairly easy to teach others to leverage it. They have to have an interest in learning it, but it's fairly easy.
Overall, Automation Anywhere has helped us save time. But we're also looking at customer satisfaction. We track sustainability numbers, if that comes into place. So we have a lot of different metrics that we look at versus just time.
What is most valuable?
One of the reasons that we chose Automation Anywhere years ago was because of the security because we need to secure both our customer and our vendor data.
We have a lot of confidential data that we work with every day.
Automation Anywhere has an audit tracker feature. When you build a bot, it has a trail of how you went about developing that particular bot.
We integrate other tools within Automation Anywhere. Overall, it's fairly easy. We have about 265 bots in production today. We see bigger challenges on the business side if they change a template and then fail to tell us that we need to change the bot.
We leverage IQ BOT. We have another tool that we leverage as well for document processing called Intelligent Document Processing (IDP).
I want to learn more about CoPilot and then the process discovery tool.
We are part of the Pathfinder program. It's more of a program versus a tool, but we're working with people to learn how we can scale our whole program using Pathfinder.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Automation Anywhere for about five to six years and continue to scale about 50 bots per year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I'm very comfortable with being able to scale, especially now that it's moving into the cloud.
How are customer service and support?
We've had really good support with Automation Anywhere.
We have weekly tech meetings with Automation Anywhere. I also have strategic meetings every week and quarterly strategy planning meetings. We have a really good support system.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
UiPath was one of the competitors, and we did bring on UiPath specifically for the Chinese language. That program has not scaled as we expected so we really are an Automation Anywhere shop.
How was the initial setup?
We're going through the 360 migration right now. The bots that we have in production are fairly complex. It hasn't been an easy migration. We're getting through it, and we have a lot of support to get through the migration. But it's really more of the complexity of our organization.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We wanted to put together a streamlined platform versus having puzzle pieces and taping them together using different vendors.
I wanted us to be more streamlined so that we don't have glitches down the road with upgrades and version updates. That's one reason that I wanted to stay with Automation Anywhere.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. The only reason I wouldn't rate it higher is because a COE Manager still not getting the full benefit from it and because the premium is a little bit expensive. We don't necessarily have the budget to bring on a full new feature. Also, the process discovery tool is taking a little bit longer to implement than I thought it would.