ActiveBatch by Redwood vs Automic Workload Automation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 12, 2023
 

Categories and Ranking

ActiveBatch by Redwood
Ranking in Workload Automation
4th
Average Rating
9.2
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (7th), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (5th)
Automic Workload Automation
Ranking in Workload Automation
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2024, in the Workload Automation category, the mindshare of ActiveBatch by Redwood is 2.6%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Automic Workload Automation is 8.1%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Workload Automation
Unique Categories:
Process Automation
0.6%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
1.9%
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

MaheshKumar6 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 9, 2023
Easy to integrate with a helpful job scheduling feature and reduce manual labor
We send out requests to leaders for the inputs, and the inputs are either shared via emails or uploaded on SharePoint. Then, we download that data process them, and convert them to consumable format in Excel, the excel files then get uploaded onto SQL servers which are connected to visualization…
Bernd Stroehle. - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 21, 2023
Offers excellent functionality, reduces job and workload failure, and enhances our compliance processes
Due to Automic Workload Automation's proprietary scripting language, upgrading it can be extremely challenging, unlike other workflow automation products that offer seamless migration. This inflexibility makes Automic Workload Automation the most complex and restrictive solution in the market. Choosing Automic Workload Automation essentially locks us into their ecosystem, making it nearly impossible to switch to a different product. Therefore, I strongly advise against using Automic Workload Automation. Automic Workload Automation's AI capabilities are limited. Most traditional workflow products lack robust support for AI workflows. Airflow might be a suitable option for AI workflows. However, if real-time AI processing is required, a different product altogether is necessary. For example, in the field of genetics, if a workflow involves thousands of jobs, traditional workflow products such as Automic Workload Automation may struggle to handle such a large workload. The maximum capacity of these products might be around 1,000 or 2,000 jobs. In contrast, a genetic workflow could involve up to 100,000 jobs, requiring a completely different workflow product specifically designed for such large-scale processing. Mainstream workflow products like Automic Workload Automation offer similar functionalities and are widely used around the globe. These products typically check for process completion every second. However, in high-performance computing and emerging fields like medicine or ophthalmology, we need to control thousands of jobs simultaneously, requiring millisecond-level process completion checks. To achieve this, we can store event data in databases or perform on-the-fly checks. Additionally, we need to integrate workflow control with workload management to prevent machine overload. These requirements make it unsuitable for tasks like controlling genomic workflows.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is very useful in sending confidential files through FPP servers."
"Easy to configure and simple to develop new features."
"The Jobs Library has been a tremendous asset. For the most, that's what we use. There are some outliers, but we pretty much integrate those Jobs Library steps throughout the process, whether it's REST calls, FTP processes, or file copies and moves... That has helped us to build end-to-end workflows."
"We use the main job-scheduling feature. It's the only thing we use in the tool. That's the reason we are using the tool: to reduce costs by replacing manual tasks with automated tasks and to perform regular, repetitive tasks in a more reliable way."
"It can connect to a number of third-party/legacy systems."
"For developers, it is easy to orchestrate the workflows and the integration has been very easy."
"The most valuable feature is its stability. We've only had very minor issues and generally they have happened because someone has applied a patch on a Windows operating system and it has caused some grief. We've actually been able to resolve those issues quite quickly with ActiveBatch. In all the time that I've had use of ActiveBatch, it hasn't failed completely once. Uptime is almost 100 percent."
"Managing the workload and monitoring the tasks were very difficult with manual interventions. Now, by using ActiveBatch, the process is automated and it runs tasks on a scheduled basis."
"We have all of our payroll being done in the platform. There are a lot of different processes that need to be taken care of, and they all need to be linked together. When you put them into a workflow, and you know that you've built logic into that workflow, and you have alerting, it's something you can step back from. You don't have to be worried about every single piece of that puzzle. If something goes wrong, you have confidence that some alerting will let you know. It streamlines, it makes things go faster, less eyes on glass."
"It's pretty stable. After implementation, there hasn't been a single event where we shifted our jobs for the day from automated to manual."
"It has its own object-oriented scripting language and you can reload your object in many different places."
"It is flexible. We can do additional scripting in Automic script, in combination with JSL language."
"The reason we went with Automic is very simple. We were using ESP, which was a Broadcom product. So, Automic happened to be a natural fit. It was a much easier transition from ESP to Automic. We had familiarity with the vendor and the product."
"One of the big features that they did implement, that a lot of people, us included, were asking for for a long time, is the ability to do zero downtime upgrades. They have introduced that."
"The company can expand with this product. Every time I bring in new ideas for solutions, it is with this product."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is that we can control between a lot of operating systems and other products because we have a lot of old and new products in our environment. It helps us to control all of them together."
 

Cons

"We have faced a couple of issues where we were supposed to log a defect with ActiveBatch. That said, the Active batch Vendor Support is very responsive and reliable."
"ActiveBatch UI could use a little more help, and video tutorials would be greatly appreciated for user guides."
"It could be easier to provide dashboards on how many jobs are running at the same time; more monitoring."
"The reporting needs improvement. There is a real need for the ability to generate audit reports on the fly. It needs to be a lot easier than what I can do right now. This is a major item for me."
"Setting up the software was hard."
"They could provide an easier installation guide or technical support to the organizations during the installation process."
"The documentation is very limited, and it can be improved."
"There are some issues with this version and finding the jobs that it ran. If you're looking at 1,000 different jobs, it shows based on the execution time, not necessarily the run time. So, if there was a constraint waiting, you may be looking for it in the wrong time frame. Plus, with thousands of jobs showing up and the way it pages output jobs, sometimes you end up with multiple pages on the screen, then you have to go through to find the specific job you're looking for. On the opposite side, you can limit the daily activity screen to show only jobs that failed or jobs currently running, which will shrink that back down. However, we have operators who are looking at the whole nightly cycle to make sure everything is there and make sure nothing got blocked or was waiting. Sometimes, they have a hard time finding every item within the list."
"The pricing has the potential to be high."
"In most of the packages available, it took time to study and gain knowledge of the features and resources due to poor documentation."
"There are some problems when using the new interface."
"There are some monitoring features that could be added."
"When there's an error or a problem, the automation part of it could be easily programmed to escalate it up to the developers or whoever is going to work on it. We had to home-grow that within the product because third-party products are so expensive."
"We have some problems with updates where some functions are changed, so you have to check your whole system to see if everything is still running. The update process for us is around two months of testing and one day of updates."
"For power users, it does not work well for them at the moment."
"The tool lacks interoperability features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you compare ActiveBatch licensing to Control-M, you're looking at $50,000 as opposed to millions."
"The pricing was fair. There are additional costs for the plugins. We have the standard licensing fees for different pieces, then we have the plugins which were add-ons. However, we expected that."
"The price was fairly in line with other automation tools. I don't think it's exorbitantly expensive, relatively speaking."
"Currently, we are paying approximately $7,000 yearly, which includes support."
"I don't think we've ever had a problem with the pricing or licensing. Even the maintenance fees are very much in line. They are not excessive. I think for the support that you get, you get a good value for your money. It's the best value on the market."
"I like ActiveBatch Workload Automation's licensing model because they're not holding you down on an agentless model or agent model, where every server needs to have an agent. That's the main selling point of the solution and I hope they stay that way."
"It allows for lower operational overhead."
"ActiveBatch is currently redesigning themselves. In the past, they were a low cost solution for automation. They had a nice tool that was very inexpensive. With their five-year plan, they will be more enhancement-driven, so they're trying to improve their software, customer service, and the way that their customers get information from them. In doing that, they're raising the price of their base system. They changed from one pricing model to another, which has caused some friction between ActiveBatch and us. We're working through that right now with them. That's one of the reasons why we're why we were evaluating other software packages."
"Our company had paid around 5,000 to 6,000 USD per license for a month."
"Certain licenses can be a bit expensive. The PeopleSoft agents, in particular, are a bit pricey."
"There are a lot of new features, but we do not use them because they are too expensive. The price point could be less."
"They have changed the pricing on their licensing, and it's cheaper than before."
"Do your own proof of concept. Make sure you know what you want. Be clear about what you want the product to do for you. Go out and meet with the vendor, then test it."
"I only know that AWA is cheaper than Control-M, but I'm not aware of the numbers."
"We came to a very good deal, but it took us three years to finalize."
"We cannot use all the functions because they are too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
Managing the workload and monitoring the tasks were very difficult with manual interventions. Now, by using ActiveBatch, the process is automated and it runs tasks on a scheduled basis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
I'd advise users to start by knowing what the actual requirement is and thoroughly assess the automation needs. New users should take advantage of the demos and trial versions so they get an idea o...
What needs improvement with ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
After upgrades we are facing a few issues and errors triggered, so focusing on this would be appreciated. Some of the advanced features in the user interface are a bit confusing even after referrin...
What do you like most about Automic Workload Automation?
It is easy to manage complex workloads and use electronic workflow automation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Automic Workload Automation?
The solution was flexible in terms of pricing. We're moving away from it, not due to price, but rather based on our requirements. They did provide us with an unlimited license that matched our budget.
What needs improvement with Automic Workload Automation?
The AI capabilities and predictive modeling aren't very good. I don't see a future for that. It's very basic. That's part of the reason we moved to Stonebranch. They have more analytic capabilities...
 

Also Known As

ActiveBatch
Automic Dollar Universe
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Informatica, D&H, ACES, PrimeSource, Sub-Zero Group, SThree, Lamar Advertising, Subway, Xcel Energy, Ignite Technologies, Whataburger, Jyske Bank, Omaha Children's Hospital
ING, Adidas, 84.51, ESB
Find out what your peers are saying about ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. Automic Workload Automation and other solutions. Updated: June 2024.
787,779 professionals have used our research since 2012.