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IBM Datacap vs akaBot comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Automate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (5th)
akaBot
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (18th), Agentic Automation (3rd)
IBM Datacap
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (7th)
 

Featured Reviews

Anabel Marco - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates processes efficiently with cost-effective scaling and robust customer support
Web scraping is quite good since it offers a lot of possibilities. Another important feature for me is its compatibility with MBI, the Power that is ISEQUADO Centers. I appreciate the ability to scale and increase the number of bots or studios without additional expense. Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
Duy Lương Minh - PeerSpot reviewer
User interface streamlines task automation and improves efficiency
akaBot made a noticeable difference at Wika because it is lightweight and easy to use, and moreover, akaBot has a forum to answer many questions. The ease of use stands out because the design of akaBot is very friendly. The best features that akaBot offers in my experience include the UI automation in the browser or in the Windows application. What I appreciate most about the UI automation in browsers or Windows applications is the auto-generate selector in a browser and Windows application. This feature makes a difference because it reduced most of the time developing the bot.
DeekshithShetty - PeerSpot reviewer
High-accuracy document processing with easy integration and good image enhancement
The OCR extractions are very good, almost 100% accurate now. The integration with other tools is very easy, with inbuilt actions to configure and directly export to multiple depositories. It is also good at image enhancement, including the removal of lines, which is helpful in processing and automation and ensures very little user intervention, thus saving time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of Automate is its ease of use, which is a major selling point."
"The interface is simple, user-friendly, and very intuitive."
"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."
"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."
"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."
"Automate increases efficiency and eliminates errors during documentation and invoicing processes."
"The most valuable feature is the drag-and-drop interface, which is very Windows-like."
"We are still in the process of rolling it to production and tweaking it (our AD groups are a mess), but the improvements are priceless. Having users ID's created the same way every time without human error is the best part. We don't need to worry about why groups were not added, user rights not set to folders or missing a private folder being created, typos or just even knowing when things are done and logged."
"akaBot made a noticeable difference at Wika because it is lightweight and easy to use, and moreover, akaBot has a forum to answer many questions."
"The cost is affordable, and it fits our requirements."
"The OCR extractions are very good, almost 100% accurate now."
"While we are doing indexing, we tag the document type. It's programmed inside of Datacap to automatically detect the document based on a given template. It auto-indexes that document, which means that it automatically tags the correct document type to the scanned document."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to capture data, which changes all the time into different formats."
"It's a platform, not a configured application, so you can do what you want with it."
"It is very easy to develop this software. It is low code, and if you can't find the things you need on it, you can develop custom actions with more complex code underneath. They sync well, which is very useful for automating a lot of processes. It is a really valuable feature for the clients because we can ingest information and automate plenty of processes for them. The operators don't have to waste that much time on tasks. With Datacap, they can be automated."
"The standout feature of this intelligent product is its remarkable capability."
"One of the valuable features of Datacap is the user experience. One thing that IBM did a few years ago was they standardized all of their ECM products on Content Navigator, including Datacap. If you're an IBM ECM customer you have FileNet, you have Datacap, you have StoredIQ and you have a consistent user experience, user interface."
"One valuable feature of IBM Datacap is the OCR capability, along with its ability to read fields from documents."
 

Cons

"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"There is room for improvement regarding cloud functionality; there are a few missing features, and the logging could be better, especially air logging. We can go into logging events and create our own task, but it would be nice if this were more detailed."
"While this solution is continually improving, as it is now, the user interface could use improvement when I compare it to a product like UiPath."
"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."
"I would prefer not having to log in to update a ticket; being able to respond via email would be beneficial."
"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."
"If they can provide more intelligent automation, it would be beneficial."
"I used UiPath before akaBot, and I think UiPath has more features than akaBot."
"The technical support is horrible. They have downsized the support teams too much. They've outsourced some of them along with some of the development, and they're just stretched too thin."
"When a client's requirement is not available in Datacap, out-of-the-box actions should be simpler to implement and not very complex."
"There are times when external features impact services. For example, Windows patching or antivirus updates can affect production-level services."
"What could be improved in IBM Datacap from a technical perspective is having everything together all in one place, rather than having several different interfaces. The addition of cloud-based OCR technology would also make this solution better. There's also room for improvement for their technical support."
"One of the things that we wished for was to have an easier way to carry out the customizations. Currently, if you want to customize data, you need to have a developer with C# knowledge. If IBM could implement a no-code or low-code platform for Datacap, it would be easier to adjust it without needing a developer, which was always the most difficult part."
"I would like to see integration of Watson AI technology into Datacap."
"I would like better ease of use and more support options."
"I give the scalability of the solution a six out of ten."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."
"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"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."
"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."
"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"The pricing is quite reasonable. We can run the process with one bot. The limitation is at the server level because they have some resources, and sometimes that is enough. It isn't too expensive, so you can get a good return off of one, and you can also have a pack of five bots that is quite competitive."
"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
Information not available
"If you want IBM Datacap on cloud, which is a service run by IBM, the price can be quite expensive, but if you want to just purchase the licenses and own those yourself, then the price is very competitive."
"This solution offers seamless integration with other enterprise products, which is my area of responsibility, focusing on government sector projects. Larger enterprise projects don't pose problems. It might be suitable for small businesses as well."
"It is an expensive solution."
"This solution is the most expensive in the market."
"IBM could offer more competitive pricing. This would allow them to attain more users. Some of our clients are considering moving to a different solution called Encapture which is similar but offers more competitive pricing."
"Pricing needs to stay competitive."
"It varies, and it depends on the client's requirements and negotiations. Nowadays, Datacap is also included in the IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation."
"We were using the User Value Unit licensing, which means we get charged per active user of the system, and if I'm not mistaken, we also had it for the rule runner service. They had a PVU license model, which is a processor value unit. For each process that we have in our system, we pay a certain amount of money. We found the pricing to be quite steep. It was really an expensive solution in comparison to Kofax, which had a different licensing model and was actually cheaper overall because they charge per page and not per user and per process."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
6%
No data available
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HelpSystems AutoMate?
We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.
What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
The main purpose is for automation. That has been the purpose why I have been using it so far.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
Regarding pricing, it is very friendly. I would not say that it is really cheap or very expensive, but it fits within...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for akaBot?
The pricing is low and the setup process is very easy.
What needs improvement with akaBot?
akaBot should integrate more artificial intelligence in their product.
What is your primary use case for akaBot?
As an RPA developer, my main use case for akaBot is to automate repetitive tasks in many industries such as banking a...
What do you like most about IBM Datacap?
The installation of the solution is very simple.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Datacap?
Pricing is in the mid-range but could be more affordable, rated at four point five.
What needs improvement with IBM Datacap?
IBM needs to improve on scanning and reading accuracy for unstructured documents. Additionally, an important missing ...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
No data available
Datacap
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories
1. Aetna 2. Accenture 3. Adidas 4. AIG 5. Air France KLM  6. Allstate 7. Amazon 8. American Express 9. AmerisourceBergen 10. Aon 11. Apple 12. ATT 13. Autodesk 14. Bank of America 15. Barclays 16. Bayer 17. Berkshire Hathaway 18. Boeing 19. BNP Paribas 20. Citigroup 21. CocaCola 22. Comcast  23. ConocoPhillips   24. Cisco Systems  25. CocaCola  26. Dell 27. Disney
Turkcell, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Central Nacional Unimed, Conqord Oil
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Datacap vs. akaBot and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.