Nintex Process Platform and Apache Airflow compete in the automation and orchestration category, focusing on business process automation and data-driven workflows, respectively. While Nintex has the edge in business process automation with its pre-built integrations and low-code capabilities, Airflow stands out for handling complex task management with extensive customization options due to its open-source nature.
Features: Nintex Process Platform offers scalable workflows, SmartObjects for data integration, and SmartForms for web development, making it particularly effective for business automation. Apache Airflow, on the other hand, provides flexibility with Python-based Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) for task management, allowing for complex process orchestration and integration with various systems.
Room for Improvement: Nintex Process Platform needs enhanced error reporting, improved form functionality, and better integration with non-SharePoint workflows. Users suggest enhancements in managing workflow instances and more equitable cloud feature distribution. Apache Airflow could improve by offering better dynamic workflow creation support, a more intuitive user interface, and greater scalability, alongside features like drag-and-drop capabilities and broader platform integration.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nintex offers flexible deployment options across on-premises and cloud environments, coupled with comprehensive 24/7 customer support, although users note occasional slow response times. Apache Airflow provides diverse deployment largely in cloud environments but relies more on community support, given its open-source nature, making official support less centralized and efficient than Nintex’s approach.
Pricing and ROI: Nintex Process Platform involves a higher cost with subscription-based workflow licensing, yet provides substantial ROI by minimizing administrative efforts and offering a broad automation suite. Apache Airflow’s open-source framework provides a cost-efficient alternative, with financial considerations focused on infrastructure rather than licensing, appealing to those looking for a more budget-friendly option without sacrificing versatility.
There is enough documentation available, and the community support is good.
Forums and community resources like Stack Overflow are helpful.
I found the support to be excellent with immediate responses whenever I open a ticket.
Apache Airflow scales well, especially when deployed in Kubernetes environments.
The solution is very scalable.
Performance issues arise if we have multiple joins within the actions, which definitely reduces the performance.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten out of ten.
I would rate its stability at nine out of ten.
Apache Airflow is stable and I have not experienced significant issues.
Performance issues arise if we have multiple joins within the actions, which definitely reduces the performance.
It is not suitable for real-time ETL tasks.
The start date in Apache Airflow is also confusing because it is not straightforward. If you want it to start today, you should give tomorrow's date.
There is no dashboard for us to check all the Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs); a dashboard would help us analyze the work better.
If we receive data in JSON, there is no action available in Nintex Process Platform to parse the data and extract data from that JSON string.
Additionally, the deployment process should be easier.
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
It is a sub-feature and not an individual purchase.
Apache Airflow is a community-based platform and is not a licensed product.
Nintex Process Platform is expensive.
Reliability is good, and when integrated with Kubernetes, it performs better compared to on-premises environments.
Apache Airflow is an open-source platform that allows easy integration with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
We can create notifications for successful or failed tasks, providing a practical way to monitor our workflows.
We use Nintex Process Platform for process automation.
My team and I created a demo using Nintex, focusing on getting emails, reading, writing, and managing attachments.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Apache Airflow | 4.3% |
| Nintex Process Platform | 1.7% |
| Other | 94.0% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 13 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 24 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 17 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 25 |
Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow management system (WMS) that is primarily used to programmatically author, orchestrate, schedule, and monitor data pipelines as well as workflows. The solution makes it possible for you to manage your data pipelines by authoring workflows as directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) of tasks. By using Apache Airflow, you can orchestrate data pipelines over object stores and data warehouses, run workflows that are not data-related, and can also create and manage scripted data pipelines as code (Python).
Apache Airflow Features
Apache Airflow has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
Apache Airflow Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Apache Airflow. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Apache Airflow solution.
A Senior Solutions Architect/Software Architect says, “The product integrates well with other pipelines and solutions. The ease of building different processes is very valuable to us. The difference between Kafka and Airflow, is that it's better for dealing with the specific flows that we want to do some transformation. It's very easy to create flows.”
An Assistant Manager at a comms service provider mentions, “The best part of Airflow is its direct support for Python, especially because Python is so important for data science, engineering, and design. This makes the programmatic aspect of our work easy for us, and it means we can automate a lot.”
A Senior Software Engineer at a pharma/biotech company comments that he likes Apache Airflow because it is “Feature rich, open-source, and good for building data pipelines.”
Nintex Process Platform offers no/low-code development with system integrations and efficient workflow management, ideal for complex business processes. It's known for its scalable workflows, data management through SmartObjects, and a user-friendly visual designer.
Nintex Process Platform enables organizations to automate processes with ease, supporting electronic forms, digital transformation, and seamless department collaboration. Users on SharePoint and other integrated systems leverage its extensive workflow capabilities for approvals, onboarding, and information capture. While its current framework might benefit from performance enhancements and improved management console usability, it remains a strong choice for providing scalable solutions across industries.
What are the key features of Nintex Process Platform?Companies in sectors like government, HR, and financial services implement Nintex Process Platform for its ability to streamline and connect internal processes. It supports approval workflows, notifications, and data capturing, proving its versatility for diverse business needs. However, challenges with document conversion, performance, and cloud feature parity suggest room for enhancements, particularly in industries handling complex workflows.
We monitor all Business Process Management (BPM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
