Automic Automation vs VisualCron comparison

Broadcom and SMA Technologies are both solutions in the Workload Automation category. Broadcom is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5, while SMA Technologies is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0. Broadcom holds a 6.1% mindshare in WA, compared to SMA Technologies’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SMA Technologies users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Automic Automation and VisualCron based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Workload Automation solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Automic Automation vs. VisualCron Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Automic Automation vs. VisualCron

March 2026

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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

JAMS

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Workload Automation category, the mindshare of JAMS is 2.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Automic Automation is 6.1%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 1.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Workload Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Automic Automation	6.1%
JAMS	2.8%
VisualCron	1.4%
Other	89.7%

Workload Automation

Featured Reviews

reviewer2770605

Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Has streamlined complex job scheduling across scripting languages while reducing manual effort

JAMS could be improved with a web client that is accessible and as fast as a normal website, eliminating the need to RDP to the servers to access the JAMS client. A functionality running on the JAMS server to continuously check the JAMS agents would ensure they are working properly. If an agent is not responding, a feature to restart the service from the job server machine would be beneficial. The upgrade process, particularly when switching from V6 to V7, could be clearer in terms of documentation, ideally with screenshots showing exactly what needs to be done on each screen.

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Peter Grundler

Senior Consultant at Tricise

Helps to move away from manual tasks and offers wide platform support and web-based interface

Customers want to move away from manual monitoring and checking processes. Automating these processes helps in time-saving and reduces human error. When you automate business processes, it reduces mistakes. It eliminates the risk of manual errors such as typos. There is a 20% to 30% reduction in human error. It fulfills all the needs when it comes to visibility and control across various operating platforms. It is the perfect product for managing processes that span multiple operating platforms. Automic Automation has the widest platform support compared to other products, such as Control-M, Tivoli from IBM, or Stonebranch. It definitely helps with compliance processes. We have had a lot of customers for two years with a focus on compliance, and it works. They were successful. Due to the fact that our customers can automate a lot of things, it reduces operating costs. It is hard to give a number because the savings are different for each customer. If a customer never had any automation, there could be about 80% savings after implementing Automic Automation, whereas for a customer who already has automated tasks, the difference will be less by adding Automic Automation. They might see 5% to 10% more savings. Automic Automation helps improve our ability to meet SLAs. In the recent versions, SLA management has been integrated, which previously was an external component. Because a lot of customers used it and asked Broadcom to implement SLA management into the workload engine, Broadcom included it. We see more and more customers running their SLA management via the Automic Automation product.

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Sourav-Dutta

Technical Lead - Database Administrator at SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS LLC

It's user-friendly, and I didn't need long to understand the process

We use VisualCron for all our automation needs, like connecting to FileZilla, calling APIs, generating PGP keys, creating encryption files with the PGP key login to Azure, etc. It can automatically log in to SQL Server and execute SQL script jobs in bulk. We had 2,000-3,000 users at my previous…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortra's JAMS helped us centralize job management across our platforms and applications. This is critical because we schedule tasks across multiple applications and operating systems, using triggers and start dates to coordinate their execution."

"We have over 50 jobs running daily to manage all the integration of our systems and we don’t have to monitor these jobs; they just run, JAMS centralizes the management of jobs in our environment, has streamlined our monitoring, saves us about four hours a week in troubleshooting time, and has helped free up about eight hours a week of IT staff time."

"We also use the solution’s Interactive Agents. If we need to push something to our dealer portal, we can just drop a file in a folder and it goes. Running interactive tasks helps me users focus on business processes since I don’t have to take care of running the jobs manually."

"The overall product is fantastic. I love it. It has been a fantastic, solid product. If I have one tiny bit of a problem with it, the support team gets in touch with me right away. I don't know if I've had another service that has been as fantastic as the JAMS support team."

"The feature or capability to import a job is most valuable. We can import an existing job from different platforms, and all the configurations get migrated as well without modifying the code, job schedule, etc."

"The code-driven automation for more complex scheduling requirements frees up time because it's really easy to use... It's almost like a stand-alone software that we can't live without."

"The ability to sequence jobs is excellent; it means we don't have to schedule them individually, and if one fails, it doesn't unwind the entire workflow."

"The product is easy to use."

More JAMS pros

"Automic Automation allows us to serve the service without interruptions."

"The solution's technical support has always been excellent."

"The scheduling feature is very user-friendly."

"This product has really helped Comcast and the organization streamline a lot of independent jobs that we might have had."

"All the components that it can use to design work flow; process automation."

"Our customers' environments are not manageable without Automic."

"The current upgrade process is straightforward. They have made the process much simpler. After we get to version 12 and any subsequent versions going forward, it should not require any downtime at all. "

"Automic Workload Automation is a scalable solution; we are currently running 10,000 jobs or 20,000 jobs with two-node architecture, and if we want to add one node or add more resources, you can do it online without any downtime while running thousands of pages and millions of jobs."

More Automic Automation pros

"VisualCron has enabled us to efficiently automate and maintain many tasks with minimal effort from our internal IT resources."

"It helped us reduce manual steps."

"'ve only had a few cases where I've had to request support in the past 12 years of use, but the support response time and resolution were was extremely quick."

"VisualCron is a very powerful program to automate different steps in your business processes. We use it to automate replacing files and inform departments about the replacement."

"The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%."

"I love VisualCron because we previously spent a lot of time writing Power switches to connect to SQL Server. VisualCron makes it easier to execute services or connect to FileZilla by only adding the credentials to the master credentials stored in the solution."

"VisualCron is a handy tool that we (the IT department) provide for the business departments to obtain easy access when automating and scheduling."

"Support is AAA+, fast, and very detailed."

More VisualCron pros

Cons

"I'm not sure if they have fixed it in a newer version, but there is no global search in the version I have. If I have multiple sub-folders that are named for business units, like HR or IT, and I have to search for a job, I cannot search from the top. I have to go to the HR folder to search for a particular job, or to the IT folder."

"The monitoring of the JAMS product and its performance is an area of concern for me."

"The biggest area with room for improvement is the area that my organization benefits the most from using JAMS, and that is in custom execution methods. I happen to have a very good C# developer. Ever since we got JAMS, he has spent a lot of time talking to JAMS developers, researching the JAMS libraries, and creating custom execution methods. He's gotten very good at it. He is now able to create them and maintain them very easily, but that knowledge was hard-won knowledge. It was difficult to come by, and if I should ever lose this developer, then I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could create JAMS custom execution methods quite as well as he can since there really isn't all that much help, such as documentation or information, available on how to create custom execution methods."

"With no programming experience, I find JAMS code-driven automation challenging due to the required PowerShell scripting."

"When looking at a folder in JAMS with many jobs, it would be good to have better information in the list display of what's inside those jobs. We get some information, but other important details are missing."

"The UI is completely unintuitive. We had to go and open up a support ticket with JAMS just to get something back."

"It does validations when you try to delete an object and if there are any dependencies in place, the deletion process will not proceed... there is no information provided as to what it was that caused the validation to fail... it's quite a tedious process to find which object is getting in the way."

"If there were a softcover book on how to really take advantage of all of JAMS' tools, I would buy it."

More JAMS cons

"We occasionally encounter bugs when applying new agent versions, patches, or updates to Automic."

"There is room for improvement in reporting. There is a lack of reporting capabilities."

"It would be better if it was easier to view the automated processes."

"We would like some advantages, which we had with the Java UI, with the automation engine."

"Automic Workload Automation could improve the SaaS deployment."

"There are too many bugs to be solved after a version upgrade."

"There are certain areas in Automic that need improvement, such as the complexity of workflow dependencies."

"There has to be a better way to visualize things in the application without having so many windows open."

More Automic Automation cons

"The only problem I face when I use the tool is that it doesn't contain much documentation or it doesn't have many video tutorials on its features."

"An area for improvement in VisualCron is its cluttered interface. It isn't always easy to find all functionalities, so what VisualCron needs is a user interface expert who can improve the interface. There's a learning curve in terms of finding what you need from the interface of VisualCron. The technical support for VisualCron also needs improvement in terms of response time. Currently, there's no live support or hotline you can call to get quick answers, so this is what I'd like to see in the next version of VisualCron. A less cluttered and more streamlined interface, where you don't need to hunt for some of the features, is also what I'd like to see in the next VisualCron update."

"VisualCron seems to operate like an efficient machine when it comes to improvements and enhancements and new features. I always appreciate the quick response I get when bringing up an issue or coming up with suggestions. I've mentioned before that it would be great to see a move away from SQLCE and XML configuration files."

"The only problem I face when I use the tool is that it doesn't contain much documentation or it doesn't have many video tutorials on its features."

"The error timeout and info could be better. When making web request calls, it will time out sometimes and we won't get any useful info out of the error response."

"I want to improve the UI in VisualCron, as it's not as user-friendly, particularly when setting up the task scheduler. If you're familiar with the tool, then no problem, but if not, you'll have a problem typing text because sometimes, the cursor points to other places, so there's an issue with text box alignment in VisualCron. That was painful for me when I was just a VisualCron novice, but when you become used to it, there won't be a problem."

"Some preferences and permissions are not quite self-explanatory, but those are rather advanced features."

"An area for improvement in VisualCron is its cluttered interface."

More VisualCron cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"JAMS is priced competitively compared to similar solutions and offers flexible licensing options to cater to user needs."

"The product is reasonably priced, and we don't have any add-ons."

"Fortra's JAMS pricing structure has deteriorated significantly since its acquisition by Fortra."

"For what it does, the product is priced very well."

"The licensing model for JAMS is straightforward and based on the number of agents, not the number of jobs you run. It's cheap and fairly simple."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"There are no additional costs other than the license for Fortra's JAMS which is affordable."

"It was $10,000 for the first year. Then, there is a maintenance cost for licensing every year that we get billed $5,000 for every year."

More JAMS pricing and cost advice

"It costs to scale. While, it is scalable, the add-ons are expensive."

"There are a lot of new features, but we do not use them because they are too expensive. The price point could be less."

"You do not need any humans to start jobs, so you can save a lot of money."

"Pricing is a big issue for some of them because Broadcom changed the way of calculating the price. People have been their customers for the last five or ten years, but Broadcom decided to change the way of licensing by moving to the number of jobs runs and then they say that clients have to pay three million because they run one million jobs per day. The clients are quite surprised to see that the contract is not the same as before, and then they are afraid of paying more."

"The pricing keeps going up, which is concerning."

"The pricing of Automic Automation varies depending on the specific contract terms."

"Automatic is heavily integrated in our organization. The cost to change would be a huge factor for us, and we have not found any other product that is better out there."

"We receive time efficiency from this product."

More Automic Automation pricing and cost advice

"ROI is 95 percent."

"VisualCron is correctly priced because it wasn't very cheap, and it wasn't overly expensive, so the price for it was set correctly. When my previous company bought VisualCron, it was €800 per server per year. On a scale of one to five, I would rate the pricing for VisualCron a five because it was just right. The tool was affordable, and it has one of the most competitive pricing in the market."

"We are fine with a rather cheap setup. Licensing with VisualCron is fair. You have a simple one-year licence in different sizes. There isn't a licensing jungle with hundreds of options and opt-ins."

"The price is a bit high."

"ROI is one month."

"The pricing is extremely fair, and because of that I recommend purchasing multiple instances to split out the processing load across multiple application servers."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

28%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	19

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	67

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about JAMS?

I find the historical tracking feature of JAMS invaluable for reviewing past events.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JAMS?

My thoughts on the pricing of JAMS are that I won't say it is cheap, but it is cost-efficient, and that should be acc...

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What needs improvement with JAMS?

An area that has room for improvement is related to the AWS RDS and database part, where they said that is in progres...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Automic Workload Automation?

The pricing was client-wise, but they are changing it to execution-wise pricing. So, we are in negotiation.

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What needs improvement with Automic Workload Automation?

Automic Automation has some disadvantages; it is more simplified, and sometimes it can be complicated. The technical ...

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What is your primary use case for Automic Workload Automation?

I have been dealing with Automic Automation for probably around ten years. I have been both a partner with Automic, w...

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What do you like most about VisualCron?

The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VisualCron?

The price is a bit high. However, it is okay.

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What needs improvement with VisualCron?

The documentation is a bit weak. The tool must provide a better set of documentation.

See all answers

Comparisons

Control-M vs JAMS

Compared 13% of the time

Stonebranch vs JAMS

Compared 9% of the time

AutoSys Workload Automation vs JAMS

Compared 8% of the time

Redwood RunMyJobs vs JAMS

Compared 8% of the time

Tidal by Redwood vs JAMS

Compared 6% of the time

More JAMS Competitors

Control-M vs Automic Automation

Compared 16% of the time

Redwood RunMyJobs vs Automic Automation

Compared 13% of the time

AutoSys Workload Automation vs Automic Automation

Compared 8% of the time

Dollar Universe Workload Automation vs Automic Automation

Compared 5% of the time

HCL Workload Automation vs Automic Automation

Compared 2% of the time

More Automic Automation Competitors

Control-M vs VisualCron

Compared 9% of the time

UiPath Platform vs VisualCron

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs VisualCron

Compared 8% of the time

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs VisualCron

Compared 6% of the time

OpCon vs VisualCron

Compared 5% of the time

More VisualCron Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

JAMS

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Automic Automation

March 2026

Download Automic Automation product report

Buyer's Guide

VisualCron

March 2026

Download VisualCron product report

Also Known As

No data available

Automic Dollar Universe

No data available

Interactive Demo

JAMS Software

Demo not available

Broadcom

Demo not available

SMA Technologies

Overview

JAMS is an automation and job scheduling solution designed for workflow optimization, catering to businesses large and small with flexible licensing and integration options.

Offering both Core and Advanced packages, JAMS supports a range of environments from small teams to large-scale operations. Its standout features include integration with platforms like PowerShell, SQL, and SAP, coupled with capabilities such as dependency management and natural language scheduling. JAMS simplifies job management, centralizes workflows, and boosts productivity with its robust automation features. Customizable workflows and insightful logging make it adaptable for diverse needs, supported by responsive customer service ensuring seamless operations.

What are JAMS's key features?

Automation & Scheduling: Flexible automation helps manage complex job schedules efficiently.
Integration: Connects seamlessly with platforms like SQL Server, SAP, and Python for diverse applications.
Centralized Job Management: A unified interface for handling thousands of jobs daily.
Dependency Management: Supports complex workflows with efficient dependency tracking.
Insightful Logging: Provides detailed logs and notifications for precise task execution.

What benefits should users look for in JAMS reviews?

Enhanced Productivity: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives.
Scalability: Flexible licensing models grow with business size and needs.
Efficient Workflow Automation: Streamlines job orchestration across environments.
Responsive Support: Helps ensure smooth operations with quick troubleshooting.

In industries, JAMS is employed for automating workflows and managing batch jobs. Organizations utilize it for SSIS, SQL Server tasks, file transfers, and integrating with vendor systems, achieving efficient file automation and data management. Scheduler enables precise execution of thousands of tasks daily, enhancing operational efficiency.

JAMS Software

Automic Automation offers a web-based GUI for high scalability and flexibility, integrating with platforms like SAP and Oracle. It promotes efficient process automation and supports multiple OS environments, benefiting diverse industries with its robust predictive capabilities.

Automic Automation facilitates process automation and workload management, providing valuable integration with applications like SAP and Oracle. It supports a wide range of operating systems and environments, enabling seamless workflow automation. It features a web-based interface accessible across devices, ensuring scalability and flexibility for complex job automation. Users find its predictive capabilities and platform support instrumental in enhancing operations, although improvements are noted in reporting, cloud integration, and documentation. Licensing and pricing structures also present room for optimization, along with workflow dependency management and smoother upgrade paths.

What are the key features of Automic Automation?

Web-based GUI: Accessible on any device, enhancing user convenience
Application Integration: Supports SAP, Oracle, and others for robust workflows
Comprehensive Scripting: Allows detailed automation customization
Process Automation: Powers efficient and complex job automation
Scalability and Flexibility: Expands across various platforms and environments

What benefits and ROI should users expect from Automic Automation?

Improved Efficiency: Reduces manual tasks and streamlines processes
Extensive Platform Support: Cost-effective management of different systems
Predictive Capabilities: Enhances operational decision-making
Robust Integration: Harmonizes with diverse applications, aiding business functions

Automic Automation sees implementation in industries like banking, finance, and telecommunications, where it automates ERP systems, schedules batch jobs, integrates workloads, and manages file transfers. By supporting SAP, Oracle, and ETL tasks, it aids efficiency and workload automation across varied environments including cloud and mainframe systems.

Broadcom

VisualCron offers task automation through a visual interface, eliminating the need for programming skills. With capabilities like alerting and variable usage, users benefit from integration with databases, timely task execution, and cross-platform operations.

VisualCron empowers users by simplifying complex workflows. It allows seamless task automation through features like interactive scheduling and role-based operations. Users appreciate its integration capabilities, replacing multiple tools with a comprehensive automation solution. The support system ensures quick assistance, making it a reliable choice for workflow visualization and task execution. However, areas like error handling and interface design require enhancements for improved user experience.

What are the key features of VisualCron?

Visual Interface: Users automate tasks without needing programming skills.
Integration: Connects with databases and multiple systems to streamline operations.
Alerting: Notifies users about tasks and system statuses.
Task Scheduling: Allows interactive management of automated tasks.
Credentials Management: Enables cross-platform operations securely.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating VisualCron?

Increased Efficiency: Reduces the time spent on manual processes.
Cost Reduction: Eliminates the need for multiple tools by consolidating functionalities.
Enhanced Support: Offers robust post-sales support for quicker assistance.
Streamlined Workflows: Simplifies complex task automation.

Organizations leverage VisualCron in industries like finance and logistics to automate tasks such as encryption and secure file transfers. It's also integral in managing data operations, facilitating communications between systems, and executing SQL jobs, enhancing operational efficiency across sectors.

SMA Technologies

Sample Customers

Teradata, Arconic, General Dynamics, Yum!, CVS Health, Comcast, Ghiradelli, & Boston’s Children’s Hospital

ING, Adidas, 84.51, ESB

7 Eleven, ABB Sécheron SA, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Amazon Europe Core, Apple, Assa Abloy, Aston Martin, Banco Santander, BMW (Australia)

Buyer's Guide

Automic Automation vs. VisualCron

March 2026

Free Report: Automic Automation vs. VisualCron

Find out what your peers are saying about Automic Automation vs. VisualCron and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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