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BMC Helix Discovery vs CA Asset Portfolio Management comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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

Automation Anywhere
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
660
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (2nd), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (2nd), Process Mining (1st), Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (1st), Agentic Automation (1st), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (2nd), AI Legal & Compliance (1st), AI Finance & Accounting (1st), AI Procurement & Supply Chain (1st)
BMC Helix Discovery
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (9th)
CA Asset Portfolio Management
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (15th), License Management (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Consultant at Accenture
Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions
Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.
JP
Presales Manager at HCLSoftware
Comprehensive discovery has populated our CMDB and provides deep insight into asset relationships
The applicability depends on the customer environment. Usually it is straightforward to apply the policies. BMC Helix Discovery is seamless and has many plugins available. It is a good feature that they offer. I have heard about it, but I am not currently using it, though I know that they have that feature available. BMC Helix Discovery provides a lot of information that can be obtained from discovery, including the relationship between the CIs and how many CIs are orphans. The analytics capabilities are strong.
reviewer1998918 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise systems management team lead
Integrates well, highly stable, and scalable
CA Asset Portfolio Management can improve the uploading of batch information. I have to upload large amounts of information and it can take a long time to finish. There are some other solutions that are better, such as Micro Focus. We have approximately 10,000 PCs that we are busy processing and we have to upload information to them but when we use this solution it is complex. When we use Micro Focus it is better.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AA is a global market leader and the best RPA software to go with, in all aspects."
"Co-pilot certainly makes the job easier if the client has a subscription. It allows me to analyze desktop flows and activities and create flows using natural language."
"The advantage of Automation Anywhere is that you don't necessarily have to come from a programming background."
"Simple processes such as tracking, logging, and data consolidation are now automated, which helps us focus more on doing tasks that are impactful and more important."
"The dashboards are excellent."
"The code automation platform is the most valuable feature."
"My clients have seen ROI, as what would take them two to three days in work is now taking them two to three hours."
"The most valuable feature of the product is the flexibility, as there are so many features that you can use to develop, and it can hit a lot of use cases."
"The ability of BMC Helix Discovery to save time and money for customers is all about resolution times and first fixes, linking heavily to the CMDB and ensuring that you have good clean data."
"The most valuable feature of BMC Helix Discovery is it operates well. It is well known and has gained recognition for its software."
"The speed at which it's able to collect a wide-range of information, then make it useful for you, like asset management, knowledge management, and incident management."
"Start anywhere application modelling brings a fantastic opportunity for users to see what is where."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The solution is very stable and powerful."
"BMC Helix Discovery comprehends the infrastructure you've procured and deployed within your environment."
"Accuracy and clarity are vastly improved for the service lines."
"Our organization really has improved quite a lot since we've been using this product."
"With the CA Asset Management tool, we have the ability to very quickly find our software compliance, so now, as an ongoing process, we know exactly where we stand with software and the opportunities that we have in our environment."
"Reduces software cost. Reduces the risk of software audits."
"Also, the software you have, you can monitor for end of life. If you have software that is end of life, then you can have it uninstalled and buy the new software, so you can make sure that you're not running into vulnerabilities with unsupported software in your environment."
"Gives better control over software and licenses and reduces risk from a software audit."
"They're staying up to date as vendors make changes to how they want to manage the software. CA is usually really quick about getting those updates in the system."
"The most valuable feature of CA Asset Portfolio Management is the full integration with our Service Desk, as it allows us to work both sides of life cycle management."
"You could also look for software that is no longer being used and you can re-deploy the software, so then you save from a purchasing standpoint because you don't have to buy the software again."
 

Cons

"The initial deployment and onboarding process was somewhat difficult, but once things stabilized, the experience became excellent."
"Although Automation Anywhere is a GUI-based platform with drag-and-drop functionality, non-technical business users struggle to implement it due to the complexities of operationalizing automation within a business context."
"The product should improve on Voice Recognition and IoT pretty soon, as this is the next big thing in and I would like to see this upgraded in the next release."
"There should be more available Data Analytics and more AI Front and Deep Learn concepts."
"In order to score nine or ten, they still need to provide more flexibility and integration with other tools and options."
"The scripting can be a bit difficult."
"Most of the time, I find that our internal team finds the solution; the support team isn't able to provide a perfect solution."
"We've had a lot of issues with the installation and performance on a variety of computers, onshore and offshore. Our network bounds multiple domains, and we've had issues there, as well. So, we are looking forward to the web-based development versions."
"The interface is quite old and can be outdated."
"While I consider the solution to be good, it should better be able to integrate with other solutions."
"What would make BMC Helix Discovery better is if it had more client-side discovery features, for example, printers and desktops. Right now, it's focused more on data center discovery, so if it had additional features focused on the client-side discovery, that would be great. In the next release of BMC Helix Discovery, I'd like more client-side discovery features such as desktop discovery, printer discovery, and other IP-based client-side discovery features. The solution can discover desktops and printers, but there's still room for improvement on the client side."
"An area that can be improved is the IoT."
"The support from BMC Helix Discovery can improve, it takes a long time before we receive any feedback. It can take days to months sometimes."
"The solution's scalability is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are needed."
"A review of end of life data would be nice."
"The license model could be more flexible and cheaper pricing."
"I would like to see more control over audit trail features, where you can turn on and off fields."
"I'd like to see end-of-life information on software products."
"CA Asset Portfolio Management can improve the uploading of batch information. I have to upload large amounts of information and it can take a long time to finish. There are some other solutions that are better, such as Micro Focus."
"Initially, each upgrade, the process for it was a little different. Having to go, this upgrade was going to be different from this one, going to be different from that one, that was a bit of a headache."
"One additional improvement – the reporting aspect in SAM is poor; we need different reporting for different purposes – compliance reporting for executive management and the product teams."
"IT asset manager is very complex when integrated with other systems like HR, help desk, procurement and supply chain systems."
"Complex software to understand at the beginning."
"I'd like to see more mobile. I'd like to have it actually manage mobile devices. It really doesn't, and I'd like to have a mobile application just for asset management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While calculating the setup cost you should account for the server, virtual machines, product licenses, maintenance costs, and running costs."
"The price of Automation Anywhere is a little higher than some of the competition, such as UiPath. However, depending on the use case and other factors we are able to receive some discounts."
"I am not involved in the pricing, but based on what I hear from our central RPA team, it is not very expensive; it is also not cheap. Its price is in the midrange."
"We have a three-year contract with Automation Anywhere."
"Automation Anywhere is cheaper than UiPath and Blue Prism. From a market point of view, Automation Anywhere is reasonable. Any organization can adopt Automation Anywhere."
"The cost is at the highest end of the spectrum."
"In terms of pricing, this is a good product."
"Automation Anywhere's pricing falls within the mid-range, but the long-term benefits outweigh the initial investment."
"The licenses are very complex and quite costly."
"The price was fair compared to competitors. BMC is very affordable. There are optional consulting services to assist with implementation."
"The licensing fee is very low."
"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten. All BMC products are expensive."
"It's not a cheap product. But the benefits it delivers is that it's a fair price."
"BMC is available for a reasonable price compared to ServiceNow — it's half the price."
"I've heard that the solution was expensive earlier but is now much cheaper than its competitors."
"We are on a three-year agreement with BMC Helix Discovery to use the solution. There are not any additional fees other than the standard license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
8%
Construction Company
20%
Outsourcing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business157
Midsize Enterprise82
Large Enterprise558
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.
What needs improvement with BMC Helix Discovery?
The interface is quite old and can be outdated.
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix Discovery?
BMC Helix Discovery is used for discovery of the assets and configuration items so that you can populate the CMDB.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)
Discovery, ADDM, Atrium Discovery & Dependency Mapping
CA IT Asset Manager, CA Asset Manager, ITAM, IT Asset Manager, CA SAM, CA Software Asset Manager, Asset Portfolio Management, Asset Portfolio Manager
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics
Windstream Communications, News UK, Mercator Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR)
First Horizon National Corporation, Logicalis, Racing and Wagering Western Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Discovery vs. CA Asset Portfolio Management and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.