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ELMA 365 vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 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
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ELMA 365
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
59th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
CRM (54th), Business Process Management (BPM) (42nd)
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 1.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ELMA 365 is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 3.1%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

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.
PT
A great ERP for medium and even small businesses
If one has experience in the ERP market, big brands like Microsoft require a lot of money over other platforms like Odoo. We can implement an on-premise model for some enterprise customers because it gives privacy and security. For other customers, we provide the cloud version. Currently, we recommend customers implement the ERP platform on the cloud environment because of the flexibility and scaling. I recommend that customers invest in a solution with the possibility of scaling in the future while providing many functions and features out of the box. In many ERPs we provide, although we would recommend ELMA as a default option for medium and even enterprise customers, they need bigger brands. ELMA 365 should be the second or third option for customers right now. I rate ELMA 365 a ten out of ten.
GeorgeTzifas - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides smart AI tools and easy to use
I would like to have more flexibility in connecting the platform with third-party systems. It is easy to connect IBM RPA with other IBM products, but it is complicated when connecting to non-IBM systems. So, I would like IBM RPA to be even more flexible in connecting to third-party systems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automate increases efficiency and eliminates errors during documentation and invoicing processes."
"Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money."
"I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task."
"This product is quite easy to install, learn, and use, with our new employees being able to start using it in projects for clients after only two weeks of internal training."
"We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us."
"Overall, the whole product is really nice and provides significant benefits."
"The solution is continuously adding more integrations to help with workflows and bot and task creation."
"I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous."
"A lot of customers, when we introduce this kind of product into their organization, it provides a lot of analytics."
"We can connect with different database types, and they have included a different package for a terminal connection to, for example, AS400. When it comes to UI development, it's not using the drivers or anything. It's not a selector-based development like UiPath."
"The solution is scalability."
"I think simplicity is key. One of the things that we've noticed is how our developers have been able to quickly adopt the platform; but not only the developers or the techy people, also the business."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It is a good tool for automation."
"The analytics and reporting tools in IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are the best compared to all other RPAs because all other RPAs only use dashboards while IBM is the only one to have a reporting tool that includes dashboards."
"The solution is very user-friendly."
"It is easy to use. We have enabled our resources who don't have a background in automation to be certified and trained, then implement this product within a very short period of time, as it is very user-friendly."
 

Cons

"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"Fortra's Automate is not as reliable as I would like it to be."
"The documentation is not that great."
"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"Error messages should be better. For error status, there should be better documentation because a lot of times, error messages that you get are quite vague. For example, you get a message saying that the workflow has run into an unknown status, which is vague. It just tells you that it failed, but you don't know how or why it failed. It makes debugging difficult."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"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."
"Customers want improved productivity."
"Stability could be better."
"One of the things I would definitely like to see is more of the machine-learning and cognitive capabilities. For example, now that we're starting to automate more and more tasks, there are some things that still require us to go back and modify the robots when we need to. But if we had more of the machine-learning integrated into it, I believe it would be easier to maintain, so that we wouldn't have to go back and adjust every time."
"I would like to have more flexibility in connecting the platform with third-party systems."
"IBM should provide specific solutions for specific problems, like templates for invoicing processes, or general templates for creating efficient processes."
"The pricing of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) could be improved."
"We would like a decreased need for customer support."
"Extensibility is the key, especially in terms of the Recorders feature that we have. That should be browser independent. Enhance it because some people have Chrome, some have Internet Explorer, etc. Also, integration with PDFs: Not just the ability to read information from PDFs but the ability to write information from PDFs, make it secure, sign it, etc. Finally, if they can allow a token exchange inside the tool itself, that would help."
"There are certain limitations in the solution for screen reading."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."
"While solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism cost around $11,000-$12,000 for each license, this product costs around $7,000 and you can keep it forever."
"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."
"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
"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."
"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"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."
"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."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"IBM licensing is annual and based on Virtual Processor Cores (VPC). This provides flexibility as part of the containerization environment."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
"I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
"There is a free trial for one month, so you can use it to run your payloads or proof of concept. After that, you can pay for the license on a monthly or annual basis."
"IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
"The product has a yearly licensing fee."
"The license is paid annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
5%
Computer Software Company
40%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
6%
 

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 do you like most about ELMA 365?
A lot of customers, when we introduce this kind of product into their organization, it provides a lot of analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ELMA 365?
I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten. It's not so cheap and not so expensive.
What needs improvement with ELMA 365?
Our customers mention three main topics when they review our product. The first point of improvement is the cost, the...
What do you like most about IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy.
What needs improvement with IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
To improve IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the next release, there should be more integration with external ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
My customers' main use cases for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are especially in the banking industry, particu...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
ELMA BPM
IBM RPA
 

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
Air Astana, GS Nanotech, Kapital Bank, Mriya Resort & SPA, Obninskorgsintez, VestaBank, pwc, Zarubezhneft, lockobank, Rosatom
The Hanover Insurance Group
Find out what your peers are saying about UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Microsoft and others in Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Updated: June 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.