Fortra's Automate vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation comparison

Fortra and IBM are both solutions in the Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies category. Fortra is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.6, while IBM is ranked #30. Fortra holds a 2.2% mindshare in BOAT, compared to IBM’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortra's Automate and IBM Cloud Pak for Automation based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

June 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

Automation Anywhere

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies category, the mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 6.3%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 2.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Automation Anywhere	6.3%
Fortra's Automate	2.2%
IBM Cloud Pak for Automation	0.9%
Other	90.6%

Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

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.

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Jane Rachma Kiniti

IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires

Automate has streamlined workflows and increased efficiency with powerful automation

The best features of the solution are the flexible automation features, it is rich with beautiful connectors, and it is easy to use with little to no coding knowledge required to get started, so anybody can use the tool. The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design, which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag-and-drop interface, which makes everything so easy and straightforward. The error handling capabilities in complex automation tasks are powerful, as it handles all types of tasks, whether complex or simple. I've never faced any problems even when dealing with complex tasks, so everything is super smooth and highly reliable, even when dealing with big tasks, as it has never slowed down. Automate's compatibility with existing IT infrastructure has impacted our business operations positively by providing smooth integration with other software that we use, such as Gmail, Jira, and Microsoft 365 apps, which gives us a unified platform instead of having to keep switching from one software to another, saving a lot of time and streamlining the whole workflows. The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies. It is also cost-saving. By minimizing manual labor, it decreases human errors that can lead to costly mistakes. By automating the tasks, it helps to save costs, and it also improves our accuracy by reducing these errors to ensure that tasks are done almost perfectly.

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SYEDMUJTABA

Vice President - Digital Automation Services at Techvista Systems

Effectively handles parallel instances effectively

I find it quite straightforward, perhaps around 8.5 out of 10 in terms of ease. When we upgraded from the old version of IBM BPM to the new one within IBM Cloud Pak for Automation, we didn't encounter any major issues. There were some minor ones, but they were easy to overcome.The migration process was part of our deployment strategy. We had a plan to migrate two processes per week from on-premises to the cloud. The migration involved taking the instances and migrating them to the new environment. There is an inbuilt feature in IBM Cloud Pak for Automation that facilitates the migration process, although I personally haven't conducted it myself; it's managed by my team. Overall, the setup process was relatively smooth.

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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

"Toward this life cycle, we have a very structured approach of governing, monitoring, and tracking, that's the approach we have taken. Insights we gain from this governance, we apply towards automation strategy and implementations. We've done this for many clients across the globe. We are happy to share those experiences with some of you as well."

"A project that we automated: A person used to spend about eight to twelve hours every week to finish the process. The bot finishes it in half an hour. Now, the person just reviews it, then passes along the information. This has helped our organization because originally EMEA and APAC would not receive the files the same day that they were processed. But because the bot only takes a half an hour, everyone can now receive the files on the same day."

"We can access it anywhere. E.g., I can access dashboard from my Control Room on my mobile app using Automation Anywhere."

"There are multiple levels of cloning. In case screen cloning doesn't work, you can do object-based cloning or keystroke-level cloning, depending upon what parameters are available to you and what is the level of information that you capture. You can traverse between object cloning, which is the lowest form of cloning to a stroke-based cloning, which is like taking care of each keystroke-level which is made by the agent."

"The ability to find objects easily through the 'Capture' option saves your time most significantly."

"Automation Anywhere was the simplest solution, and it offered us immediate support."

"Compared to before, when processing a document took around three hours, we now complete it in one to two minutes thanks to Automation Anywhere and the latest document automation technology, saving around two hours and 55 minutes per user, which is a significant saving."

"We simply train the Bot by uploading sample files, and it then begins classifying, processing, and extracting the data within a short span of time."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"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."

"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."

"Fortra's Automate has a user-friendly interface that is quite easy to understand for new use cases."

"Overall, the whole product is really nice and provides significant benefits."

"We've automated all the vendor processes so that we don't have to manually load any files."

"Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money."

"The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"What this product allows us to do is to move from on-prem instances where we are running independent instances of FileNet, Datacap, and ODM. It allows us to leverage container-based resiliency and availability modeling so that we have some visibility across the CP4BA ecosystem. We're now migrating all of our data to be in the Cloud Object Storage, and we can now use some of the features of Azure in terms of how we store and retrieve content for our members and our providers."

"I believe two significant features of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are the focus on SLA management and the capability to handle parallel instances effectively. Parallel instances, for instance, are valuable when dealing with a large number of users, enabling tasks to be performed concurrently for efficient system operation. The SLA aspect is crucial for tracking and ensuring timely completion of tasks. Additionally, the cloud compatibility of IBM BAW allows for seamless migration from on-premises to the cloud. This version also includes a business rule management system for storing and managing business rules effectively."

Cons

"For any tool, we have to consider that the evolving AI space is rapidly changing, and I believe Automation Anywhere can enhance its offerings to keep pace with developments in the AI sector, which presents a lot of room for improvements, but overall it is working well for us."

"We have in-house, a few variables, which we use from technical perspectives. We don't have them in Automation Anywhere, but they introduced them yesterday."

"I would like centralized orchestration and better exception handling in the next release."

"Currently, there are some vulnerabilities in security that need attention in Automation Anywhere."

"I would like to have the ability to schedule bots by whichever one is available."

"In the debugging mode, it writes all the logs to text files, but it doesn't ever clean them up. We had one that got to 200K, and it bogged our whole machine down. We couldn't figure out what was going on until we found out that we had a 200K file sitting out there. We would like some sort of maintenance on the log files going forward."

"They could improve the learning curve."

"I would like if the IQ Bot could read hand-written documents, otherwise, Automation Anywhere is fabulous to work or develop processes for customers."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"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."

"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."

"There are many things that need to be improved. The security needs to be improved."

"I currently have three bugs open with them that I don't know if they are addressed in the new release."

"We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal."

"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."

"The documentation is not that great."

"Areas for improvement in Automate would be a more modern web-based workflow designer, an enhanced real-time monitoring dashboard, and built-in API integration tools for REST and SOAP."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"One of the challenges we're having is finding vendors who have experience in developing on the cloud. We can find developers on the old platform, but it is leading-edge technology. So, we are having some challenges, and IBM is assisting us to find vendor partners. To be able to leverage all the capabilities of the new platform, we have to upgrade our existing ecosystem of FileNet applications. Upgrading to the new platform while trying to modernize is always challenging because it is like you have a moving target."

"I believe there is room for improvement in the user interface, particularly in the Process Portal that customers use to view and manage their tasks. The UI of the Process Portal needs enhancement. Additionally, in the next release, I would like to see improved compatibility with Angular, allowing for direct integration with front-end systems. It would be beneficial to have built-in GUI features based on Angular within the system, rather than developing separate applications externally. This, in turn, would provide a more seamless and enhanced front-end experience."

"Upgrading to the new platform while trying to modernize is always challenging because it is like you have a moving target."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000."

"Its price is competitive with all other products in the market."

"Automation Anywhere pricing and licensing are competitive compared to the other automation vendors."

"It's justified because we have saved quite a bit of money at the company and many manual hours. Overall, it justifies the cost."

"It's an ideal pricing model to customize the components based on everyone's needs."

"Although the initial implementation cost of Automation Anywhere is relatively high compared to other options, its annual subscription cost is lower than UiPath's, which has the opposite pricing structure."

"If you look at the capital expenditure, Automation Anywhere is number two to UiPath. But if you take a long-term view, on a scalable model of a large number of bots coming out, it slowly goes on to become the costliest tool. There is something they can do about that. The capital expenditure goes out right at the point of buying the tool. For Automation Anywhere, I would need to spend $20,000. UiPath can give me something for $6,000, while Blue Prism will come in at $300,000."

"Their licensing processes are in par with most industry standards."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."

"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."

"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."

"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."

"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."

"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."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is relatively expensive, especially considering it is designed for long-living processes, not for normal automation needs. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pricing at around 9. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees, but IBM has multiple pricing models that make it expensive in its own way. Different plans are available, but overall, the experience suggests it is a costly solution."

"Its cost is almost the same or comparable to what we pay with FileNet, but I'm not sure what we pay a year. A good part of CP4BA is the CPU-based licensing model. When we're dealing with 50,000 dentists, for example, if we were to use Salesforce, we would be hit with the licensing of 50,000 dentists, whereas when we build out in CP4BA, it is just based on our CPU usage, not on individual licenses."

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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

11%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Wholesaler/Distributor

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	157
Midsize Enterprise	82
Large Enterprise	558

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	10

No data available

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...

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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...

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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.

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What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

I use Fortra's Automate to automate our workflows and reports mainly. For example, we normally task it to generate an...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?

When we installed Fortra's Automate, I was present. We use Automate Plus, and we are running about 20 bots or instanc...

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What needs improvement with Fortra Automate?

The interface of Fortra's Automate is similar to GoAnywhere. I am not completely pleased with it, although it is intu...

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Comparisons

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 9% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 6% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

HyperScience vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

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UiPath Platform vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 8% of the time

Nintex RPA vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 5% of the time

OpenText Operations Orchestration vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 4% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortra's Automate Competitors

Appian vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 16% of the time

IBM BPM vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 13% of the time

Camunda vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 13% of the time

Nintex Process Platform vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Automation vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Automation Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

August 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate

August 2026

Download Fortra's Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

July 2026

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Automation product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

Fortra

Demo not available

IBM

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

Fortra's Automate offers a user-friendly platform for task automation, featuring a drag-and-drop interface that aids in scheduling, file management, and integrating with services like Azure and AWS.

Fortra's Automate provides substantial ease in automating complex tasks through its intuitive design. It offers seamless integration capabilities, especially with Azure and AWS, and comes equipped with strong error handling. Cost-effective and requiring minimal coding, it supports a broad range of industries by effectively automating tasks such as HR operations, invoice management, and data processing across servers.

What features stand out in Fortra's Automate?

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies task setup and automation without deep coding expertise.
Scheduling and File Management: Ensures efficient, automated handling of tasks and file transfers.
Integration Capabilities: Works with platforms like Azure and AWS for enhanced performance.
Error Handling: Offers solid solutions to manage and resolve task execution errors.
Minimal Coding: Facilitates automation with limited coding requirements, broadening accessibility.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-Effectiveness: Provides affordable licensing options for diverse businesses.
Operational Efficiency: Enhances productivity by automating repetitive tasks, reducing manual errors.
Versatility: Adapts well across sectors like banking, healthcare, and transportation.
Robust Support: Offers extensive assistance with automation features.
IT Compatibility: Easily integrates into existing IT infrastructures.

In industries such as healthcare and transportation, Fortra's Automate facilitates the automation of client management, HR operations, and data processing, boosting efficiency. Banks utilize it for managing extensive invoice workflows, while distribution sectors rely on its capabilities for insurance checks and system support. Its applicability across servers makes it a valuable tool for any sector seeking to reduce manual workload and improve task accuracy.

Fortra

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation enhances efficiency with a comprehensive suite of tools designed for business process automation and optimization. It offers robust features that streamline workflows, help in faster decision-making, and foster agility.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation provides a modular platform for businesses aiming to automate operations and orchestrate workflows seamlessly. It integrates AI-powered solutions to handle repetitive tasks and enable intelligent automation across the enterprise. With cloud-native architecture, it supports rapid deployment and scalability, making it adaptable to evolving needs. Its flexibility allows for the integration of third-party applications, ensuring a customizable approach that meets diverse automation requirements. Its compatibility with Kubernetes further boosts its deployment capabilities, enabling businesses to manage workloads more efficiently.

What features make IBM Cloud Pak for Automation stand out?

AI-Powered Automation: Uses machine learning to streamline tasks.
Workflow Orchestration: Organizes business processes for swifter management.
Robust Integration: Seamlessly integrates with third-party tools for enhanced workflows.
Cloud-Native Architecture: Ensures scalability and adaptability to changing conditions.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Increased Efficiency: Automation of repetitive tasks leads to improved workflow speed.
Reduced Costs: Less manual intervention saves resources and operational costs.
Agility: Quick adaptation to business changes due to seamless integration and orchestration.
Scalability: Designed to grow with business demands, supporting expansion without disruption.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is extensively implemented in industries such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. In finance, it automates back-office operations, thereby increasing processing speed for transactions. Healthcare leverages it to manage patient data and streamline administrative tasks, which enhances both efficiency and patient care. In manufacturing, it drives production line automation, enabling better quality control and faster time-to-market. Its industry-specific applications underline its adaptability and effectiveness in automating and optimizing enterprise processes.

IBM

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

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

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Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

June 2026

Free Report: Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Automate vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Automation and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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