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Fortra's Automate vs IDERA ER/Studio comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortra's Automate significantly reduces costs and enhances efficiency, offering ROI in 90-120 days, saving millions for organizations.
Sentiment score
5.8
Users appreciate IDERA ER/Studio for ease, graphical presentation, and efficiency, despite not fully utilizing its capabilities.
Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money.
Chief Technology Officer at DOB Systems LLC
It has reduced our expenditures in terms of purchasing more products and employing more technicians.
System Administrator
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the ROI as nine.
Project Manager - DevOps Engineer at ACC
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortra's Automate support is praised for promptness, knowledge, and helpfulness, despite some communication and access issues.
Sentiment score
7.1
IDERA ER/Studio's customer support is praised for responsiveness and professionalism, despite occasional delays, especially for East Coast users.
They don't always understand the processes I'm trying to implement.
Senior Data Analyst at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
They handle customers like me to get to the exact issue, detailing where that issue originates from a technical point of view, the resolution, and the summary they provided.
Software Engineer at Cateina Technologies
I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
There is plenty of documentation available online for assistance, making it straightforward to address any issues.
Managing Partner at DXC Technology
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortra's Automate is scalable for organizations, supports cloud/on-premises, but can be costly and complex in enterprise settings.
Sentiment score
7.4
Most users find it scalable; performance improves in new versions, especially using cloud environments for large data models.
The scalability of Automate also scores a ten out of ten.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
I can deploy it on multiple infrastructures such as cloud, on-premises, or in a hybrid model.
Software Engineer at Cateina Technologies
It is easy to increase one bot or one studio without needing to buy another orchestrator, which can be quite expensive.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It scales well to teams of one hundred plus people.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortra's Automate is highly stable, highly rated for reliability, with occasional slowdowns attributed to external factors, not the software.
Sentiment score
7.8
IDERA ER/Studio is generally stable, though occasional issues exist with older versions, complex models, and server performance.
The stability of the solution is a ten out of ten.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
For stability on a scale from one to ten, I would give it a solid nine.
Cloud Engineer - ll at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
It has very robust features, and it is not prone to instability.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Erwin is a very stable product.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Fortra's Automate requires improvements in web automation, interface design, OCR, logging, database integration, and support documentation.
IDERA ER/Studio needs deployment, licensing, documentation, performance, and feature enhancements for better user experience and functionality.
This is a significant concern, especially with critical workloads where visibility into errors is essential.
DevOps Engineer at Teksphere Global Services Limited
My major recommendation would be for easier upgrade paths between major versions.
Project Manager - DevOps Engineer at ACC
When new employees join our company, we created automation so they receive AWS credentials and all their AWS access and cloud access.
Cloud Engineer - ll at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Both Erwin and ER/Studio do not have AI or machine learning features for automation.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortra's Automate provides flexible, cost-effective pricing, offering competitive rates and discounts for large enterprises compared to alternatives.
IDERA ER/Studio is costly and complex to license, but many find its features offer valuable returns.
Competitors are often more expensive than Automate.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It offered what we wanted at a good, competitive price.
Senior Data Analyst at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
It does a lot but also costs a lot.
Chief Technology Officer at DOB Systems LLC
The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000.
Data Modeler at Ascendion
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Fortra's Automate offers intuitive automation with drag-and-drop ease, integration versatility, and error reduction, enhancing operational efficiency.
IDERA ER/Studio enables comprehensive data modeling, collaboration, and automation with user-friendly interfaces and integration with versioning tools.
Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In my opinion, the best feature Automate offers is the scheduling.
DevOps Engineer at Teksphere Global Services Limited
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.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
When we built an application, it facilitated the development process by providing the skeleton of the application and the foundation for functions.
Managing Partner at DXC Technology
It has strong versioning support and can even integrate with third-party versioning tools like GitHub.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortra's Automate
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (4th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (5th)
IDERA ER/Studio
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (7th), Database Development and Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortra's Automate and IDERA ER/Studio aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortra's Automate is designed for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and holds a mindshare of 2.7%, up 1.3% compared to last year.
IDERA ER/Studio, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Architecture Management, holds 3.5% mindshare, down 4.1% since last year.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortra's Automate2.7%
Microsoft Power Automate13.0%
UiPath Platform12.9%
Other71.4%
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IDERA ER/Studio3.5%
LeanIX10.1%
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect9.3%
Other77.1%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

Jane Rachma Kiniti - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
KP
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Enables large teams to collaborate seamlessly with comprehensive integration and strong versioning support
ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people. It has strong versioning support and can even integrate with third-party versioning tools like GitHub. It has a rich set of integration options with various products in the market. The tool also supports both logical and physical data modeling, and it has out-of-the-box support for data vault methodologies. ER/Studio allows the enforcement of naming conventions, which is beneficial for maintaining standards within the organization.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Performing Arts
6%
Energy/Utilities Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise25
 

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?
I have used it mainly for internal process automation, including file transfer, data extraction, and scheduling jobs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
Regarding the pricing of Fortra's Automate, I think it is neither expensive nor inexpensive. From what I have seen, its pricing seems fair and reasonable, especially compared to other competitors. ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER Studio?
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
What is your primary use case for IDERA ER Studio?
I have been working with data modeling tools. Personally, I have been working with Erwin for many years now. ER/Studio is something I am currently trying to evaluate for acquiring it for our organi...
What advice do you have for others considering IDERA ER Studio?
I would strongly recommend ER/Studio for large teams. Erwin is a very stable product, but for smaller teams, it's okay. If I had to rate ER/Studio, I would give it nine out of ten because the absen...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
 

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
Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Microsoft and others in Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Updated: December 2025.
879,711 professionals have used our research since 2012.