No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs Workato comparison

Sponsored
 

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

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)
IBM Cloud Pak for Automation
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (38th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (30th)
Workato
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (1st)
 

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.
SYEDMUJTABA - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AP
Technical Consultant at IST Technology
Data processing efficiency increases with workflow automation but could improve on handling high volume data
The most valuable feature of Workato is that billing is based on task actions; whatever actions we take on the Workato platform will determine the task consumption and billing for each workflow. More optimized workflows lead to less billing for clients. Furthermore, they have introduced a Copilot feature for automation, helping build recipes and code with simple prompts. Additionally, they are developing AI solutions for clients. These are some top features, along with various others implemented per client specifications, such as CICD implementation and runtime connection changes. The benefits of using Workato for our customers include automating business workflows and data integration. By addressing their manual efforts, which are time-consuming and prone to errors, Workato helps clients reduce costs while increasing productivity. We implement solutions that enable seamless data integration between different systems, minimizing time-consuming manual processes. A positive impact we see is cost reduction, as manual efforts are significantly lowered. For example, in production support teams, manual processes are streamlined through CICD implementation, allowing for a seamless integration of different environments with minimal errors and faster deployment.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"RPA platform with a good accuracy rate, variable management, and OCR feature. It has a straightforward setup."
"Automation Anywhere has made it very easy for you to install, they've got the tools to make it very simple for you to create a quick, small application and to get out there."
"The overall developer client has an easy-to-use UI."
"As for the stability of the product, we can use it in any use cases or to automate anything, like manufacturing or for the banking sector. We can automate all things. The stability is quite good. It is easy to use and user-friendly. You can automate whatever you do manually and day-to-day things work. We can automate repetitive tasks as well."
"In my case in particular, I come from a business background, not an IT background. So, it sort of speaks for itself that I was able to pickup its functionality and how it works. In the space of two years time, I've gone from a junior developer to a senior specialist. So, it really speaks for itself in terms of being user-friendly."
"The ease of use is its key novel feature, as I have actually trained people in finance who have not written a piece of code in their lives and they are able to pick it up."
"The CyberArk integration and setup are really amazing and it helps us to win deals for new projects."
"Automation Anywhere has impacted our efficiency and productivity in a very positive way since we are shutting down a very manual process."
"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."
"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."
"The delivery time has drastically improved using Workato because of its low-code feature and pre-built connectors which are very easy to use compared to MuleSoft."
"It is very easy to use. It takes complex workloads away, and it provides very smooth integration. It has got a lot of out-of-the-box connectors. It has got a lot of out-of-the-box APIs, which makes it really easy to integrate with applications for different use cases, whether it is in finance, HR, or customer operations. It is by far our favorite integration product."
"Workato is less expensive and offers similar integration capabilities."
"The recipe-driven automation in Workato is very impressive; for the same client project, we extracted purchase orders from emails and pushed them into the file system, and the automation worked as expected without any issues with the Workato email connector."
"The most valuable features are easy integration, quick tab to develop, quick tab to market, and interactive integration platform."
"Workato reduces total development time as it generates code seamlessly and integrates with SQL databases or APIs through configuration."
"It is easier to use than other technical open-source technologies."
"The initial setup was very easy."
 

Cons

"Overall, I am pretty satisfied with Automation Anywhere. The UI is pretty straightforward. However, the customer service could be improved."
"Automation Anywhere can be improved by working on the next step with GenAI process automation and the agents."
"The initial implementation of Automation Anywhere regarding the elastic search and database set connection can be a little difficult. However, I am skilled enough to get through it. There were some balancing issues that my other team members had to manage. They are having difficulty in balancing when I checked the architecture properly. We determined later that there was no need for a load balance to be done on the servers. We didn't do any load balancing and then the elastic search was not done."
"We have our limitations. We can run only VBScripts and one more thing. If we want to run Python scripts or batch files, we cannot do it. So, if they would add these extra things in there then that would be beneficial."
"This solution should be more user-friendly so that our clients can take a bot that we have developed for them, and then run it by themselves."
"There should be more available Data Analytics and more AI Front and Deep Learn concepts."
"One thing I dislike about Automation Anywhere is that our process is time-consuming. Since the bot is utilized by that machine and if a long-running task is happening, then another bot may not run and the machine is locked."
"Excel, Outlook, and Word automation are very difficult with V11."
"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."
"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."
"My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was a bit challenging in the past because the client I was working for did not have an unlimited license to use unlimited tasks and could not create many different processes and flows in Workato."
"There are areas of Workato that have room for improvement, and they continue to develop their AI capabilities."
"There are some issues with sending and receiving HTTP requests."
"The data flow and debugging processes need improvement, especially for tracing issues. Additionally, Workato struggles with scalability when handling high volumes of data, such as terabytes, requiring chunking for initial data loads."
"The only minor drawback would be if there was a UI at the front of it, for apps and for a portal as well, it would make it really easy. It would be really useful if there were more apps capabilities."
"I have observed some minor stability issues with Workato, particularly related to connectors failing occasionally and delays in report sending."
"I would say customer support is good, but I cannot classify it as very good as my personal experience varies."
"I would like to see the dashboarding and reporting processes improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If we talk about the automation RPA. it definitely has worked very well for us. I'm talking about giving good savings, about more than 180 FTE savings, after implementing more than 200 plus bots. It has worked well. As an organization, it has supported us very well, and also for our customers."
"The setup cost for this is onetime and licensing is based on your choice of product."
"The price is a little bit high but the support is good."
"Costs savings have been seen by employing bots for multiple shifts instead of people."
"Our pricing a year ago was $600 per license."
"The pricing is fair. My company is part of a big organization, so the pricing is very advantageous."
"The licensing fees are approximately $10,000 USD for between five and ten users."
"Talk to your manager and try to procure an automation license for training. This will allow you to train people, so you can move to automation."
"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."
"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."
"Workato is an expensive solution."
"Speaking about price, I would say that it's market-related. Also, there are costs in addition to the standard license fees since different add-ons depend on what you require."
"On a scale of one to ten, the pricing is around a six. We have a consumption model and the pricing is higher. If you are using any kind of ML-based approach, machine learning, or some advanced analytics, you may have to pay more."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies solutions are best for your needs.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Wholesaler/Distributor
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business157
Midsize Enterprise82
Large Enterprise558
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
 

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.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Workato?
In Workato, there are some limitations regarding very high transactional data in file formats. For instance, we have ...
What is your primary use case for Workato?
The usual use cases for Workato include real-time data processing from either SFTP or SAS, and we have implemented mu...
What advice do you have for others considering Workato?
I have been working with clients for Workato implementation, focusing on consulting and implementing solutions for th...
 

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)
No data available
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics
Information Not Available
Panera Bread, Berkshire Hathaway, Salesforce, Box, Splunk, ComScore, IBM, Complex Media, Microsoft, Home Depot, Cisco, News Corp, Braille Institute
Find out what your peers are saying about UiPath, Automation Anywhere, n8n.io and others in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies. Updated: July 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.