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IBM Datacap vs Python 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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (5th)
IBM Datacap
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (6th)
Python RPA
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (17th)
 

Featured Reviews

Jane Rachma Kiniti - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
DeekshithShetty - PeerSpot reviewer
High-accuracy document processing with easy integration and good image enhancement
The OCR extractions are very good, almost 100% accurate now. The integration with other tools is very easy, with inbuilt actions to configure and directly export to multiple depositories. It is also good at image enhancement, including the removal of lines, which is helpful in processing and automation and ensures very little user intervention, thus saving time.
Arno Krause - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps streamline operations, the error handling capability is fairly good, and integrations are easy
Keyword-driven automation has been beneficial in streamlining operations. The error handling capability of Python RPA is fairly good in managing exceptions. I rate it a seven out of ten. We've integrated it with Jenkins and with our release pipeline. It was fairly easy. We had no issues with integration that we couldn’t deal with. The dashboard is simple. We export it to Excel or Power BI and make it look pretty. For our initial use, the dashboard is okay.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A great feature that you seldom see in these kind of systems is the ability to use a database as trigger to launch a task. This is something I asked for a few years ago and that was added."
"We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us."
"Automate increases efficiency and eliminates errors during documentation and invoicing processes."
"The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."
"The solution is continuously adding more integrations to help with workflows and bot and task creation."
"The ability to connect to websites and pull data is the solution's most valuable feature."
"I find the ease of use from a programming perspective very valuable."
"Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money."
"The feedback from our clients that this solution has increased their efficiency and their turnaround time on opening any account for end users, thus attracting more customers."
"It helps companies figure out how to use advanced imaging techniques, processes, best practices, and other tools."
"The solution automates manual data entry."
"There's something that's very unique about IBM DataCap. It provides me with a good solution for extracting, reading the QR codes, and scanning them. In this stage, we are working in a UIT phase before implementing this protocol in all our branches. From my initial observation, IBM DataCap is good, it is not working too fast, but in a good manner for us."
"It's a platform, not a configured application, so you can do what you want with it."
"One of the valuable features of Datacap is the user experience. One thing that IBM did a few years ago was they standardized all of their ECM products on Content Navigator, including Datacap. If you're an IBM ECM customer you have FileNet, you have Datacap, you have StoredIQ and you have a consistent user experience, user interface."
"The standout feature of this intelligent product is its remarkable capability."
"I work for an insurance company, and we use Datacap for document processing."
"Instead of writing multiple lines of code, we can do it in a single statement."
"It's possible to use the solution with other tools. It's very agile."
"Keyword-driven automation has been beneficial in streamlining operations."
 

Cons

"The documentation for errors needs improvement as many of the error messages we receive are very vague."
"It would be an improvement if Automate had better stability tools, whether by recommending a certain amount of memory because it can be a memory hog at times."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."
"The user interface could be slightly enhanced to make it more modern."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"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."
"I would like better ease of use and more support options."
"Our main language in Egypt is Arabic, and IBM DataCap does not support it perfectly. All our documentation is in Arabic. It's not English or any other language. However, we have overcome this problem by using QR codes in the document to extract the data from it. They should have better support for Arabic."
"There are times when external features impact services. For example, Windows patching or antivirus updates can affect production-level services."
"Currently, when you are entering invoices, you have to enter multiple rows. In Captiva the multiple rows will be dynamically added. This would be a beneficial feature for IBM to add."
"Going forward, IBM needs to ensure that the output is perfect (as it can make the product) while staying true to platform's core."
"The interface can be more intuitive."
"There should be an increase in the capacity of the workflows. Datacap is a little limited in this aspect. So, you cannot really implement all the possibilities."
"I would like to see the product have the ability to process more documents in parallel. Right now, it is a single queue. Therefore, if you want to really test the load and stress test it, having multiple instances and the ability to scale it up would be great."
"When we call an API and there is an error, it doesn't tell you what the error is."
"Support could be improved."
"It can be expensive to deploy a lot of models in the cloud, especially if there are large amounts of data."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"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."
"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."
"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 cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
"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."
"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"You save a lot of time and money, but the benefit is you have people who are able to run the systems, check to see if there are any errors at all, and there are a lot less errors than a human system."
"IBM could offer more competitive pricing. This would allow them to attain more users. Some of our clients are considering moving to a different solution called Encapture which is similar but offers more competitive pricing."
"In Egypt, we have exchange rates that change year to year, and currently, we're facing an increase in the exchange rate between our Egyptian pound and the dollar. Since we have been using IBM DataCap two years ago we had a good price, it was not expensive. However, I cannot say now if it is expensive or not because of the exchange rate. Additionally, I don't have the data of other competitors and I don't know the prices."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Pricing needs to stay competitive."
"It varies, and it depends on the client's requirements and negotiations. Nowadays, Datacap is also included in the IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation."
"This solution offers seamless integration with other enterprise products, which is my area of responsibility, focusing on government sector projects. Larger enterprise projects don't pose problems. It might be suitable for small businesses as well."
"We were using the User Value Unit licensing, which means we get charged per active user of the system, and if I'm not mistaken, we also had it for the rule runner service. They had a PVU license model, which is a processor value unit. For each process that we have in our system, we pay a certain amount of money. We found the pricing to be quite steep. It was really an expensive solution in comparison to Kofax, which had a different licensing model and was actually cheaper overall because they charge per page and not per user and per process."
"I am using an open-source solution."
"The tool is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
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?
My main use case for Automate is to deliver enterprise-scale script execution jobs, which means we are using Automate...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
Until now, I have not specified any other tech products except Microsoft Power Automate, N8N, and Make.com that I've ...
What do you like most about IBM Datacap?
The installation of the solution is very simple.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Datacap?
Pricing is in the mid-range but could be more affordable, rated at four point five.
What needs improvement with IBM Datacap?
IBM needs to improve on scanning and reading accuracy for unstructured documents. Additionally, an important missing ...
What do you like most about Python RPA?
Keyword-driven automation has been beneficial in streamlining operations.
What needs improvement with Python RPA?
I've worked with file detection for secure transactions. I use a machine learning model to predict events related to ...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
Datacap
No data available
 

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
Turkcell, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Central Nacional Unimed, Conqord Oil
Home Credit, Silimed, Hilton, Al Hilal Bank, Baskin and Robbins
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Datacap vs. Python RPA and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.