IBM SmartCloud Control Desk vs IFS Cloud Platform comparison

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk vs. IFS Cloud Platform

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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

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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Klemen Muhvič

Computer System Engineer at Informatika d.d.

Has centralization and asset management features, and a helpful and knowledgeable technical support team

What needs improvement in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is its graphical interface because it needs to be more user-friendly. IBM is a big company, but this solution is a little bit outdated. The most common comment I get from customers is that IBM SmartCloud Control Desk looks old and needs a refresh. Its frontend needs a little bit of work. The solution needs to be more modern. In the programming world, you see a lot of new technologies, but this particular solution is still on Java. IBM SmartCloud Control Desk isn't like web-based service request tools, and that's an area for improvement. What I'd like to see in the next version of the solution is a more upscale technology. IBM SmartCloud Control Desk has small issues with document links and attachments, and those could bother you when you're using it for a long time. A more user-friendly GUI is also another improvement I'd like to see in the next version of the solution, plus a better user experience, and it would be great if IBM could resolve the current issues I've noticed in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk.

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reviewer2268153

Cloud Operations Engineer

Integrated planning has improved production scheduling and now reduces downtime and costs

The biggest friction point I have run into with IFS Cloud Platform is user adoption, which has been the biggest challenge, as different users in the organization need to get accustomed to the new processes after years of using spreadsheets and legacy systems, requiring training and a mindset shift, along with challenging data migration and process standardization. My advice to someone considering IFS Cloud Platform with a similar workflow is to spend sufficient time understanding and standardizing their business processes before implementing it, as the technology is very powerful, but the real value comes when processes, data, and teams are all aligned. I would rate my overall experience with IFS Cloud Platform as a 9 out of 10.

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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

"Automation Anywhere has been an integral part of this product's evolution in general. A hindrance that we were faced with was companies who did not have API integrations for Salesforce. This is where RPA and Automation Anywhere came in and helped us with integrating solutions which did not have API integrations within themselves. That's how we've evolved in the past two to three months."

"We automated these processes so they will be processed automatically, and users will get the end result for validation—it is basically time-saving for them."

"Its user interface is very understandable. Even a non-technical person can understand it. Everything in the user interface is self-explanatory. It is quite good."

"WLM & Device Pool, where multiple devices perform the same thing parallel and complete the tasks at the same time. The credential manager for security is one of the most valuable features for storing credentials and providing security between the developer usage and future maintenance where passwords expire every 90 days."

"At the end of the day, the effort that you put in has exponential benefits, giving you many advantages from your lines of code, which is amazing."

"In the age of agentic AI, it's allowing us to imagine what comes next."

"The feature of this solution that I like the most is that it is coding free - it is a coding free tool. It does not need much coding at all. For all the activities you just drag and drop. That is the best advantage of this tool."

"We've had many sit-down conversations with the Automation Anywhere team when we were testing out the document automation. We gave them feedback about potential enhancements, so when we launched our most recent document automation use case, the capabilities were already there. We didn't need to come up with a workaround or put the project on hold because the things we needed were unavailable. That commitment to customer success stands out because they know that without us, the product won't succeed."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"Overall, it's a good product that I would recommend."

"Overall, it has helped us continuously improve our business processes."

"In the early stages of our company, all requests were done in notebooks, and none of it was centrally managed. But now we have a central tool which is an entry point for all requests that come in."

"The solution has been stable."

"A feature I found most valuable in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is the service request. Another feature I like most about the solution is IT asset management, which tells you who owns a specific asset in the company and from which date."

"SLA integrations, reports, and integration with other applications are the most valuable."

"The workflow capability is useful. It's not a manual helpdesk operation. It's fully automated, even when an alarm has occurred. It covers the complete cycle of initiation to resolving the events. This is its most strong feature that is easily integrable with a monitoring solution. It creates tickets, and the workflow feature is the most important one."

"The brand name is the most valuable aspect of this solution for me. It's IBM. It's a global company that supports this product, it's not something open source or something like that."

More IBM SmartCloud Control Desk pros

"We applied the ISO 20000 standard using Assyst."

"IFS Applications is very user-friendly and easy to deploy, and it's suitable for small and medium enterprises."

"I like the connectivity and interfaces. In V10, it's easy to modify the interfaces and layouts, but it's becoming more complicated in the cloud. IFS is excellent at asset maintenance and incident management. They have specialized modules for IFS that cover incident and asset management and everything else connected to finance. The reporting in IFS is also easy to use."

"The most valuable features of IFS Applications in the latest version are the new user Arena interface. It's from Apps 9, but it brings more flexibility in usage, especially around different devices, such as mobile usage, which doesn't restrict you from using a computer. We are it for the HR side, and it's proving quite good. It has a new modern feel to it similar to a standard cloud application which enhances the user experience."

"The product is quite flexible."

"Feature-wise, I like the way it provides inventory details...It is a stable solution."

"Our client has benefited as follows: Reduced transaction time, better visibility, easier tracking, more control on business and automation, and better agility with the ability to move swiftly as times and market conditions change."

"The best feature is the maintenance module, which is essentially an industry-specific workflow designed with a manufacturing module as per industry standards. It's very precise and specific without having complex functionalities. It's straightforward. Field Service Management is definitely a wonderful product that IFS has developed because it caters to field services. The energy and utility sectors can answer their business needs using the software."

More IFS Cloud Platform pros

Cons

"IQ Bot does have some limitations."

"Certain areas of the user interface require improvement."

"If I want to do something that is more purely business-related and is somewhat complex to write or is nuanced, I sometimes have trouble implementing that inside of the Automation Anywhere script. I feel limited at times with some of the looping and some of the branching and some of the ways to make procedure calls when I have a complex business issue."

"We have found that the passwords are not very stable in terms of their accuracy. We could only get 70 percent accuracy in these cases. Our clients require more accurate results. We are working toward this."

"My current and previous companies have had stability issues."

"If we are getting input from a CSV file, we have to add one more layer of automation that first saves the data to an Excel file."

"Automation with bots runs fine only if it is an attended bot. With unattended bots, the bots run only 25 to 30 percent of the time."

"Automation Anywhere has some limitations."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"The solution lacks a graphical user interface."

"The user interface is not very interesting."

"The main issue that we hear from our customers is that the self-service user interface is a little bit old, possibly due to the fact that IBM is such a large enterprise company. People say that they think they're in the year 2004, because you can very clearly see that the technology is lagging behind modern trends."

"The product is kind of clunky to use."

"The reporting in relation to updating could be improved upon."

"Technical support can be slow in terms of resolving issues."

"What needs improvement in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is its graphical interface because it needs to be more user-friendly."

"Their technical support can also be improved in terms of response time."

More IBM SmartCloud Control Desk cons

"However, if we had any bids with the other products Assyst unfortunately would have lost the bids."

"The solution's initial setup process was complex...The technical support my company receives from the implementation partners of the solution is not that great."

"We have upgraded to the latest version right now. We have issues with the quality. We tried to enroll in their Evergreen program which was meant to help us adopt any service update or anything that the tool’s providers come up with."

"I'm a business analyst, so I do a lot of customer-facing work. I take calls from businesses I have to troubleshoot. One thing that bugs me is the error messages you get from IFS. If I get an error message, I have to dig to find the cause because, often, the error message doesn't precisely describe the problem. It'll hint about where the problem lies, but you have to work to find the root cause. It doesn't help in my situation. You expect an error message to point to the field or what is causing the issue."

"Customization can only be done by IFS and not by the clients themselves."

"The customer service is not good as expected but we can say its fair."

"The biggest friction point I have run into with IFS Cloud Platform is user adoption, which has been the biggest challenge, as different users in the organization need to get accustomed to the new processes after years of using spreadsheets and legacy systems, requiring training and a mindset shift, along with challenging data migration and process standardization."

"Technical support could be improved."

More IFS Cloud Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Roughly, as of today, it is around $250,000 annually."

"I've seen the price vary by whether the client is going to scale and adopt a tool."

"Our annual licensing costs are about $500,000."

"Licensing costs range from $50,000 to $200,000."

"I am using that Automation Anywhere Master Certification for version 11. Recently, this has been updated in Automation Anywhere University. Until this month, it's free to use. There are no charges. That's why I would like to complete it this month."

"It is fantastic. It has been great. It is perfectly priced for the quality received. When paying for quality, that is exactly what you get."

"The price of this product is good."

"Additional costs will be for the machines and the number of machines that you are using. You can deploy virtually as well as on physical machines. In both the situations, you do need to allocate a certain budget for securing the machines and where the software will be installed and running. The machines cannot be used for anything else, because only a certain bot can run at a certain time. You need to be very particular about your scheduling of running the bots, and while the bot is running nobody can use the machine. You cannot have an agent working on a machine and the bot running in the background. It has to be completely dedicated. Then there are the network bandwidth requirements and space requirements, which are additional costs apart from the licensing and software costs. The developer is also going to charge you for their coding time too."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"The license for IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is paid yearly and is on a per-user basis. You buy the product and pay for its license yearly. IBM is changing the licensing structure, but for now, it's a yearly license. There's no additional cost. It's just the license that you need to pay for to use IBM SmartCloud Control Desk."

"The licensing we have for IBM Control Desk is on a yearly basis. They have a concurrent license and an administrative license. And with these, you get all the products. There aren't any additional fees for extra add-ons or anything like that."

"It's basically for a big company because of the costs. A small company can't afford the licensing cost. For medium and large companies, it's the best product. The price of the license is on the higher side compared to others."

"Licensing is on an annual basis, with no additional costs."

"The pricing of the solution may appear to be expensive for smaller companies with only tens of users; however, for larger and mid-size industrial companies, IFS is able to win deals and the pricing is competitive in the market."

"It is better to buy implementation services from IFS than from partners"

"I consider it to be a well-priced solution compared to other mid-range or high-end ERP solutions."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"Compared to SAP, the pricing for IFS Applications was very affordable. People using the solution would find that it's worth the money."

"Pricing is an area that could be improved. They could be more competitive."

"There are varying license levels that you can purchase."

More IFS Cloud Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Performing Arts

14%

Construction Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

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	6
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	10

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.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IFS Applications?

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

The product is reasonably priced. The costs are justified by the value provided, considering the comprehensive featur...

What needs improvement with IFS Applications?

There are features that came up during implementation that we are not actually using today, such as field service man...

What is your primary use case for IFS Applications?

My main use case for IFS Cloud Platform is for production planning, where I typically use it for production schedulin...

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

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Product Reports

Automation Anywhere

Download Automation Anywhere product report

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk

Download IBM SmartCloud Control Desk product report

IFS Cloud Platform

Download IFS Cloud Platform product report

Also Known As

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

SmartCloud Control Desk

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

IBM

Demo not available

IFS

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

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk offers robust integration capabilities, effective SLA integrations, automated workflows, and comprehensive reporting. Its flexibility and centralized request management enhance service efficiency, making it ideal for detailed issue tracking and resolution in IT environments.

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is designed to streamline IT support, ticketing, and incident management. By integrating seamlessly with existing infrastructures, it centralizes service requests and IT asset management. Its automated processes ensure efficiency from initiation to resolution, reducing the chances of oversight. The platform's adaptability supports both on-premises and cloud deployments, making it suitable for industries like telecommunications and IT services. However, users often face challenges with support responsiveness, outdated interfaces, and difficulties with email integration, particularly affecting images and attachments.

What Are the Key Features of IBM SmartCloud Control Desk?

Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with various systems to enhance functionality.
SLA Integrations: Strong service level agreement management ensures SLAs are met.
Automated Workflow: Full automation of processes from start to resolution.
Robust Reporting: Comprehensive reporting tools for detailed insights.
Request Management: Centralized management of service requests and IT assets.

What Benefits and ROI Should Users Seek?

Efficiency: Streamlines operations with automated processes, increasing productivity.
Flexibility: Adapts to organizational changes for better service delivery.
Reliability: Backed by IBM's trusted brand reputation.
Scalability: Scales with demand for growing businesses.

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is widely implemented in telecommunications and IT services industries. Organizations utilize it for managing IT support, incident resolution, and system monitoring. Its ability to handle both internal and external requests effectively helps businesses streamline client communications and improve service management across different deployment models.

IBM

IFS Cloud Platform offers a modern, adaptable enterprise management tool with a user-friendly design, providing seamless integration and customizable modules for efficient operations.

IFS Cloud Platform streamlines enterprise processes through its cloud-based architecture, favoring adaptability and swift updates. It supports industry standards and offers deep analytics and flexible customization, benefiting industries like aerospace, defense, and manufacturing. Despite needing enhancements in documentation, mobile compatibility, and reporting tools, it remains a viable choice for comprehensive ERP applications in finance, HR, and supply chain management. Integration with systems such as Azure and NetSuite further optimizes manufacturing schedules.

What are the key features of IFS Cloud Platform?

Modern Design: Offers an intuitive interface.
REST APIs: Enables seamless integration.
Customizable Modules: Enhances finance and service management.
Analytics: Provides deep insights into operations.
Cloud-Based: Ensures quick updates and adaptability.
Industry Standards: Supports service-oriented architecture.

What benefits or ROI should be considered in reviews?

Increased Efficiency: Streamlines enterprise management.
Enhanced Connectivity: Facilitates system integration.
Flexibility: Customizable to business needs.
Improved Operations: Optimizes schedules and resources.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive in enterprise solutions.

In aerospace and defense, IFS Cloud Platform assists with planning and scheduling, while in manufacturing, it manages inventory and service management efficiently. Companies implement it for ERP applications across finance, HR, and supply chain, integrating with Azure and NetSuite to enhance IT service management and project-based scenarios, leveraging its AI-driven PSO component.

IFS

Sample Customers

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

St Vincent's Health Australia, Kalibrate Pty. Ltd., Cognizant Technology

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia.

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk vs. IFS Cloud Platform