What is our primary use case?
I use Inflectra Rapise in my company since we have contracts with a lot of government entities. Our company could not get the tool to work in a government network because government networks typically have a more secure setup than commercial entities. The tool could never get past the setup of government entities, and they are not going to rewrite their tool for specific companies or organizations. Either Trellix or the government settings within the networks would kill the product and not allow Inflectra Rapise to be utilized.
How has it helped my organization?
Inflectra Rapise didn't help our organization, especially since most of the organizations use SAP GUI and haven't switched to SAP S4HANA or SAP Fiori because of the initial cost of doing the changeover.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its versatility. Any automation tool needs to be more than just something meant to be your enterprise solution. It needs to work across different technologies, whether it revolves around .NET, Visual Basic, Oracle, or any tool in today's market, so it has to be versatile because otherwise, it's a very narrow tool with scope for just certain software products.
What needs improvement?
Inflectra Rapise needs to expand its ability. I spoke with Inflectra's executive account rep on the need to expand the tool's ability. The problem with Inflectra Rapise is that a lot of companies are still using SAP GUI. Inflectra has no intention of building Rapise in a way that allows it to interact with SAP GUI. Inflectra Rapise has very limited value for the companies I work with because they they still use SAP GUI since their top priority is SAP testing, and they want to get into automation, for which they need a tool that cannot only used to automate processes, but can also do end-to-end testing where you are not only using SAP GUI, but you are using the interface with old legacy systems that are still in use or with today's more modern technologies.
In the future, the tool needs to increase its versatility. If I am at a company that uses 23 different technologies, like .NET Visual Basic, Oracle, SQL, or whatever, Inflectra Rapise needs to be made as a product that is an out-of-the-box usable tool for any technology.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Inflectra Rapise for six months. I don't remember the version of the solution, but it was one from the previous year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a four out of ten.
The product's stability just wasn't there since, in a very tightly secured environment, it just doesn't work.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Inflectra's support was fine. I noticed that with Inflectra's support team, the problem was when you found an issue that is not a part of their roadmap for improvements over time or in their future versions, then it just wasn't addressed at all.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I used Micro Focus UFT One, which used to be HP UFT, and before that, it was Mercury Interactive. I also used QuickTest Professional extensively, but the tool couldn't outlive its lifespan.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's installation wasn't an issue. It was the execution part of the tool that was an issue since it cannot be executed in the environment of a government entity because of all the extra layers of security that are laid out.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. I represent a lot of government entities, and unless they already have approved cloud usage, most of their organizations operate on an on-premises model because of security concerns.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where ten means very good pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
During the evaluation phase, I have used Tricentis Tosca. Tricentis was a solution that my company was able to install without any issues in a tightly secured environment, and we were able to use it in a tightly secured environment during its evaluation phase with no issues. Tricentis could be used to automate any existing technology out there that is used today by large market corporations or government entities.
What other advice do I have?
I did a deep dive with a couple of Inflectra's tools, which consisted of not only automation tools but also a test management tool called Rapise, which was a decent tool that was lacking in a few features since some requirements that companies have couldn't be met with it.
During the evaluation phase of Inflectra Rapise, I realized that it doesn't work well if your business deals with government entities. Inflectra Rapise does not work with government security setup. Government IT systems continuously crashed Inflectra Rapise, and it wasn't allowed to be fully launched or utilized. Inflectra Rapise doesn't work with SAP GUI at all. The tool works with SAP S/4HANA or SAP Fiori, meaning you would have to have the aforementioned SAP products installed if you want to work with Inflectra Rapise and the original SAP GUI version, which a lot of clients use. The tool is ineffective as it doesn't work with SAP GUI, and Inflectra doesn't even address the issue.
Inflectra Rapise needs to make sure it works in today's environment because of all the cyber concerns, which are the top concerns in almost all of the large companies, where tools for help are put in place, and unfortunately, such tools most of the time cause the automation tools to not work. Inflectra Rapise needs to put up with the security settings of the current time and basically expand the tool to utilize more technologies.
I rate the overall tool a four out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
*Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
