Sanjay Shankhla - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Itcinfotech
MSP
Top 20
Enables users to build and implement end-to-end automation easily
Pros and Cons
  • "Building automation using the solution is easy."
  • "The product must improve its stability."

What is our primary use case?

I am a UiPath developer. I have automated web-based processes like HR and finance. I have also worked on a use case consisting of web-based automation, Excel automation, and email automation.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution reduces FTEs in processes that require 100 people for repetitive tasks. It really helps customers to reduce human effort and guides the robot to do efficient work within the schedules.

What is most valuable?

It's very easy to manage and automate Orchestrator because it allows plug-and-play models and drag-and-drop approaches.

What needs improvement?

UiPath should be able to adapt to other operating systems like Linux or macOS. The tool must reduce the activity required for workflow design. It should be made similar to Visual Studio. It should provide a better way to analyze the recursion functions.

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March 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Compared to Automation Anywhere or other open-source tools, UiPath's stability is very good. However, when it comes to very complex hybrid automation with high-density bots, where we require many third-party applications, UiPath cannot handle such scenarios.

PDF automation is very complex. Either we will have to use a third-party Python script, or we will have to build a custom OCR. We require good programming knowledge. The product must improve its stability. I don't see much stability. Though it is available in an environment like Mac, it is not up to the mark as it is in Windows.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

First, we validate with the logs. In logs, we have to identify certain categories of errors. From there, we identify the root cause. During development, we rename all the activities to appropriate annotations so that we can backtrack them accordingly. If there are any exceptions, it is passed on to the Global Handler. If any error occurs, we email the support team with a screenshot. For example, if ten transactions have been processed and there is a system exception, we immediately send a screenshot to the support team.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It did not include the CI/CD pipeline. There were two machines. One was the developer, and the other was the production machine. We had to deploy it into the production machine. An Orchestrator admin and a developer are enough to deploy the solution.

What about the implementation team?

To deploy the solution, we create the package and describe the overall process. We compress it into a new package and assign the robots with the machine key. Then, we create certain asset queues for the processes and upload them into Orchestrator.

Once all the assets are created, we assign a VM to the package. Then, we upload the package and map it to the process name. We add triggers if required, and if any change request comes, we raise the request, the manager approves, and we proceed with the implementation. It is very easy to maintain the product if there are no version changes in the applications.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing cost is very high.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

UiPath's cost is very high. When we transfer the knowledge of a robot to another, certain images are not available. It's difficult to identify the XML collectors. A proper annotation or guidance must be given to the user. When a new version is updated, the tool becomes slower. It is very difficult to maintain version history because of the bulk update activities. If we want to convert from Windows to Windows legacy, it is very difficult.

What other advice do I have?

We get the input files from emails. We read the input files, extract data from the template, and open it in the browser. We worked on an engineering product. We used UiPath to get information about the testing and the model's integrity. Certain information was in the Excel file. We had to extract information on whether the model had to be tested with plastic or without a plastic cover. There were drop-down messages. We captured the values and injected the JavaScript modules to autofill the data.

Once the testing was created, we created a sample order. We filled out a form from the input file, gathered all the details into a summary, and wrote an HTML code for it. Then, we sent it to the client and informed them that the test had been created successfully.

For SAP, we did an auditing type of automation. For example, we automated payments and filled in all the information from the template. Then, we had to propose, settle, and release the payment. In SAP, we are using VBScript also. It has some complex scenarios.

If it is a PDF type of automation, I would recommend the latest technology called Document Understanding. I can define and train the fields using certain anchors and then go with extractions. Machine learning models are also possible. It would be the best way to do a PDF automation.

Calling an API would be the right choice if it is an API approach. If we have been asked to download certain files from SharePoint, we create a custom Azure application. We define secret keys, certificates, and IDs. We define certain API permissions. Then, through UiPath, we install Microsoft 365. We can then download the file. If the process is more complex, ABBYY is the best choice.

Building automation using the solution is easy. We need a little bit of programming knowledge for complex or hybrid automation. For easy automation, plug-and-play connectors and activities are readily available in the solution. We just have to get trained and use them.

UiPath speeds up digital transformation and reduces the cost of digital transformation up to a certain extent. We required a ticket-tracking system where we needed additional third-party software like OneDrive and Office 365 to be installed. For Box drive, we had to install SDK. We also had other solutions like Google Drive, spreadsheets, and Zoom APIs. The solution has helped a lot to minimize our on-premise footprint.

It enables us to implement end-to-end automation. It is important for customers because they want to avoid repeated tasks. If a customer wants to search for an email and upload it in a different portal, they might have to open multiple pages. However, if we choose end-to-end automation, things can work in the backend. The Picture-in-Picture mode in UiPath allows the user to work parallel to automation. So, while the robot runs, the user can do their work parallelly.

I have not used the AI functionality much. I have used AI for a POC of a custom model where I had to identify objects from an image. There were many questions like how many people were in the image, how many cars were there, how many street lights were there, and how many fruits were there. I had to find the count of the people or objects and their confidence scores. It was a small POC with the object detection model built with Python.

The product has helped to stabilize standard and structured processes. If the data is unstructured or unorganized, we use ABBYY as a third-party application. We have to train and classify all the assets and forms. The robot trains the modules using the connector and converts the semi-structured data into structured data. We can make automation more scalable using third-party applications. The cost is very high, though. UiPath is not that stable.

I have used the Academy courses. I have also completed enterprise training and acquired a certificate as an RPA developer. UiPath has a very good community. If we get stuck on anything, we can get solutions for our problems. Currently, ChatGPT is also helping us in many ways. My UiPath skills are really good. I keep doing R&D on AI Fabric, automation, and other features. The community helps me to learn.

A little bit of programming knowledge is a must to use the tool. A level one automation or a straightforward case with repetitive tasks does not require much programming knowledge. The user can use the solution if they have knowledge about the dynamic selector and wildcards. They should have a little bit of fundamental knowledge of computers and automation.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
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Venkat Sivaprakash - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Consultant at Accenture
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Provides multi-language support and integrates with many types of application, including as Java and legacy
Pros and Cons
  • "The Task Mining is one feature that is very helpful to any business analyst. I do business analysis, and the info that I produce goes to our UiPath team to develop automations."
  • "If a bot is going to save four to six onshore resources, at least one offshore resource is needed to support it... A lot of bots are highly sensitive. Even the slightest change in screen behavior or a small change in the process and, many times, they are not intelligent enough to run on their own. That means there is a high dependence on the support team. Automation software providers need to improve on this."

What is our primary use case?

We can't disclose our exact use cases, but we do intelligent automation with UiPath.

How has it helped my organization?

It reduces human error and most bots are able to generate 50 to 60 percent savings in terms of employee time. It's definitely helping our organization to save costs. We are able to do work at one-sixth of the cost. Even after adding an FTE for bot support in the back end, UiPath saves us significantly on costs.

What is most valuable?

The Task Mining is one feature that is very helpful to any business analyst. I do business analysis, and the info that I produce goes to our UiPath team to develop automations. Task Mining is the only part I leverage.

UiPath is pretty flexible and offers security aspects as well. It helps us do intelligent automation, providing multi-language support. It can also integrate with any kind of application, such as Java or legacy-based applications. We can call APIs when needed, and it can be scheduled. We can even manage UiPath licenses for multiple uses.

It has certain built-in Excel features, so if you want to pick data from Excel or crunch data in Excel without using Excel macros, you can use UiPath and take that data to any type of ERP application. In that way, it's quite flexible. It has very good features that help you process data across different technologies and platforms.

The UiPath Academy courses are also very useful. I became certified in UiPath business analysis training, and have also done UiPath technical architect courses. It helps you kick-start your career in UiPath. It's very helpful.

What needs improvement?

UiPath helps with digital transformation at the outset, but I focus on the amount of runtime support needed for managing bots. If a bot is going to save four to six onshore resources, at least one offshore resource is needed to support it. That is one area where UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and every automation software has to focus. A lot of bots are highly sensitive. Even the slightest change in screen behavior or a small change in the process and, many times, they are not intelligent enough to run on their own. That means there is a high level of dependence on the support team. Automation software providers need to improve on this.

Also, UiPath could bring in a type of low-code or no-code automation so that it can be used by the masses instead of only by technically proficient people to develop solutions. Low-code or no-code automations would be really helpful. 

In addition, for intelligent automation to become really robust, a lot of features need to be added, and the accuracy of the model has to be improved. Right now, if I am going to implement any UiPath or AI solution, in the beginning, it will only be 30 to 40 percent accurate. It doesn't get to 70 to 80 percent.

These are the types of things that need to be improved in UiPath.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for between six and seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable environment. It doesn't encounter any errors on its own, unless there are system or functional exceptions.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has good scalability. We can even redeploy an existing use case to a new use case. Or when a new migration takes place, we can use UiPath by modifying it and making it work in the new enrollment.

How are customer service and support?

Our support team handles technical support. I haven't contacted them.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is reasonable, although Orchestrator is really costly. Not many organizations will be able to afford that, but without Orchestrator, you can't do bot management. It becomes pretty difficult. UiPath has to focus on orchestration pricing. They need to bring in some innovative pricing.

What other advice do I have?

From the business analysis angle, refine your use cases and make sure you are identifying the right ones, before deliberating about any automation platform, whether it is UiPath or not.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
UiPath
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about UiPath. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
RPA Specialist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Can deploy from mobile devices, is easy to create automation, and offers AI functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to deploy UiPath from a mobile device is the most valuable feature."
  • "Although AI functionality has improved in its ability to automate more complex or involved processes in the past five years, there is still ample room for further improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We utilize UiPath for the automation process within our organization.

How has it helped my organization?

Building automation using UiPath is easy. I rate the ease of writing workflows a nine out of ten.

UiPath enables us to implement end-to-end automation, which is important because it aligns with the current demand. There are workflows that users prefer not to interrupt or intervene with, hence the absence of intervention workflows. There are two types of automation: one with human intervention and another without. We prefer a workflow that eliminates the need for any human intervention right from the beginning.

I am a member of UiPath's user community, where individuals write workflows and create various applications. UiPath is putting more effort into promoting the community when compared to Automation Anywhere. However, apart from joining the forums they provide, I have not taken advantage of the additional benefits they offer yet.

We recognized the advantages of UiPath within the initial quarter of usage.

We utilize AI functionality in our automation programming to the fullest extent possible.

UiPath's AI functionality has enabled us to automate more processes overall.

UiPath has enabled us to reduce the workforce for the specific tasks we handle by 75 percent.

It helps to speed up digital transformation.

Human error has been reduced.

It has tripled the amount of time freed up for our employees.

UiPath has reduced costs by a factor of three.

What is most valuable?

The ability to deploy UiPath from a mobile device is the most valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

Although AI functionality has improved in its ability to automate more complex or involved processes in the past five years, there is still ample room for further improvement.

The APIs are predominantly on-premises-focused, and there should be greater availability of cloud-based APIs.

There are workflows in which we use AI to take screenshots to assist us in making decisions, and these workflows need improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for five and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of UiPath is better than Automation Anywhere.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

UiPath is scalable.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism, but UiPath allows us to deploy from mobile devices, and is also easier to create automation.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex, but UiPath provides all the required tools, so with some patience, it is manageable. The deployment took one hour. We created workflows to set up the machines with all the necessary software and UiPath. Next, we deployed the workload monitor and tested various use cases on some data for one or two days. After that, we left it to their employees to provide us feedback after a week.

Two DevOps people were used in the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What was our ROI?

UiPath has delivered four times the return on investment by implementing complete end-to-end automation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is high. UiPath is more expensive than Automation Anywhere. The solution is not affordable for small businesses.

What other advice do I have?

I give UiPath an eight out of ten.

Some of our team members have utilized UiPath's Academy courses, and although we train using unofficial courses, the Academy courses are beneficial.

5,200 end users use it in our company. 

Five DevOps professionals are required for UiPath maintenance.

My advice would be to take a look at the new features, particularly those related to AI. Many people discuss the old features that don't have much impact, but it's the new features that truly matter.

I have learned that not everything can be automated, especially in complex scenarios where we must exercise extra caution in our environment.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Nikhil Gohil - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Engineer - Digital Platform | Mobile at British American Tobacco
Real User
Top 10
Provides us with a single solution provider for end-to-end automations
Pros and Cons
  • "Among the key features that I find quite helpful are Orchestrator support, Automation Hub, Process Mining, and Document Understanding..."
  • "On the Orchestrator side, I would like to see more controls and conditions for RPA managers. If they advanced in those areas, it would help."

What is our primary use case?

The business side of our company has different processes and they send us requests to develop automation for them.

How has it helped my organization?

Almost all of our processes are end-to-end automations. Our company looks for a single solution provider and the minimum number of tools needed to automate a whole process. We don't want to jump between different systems where the owners have to get more approvals to get the automation done. It's better to have one simple solution that can work on different scenarios.

Another benefit is, obviously, that processes that don't require human intervention can comply with security requirements and then you can host it on a VM. You then schedule the automation and it will run. It's really good compared to competitors, like Automation Anywhere, which have not yet reached that level.

UiPath also speeds up digital transformation in many ways. People start thinking about automation and the processes from start to end. For example, if there are four steps in a process and one team member is responsible for the third step, by turning the process into an automation, he knows the whole process from start to end.

In addition, it helps reduce human error, especially for repetitive processes done with human effort, but that is true of any automation, not just UiPath. But I do think UiPath is the best solution. UiPath has sped up processes for many of our teams, and they are much happier. They can explore other areas in which they are more interested. Personally, UiPath automation has saved me at least three hours a day.

What is most valuable?

The key features that I find quite helpful include

  • Orchestrator support
  • Automation Hub 
  • Process Mining
  • Document Understanding
  • Test Manager
  • Insights.

What needs improvement?

On the Orchestrator side, I would like to see more controls and conditions for RPA managers. If they advanced in those areas, it would help.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for two and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have over 100 users in our company.

We have UiPath on-premises so we usually upgrade the platform whenever they release a stable version. There is some work involved with UiPath web extensions, which we have to install on web browsers.

How are customer service and support?

We usually talk with our account manager. UiPath's technical support team is good. They are always approachable.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not work in RPA before I started using UiPath.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

UiPath is costly compared to Power Automate Desktop, but if you want to do most things, UiPath helps a lot. The more you use it, the cheaper it gets.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

UiPath is the industry leader in RPA. Other tools, such as Automation Anywhere and the Power Automate platform, are notably lacking in most of the features.

What other advice do I have?

There is a big learning curve if someone is new to programming. It would be better to have gone through some basic data types or to have an understanding of how logical sequences work. But apart from that, it is easy to build automations. Once you understand how to use logic, it's easy. 

In our company, people are still adapting. It's not 100 percent done. We are asking many teams to start learning UiPath and automating simple things first.

There is a desktop studio and any citizen developer can develop an automation without learning much. It's quite simple to use. When you want to share something with other team members, you just publish it to Orchestrator and share it with UiPath Assistant. That is quite helpful for any team looking for automation.

The UiPath Academy has different certifications and, on my team, everyone has done some kind of course there and received certification. They know what they're doing and understand how RPA works.

I would suggest developing a basic understanding of how to use UiPath Studio, which is the IDE. Try different things and, then, if you're stuck, go to the UiPath forum for help. If it requires more detailed knowledge, then go with a video course in the UiPath Academy. But most of the time, we Google an issue and find answers on the UiPath forum or documentation. Sometimes a YouTube video will help. It's not necessary to go through the video learning process in the Academy to start using automation.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Eric Peladeau - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical advisor at Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Real User
Great community, helpful Academy courses, and is straightforward to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "I love the REFramework and the Azure Queue and orchestrator."
  • "The speed of upgrades is really hard to follow."

What is our primary use case?

Right now, we have nine production animations.

Our first use case is to convert video to audio and then upload it to a legacy system. We have another use case that takes an Excel spreadsheet of 2,000 rows and searches one row at a time on the federal court website to get the results of our cases. 

We also have another use case that generates an SAP report daily, downloads a report, and feeds a Power BI dashboard. 

The last use case monitors a client's email, and as soon as there's the form request, we open the request, and we add it to their system automatically.

How has it helped my organization?

Thanks to COVID-19, since everything went digital, it added a lot of manual work to employees. It helps reduce manual labor. It just saved time. The robot now does the amount of work that got created due to COVID. It went back to normal in terms of workload now that we can get help from UiPath.

What is most valuable?

I love the REFramework and the Azure Queue and Orchestrator. Those are great features. They all work well.

The UiPath community is awesome. That's one of the reasons I use UiPath. There's so much stuff available everywhere. For example, if you go on Google and search for a subject, you are going to find information on either YouTube videos or community sites. There's just a lot of information available about everything. Also, a lot of super complete documentation is on the UiPath website. Any question we get, it's super easy to find technical information on that subject.

I've used the UiPath Academy courses. It has helped me start very quickly since they're all free, and there are many courses to choose from. When I started, I used my first two weeks to just do Academy training, and that's how I started. They have a complete curriculum. It's pretty nice.

What needs improvement?

The speed of upgrades is really hard to follow. It's great that there are continuous improvements just for us; however, it's just a bit hard to keep up with all of the changes.

I wish I could use the SaaS version. Our only con is the SaaS offering is not accredited in Canada, so we're working on that. That's not a UiPath problem.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for about two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is awesome. It is very stable. It recovers itself. It doesn't err. It's very easy to carry on, and exception handling is very easy to manage it. I have no problem with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's super easy to scale. I'm sure there are always ways to improve, and we're a small group, so I only have six bots in production right now. However, I already have some processes that could be scaled. They're using two robots now, yet I could easily put that to four or five if necessary. If you create workflows correctly, it's super easy to scale.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is pretty good. I've used it a couple of times and had no problems.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

I was involved in the initial setup, and it was straightforward. 

The installation instructions were pretty easy to follow. The orchestrator was pretty easy to set up, as were the studio and the system. There's nothing complicated. I find it's just a regular install.

I was given the license information and just went along with it. We are a small department. I was in a team of one. We didn't have a real strategy. We just had to start somewhere and do a proof of concept and move on from that. That was my strategy.

What about the implementation team?

We did not use an integrator, reseller, or consultant. It was implemented in-house.

What was our ROI?

I have witnessed an ROI. For example, when converting video to audio and uploading it. Each video was taking about 30 minutes to upload manually, and we produce about 280 videos per day. The robot does it in four minutes right now, and it does it across Canada. Three bots do 280 videos in 20 hours. The ROI there alone would be huge.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't deal with the pricing aspect. That said, I don't see it as a problem. I see that it brings a lot more value. We save a lot more than the cost of their license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I touched Power Automate a bit. I heard about Blue Prism. However, I did not really look into it. We just started with UiPath. When I joined them, my company had already purchased UiPath. So for me, I just started with UiPath.

What other advice do I have?

We do not use the AI functionality just yet, although we have plans to in the future. 

I would for sure recommend UiPath. I haven't really tried other solutions. However, I've heard that people were trying them and returning to UiPath.

I'd rate it a ten out of ten. The product is awesome. The support is great. The community is also huge. It's super easy to find information, find support, and find stuff. I find it very easy to start using the product and can show value and benefit to clients.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Tanweer-Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager Talent Acquisition at Genpact
MSP
Can easily build workflow automations with only a few lines of code
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to go to the code level and write automations that only require a couple lines of code."
  • "Training materials should include behind-the-scenes information such as what goes on underneath the infrastructure and how components interact with each other."

What is our primary use case?

Our company uses the solution to understand documents, process invoices, move data from one system to another, conduct background investigations, and other day-to-day use cases for federal and state offices. 

For one use case, we built a sandbox for malware analysis using the bot. 

For another use case, we scan thousands of resumes to find an individual with a specific skill set. 

We have completed 90 automations with mostly attended bots that we have built. We are not using AI much right now, but plan to use it to solve problems in the future. 

What is most valuable?

The solution can be used across systems or with more generic use cases. 

It is easy to go to the code level and write automations that only require a couple of lines of code.

What needs improvement?

Training materials should include behind-the-scenes information such as what goes on underneath the infrastructure and how components interact with each other. This type of information matters more to solution architects than high-level buildings or components. 

The solution has a few bugs that need to be worked out. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good so far but we do not have much volume. We handle diverse implementations that include five to ten bots. We do not yet have the load to fully rate performance. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is a good platform for scalability and accommodates multiple nodes. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support has been pretty good and we have a direct contact who is very responsive. It sometimes takes a day or two to make contact, so technical support is rated a nine out of ten because there is room for improvement. 

The user community is helpful and it is easy to find answers or at least a direction for solving issues. 

Our team utilizes the Academy for certifications and finds it useful because it provides high-level information about features. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use another solution. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is cumbersome for on-premises because documentation is outdated or instructions are not clear so we have to get clarity from support. 

The setup for SaaS is easy because you can log in and start using it immediately. 

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution in-house using a hybrid model. Some federal government offices are very particular about exposed data so we use on-premises for them. Others are more open so we prefer to use the SaaS platform. 

We also work with many business groups to promote RPA and set up their infrastructure environments in the solution. 

What was our ROI?

The solution's ROI is that it saves time, eliminates errors, and reduces repetition. Tasks that used to take days are now completed within seconds or hours. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is more expensive than Power Platform which offers many connectors to third parties. 

For example, an unattended bot costs $50 per month on Power Platform so it makes sense for developers who work on the Microsoft Platform. 

The solution can run $10,000 per year. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Prior to using the solution, we looked at Automation Anywhere but did not enjoy developing with it.

Many other products such as ServiceNow, Pega, or SAP have RPA but use their own domains. They also require many blocks of code to automate. 

We will be looking at Power Platform's next iteration because we are not sure about the future of the solution's partnership with Microsoft. 

What other advice do I have?

When implementing the solution, go small first. Do not jump directly to the most complex case for automation or you will get lost and think the solution is ineffective. 

Start by building small workflows, realizing the gains, and slowly increasing performance. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Brent Williams - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architect at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group
Real User
Automation software that delivers great ROI and has led to greater job satisfaction for our team members
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the most important features of UiPath is the transactional basis of how it works. I can see which ones are successful, which ones are not, and then have the bot take care of 98% of it. Our staff only deal with the exceptions and this has led to greater job satisfaction."
  • "UiPath could be improved by offering overall solutions instead of just having the RPA process."

What is our primary use case?

I use this solution to download investor suspenses from 35 different investors in warehouses and populate those suspenses into our loan origination system. Once those suspenses are cleared, we get purchase advice to receive money and give capacity back to the warehouse lines to continue lending. 

We have 10 operational robots as well as other automations. These automations include populating interim servicing payments that come into the LOS, so we have a historic record of it. I am working on a project to reduce the amount of new folders or maintain existing ones. This helps us reduce the cost of document storage in our LOS. 

We make use of UiPath's user community to see different people's insights, exchange ideas, and identify features that could work well for our business. We also make use of the UiPath Academy.

How has it helped my organization?

This solution has reduced our expenses by $30,000 a month. It has helped us reduce the costs of labor and continue to grow and scale.

What is most valuable?

One of the most important features of UiPath is the transactional basis of how it works. I can see which ones are successful, and which ones are not, and then have the bot take care of 98% of it. Our staff only deal with the exceptions and this has led to greater job satisfaction.

This solution has empowered us to take care of and create new integrations and help facilitate different processes and workflows to continue to streamline and scale our business.

In the future, we'd like to make use of the machine learning capabilities that UiPath offers and AI to scrape data off of different documents, log into different websites and populate the information where relevant. 

UiPath's AI functionality enables us to automate more processes overall. It allows us to pull information from various documents and populate it into different systems. This has enhanced the user experience. 

What needs improvement?

UiPath could be improved by offering overall solutions instead of just having the RPA process. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution since 2020. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution. The bots in the system are stable and function according to their instructions. They only stop when they encounter a new scenario they have not dealt with before. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution. We're also looking to expand our center of excellence to be able to take on all of UiPath's functionality and features.

How was the initial setup?

I deployed the software and the Orchestrator Studio. I run eight or nine virtual machines that I have our LOS on and created processes where the LOS can feed the work queues so it takes care of different processes on schedule every day. The deployment took four months. 

What about the implementation team?

We worked with different contractors to complete the deployment. 

What was our ROI?

I was allocated $50,000 to buy bots and create processes. I created about six or seven processes and then we calculated the savings. For the 50 grand, we had realized $1.5 million of savings. Although we don't always achieve this, it is possible to get a $7 return on every dollar spent. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated many other tools including Automation Anywhere. One of the things that I love about UiPath is that the whole community and the company continue to deliver new cutting-edge tech. Every month we have a preview of new releases. It's not just one thing being released, there's a whole plethora of things and functionality being released.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale of one to 10, I would rate UiPath's solution overall an 11. I would advise others to just get started. It'll more than pay for itself and you'll be amazed at the capabilities and functionality that you'll soon have in your arsenal to execute different projects. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
SeanHarvey - PeerSpot reviewer
Insights analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Great for automating a wide variety of things, very easy to use, and highly reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "The ease of use of Studio is valuable. In terms of features, Excel Application Scope, web automation suite of products, and screen scraping are the features I use the most."
  • "Our challenge with UiPath is getting the infrastructure assets up to speed, particularly on the Orchestrator side. However, I just now came from a demo for UiPath Web, and it seems to be to enable serverless robots, which would definitely be a lower barrier to entry."

What is our primary use case?

We provide a lot of financial services. Its use cases are specifically in banking. There is a lot of Excel transformation where we are moving data from Excel into in-house applications. That's probably about 80% use of it.

We are using UiPath to automate processes that deal with a good cause. We run a lot of charity work, and there is a bit of work going on there to automate the operational aspects of running these charitable causes and things like that.

We have not yet used its AI functionality in our automation program, but we would love to.

How has it helped my organization?

We started with nothing. We now have about 150 attended automations going with another 80 attended robots effectively. So, we've had quite a growth in automation capabilities in terms of its impact on the organization.

What is most valuable?

The ease of use of Studio is valuable. In terms of features, Excel Application Scope, web automation suite of products, and screen scraping are the features I use the most.

Excel Application Scope allows you to use Excel pretty easily and graph data from there, and then you can transform it within Studio and make any changes you need to do. You can then either write it back to another Excel file, or you can read the table within Studio and write it directly to a web-based application.

We have used screen scraping a lot. If you have a web application inside Chrome, you can go to Chrome, and it can grab all the data from there. You can put it into a data table in Studio, make any changes or transformations needed, and then write it back to whatever application you want it to go to.

We gain a huge value from the user community. I'm always running into problems, and I have been going to the UiPath forums to get answers to my questions. Usually, if I have a question, someone else would have already asked it, and I can get great info and insight from there. So, the community is a very important part of the development experience.

We have used UiPath Academy courses. We recommend our citizen developers to use UiPath Academy. I've used it on and off for things I don't quite understand, and people also use it to get RPA certified with UiPath. It's another great value service that UiPath offers. There is the ease of use of videos and the breadth of knowledge. There is also the applicability of the examples to everyday problems. I definitely know people who've been able to automate processes that are more complex with the help of UiPath Academy.

What needs improvement?

Our challenge with UiPath is getting the infrastructure assets up to speed, particularly on the Orchestrator side. However, I just now came from a demo for UiPath Web, and it seems to be to enable serverless robots, which would definitely be a lower barrier to entry. 

Our pain point is just on the infrastructure side and getting the assets coming up to speed. It's a big bank problem. We have a very large IT organization, which is not always aligned with the needs of teams like ours.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used UiPath for about two and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is great. It's very stable. It's reliable. We trust it with a lot of different and very important automations. If UiPath wasn't stable, it would introduce quite significant operational risks to the firm.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Its scalability is good. It could be better, but that goes back to my pain point on our struggles with infrastructure. That has been challenging. If we could get a better handle on our infrastructure, then scalability would be a bit higher, but overall, it's a very scalable product.

How are customer service and support?

I would evaluate them very highly. I work with their technical support every time our technical account managers can't get something done. They're very confident and well-versed in what they do, and they always find a solution to our problem.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The only RPA tool I've ever worked with is UiPath. Some people used Blue Prism at work, but I never used Blue Prism. They're not using Blue Prism anymore. They switched because of better capabilities. UiPath is just a better tool all around. 

I wasn't in the decision-making process, but I know they tried to do a proof of concept. The Blue Prism team was supposed to do automation of some sort, and the UiPath team was also supposed to do it. The UiPath team did it in six hours and the Blue Prism team didn't do it in two weeks. The ease of use of the Studio product really drives home UiPath's capabilities.

How was the initial setup?

It was complex, but it was straightforward with the help of account managers. We have two technical account managers with UiPath who are very resourceful and well-suited to working with us and helping us accomplish what we need to do.

Our implementation strategy was a citizen development framework. It involved getting the Orchestrator set up and then empowering people within the firm to start automating their various roles or tasks. We still have the citizen development framework, but we're also moving to unattended automations from our RPA developers.

What about the implementation team?

We did it on our own with the help of our account managers.

What was our ROI?

I don't have any metrics yet, but we're at breakeven in terms of ROI. That's just in terms of monetary figures. In terms of general error reduction and things like that, we have seen quite an ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its pricing seems reasonable. I know we've been able to get a good amount of value in a few years. Our breakeven was only in year two. So, we're approaching breakeven in our licensing program. It's not a cheap product by any means, but the value that can be returned on an ROI basis is quite high.

What other advice do I have?

To those evaluating such solutions, I would advise taking a good look at the capabilities of the solutions. The strength of UiPath is its capabilities in a number of key areas, whereas some specialized players in the industry might be really good at one specific thing. For scalability, you want to have a wider operating area that something like UiPath can accomplish, rather than a more specialized player.

I would rate it a 9 out of 10. It's a fantastic tool that does what you need it to do. It's great for automating a wide variety of things. Ease of use is there in the various products. Any concerns I would have about having a lower barrier entry seem to be acknowledged by the product managers in the demo that I just now had with UiPath Web. So, in that regard, it's a very accessible and functional product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free UiPath Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free UiPath Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.