Mikolaj Zielinski - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer in Intelligent Automation at Bayer
User
Top 10
Easy to set up, saves us time and reduces errors, and it has powerful debugging capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The most important part of Studio is the debugging feature. It gives you the ability to watch local variables, as well as highlight elements as it is moving through the process. The results of actions are displayed and indicate whether particular actions are performed successfully or not."
  • "It lacks something crucial, which is a map of the variables and arguments. When we are using a lot of variables and arguments, sometimes, we get lost. UiPath should create a map that connects different files and shows the connections between them."

What is our primary use case?

I am a UiPath developer and my role in the company is as an automation developer specialist. I'm working mainly in UiPath Studio, not Studio X, and I also work with Orchestrator. We are using attended automation.

We are automating the processes in our company, for example, in the finance department. One of the ones that are now automated is invoice coding determination, which no longer involves humans. At this time, 80% of our processes are completed by robots. The remaining 20% is approved by humans but I think that this will improve later. 

How has it helped my organization?

With respect to the ease of building automations using UiPath, from my experience, when you have a basic knowledge of programming, it is really easy for you to start your journey with the UiPath environment. You can do it without this knowledge but then, you will just need to spend a little more time learning the details.

I really like working in UiPath because the programming allows me to do whatever I want. I can declare any type of variable, I can check the locals, and I can add breakpoints whenever I need to check the states. For me, it's a very professional platform.

I really like that they offer the possibility to work with it from two sides. It can be operated from the full-programming side, as well as from the standpoint where you don't need this knowledge.

UiPath has helped to minimize our on-premises footprint, although I cannot estimate by how much because I am not responsible for that aspect.

UiPath has helped to reduce the cost of our digital transformation because it really speeds up the processes. When we compare the time it takes for a human, with perhaps a one-hour task, and it only takes 30 minutes for the robot to do it, we can see the savings. You just multiply this by the salary and we also see the reduction in cost.

UiPath has definitely reduced the number of issues arising from human error. We can confirm this with 100% certainty because we have compared it to when humans were completing processes on their own. I estimate that the error rate has been reduced by approximately 60%.

In my previous company, we managed to save about 20 FTE after our UiPath implementation. It was about two years of work. Thanks to the ease of access, as well as the fact that our employees did not require programming knowledge, we were able to show it to normal employees and explain the automation. After this, they were not afraid that they will be replaced by robots and instead, understand that they are co-working with them.

What is most valuable?

The most important part of Studio is the debugging feature. It gives you the ability to watch local variables, as well as highlight elements as it is moving through the process. The results of actions are displayed and indicate whether particular actions are performed successfully or not.

Outside of the company, I am using UiPath's AI functionality and it very much speeds up processes and improves accuracy for reading data. For example, the OCR is much better than Microsoft's solution. With UiPath, I was able to read handwriting samples but with Microsoft, I was unable to do it.

The AI functionality has allowed me to automate more processes in my own projects. It adds flexibility and improves process speed. I don't have to think about boundaries when I decide how to approach a project. 

What needs improvement?

It lacks something crucial, which is a map of the variables and arguments. When we are using a lot of variables and arguments, sometimes, we get lost. UiPath should create a map that connects different files and shows the connections between them. For example, from file A, we have variable B, and file C contains variable D. However, they are actually the same variable, but it's connected by argument and we don't know it. It is something that we have to remember explicitly. In this case, it would be really helpful for me, as a developer, to have this picture of the net. It would show me what is where and how it's connected to everything.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For the on-premises solution, if we ignore any problems that may occur with the infrastructure, such as the network, then stability is very good and the platform works well.

In my experience with cloud-based deployment, I haven't faced any problems with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling UiPath is really easy. When you get to the point where you have to think about scalability, you use the UiPath Installer to extend the Orchestrator by another node. There is an option for it and you don't have to know much about the network to do it on your own.

I am part of a four-person development team that is working primarily with Studio. We have approximately ten processes at the moment, and it is difficult to estimate how many employees are affected by the automation. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very professional and they work quickly. Usually, we are able to get responses in about two hours. Sometimes, it takes one day, but I have not faced a situation that took longer than two days.

The help from their site is also very professional, and well-described.

Overall, it is really easy to resolve errors.

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

Prior to UiPath, I used Selenium WebDriver. The problem with this product is that you have to know the Python programming language. You have to know everything inside Python, and there is a lot more typing. In UiPath, you have some clicking, and there is some decent orienting stuff, which you don't have to define. You already have some pieces of code that you can use, and this is a really nice feature.

I have also used Kryon RPA and the problem is that it's based on the OCR. This is something that I would never accept with an RPA tool unless the OCR is fully working. Right now, OCR is not a perfect technology and it causes many issues. UiPath allows us to use selectors, so we are able to track the exact area of the display in the program that we want to access.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite easy, although we faced a few issues. With the help of the UiPath service desk, we were able to quickly fix our problems. The deployment was completed in a few hours on one machine. This included checking everything to make sure that it was working fine.

We followed the documentation provided by UiPath, as well as their guidelines.

At this time, we are using the on-premises version. In the next few months, we plan to move to the cloud environment, so we are currently planning the transition.

In my previous company, I was responsible for moving to the new version of the UiPath, with the Apollo interface in the Orchestrator. Where I am now, this was already done. So, yeah. I was responsible for this transition. Right now, in this company where I'm working currently, the UiPath setup was already done but I helped with the optimization.

With respect to upgrades, once we knew what had to be done, it took about one hour to complete. Otherwise, there is no maintenance required.

What was our ROI?

I have calculated ROI for our project and it seems that we will reach our ROI point in approximately two years, which is quite good.

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

Price-wise, it is not the cheapest one on the market, but it provides the fastest automation and the best training that I have ever seen for RPA, through the UiPath Academy. It's really easy to set up a new developer in this environment. Everything considered, the pricing is very good.

There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently evaluating Kryon RPA.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anyone who is implementing UiPath is to always check the documentation before you try to look for answers on the forum. Another good point is that when you have a problem, there are plenty of people in the UiPath community that can help you in a few minutes. This is the perfect solution, in this case.

From the maintenance side, you have to remember to increase your database with the scaling up of the automation because it can really slow down your process.

The biggest lesson that I have learned from using UiPath is to always create a backup copy of Orchestrator before you update it. This was a very big lesson for us because we had an issue with the installation. It is also really important to back up the related databases.

I would rate this 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.
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Program Manager RPA at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
We have a centralized location and end-to-end view of a use case, and their support has been excellent
Pros and Cons
  • "In my particular job function, Automation Hub has been invaluable. We have set up an Automation Hub specific to what we need within our team to be able to solicit automation ideas from our business users. It helps us to be able to review those ideas, meet with our functions and ask them more questions, and build our value case as well, so Automation Hub has been huge for us."
  • "We are new to the tool. Currently, we do not have any cons. There is still a lot left for us to explore. We have heard of a lot of features at the conference today, and we will certainly build upon that. As we are exploring, some of the improvements could be in the pipeline within Automation Hub and insights, but so far, we have had a great experience with UiPath."

What is our primary use case?

We are an animal health company. We work to provide various products for companion animals, such as swine and equine. We are a global company.

The business objective that we are trying to achieve with its AI-powered automation is to reduce the effort for our business users. There are certainly a lot of tasks that take them away from some more high-value opportunities within their function and improve the overall customer experience. We would like to be able to look at the data differently and to be able to ultimately improve our customers. That is our ultimate goal.

The great thing about our function within the company is that we explore automation throughout the company and all different business functions. A lot of our use cases are for replicating some of the mundane manual tasks that users do. A lot of them are data reconciliations involving extracting and comparing data from different sources. We are also exploring opportunities to be able to understand and process data better by using some of the UiPath task mining capabilities. That is what we have at the forefront right now.

How has it helped my organization?

It has fundamentally changed what our organization is able to achieve. There is such a global interest in automation. Being able to be at the center of that for our company and allow them not only the opportunity to automate their tasks but also be a centralized location for answering questions and helping people learn has been great.

We have very limited use cases with which we have explored some of the AI-specific features. We have done some proof of concepts with some smaller use cases, and we certainly could see the value on that small scale. We are looking forward to much larger opportunities going forward.

Even in the proof of concept, it cuts down on our time in exploring some of the processes. There is ultimately value for our team internally while doing some of the investigative pieces on some of these processes. There is also the added benefit for the users. We are able to help them faster. It has certainly been very helpful. It is hard to quantify time savings because we are just getting started with some of the tools. For the proof of concept, it saved us about a week. It was a small use case involving looking into the process and deep diving into it. Being able to allow the mining tools to do some of that analysis saved us a lot of time. It did cut down at least a week's worth of research for sure. 

This proof of concept was a task-mining proof of concept. The valuable piece that we had from task mining was being able to look under the hood in some processes. In this particular proof of concept, it was a process that the team had done for years and years and years but never took a deep dive into what all the handoffs were. Being able to record and then get that insight and that dashboard view at the end showed us a lot. It showed us where the time was spent in each part of the process and allowed our business users to focus on what within that process could be improved, fixed, or standardized. It was certainly very helpful because it was a passive way of looking at the process. Being able to see the dashboard was certainly helpful for us to communicate or to improve.

What is most valuable?

In my particular job function, Automation Hub has been invaluable. We have set up an Automation Hub specific to what we need within our team to be able to solicit automation ideas from our business users. It helps us to be able to review those ideas, meet with our functions and ask them more questions, and build our value case as well, so Automation Hub has been huge for us. We are working on setting up the insights tool as well. 

We see a lot of opportunity there for recognizing the actual value once our use cases are live in production. We have not yet used UiPath's AI Center, but we are certainly looking to do that in the future once we are more established with the tool.

What needs improvement?

We are new to the tool. Currently, we do not have any cons. There is still a lot left for us to explore. We have heard of a lot of features at the conference today, and we will certainly build upon that. As we are exploring, some of the improvements could be in the pipeline within Automation Hub and insights, but so far, we have had a great experience with UiPath. 

For how long have I used the solution?

My company is new to UiPath. We procured the software in quarter one of this year, and we are currently working on getting acclimated to the tool. We are doing some data migrations and exploring the ins and outs of the software.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, so good. In terms of stability, there are no issues or concerns.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is absolutely scalable. We have no issues or concerns. There are a lot of opportunities for sure.

How are customer service and support?

Their support has been tremendous. Anytime we have a question or anytime we want to learn something more about the tool, there is no shortage of answers. They have been very helpful. I would rate their support a ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

Our company does utilize another RPA solution. Our reason for getting UiPath was the fact that it is an automation platform, so having that full end-to-end view of the use case from ingestion to implementation to gathering actual insights and having it all in one centralized location was a big selling point for us. Its task mining, plug-ins, and SAP integration capabilities made it very interesting for us.

I have a little bit of experience with Power Automate. UiPath has orchestration, whereas Power Automate does not. It is another way through which we can bring value to our business areas with our automations. Having everything centralized in one place is a very big feature there.

How was the initial setup?

I worked very heavily in setting up our Automation Hub, designing our questionnaire forms, setting up our users there, and rolling that out to our company. It was very straightforward. Our UiPath account managers have been super helpful and supportive in that. Whenever we have a question, everyone is very responsive and very easy to talk to. They have been very helpful, whether that be in person or in a meeting, or pointing us towards documentation to help us guide us through. It has been great.

In terms of implementation strategy, we logically started in the way so that we understand a process. We started with setting up our Automation Hub within our entire organization and making sure we established governance and the right security. We made sure that our asset was set up correctly within our organization. In terms of the software, we got our Automation Hub set up and we got our environments set up from a maintenance standpoint, and now, we are working on getting our insights set up for us.

What about the implementation team?

We have a partnership within our organization for our team. In collaboration with them, we worked on setting up UiPath. We have partnered with Persistent, and our experience with them has been great.

What was our ROI?

We are still a little bit early with our journey, but it is certainly saving time and effort for the small number of use cases that we do have on the platform.

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

I do not know the specifics within my role, but from what I do know, everything has been very fair. Especially with the licensing that we have for our team, we have been able to accommodate everybody on our team with the roles and access that they require. So far, so good.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did evaluate other solutions, but I do not know the specifics within my role. I do know that UiPath was one of the leading ones out there and the capabilities that we have seen were what we were looking for.

What other advice do I have?

To those evaluating the solution, I would advise appreciating the fact that it is a platform. You can track the automation idea from intake through implementation, and then you can gather the insights once it is live or in production. Being able to have everything all centralized in one place is a great way to keep your team organized and truly measure the value of your automations.

I would rate UiPath a ten out of ten. I am enjoying the tool. At the UiPath Conference, I got to know about a lot of opportunities to look forward to. I enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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UiPath
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about UiPath. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Gaytonde Vitthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior RPA Uipath Developer at Amdocs
Real User
An easy-to-use and scriptless tool that can be used for process automation
Pros and Cons
  • "UiPath is a tool which is mostly used for process automation."
  • "UiPath is currently lacking a Citrix environment, mostly on remote desktop applications."

What is our primary use case?

The use cases for UiPath are mostly based on SAP products, web applications, and APIs.

What is most valuable?

UiPath is a tool which is mostly used for process automation. It's not like a normal automation tool. We have different kinds of process automation tools in the market. UiPath provides the best integration between multiple applications. It has supportive technology for all kinds of applications. It supports all kinds of products like desktop products and web applications.

So, integration is the best feature of UiPath. UiPath provides attended and unattended robots to do automation. It provides a use case for scanning invoice processing. So, these are some of the useful features provided by UiPath.

What needs improvement?

UiPath is currently lacking a Citrix environment, mostly on remote desktop applications. The banking sector is more concerned about security. To open an application, we need to enter some token authorization. Such kinds of processes or technologies need to improve in UiPath.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for three to four years.

How are customer service and support?

When we face technical or product issues, we raise a ticket to UiPath support and get technical assistance from Uipath regarding the products and services.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

Before UiPath, I used an automation tool called QTP/UFT tool.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial deployment is easy, and it's not that difficult.

For the solution's on-prem initial deployment, we need the license and installation of the Orchestrator and the robotics machine.

What about the implementation team?

Since it's a single-contribution project, I did the solution's development, deployment, and post-deployment support all by myself.

What was our ROI?

UiPath has helped streamline most standard processes, and it has also made the rule-based decision-making process stable. The solution helps us save a lot of time and manual effort. It has improved the accuracy and speed of processes like approving tasks, processing tickets, or the expenses of the employees. Most things that were very slow when done manually have become very fast nowadays with UiPath.

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

Comparatively, UiPath's pricing is higher than other tools. Since it provides the best services compared to other tools, UiPath's pricing is reasonable. Nowadays, they also provide cloud robots that don't require any infrastructure in our organization.

What other advice do I have?

UiPath is a very easy-to-use and scriptless tool. Since it doesn't have any code involved in it, any nontechnical person can also use it for their professional work. They can automate any kind of workflow as per the business knowledge. UiPath doesn't require much technical knowledge and is very easy to use.

In most service-based or manufacturing organizations, UiPath can be used for processes that deal with a good cause. In the service-based organization, it provides employee benefit services like the recruiting process and retirement process. The solution also does monitoring tasks like license validation.

If you talk about social services, the solution also helps with passport scanning, which mostly happens in the airport. With the help of UiPath, we can immediately scan the passport and get the required information from a security point of view. So, it provides all kinds of the most relevant use cases in real life.

In UiPath, multiple stages are involved, like requirement gathering, business analysis, preparation of the process design documents, implementation of the perfect automation, and then deployment of that automation. After the deployment, we provide post-deployment support to the end users. This end-to-end process involves all kinds of stages, from requirement gathering to production and deployment. So, UiPath provides end-to-end automation.

UiPath provides a trial version of 60 days, which is the community edition and is completely free to use to learn. They have their own academies to learn the courses, which are also completely free. It also provides a certification of UiPath as a developer. UiPath has the best forum community edition where you can raise your questions and immediately get support or answers from the community. UiPath's user community is very user-friendly.

With UiPath, we have reduced a lot of manual work and saved a lot of time. It helped us reduce the most complex activities involved in the finance and HR departments.

I have used UiPath Academy courses and completed my certification program as a UiPath developer. Since UiPath is a scriptless tool, any user can learn the tool very easily by using the UiPath Academy courses. UiPath Academy courses are completely free. They don't have any charges and provide all the practical sessions and environment.

The UiPath Studio is also available for a 60-day trial version. You can install this tool on your machine, practice, and become an RPA or UiPath developer. So, UiPath Academy is the best tool to learn the UiPath tool.

Currently, UiPath has a lot of things like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing. We have integrated all these things with UiPath. We also have AI Fabric in UiPath. By using AI, we can automate the more complex processes where decision-making is involved. The solution's AI functionality is mostly used in invoice processing or approving budgets.

UiPath's AI functionality has enabled us to automate more processes overall. AI gives us more leverage on process automation by reducing manual work and saving a lot of time in complex situations where decision-making is more complex. Based on historical data and previous experience, our UiPath bots can learn many things and give the best solution in AI.

UiPath gives more features to digitize your current business from manual to automation. It also saves lots of manual costs and real-time employee costs.

Although not 100%, UiPath reduces human error and provides more accurate results. It is very fast in terms of processing, and we can automate any kind of process. It works 24/7, even on weekends and holidays.

UiPath helps us to reduce or avoid some manual, repetitive tasks that most of our employees do on a daily basis. We have automated such tasks, and it saves a lot of employee time. So, employees can contribute their time to new innovations, new tasks, or new projects.

Nowadays, time is money. With UiPath, we save a lot of time and money in real-time employees.

RPA has multiple automation tools like Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, and UiPath. We chose UiPath in our organization because it has more features than other tools.

I was involved in setting up the infrastructure for my current project. I was involved in the installation of the robots, the installation of the Studio, the connection between the Orchestrator and the Studio, and the deployment of the robots on the machine. I was involved in such activities, apart from the development.

Overall, I rate UiPath a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
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Surya Avantsa - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder and CTO at SSV AI, LLC
Reseller
Top 20
Enables faster process automation, reduces human error, and improves the quality of work
Pros and Cons
  • "Robotic process automation is one of the most interesting features."
  • "The product does not provide features for chatbot development."

What is our primary use case?

Unattended Automations are the best value from an RPA solution to an organization. It makes sure human employees are now more productive 95X.

What is most valuable?

Robotic process automation is one of the most interesting features. RPA allows us to automate what people do manually. It appeals to me from a technical and a business standpoint.

What needs improvement?

I want UiPath Data Service to be expanded. It must include many more features as an online database. Many online databases like QuickBase and Force.com are 100 times better than UiPath Data Service. Not sure why UiPath is not adding such features to Data Service.

The product does not provide features for chatbot development. It is one of the reasons why people do not use UiPath because they have to use a different tool for chatbot development. Competitors like Microsoft have all process automation capabilities in their Power Platform. They have RPA, attended bots, unattended bots, application development, databases, and chatbots. UiPath has not gotten into chatbots for several years. They are doing many things except chatbots.

I express the need for chatbots in every insider event I attend. UiPath’s team says it will take it to the product management group. But nothing happens after that. I want a product for chatbot development from UiPath without having to purchase licenses from a third-party company.

The documentation needs a lot of work. The documentation is "boring". They just mention a feature and add one line about what it does. I wish the documentation had examples. The document should be associated with a video or sample code. The documentation is too minimal. People give many sample codes and links to their YouTube videos in the forum. The uipath forum is much richer than the documentation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the last six years.

How are customer service and support?

UiPath provides support only when we have an Enterprise license. I have contacted support several times.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I use Microsoft Power Automate to develop chatbots because UiPath does not have such features. I have to buy extra licenses from Microsoft for chatbot development.

Although I can use UiPath Data Service's online database, creating forms and screens in it is hard. UiPath doesn't have some preliminary computation features for creating formula fields, so I use third-party tools like QuickBase.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I also evaluated Automation Anywhere, Microsoft Power Platform, and Pega Robotics.

What other advice do I have?

The ease of building automation depends on the developer, the size of the process that is being automated, how many applications there are, and how many systems there are. Compared to high-code environments, we can build the product much faster in a low-code environment.

Automation can be done ten times faster in a low-code environment than in a high-code environment due to the number of syntax errors that we have to encounter in a high-code environment. All these things are completely eliminated in a low-code environment. We drag and drop activities. It's like a prebuilt code. We just have to fill in the gaps. On average, the tool is five to ten times faster than other RPA platforms.

UiPath does not do digital transformation. It works more on process automation. However, it does contribute toward digital transformation. From the face of it, everything looks end-to-end. I have used AI Center to learn machine learning skills and build training datasets and evaluation datasets. I have developed ML skills and used them in bots. UiPath Academy has a whole set of courses on AI Center. I want to complete the courses diligently.

The solution has reduced human error and increased the speed and quality of our work. It reduces the time taken to get things done. I use UiPath Academy courses all the time. If we go to similar content on YouTube or Instagram and try to find videos, the information might be right or wrong. It depends on the experience of the person in the videos. The content in UiPath Academy is official. UiPath creates the videos. We can be assured that the information is correct and reliable.

There could be a lag between the product released and the videos on Academy. Sometimes, video creators on unofficial channels like YouTube and Instagram come out with videos faster than UiPath. However, UiPath's videos are complete, authentic, and reliable. I assume UiPath uses professional training software in the platform. The format of the courses is similar to those of The Wharton School.

The community is excellent. People help each other out. UiPath encourages users by welcoming new joiners, incentivizing answering questions, providing links to external or internal documentation, and celebrating anniversaries. The solution has a wide variety of topics that the forum members can take advantage of.

We can learn about Studio, different parts of the platform, and different functionalities. If we have a question, Google will show all the relevant links to UiPath with just a single word search. We usually find a good answer to our doubts in the forum eight out of ten times. I like the forum and encourage people to use it.

People looking to buy the solution must try it out. They must look into the documentation if they cannot do it with the tool. They must also visit UiPath's forum. The forum is more helpful than the documentation. UiPath also has a search facility to search for activities. They can also look for UiPath Marketplace. If we face bugs, we can go to the forum.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
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: Reseller
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Malte Horstmann - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder & Managing Partner at OMM Solutions GmbH
Real User
Has AI fabric capabilities, can reduce on-prem footprints, and has a vast academic catalog for training
Pros and Cons
  • "The simplicity of creating automation from a low code level is the most valuable feature of the solution."
  • "There has been a huge improvement in Linux, Microsoft, and Mac support recently. However, we still struggle with the implementation in Citrix environments. The solution works with Citrix, but there is room for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for UiPath is robotic process automation and automation fabric with document understanding AI.

How has it helped my organization?

Usually, after six to twelve months, our customers start implementing end-to-end processing with UiPath but they often start off with small tasks.

There is a clear value in being part of the UiPath community. We get money from UiPath for discounted licenses. Our customers hire us to implement their professional visions, and we're paid by the hour.

UiPath improves our customers' organizations. The effects of this growth usually start small. For example, we may notice that specific records are transferred in less time or with less manpower. Then, as the growth continues, those people become more involved in all aspects of the company.

The solution has a large impact on minimizing the on-premises footprint for our customers.

The Academic courses are vast. It provides our clients with the opportunity to start on their own and become somewhat independent. We use the courses as a huge resource to train our customers.

Usually, after six to 12 months, we start introducing our clients to more complex processes where the document understanding or AI fabric capabilities of UiPath are useful.

UiPath speeds up the digital transformation for our clients.

It helps reduce human error. This is mostly seen after UiPath has been implemented because people are not usually willing to admit their mistakes.

UiPath definitely frees up on average three to five percent of employee time per month. We have had small instances where the solution replaced a full SE with only one process.

The solution can reduce costs in retraining people on old or mundane processes, and it can also reduce costs by automating certain processes. This in turn can free up resources so that we don't have to invest in retraining people to do those same processes again. Automation eliminates the need to hire new people to do the job or carry out the process. After 18 to 24 months, many of our clients find that they don't need to hire more people to keep up with their growing business.

What is most valuable?

The simplicity of creating automation from a low code level is the most valuable feature of the solution.

UiPath's built-in automation is very easy to use. Our organization educates and provides lessons on how to use its automation and the feedback is that UiPath is easy once the introduction is complete. The solution is comparable to other software in this market.

What needs improvement?

There has been a huge improvement in Linux, Microsoft, and Mac support recently. However, we still struggle with the implementation in Citrix environments. The solution works with Citrix, but there is room for improvement. 

UiPath releases a lot of new features multiple times throughout the year causing our customers to fall behind. It would be fine if there was only one release a year.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for six years.

How are customer service and support?

We are a technical partner, so we have direct support. If we post the questions well formed to the support team, we get a quick answer from them.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We use Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, Power Automate, and our own products during the typical analysis quadrants. UiPath is the solution we use 95 percent of the time.

The main difference between UiPath and other RPA tools is the vision. While other tools focus on automating tasks, UiPath focuses on developing citizens who can automate tasks. This means that UiPath is the best tool for organizations that want to invest in their employees' skills.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. I give the ease of deployment a ten out of ten.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation is completed in-house.

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

UiPath is not the cheapest solution, it's more or less the most expensive one, but we get what we pay for. I give the pricing an eight out of ten for its competitiveness.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Brody Semelroth - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Wells Enterprises, Inc.
Real User
A broad solution that effectively uses machine learning to automate processes and save time
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's AI technology and machine learning models are the biggest contributor to saving time."
  • "The solution's OCR engine is lagging behind Power Automate a bit."

What is our primary use case?

Our company is in the dairy industry and uses the solution for automating 25 processes. 

We started with financial items such as utility invoices, vendor invoices, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. 

We are also simplifying the processes for creating recipes and food manufacturing. 

For example, we were able to use machine learning to read invoices for utilities at all of our factories and from 50 dairy vendors. All the invoices look different and AI is able to recognize where important data is located. The AI technology is amazing and we use it for three of our biggest processes. 

How has it helped my organization?

We estimate that the solution has saved us 10,000 hours per year. We only have three developers who are dedicated to the solution but have netted huge time savings. 

In total, since implementing the solution we have saved 19,000 hours across 25 processes. We are very happy with the results and will continue to expand. 

What is most valuable?

The solution's AI technology and machine learning models are huge for our company and the biggest contributor to saving time because we teach the model to read invoices. 

We are above a 97% success rate on all transactions. Our company is growing, but we are not increasing staff because robotics allow us to keep up with work flow.  

We use the solution to keep up with demand. Our staff is relieved and happy because robotics handles small but tedious items, allowing staff to free up their schedules and focus on more important things. We used to have to beg for projects but now staff ask us to help. 

What needs improvement?

The solution's OCR engine is lagging behind Power Automate a bit. 

It would be nice to have a knowledge base for C# that includes scenarios specific to the solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for one year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable with no problems. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and depends on the speed of development. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good and has been able to solve issues any time I contact them. There might be a bit of back and forth with support emails, but all problems get resolved. 

The solution's community and forums are important and very helpful. I can reach out at any time to get answers. Everyone I have communicated with in the forums has been great. 

I rate technical support an eight out of ten. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I was an intern on the company's data management team and was looking for ways to automate my own job out of curiosity.

I started with Power Automate and created a process to show my boss. He indicated that the company was already exploring AI and asked me to create the process again using the solution so I could compare the two. 

The solution was code based and more complicated than Power Automate so I took advanced and fundamentals courses on my own time. There is a learning curve because the solution uses DB strings and C#. But in a few months, I was building automations and ERFs on the citizen developer platform.

The advantage of Power Automate is its ease and simplicity but it is mostly meant for their Office software. 

The solution is more difficult to learn but is extensive and capable of more because it is able to interact with websites and UI elements themselves.

How was the initial setup?

The solution was already in place when I joined the team. 

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

I do not know pricing but the solution uses a licensing model. We have three licenses to manage 25 processes. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The solution is the only one our company has ever used.

The solution has been in place for five years and has expanded across seven different departments. Three licenses are in place to manage 25 processes.

The Academy's courses are used when onboarding new staff to ensure self-sufficiency with the solution.

What other advice do I have?

There are many packages available that are extensive, including the community package. Look at the functionality because it is possible to automate any process that is repeatable. 

You can interact with any broker not just Excel or SQL. The options are wide open. 

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

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
Allah Bukhsh - PeerSpot reviewer
RPA Developer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 20
A fast, user-friendly solution that gives 100% results
Pros and Cons
  • "UiPath is efficient and fast. There are multiple RPA solutions, but UiPath is very user-friendly. It is very easy and fast to learn."
  • "If we want to learn something new about UiPath, we sometimes cannot learn it directly from the UiPath Academy. We have to go and search on the web. It takes a few searches to find the solution. We do find it, but it takes time. UiPath should give the solution in one area."

What is our primary use case?

We are using UiPath for office automation for our clients. We use many activities of UiPath. We are using CV, RegEx, Excel automation, and email automation.

We are working on a project for a billing company in the US that takes care of patient records for a hospital and saves them on a website. We are handling the patient billing system. We have an email as input at the start of the automation. The bot reads the input. In the input, we have the patient's name and date of birth. The bot searches the patient's name in the EMR hospital application and gets the PDF from the application. We have put some filters on the application. In the PDF, we have a patient's details and a record of their visits and the issues they are having. The bot then uploads the PDF on a website.

We process multiple records. There could be 2,000 pages or 500 pages. It varies based on the patient. For example, an 80-year-old might visit the hospital once or twice a week and will have a bigger file with notes and pictures of their visits. We follow HIPAA regulations for extracting patient information.

How has it helped my organization?

It is very fast and convenient. Bots give you 100% results and work 24/7. Humans work eight hours a day, but bots can work 24/7 for you. They save time and bring efficiency.

UiPath brings accuracy. It gives you 100% results. When we do things manually, there can be human errors, but bots do not make any errors.

In the last two to three years, we have done millions of processes. If we give this work to a person, it will take that person ten years to process. For automation, we are using multiple instances and virtual machines. If we need more processing, we can use more VMs. It saves time, and it works 24/7.

It has been a good experience. UiPath is efficient and fast. There are multiple RPA solutions, but UiPath is very user-friendly. It is very easy and fast to learn. We do not need to know how to code for UiPath. It is coding-free. We just have to make a logic. We just need to know the basics but not the advanced things.

UiPath saves a lot of time. Bots are ten times faster than humans.

UiPath APIs were helpful for extracting data from the website and doing the work very quickly. We could get the data directly from the website database. It did not require going to the website, typing the URLs, etc. We could directly send a request to the website and get all the required data.

I have used Document Understanding a little bit for extracting the data from the PDF and images. Document Understanding machine learning capabilities, but I have not used it much. Other teams use it, and the feedback is that it is very effective and fast. They are probably using the Enterprise version for Document Understanding. 

What is most valuable?

There are two things that are very useful. The first one is RegEx, and the second one is LINQ. UiPath is giving us Excel activities, but it is very slow. With LINQ, we are extracting data from Excel in a very quick way. It is very easy and very fast. RegEx is helpful in quickly getting specific data or text from a chunk of text.

We are also using CV. It is very useful because it uses an image for clicking and extracting data.

What needs improvement?

If we want to learn something new about UiPath, we sometimes cannot learn it directly from the UiPath Academy. We have to go and search on the web. It takes a few searches to find the solution. We do find it, but it takes time. UiPath should give the solution in one area.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started in 2020. It has been three years since I have been working with UiPath.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. They are updating things, but it is stable with the previous code.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable. The scalability part is very good.

We have a small team working with UiPath. There are five to ten people.

How are customer service and support?

We have not contacted them much. There was an issue one to two years ago, and we contacted their support. They gave us a solution.

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

I have used Automation Anywhere, and I have also used Power Automate a little bit. 

In Automation Anywhere, we cannot use CVs. Maybe in the enterprise version, we can use them, but I did not see CVs and other activities in Automation Anywhere. It is also web-based, which is not a good thing, whereas UiPath is application-based.

Power Automate is a very useful tool for Excel automation or web automation, but UiPath is the best for our needs.

UiPath is very fast and convenient. It gives 100% results. It is very easy. If needed, we can also use Python or JavaScript code to make a logic for automation.

How was the initial setup?

I was not involved in its deployment. For maintenance, we just update the UiPath version. We have not had any issues.

As RPA developers, we use UiPath to create automation and then we hand over the bots to the support engineers. They oversee the processing in Orchestrator. They see the automation logs and the graphs. If a bot is not working properly, they send us a message to fix it. We are using CV. If the image changes, our bot will give a failure, and we have to fix that. We might get an error once or twice a week.

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

I am using the Community version in my office and personally.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend UiPath to others, and I would give it the best rating. I have used other tools, but UiPath is my preferred tool.

I would rate UiPath a nine 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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Solution Architect at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Has extensive community support, enabling organizations to efficiently automate repetitive tasks and enhance productivity
Pros and Cons
  • "It's highly effective in pinpointing areas within the organization where assistance is required."
  • "This is because the platform requires a multitude of building blocks even for the simplest use cases and when dealing with newer clients, this can be challenging."

What is our primary use case?

I use UiPath for a variety of tasks, including automating user interfaces, processing documents, utilizing process mining, performing test automation, and even handling natural language processing.

How has it helped my organization?

It contributed to revenue growth by enabling us to maintain a consistent headcount and resource level while expanding our business.

What is most valuable?

Unattended automation, particularly in the realm of UI automation, is the most valuable aspect. 

Its ability to swiftly create automation in UiPath Studio is highly beneficial. It's highly effective in pinpointing areas within the organization where assistance is required.

What needs improvement?

There are several areas where I see room for improvement in the tool. One of these areas would be a more solutions-oriented pricing structure. This is because the platform requires a multitude of building blocks even for the simplest use cases and when dealing with newer clients, this can be challenging. One area where I'd appreciate additional or new features is in the realm of insights.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using UiPath for seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It offers good stability features with minor bugs from time to time.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When it comes to scalability, UiPath exhibits a high degree of proficiency.

How are customer service and support?

The customer support is quite commendable and we often make use of TAM when needed. I would rate it around an eight out of ten because there is room for improvement.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I've previously used a variety of automation tools, including Blue Prism, OpenSpan, Automation Anywhere, WorkFusion, and Microsoft Power Automate.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

I collaborated with my IT teams to establish high-availability virtual machines in Azure, whether on-premises or in a semi-private environment. I also partnered with my security team to formulate our digital worker strategy, which essentially involved managing identities, and I integrated all these components into a cohesive system.

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

It comes with a high cost, but the value it delivers justifies the expense.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We conducted evaluations of various automation platforms, including Automation Anywhere, Kofax, Pega, and Blue Prism. There were several notable distinctions. Firstly, UiPath stood out because it offered a free starting point, which was not the case with the others. Secondly, UiPath's integration with Visual Studio was more seamless compared to the other platforms. Their open and free-for-all community is an enormous advantage.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to keep your problem-solving approach simple and avoid the urge to plan every detail. One common issue I've observed is people tend to overcomplicate the deployment, strategy, and overall decision-making process when adopting a new software platform. Instead, I'd recommend that if you can identify one or two use cases where the tool's benefits outweigh its costs, you have a solid starting point. Keep it straightforward, and you'll be on the right track. 

Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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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.