Fortra's Automate vs OpCon comparison

Why PeerSpot?

The compared Fortra and SMA Technologies solutions aren't in the same category. Fortra is ranked #4 in RPA , with an average rating of 8.8, and holds a 2.7% mindshare in the category. SMA Technologies is ranked #14 in WA , with an average rating of 9.0, and holds a 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of SMA Technologies users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortra's Automate and OpCon based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Microsoft and others in Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

To learn more, read our detailed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

October 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Automation Anywhere

Mindshare comparison

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortra's Automate	2.7%
UiPath Platform	9.5%
Microsoft Power Automate	5.7%
Other	82.1%

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Workload Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
OpCon	2.6%
Control-M	10.2%
AutoSys Workload Automation	6.5%
Other	80.7%

Workload Automation

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

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Derrick Aiine

Information Technology Manager at Benchmac Safety Services Ugand

Automation has transformed manual reporting and data extraction into scheduled digital workflows

The interface of Fortra's Automate is similar to GoAnywhere. I am not completely pleased with it, although it is intuitive, but it lacks something in terms of complexity. There is still clicking through many items involved. There are two things I would improve in Fortra's Automate. One is about the interface, as I need it to be improved because it is somewhat complex to navigate. The second is about performance reporting. I want those reports to be customizable. You can generate these reports and see what is happening with error logs, but the customization option is limited. Additionally, there should be an option to export them. Currently, you can export as Excel and PDF, but there is no option to export and send them to your email.

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Jose Rivera Hernandez

Senior VP of Technology at Triangle Credit Union

Helps automate all kinds of jobs and it's worth the price because it saves a lot of time and money

One problem that I had with them when we got SMA Technologies is that sometimes the jobs fail, but they automatically restart. SMA Technologies automatically gets a notification that the job has failed, and they restart it on their end, so now, we have the job restarting twice. There were times when we came into the office in the morning, and we had two files because the job ran twice. I do not know if the system can prevent a job from running the second time. If a job has run successfully, or it is running, it should not run again.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Control Room is the most important feature, where we can manage the bots and publish to various bot runners in the environment."

"The core functionality, the ability to automate these tasks and to interact, both with our own in-house software solutions as well as with our customers' and vendors' solutions and portals, has been incredibly valuable for us."

"Now, rather than the team going and collecting all of that information, we can have the bots do it, and that has been fantastic."

"We brought onshore a lot of what we were doing offshore, saving our company close to $20 million."

"The deployment is very easy."

"This solution is easy to use and understand, even for a non-technical person."

"I recommend Automation Anywhere to other users because it minimizes repetitive human tasks, saves time, and helps reduce costs."

"Automation Anywhere provides the best feature to make a software bot for processes."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"The best features in Fortra's Automate include centralized job orchestration and reliable scheduling, along with role-based security and audit trails, which I value the most about this product."

"The interface is simple, user-friendly, and very intuitive."

"I can say it's a very good product, it has very good results and it is well suited for my requirements, and everything more or less I've been able to create in line with what the client requires."

"I find the ease of use from a programming perspective very valuable."

"I would recommend Automate because it has made my work much easier."

"The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies."

"Since using Fortra's Automate, I save roughly five to seven hours a week on routine tasks, and I have seen fewer errors from manual processing."

"The most valuable feature is the drag-and-drop interface, which is very Windows-like."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"It makes everything simpler. Once OpCon is in, it just repeats itself day after day. We don't have to worry about whether a process will be missed. It will run every single time. We are not dropping jobs or missing stuff. When you have multiple institutions, it's very easy to miss jobs. You get on a roll, start doing things, and then forget somebody. With OpCon, everything is done."

"Previously, we would receive a file from a vendor, then we would have to go through and make changes to individual accounts in our core system. There are probably between 10 to 20 accounts any given week. It probably took around five minutes for it to run through the report and make all the changes, and that was if there was nothing complicated with all very straightforward changes. Now, that is done in 30 seconds."

"I have been pleased with the support that we can get from the European partners. I think they are very good. All the time, when we have a question, they have an answer. It is very reassuring to have that support every day. Then, you can concentrate on your job and OpCon is just there to work. For us, it's perfect."

"File Watcher can run jobs when files are made available in a folder."

"We literally run our business on OpCon and as such OpCon needs to be, and is a 24/7 enterprise scheduling system."

"The solution has definitely streamlined our operations and makes onboarding of new applications very easy, and OpCon has most certainly freed up some 50 to 75 employees to do more meaningful work as a result of automation."

"The most valuable features are its integration into Windows, into VM, and into AIX, as well as SQL."

"The most valuable feature of OpCon is its scheduling capability, particularly for automating file transfers with vendors."

More OpCon pros

Cons

"The areas for room for improvement are always going to be around experience, making it even easier to get engaged, and get started. Because lowering that threshold to get started is what enables an additional set of problems to be solved."

"One thing I dislike about Automation Anywhere is that our process is time-consuming. Since the bot is utilized by that machine and if a long-running task is happening, then another bot may not run and the machine is locked."

"Automation Anywhere can be improved in certain areas specified in the cognitive zone where the information needs better OCR Engine + Machine Learning capabilities. Also, they can improve on the System Identified region function of the IQ Bot - Our team faced a tough time in handling that as we were not able to assign variable to System Identified Region as the IQ Bot tool wasn't allowing it."

"The architecture and pro-code support for pro-code agents are areas that could use improvement, which they don't have currently."

"I would like to use VB.NET native code inside of Automation Anywhere."

"Their support also needs improvement."

"We could use more accuracy with IQ Bot."

"The bot insides should come in the same package versus having it as a different bundle by itself. If we could have this product come with all the inside solutions altogether, that would help."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"Each RPA product is not mature enough."

"The documentation for errors needs improvement as many of the error messages we receive are very vague."

"Error messages should be better. For error status, there should be better documentation because a lot of times, error messages that you get are quite vague. For example, you get a message saying that the workflow has run into an unknown status, which is vague. It just tells you that it failed, but you don't know how or why it failed. It makes debugging difficult."

"I believe we need to test various OCR tools that assist in evaluating, let's say, six different customer resyncs. We analyze their spending patterns and documentations, but current OCR support has limitations, requiring highly standardized documents, which isn't always the case. With a more advanced OCR system, we could improve processes related to credit risk management and legal matters. We're exploring how to integrate Fortra's Automate with our CRM platform, taking cues from instances where Salesforce seamlessly merged with Automate. However, we use a different CRM, Insight for New Enterprise, and we're seeking ways to connect the automation process within our CRM. We aim for the automation to continue smoothly, even in instances where traditional automation methods might face hurdles."

"One thing I dislike about Fortra's Automate is that it does not perform well with OCR software, which is optical character recognition."

"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."

"The licensing cost is high, as per my perspective, in the automation with Fortra's Automate."

"Regarding customer support, I face challenges sometimes. They're not always available, and you may need to wait for assistance, but overall their support is acceptable."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"At first, it's a little clunky, but once you learn it, it actually is very simple. You have to get over that initial learning hump."

"It is a complex product to use. Programming the schedules is complex."

"We have not explored the possibility, but one of the areas for improvement would be more integration into Active Directory, to where it could do the creation of user accounts and the additional work to integrate third-party systems into payroll systems."

"I believe there's room for improvement, and while I think it's something they are considering, I would welcome seeing OpCon integrate with a broader range of systems and third-party products."

"The only downside to OpCon is that its features can be complicated and really must be taught."

"There is some difficulty with the ease of use when I don't have some of the templates that were already created. More templates would be great. Non-core featured templates are my biggest struggle."

"The image-scanning features need improvement."

"It was hard to automate in the beginning because there were a lot of concepts. I had to learn a lot of things, as I never used such a software before. I learned a lot of the concepts and ideas behind it in the beginning."

More OpCon cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's the best RPA tool, but the pricing could be improved."

"Automation Anywhere is affordable."

"The cost is high for small-scale businesses but it is fine for medium and large enterprises. Its high licensing cost may affect small-scale businesses. Reducing licensing costs would benefit many users."

"Automation Anywhere's pricing is significantly higher than other RPA solutions."

"It's very good in terms of cost and pricing."

"We have saved time and money using this solution."

"It's an ideal pricing model to customize the components based on everyone's needs."

"If it is saving FTE and Generating a good ROI then it is Worth Investing."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."

"While solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism cost around $11,000-$12,000 for each license, this product costs around $7,000 and you can keep it forever."

"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."

"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."

"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."

"From a distributor's side, one of the biggest selling points is its price point. Without going into any numbers, compared to UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and Blue Prism, we're significantly cheaper. The main difference is that other competitors usually charge you per process. However, in Automate's case, it's priced per bot. So, a bot can run multiple processes at the same time, but you are only priced for a single bot."

"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."

"I believe the price falls within a reasonable range, which significantly influenced our decision regarding the product. This aspect is crucial for any technological solution, especially in our country where enterprises might be hesitant to invest heavily in something untested or uncertain about its practicality and potential returns."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"I am the one who signs the contract. In the beginning, when I started working here, it seemed very expensive, but after I learned everything that it does, I found it worth the price."

"The pricing is very reasonable."

"It is at a decent price for the work that it does for us."

"While the base pricing is reasonable, the à la carte options are making the overall cost more complicated and potentially problematic."

"Yearly, we're paying about $62,000. OpCon has an all-inclusive feature and module license, but you pay per task."

"If we choose to purchase consulting hours, that is an additional cost. However, we've been lucky enough that we've not used all of our allotted consulting hours. Therefore, that is not something that we have had to purchase a lot of. The last time that we purchased consulting hours was roughly two years ago. We purchased a block of 10 for $2,500. It was $250 per hour."

"Operating OpCon comes with a cost."

"On a yearly basis our cost is between $25,000 and $30,000."

More OpCon pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	162
Midsize Enterprise	86
Large Enterprise	564

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

I mainly use Fortra's Automate to automate routine IT tasks and schedule workflows, which reduces manual work. I auto...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?

The setup cost is free, but I believe it is a little expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortra Automate?

Fortra's Automate could be improved as the reporting could be more flexible, and some advanced workflows could be eas...

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Comparisons

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 10% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

More Automation Anywhere Competitors

UiPath Platform vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 7% of the time

OpenText Operations Orchestration vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

Automic Automation vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortra's Automate Competitors

AutoSys Workload Automation vs OpCon

Compared 13% of the time

Control-M vs OpCon

Compared 12% of the time

AppWorx Workload Automation vs OpCon

Compared 9% of the time

VisualCron vs OpCon

Compared 5% of the time

Axway Automator vs OpCon

Compared 3% of the time

More OpCon Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

October 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate

October 2026

Download Fortra's Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

OpCon

October 2026

Download OpCon product report

Also Known As

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

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

Fortra

Demo not available

SMA Technologies

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

Fortra's Automate offers a user-friendly platform for task automation, featuring a drag-and-drop interface that aids in scheduling, file management, and integrating with services like Azure and AWS.

Fortra's Automate provides substantial ease in automating complex tasks through its intuitive design. It offers seamless integration capabilities, especially with Azure and AWS, and comes equipped with strong error handling. Cost-effective and requiring minimal coding, it supports a broad range of industries by effectively automating tasks such as HR operations, invoice management, and data processing across servers.

What features stand out in Fortra's Automate?

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies task setup and automation without deep coding expertise.
Scheduling and File Management: Ensures efficient, automated handling of tasks and file transfers.
Integration Capabilities: Works with platforms like Azure and AWS for enhanced performance.
Error Handling: Offers solid solutions to manage and resolve task execution errors.
Minimal Coding: Facilitates automation with limited coding requirements, broadening accessibility.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-Effectiveness: Provides affordable licensing options for diverse businesses.
Operational Efficiency: Enhances productivity by automating repetitive tasks, reducing manual errors.
Versatility: Adapts well across sectors like banking, healthcare, and transportation.
Robust Support: Offers extensive assistance with automation features.
IT Compatibility: Easily integrates into existing IT infrastructures.

In industries such as healthcare and transportation, Fortra's Automate facilitates the automation of client management, HR operations, and data processing, boosting efficiency. Banks utilize it for managing extensive invoice workflows, while distribution sectors rely on its capabilities for insurance checks and system support. Its applicability across servers makes it a valuable tool for any sector seeking to reduce manual workload and improve task accuracy.

Fortra

OpCon empowers organizations with its extensive automation capabilities and seamless integrations, particularly appreciated in financial institutions for managing and optimizing batch processes and operational tasks across platforms such as core systems, Windows, and the cloud.

OpCon offers reliable scheduling and management of workloads, crucial for reducing manual interventions and errors. Its robust automation and integration features with systems like Corelation KeyStone and Symitar support efficient operations, contributing to significant time savings and increased productivity. Users find its ease of use beneficial, although some aspects like web functionalities, integration with third-party systems, and flexibility could improve.

What are key features of OpCon?

Automation Capabilities: Advanced tools for automating diverse tasks and batch processes.
Seamless Integration: Compatible with KeyStone and Symitar, enhancing system functionality.
Self-Service: Enables independent initiation of processes by users.
Scheduling Functionality: Efficiently manages workflows, minimizing manual interventions.

What benefits can users expect?

Time Savings: Streamlines tasks, reducing operational time.
Enhanced Productivity: Increases efficiency across departments by simplifying processes.
Reliability: Delivers dependable automation with minimal errors.
Ease of Use: Simplifies task management with intuitive operations.

In financial institutions, OpCon enhances efficiency by automating batch processing, file transfers, and core processes like reporting and ACH processing. It integrates third-party tools, enabling job scheduling across environments from mainframes to cloud, thereby improving operational performance and reducing manual work.

SMA Technologies

Sample Customers

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

Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories

LOHR, Carnival Cruise Lines, Herbalife, Digital Federal Credit Union, Synergent, Frandsen Bank & Trust

Buyer's Guide

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

October 2026

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