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IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs SAP Intelligent RPA comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
666
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (2nd), Process Mining (1st), Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (1st), Agentic Automation (1st), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (2nd), AI Legal & Compliance (1st), AI Finance & Accounting (2nd), AI Procurement & Supply Chain (1st)
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP Intelligent RPA
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
26th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 5.2%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 2.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Intelligent RPA is 1.6%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Automation Anywhere5.2%
IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)2.0%
SAP Intelligent RPA1.6%
Other91.2%
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mohamed-Abdelwahed - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Solutions Manager at valleysoft
Has improved analytics and reporting but needs better integration and support
To improve IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the next release, there should be more integration with external systems, and more integration with IBM's data and AI platforms is needed. There is an AI part in IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for Machine Learning, but IBM has another platform specifically for data and AI, which is integrated right now. More features are hoped for in the future.
Keerthana Jayathran - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP BTP Developer at Wipro Limited
Offers integration of the document extraction service into SAP ALC, enabling the direct upload and extraction of details
I found that SAP Intelligent RPA can be somewhat unstable when using SAP GUI. When we upgraded from SAP GUI version 7.50 to version 7.70, we had to update our SAP Intelligent RPA screens even though the screens were the same. This was difficult and time-consuming. The one I would like to see is in context with the screens, if they are using the same SAP UI, and if it updates, it should not be changed. At least it should be able to identify the screen. There should be more of an error, like a proper error feature, in future releases. Sometimes, we don't understand why that automation is not learning what, like, where it is stuck, what the reason is, or what the criteria we are missing to add. A proper error message would be helpful.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We automated one process that was running with 109 people and reduced it down to 69 with automation."
"Automation Anywhere has improved our company a lot. The SLA of some tasks that we need to deliver to some clients has improved greatly."
"If we want to read a scanned PDF, we use IQ Bot. Using the cognitive detail of IQ Bot and some machine learning abilities, we can train the IQ Bot to process all scanned PDF documents and give the results in an Excel file. This is a very good feature introduced by Automation Anywhere. IQ Bot is doing well."
"There are a lot of savings in terms of effort and time as well as costs."
"The solution is very easy to implement."
"With Automation Anywhere bots, we are able to cut down the manual efforts by 80% in generating Excel and Power BI reports, extracting and uploading files to various sites, and many other web-based administrative tasks."
"With our conversion from v11 to A360, there has been better ease of development of components within the control room for our development teams."
"The reporting capabilities are pretty nice."
"I am satisfied with the technical support."
"The solution’s performance is good."
"I think simplicity is key. One of the things that we've noticed is how our developers have been able to quickly adopt the platform; but not only the developers or the techy people, also the business."
"It is easy to use. We have enabled our resources who don't have a background in automation to be certified and trained, then implement this product within a very short period of time, as it is very user-friendly."
"Speed is definitely the key here, and in six weeks you can actually take a robotic solution and move it all the way into production while keeping your existing systems and teams working the way they are right now."
"It's user-friendly; even non-technical people can program bots using drag-and-drop functionalities."
"No other solution I have seen can provide this level of flexibility."
"The quality is great! It's very strong and has a very strong platform."
"It is remarkably easy to configure and code, and it doesn't require an extensive technical background or coding expertise."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"SAP Contextor has improved our organization by giving us better operational efficiency."
"Most of the details are already in the help portal and SAP notes are available. It is well documented as part of the product support."
"Contextor is a good solution for a Citrix environment."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Contextor is that everyone is in one place in the program that I need."
"Scalability is fine. It is pretty nice."
"Contextor is a good solution for a Citrix environment. It's the first with this tool. Other tools provide the same functionality, but not with the Citrix environment."
 

Cons

"There is still a way to go for Automation Anywhere where we can see improvement."
"We have our limitations. We can run only VBScripts and one more thing. If we want to run Python scripts or batch files, we cannot do it. So, if they would add these extra things in there then that would be beneficial."
"We would like to have more ease of use for the operations team."
"From a QA and development perspective, we would like to communicate with the tech support through email and have that put in the dashboard. This would let us better track the ticket and make it easier for us to communicate with Automation Anywhere."
"When it comes to reading email, this solution is unstable and improvements need to be made."
"It would be great if video analytics could be brought in as a third-party product integration or on the Automation Anywhere platform. I would like the video analytics to be integrated within the next two years. Right now, most people are using third-party tools. Video can be translated into an image and information can be picked up from that, then translated into meaningful insights to make decisions."
"Currently, there are some vulnerabilities in security that need attention in Automation Anywhere."
"The AI Sense functionality is what I believe can be improved since when I tried to use it for automating a use case involving a Citrix Virtual Machine, it was unable to capture objects consistently."
"From my point of view, the RPA from IBM is not yet in touch enough with the clients. They are not taking the client's perspective into consideration, and they don't guide them enough throughout their journey to RPA."
"Extensibility is the key, especially in terms of the Recorders feature that we have. That should be browser independent. Enhance it because some people have Chrome, some have Internet Explorer, etc. Also, integration with PDFs: Not just the ability to read information from PDFs but the ability to write information from PDFs, make it secure, sign it, etc. Finally, if they can allow a token exchange inside the tool itself, that would help."
"We are looking to see how it can connect with various interfaces seamlessly, through APIs."
"Needs better integration with artificial intelligence or with machine-learning."
"The product's document readers must be improved to capture the data well."
"This solution is still evolving. It is going through the rounds right now."
"One of the things I would definitely like to see is more of the machine-learning and cognitive capabilities. For example, now that we're starting to automate more and more tasks, there are some things that still require us to go back and modify the robots when we need to. But if we had more of the machine-learning integrated into it, I believe it would be easier to maintain, so that we wouldn't have to go back and adjust every time."
"I would like it to do pretty much everything out-of-the-box without any need for any customization. However, that is not the case right now. We absolutely have to do some amount of customization with the solution in order to use it out-of-the-box as-is."
"The initial setup is of medium complexity. It is neither too hard nor too simple. You need some background in SAP and an understanding of it."
"The support is expensive."
"SAP Contextor could improve by automating some processes."
"I would like to see a better capacity for unstructured data, for example, PDF, or text within images."
"For potential features or improvements, one aspect I would suggest enhancing is the flexibility of the extraction process."
"The tool's licensing has been kind of a challenge...At the moment, the tool does not offer different licensing models to users."
"One way SAP Intelligent RPA could improve is by integrating built-in DI services for document processing."
"I found that the SAP scripting of a program is easier than SAP Contextor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have reduced our headcount, approximately 200 to 300 employees, by eliminating manual, repetitive work. It provides profit to the business."
"The cloud-based version comes at an increased cost, although our clients are happy with the new features and have not complained about the pricing."
"We have saved customers 400% in terms of time saved by implementing this product."
"Automation Anywhere is expensive, making it more suitable for enterprise organizations."
"In terms of pricing, it's not at all cheap, and that's a concern. The licensing cost is very high. While I don't know the exact prices of other tools, Microsoft offers the lowest pricing for its RPA platform compared to UiPath and Automation Anywhere."
"Currently, it stands as one of the more expensive RPA tools available."
"The price of Automation Anywhere is a little higher than some of the competition, such as UiPath. However, depending on the use case and other factors we are able to receive some discounts."
"Their licensing processes are in par with most industry standards."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"There is a free trial for one month, so you can use it to run your payloads or proof of concept. After that, you can pay for the license on a monthly or annual basis."
"The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
"The product has a yearly licensing fee."
"The license is paid annually."
"IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
"I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
"IBM licensing is annual and based on Virtual Processor Cores (VPC). This provides flexibility as part of the containerization environment."
"This is not a tool or software with a license as others are. The SaaS model is based on the usage of the tool."
"The pricing is not that expensive. It is manageable."
"The initial cost might seem higher, but over time, with continued use over five or ten years, the cost tends to decrease, making it a more economical choice."
"It all comes with a bundle right now. Having advanced features, it is competitively priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business161
Midsize Enterprise86
Large Enterprise563
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.
What needs improvement with IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
To improve IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the next release, there should be more integration with external ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
My customers' main use cases for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are especially in the banking industry, particu...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
I recommend starting with the Academy to check the features and compare them with other competitors to choose the bes...
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Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)
IBM RPA
SAP Contextor, Contextor
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics
The Hanover Insurance Group
BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Kabel Deutschland, Orange, Carrefour
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs. SAP Intelligent RPA and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
918,169 professionals have used our research since 2012.