Appian vs. Fortra’s Automate

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Appian
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Appian is a low-code development and business process management platform. It features drag-and-drop design for app building, automated work processes, unified data management, and cloud-based deployment.
$0
Fortra’s Automate
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Fortra's Automate (formerly HelpSystems Automate) is a robotic process automation platform for desktop applications. According to the vendor, it offers the ability to automate almost any business process, and no technical expertise is required—IT and business users alike can understand the drag-and-drop interface.N/A
Pricing
AppianFortra’s Automate
Editions & Modules
Appian Community Edition
$0
Application - Input-Only
$2
per month per user
Application - Infrequent
$9
per month per user
Application - Standard
$75
per month per user
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
minimum 100 users, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
unlimited
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
Minimum 100, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
Unlimited
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppianFortra’s Automate
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppianFortra’s Automate
Features
AppianFortra’s Automate
Low-Code Development
Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Product A and Product B
Appian
9.1
Ratings
8% above category average
Fortra’s Automate
-
Ratings
Visual Modeling8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Drag-and-drop Interfaces8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform Security9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform User Management8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Reusability9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform Scalability9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AppianFortra’s Automate
Small Businesses
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
airSlate WorkFlow
airSlate WorkFlow
Score 7.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quixy
Quixy
Score 9.9 out of 10
airSlate SignNow
airSlate SignNow
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
SAP Build
SAP Build
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AppianFortra’s Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
9.4
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppianFortra’s Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
Appian is well suited for the areas which involve a workflow. For Example: Consider there is a task and 3 teams are required to work on the task, with Appian we can create tasks for each team and monitor the comments and completion. Together with the integration capabilities, this tool can function in many areas. In our firm, we are using it to automate the workflows for our business teams and help them in capturing the OLA's and SLA's.
Read full review
Anything where automation would be helpful, I'd recommend. If you're doing a task over and over again, Automate can likely work and do it for you. It helps to keep things running exactly the same so that when failures occur, they can easily be traced to their source.
Read full review
Pros
  • Allows at a glance workflow documentation which assists in the need we have for information readiation.
  • Drag and drop interface for workflow development greatly speeds our apps time to market.
  • Using the advanced features of Appian, we are able to create working sites in a fraction of the time it would take to do so using "traditional" development.
Read full review
  • Wiki pages
  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Triggers
  • Building crons
  • Automating daily tasks
Read full review
Cons
  • Search issues when type ahead and database search are used in the same field.
  • Buttons implementation where user is require[d] to click on the button description - if clicks on the button outside that text - button will not work.
  • Problems with using certain off-the-shelf performance tools like WebLoad or Neoload. That is because of different dynamic variables being used internally in Appian - which these tools are unable to correlate. We are still investigating using other tools like Jmeter to overcome dynamic correlation problem for performance testing.
Read full review
  • There should be more tools around system stability and recovery.
  • Better ways to manage resources to prevent OS crashes.
  • Automate backups internally without tasks.
  • System failure alerts if the machine crashes or reboots.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
We recently renewed our license with Appian. We are convinced that its flexibility, relative ease of use, the support they provide, there mobile advancements and their general willingness and desire to see us succeed all contributed to our reason to renew our agreement with Appian
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
There are many differences between using Appian and using other programming languages. Additionally, there are many trade offs that have to be made and that have to be accepted for using Appian. In some cases, you give up control of one small area, but in others, it may open settings that are unavailable to a developer when using other program languages.
Read full review
It's just very easy to use, extremely versatile, and very reliable. It's hard to find use cases where it won't work.
Read full review
Support Rating
Appian is one of the leading low code business automation platforms that support RPA, decision rules, case management, workflow automation, and machine learning all in a single bundle. But it is also harder to implement and replace the traditional business process.
Read full review
Support is very helpful and responsive, although using the tool is very user-friendly, so I hardly use the service.
Read full review
In-Person Training
As analyst I participated in a developer boot camp. At times it was hard to keep up but most of the time it made sense. Trainer took the time to explain and slowed pace down to answer questions etc.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Very boring; hard to get through quickly, but rather effective in demonstrating the use of the platform.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
It was really seamless. SaaS in the true definition of the word. We logged on and started using the product. Very easy.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Appian compares favorably with other vendors in the space. It is strongest with business workflow automation and to create custom business applications. The tool base for coding is extremely straightforward and allows for faster coding and deployment. Handles very complex process flows and has the ability to discover new opportunities for automation.
Read full review
It has similar usage cases and functions. However, many tools are stuck behind paywalls and always try to upsell you to the next version. It's very upsetting. Even if it's cheaper, whenever I try to replicate the functionality, I get that annoying message, "not available in this version." As an IT professional who needs approval for every purchase, I can't keep asking for upgrades to existing tools.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Our IT automated procurement process has sped up time to get paid by a few days on every transaction
  • Our approvals are more organized as a result of being put in digitally
  • Managing our own tenant requires more than we have available, given the quarterly updates
  • Since we have business-critical functions running in the platform, we have to thoroughly review every note of every update. Because of this we skip half of the updates since we don't have enough time to review these changes four times a year.
Read full review
  • Positive: Reliability on FTP jobs - really important on bank files.
  • Negative - annual support a little pricey - but not unusual for this level of software.
  • Positive: Does not require a dedicated administrator, especially after the jobs are created and tested. I perform other job duties and this rarely interferes with them.
  • Positive - Since it is easy to learn and use it makes it easy to have a back up administrator
Read full review
ScreenShots

Appian Screenshots

Screenshot of Low-Code DevelopmentScreenshot of Business Process Management SuiteScreenshot of Dynamic Case ManagementScreenshot of Mobile App DevelopmentScreenshot of Appian RPA with Blue Prism

Fortra’s Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of