TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    CATS ATS

    Score3.1 out of 10
    N/ACATS is a web-based recruiting software. Users can manage the entire recruiting process including custom job applications, posting jobs, resume parsing, custom recruitment workflows, and generating customized reports. Pricing is tiered per user, per month.

    $69

    per month

    Brassring

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/ABrassring, formerly from IBM and part of the Kenexa Talent Acquisition Suite, and now sold by Infinite Computer Solutions, is an enterprise grade ATS and onboarding solution. It allows companies to find the right talent, track and manage candidates, and use candidate data to spot trends within the applicant pool.N/A
    Pricing
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Editions & Modules
    Annual Pro Plan
    $69
    per user, per month
    Monthly Pro Plan
    $99
    per user, per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPlease visit the CATS pricing page to compare plans and features—
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of CATS Applicant Tracking System and Brassring
    Feature
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    8.2
    19 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Brassring
    7.5
    11 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Job Requisition Management9.517 Ratings7.711 Ratings
    Company Website Posting9.517 Ratings7.410 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media8.617 Ratings7.710 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting10.017 Ratings7.711 Ratings
    Customized Application Form9.518 Ratings7.111 Ratings
    Resume Management8.119 Ratings7.410 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.618 Ratings7.110 Ratings
    Candidate Search6.219 Ratings8.310 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking7.619 Ratings8.310 Ratings
    Collaboration8.612 Ratings7.18 Ratings
    Task Creation and Delegation8.615 Ratings7.46 Ratings
    Email Templates9.519 Ratings7.710 Ratings
    User Permissions8.517 Ratings7.49 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts9.517 Ratings7.710 Ratings
    Reporting4.718 Ratings7.110 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Small Businesses
    Crelate
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Crelate
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    CareerSiteBuilder
    Score10 out of 10
    CareerSiteBuilder
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    JobDiva
    Score7.7 out of 10
    JobDiva
    Score7.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (28 ratings)
    8.3
    (30 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (10 ratings)
    6.0
    (12 ratings)
    Usability
    2.7
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    5.9
    (2 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    1.8
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    2.6
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    CATS ATSBrassring
    Likelihood to Recommend
    CATS Software
    It has a great parsing feature and the extension is very helpful. Many ATS systems do not support parsing within LinkedIn...this one does. I was sad to see this option go when we finally transitioned. I would almost keep CATS just for the LinkedIn parsing if I knew I could easily get the information OUT of the system once it was there. A good API/webhook would be great, but sadly the API connections don't work well. Our firm also works with companies with multiple sites all across the US. There was never a way to "nest" a location with a parent company. Because of this, being able to research or report on a true client relationship was not possible. It was a very manual process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    Kenexa is is well suited for any organization that has more than 3000 employees globally. I would not recommend this to startups or a growing organization with less than 3000 employees. But once you cross this number, Kenexa becomes useful and is a brilliant tool for global operations - recruiting. I would recommend this tool to any organization that has offices in many countries/geographies as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    CATS Software
    • Simple to implement, SaaS based tool that needs no in-house IT support or resources
    • Customizable reports, labels, fields, applications
    • Affordable
    • No long term contract, month-to-month with ability to cancel anytime
    • Data backups are simple
    • Email directly from the candidate record with response coming into Outlook is easy to configure and creates record and updates status automatically
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    • Kenexa allows Boolean key word search within a particular requisition so it makes sifting through a high number of applicants manageable and effective
    • Kenexa can be tailored to meet individual business needs. During the time we’ve had Kenexa here I’ve used it in support of a few different business segments and for each the way the system was used to “position” candidate statuses have varied based on the individual need of the business. One example is when interviewing a high volume of applicants internationally, we were able to send qualified applicants through to the “event manager” and it would enable the candidate to select his/her interview date/time based on previously submitted options inputted by our Kenexa users.
    • Kenexa allows one to customize and score questions for each open requisition that applicants complete as they apply. The system then sorts applicants according to the score of candidate answers allowing for easy sorting of top qualified candidates.
    Read full review
    Cons
    CATS Software
    • I would like to see either an integration with a robust reporting tool that would allow me to design my own custom reports with a data export or more built-in reporting options.
    • Mobile app is currently mostly just a look-up tool. I would like it to have the ability to do more - add tasks, update pipelines, etc.
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    • BrassRing's application system for candidates is prone to freezing and crashing in the middle of the application causing potential candidates to lose all progress. I filled out the application myself and witnessed these issues first hand, on top of several complaints I received via phone and email from candidates attempting to apply via the BrassRing service. Also, the Parsing system within the application is not capable of pulling any meaningful information out of text documents.
    • Each user must be added to each job in order for that job, and the candidates in it, to show up in relevant searches. This becomes a problem when a new team member joins the account and needs access to all of the previous openings just so that they can find candidates already in the system. The account I was working on involved literally hundreds of new openings a month, meaning that any movement of personnel on or off the account would mean having to update potentially thousands of old positions just to allow them to be able to mine the ATS for candidates. I don't see any particular reason why someone with access to the system should have to be given access to each individual job. If a particular position needs to be kept confidential for whatever reason then that individual position should be able to be set to only show to authorized recruiters. The rest of the positions should automatically be searchable by anyone with appropriate access to the ATS to allow for basic level candidate mining and movement.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    CATS Software
    Our company has been using it and enjoying the benefits for a few years now. Its a perfect system for our end goal of finding the best candidate effectively and being able to track and write reports on our progress.
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    I am confident that the Kenexa product will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our business in an ever changing work environment. The affiliation with IBM also plays a factor as we have a long standing successful relationship with IBM products. We will be looking to integrate other Kenexa products in the near future to streamline our HR processes.
    Read full review
    Usability
    CATS Software
    not recruiter friendly. workflow is not good
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    I feel like I am pretty decent with computers and systems. It was fairly easy to use it after about a week or two . But I have seen people struggle with it as well as some people not use it at all. It can be slow at times and not work at times. But Its a fine system.
    Read full review
    Performance
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    Just slow for what we are doing here
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    CATS Software
    I've had mixed results with asking for support. Sometimes they gave a quick answer and sometimes my emails were never responded to. Some responses were a single word.
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    It is a very basic system. It may be OK for entry level positions only. The practice of removing CVs while the recruitment process is ON is disturbing and there is no one to explain or to inform why it is being done. Even a routine mail is not sent to the client/consultant. I am surprised how this system is continuing without too many complaints.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    CATS Software
    This is an incredibly easy system to implement. There is no hardware or software required, it's entirely SaaS based. Compared to other systems I've implemented, it's breathtaking. Customization can all be done directly in the tool, there is no need for any involvement of consultants and most of the information you cannot figure out intuitively is covered in the knowledge base
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    We purchased an out of the box solution and that worked well for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    CATS Software
    We used to use Sendouts (prior to it being acquired by Bullhorn) - and it wasn't browser based like CATS so instead of being able to access it from a home computer, laptop, mobile phone, etc. you could only use it on the computer with the software uploaded - which is a hindrance. It also wasn't as customizable as CATS. We picked CATS because it the price was right, it was browser-based, had email-integration, and integrates with social media and job posting services to share your jobs
    with the public.
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    SF ATS was not available at the time and Taleo was thought to be too expensive. In retrospect, given the amount of customization and leveraging of other vendor technology for things like analytics I suspect any cost advantage we realized evaporated
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    CATS Software
    • We went from Excel spreadsheets to using CATS so honestly anything would be an improvement. But CATS has saved tremendous time on an on-going basis in terms of managing the career portal automatically.
    • Being able to log email conversations with the click of a button from Outlook right into CATS has been a time-saver and also has helped numerous times in providing better follow-through to candidates and providing better tracking of candidate interactions and what they have previously said (or not).
    Read full review
    Infinite Computer Solutions, Inc
    • Kenexa has assisted us in identifying top talent within our target market of applicants.
    • Kenexa may exclude potentially good associates that don't test well.
    • Kenexa clearly defines specific categories and general notes for training, development, & coaching of associates on areas of opportunity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    CATS ATS Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily view candidates, without leaving the job order, using the candidate preview. Even quickly communicate with candidate via SMS without leaving your current screen.Screenshot of Candidate ProfileScreenshot of Add filters to quickly search and narrow down your candidate database.Product screenshot