Act-On Software vs. IBM watsonx Orchestrate

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Act-On
Score 8.3 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Act-On is an adaptive marketing platform designed to drive personal and purposeful multi-channel marketing. Its foci are inbound and outbound marketing, for enabling a tighter alignment with sales and turning data into actionable insights.
$900
per month
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
IBM® watsonx™ Orchestrate® leverages AI to automate complex workflows. The solution helps build, deploy, and manage AI assistants and agents. It offers a catalogue of pre-built agents and tools, low-code agent builder, multi-agent collaboration capabilities, and integrations with enterprise apps.
$530
per month
Pricing
Act-On SoftwareIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Editions & Modules
Professional
$900
per month
Enterprise
$2,000+
per month
Essential
$500
per month per subscription
Essentials
$500
per month Per subscription
Standard
Enterprise
Standard
Enterprise
per month Per subscription
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Act-OnIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsThe Professional package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 3 marketing users, 50 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. The Enterprise allows for much more customization, the package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 6 marketing users, 100 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. Annual contract required for all packages.IBM watsonx Orchestrate can be deployed and run on IBM Cloud, AWS, or on-premises. Prices shown are indicative, may vary by country, exclude any applicable taxes and duties, and are subject to product offering availability in a locale.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Act-On SoftwareIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Features
Act-On SoftwareIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
8.2
124 Ratings
7% above category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor7.6123 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content8.2102 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content8.1102 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages8.2118 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.1106 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization8.3113 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.3123 Ratings00 Ratings
List management8.7122 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences8.598 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
8.2
124 Ratings
5% above category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation8.4113 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading8.3113 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management8.2112 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks7.8104 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.5
84 Ratings
1% above category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
Calendaring6.88 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing8.183 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.3
75 Ratings
1% below category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.373 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration7.367 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.5
124 Ratings
2% above category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
Dashboards7.6118 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports7.6122 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.493 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.7
117 Ratings
3% above category average
IBM watsonx Orchestrate
-
Ratings
API8.277 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals8.478 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability7.798 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com8.569 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.038 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM6.830 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations7.48 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
Act-On SoftwareIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(229 ratings)
7.3
(119 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(112 ratings)
8.4
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(44 ratings)
7.4
(78 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(14 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(13 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(39 ratings)
9.1
(9 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.7
(4 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Online Training
9.3
(16 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.6
(22 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(2 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(2 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Act-On SoftwareIBM watsonx Orchestrate
Likelihood to Recommend
Act-On
We often have quick turnaround time requests, and Act-On's new composer is great because it is easy to make an email look great in desktop or mobile views. This has been a huge time-saver for us! We have benefited from using Act-On for many years and are accustomed to where everything is and how to use it. For the new accounts we train, we will sometimes hear that the organization of where things are could be improved.
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IBM
In our case, it is well-suited for workday integration, which allows us to automate the entire workflow. However, we are still working on the O9 platform integration, which we feel is less appropriate, and integrating the workflow into the platform.
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Pros
Act-On
  • The templates are easy to use and set up campaigns.
  • It's simple to use, and the email editor features a drag-and-drop interface.
  • It's easy to set up a drip campaign or a series of scheduled emails.
  • It has the flexibility of having a variety of scheduling options and the use of user experience automation.
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IBM
  • New and improved natural language processing yielding better results helps the assistants understand the intention behind the query.
  • Preserves context of communication, allowing the customers to establish inquiries on the website and continue on the mobile app without having extra informational input.
  • Intelligent conversations mean that complex paths that are branched based on the user's inputs allow for a much more natural flow of the conversation than fixed scripts.
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Cons
Act-On
  • The designer tools, especially for emails, were often difficult to use. The formatting of the text would be all over the place and change / refuse to change at random. Moving boxes around was shifty and sometimes nearly impossible. It just wasn't customizeable enough. No "undo" functionality either.
  • The only way to collect information expansively over time (there's a term Act-On uses for it, I can't recall) where it adds questions to the form each time a user fills it out, is if the person were to fill out the same form multiple times. I know this does happen for some websites/resources, but as a company that wanted to collect new information each time someone filled out any form, regardless of the resource or the URL, that was simply not an option, and that doesn't really make a lot of sense. I know it's not really possible to track someone but if they filled out the first part of the form and then it added new questions to answer, and then they submitted and got through the gating, that would actually be helpful.
  • There was no "trash can" of sorts in case you deleted something by mistake. This could be so stress-inducing if it was a major project. My coworker did this once, contacted Act-On, they couldn't even recover it.
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IBM
  • I think that it needs to be able to integrate better with the knowledge catalogs. It currently provides a default database, which isn't quite large enough for enterprise use. We can connect that then to an external source, but it'd be nice if we could able just to instantiate one straight away.
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Likelihood to Renew
Act-On
It's my single biggest asset in my current role. With limited resources, its enabled Anachron to punch well above our weight marketing wise and although we're still at the beginning of our journey I know the system can scale with us
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IBM
Currently we are using to develop chatbots based on client provided flow what kind chatbot required for client either button or free text chatbots. we will decided accordingly flow and develop chatbot using IBM Watson. We will integrated custom components if required which is not present in library. Action flow and dialog flow we are currently in chatbot.
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Usability
Act-On
It's a great tool for our business, and we get a fantastic ROI on it every year based on wins for customer service and automation responses. It's save projects, repaired salesperson/customer relationships and generated new sales and interest yearly. We really wouldn't hesitate to recommend this platform at all.
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IBM
With the growing use of AI and chatbots, it's very easy to use, and the conversational language makes it easier than keyword searches in a document. The contextual language processing is impressive. It's easy to integrate into our internal portal. The use of this tool would depend on each company's security and data sensitivity.
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Reliability and Availability
Act-On
I have always found them quick to respond to my query by web inquiry. In those instances when I call, I have always reached help quickly. They are conscientious and skilled in discussing my concern and finding a solution to my problem. Other tech organizations should use Act-On as a model for top-notch customer service.
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IBM
No answers on this topic
Performance
Act-On
Great for the most part. Sometimes there are little lags, but that's likely because I'm requesting to see a lot of data at one time.
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IBM
To develop chatbots based on client provided flow what kind chatbot required for client either button or free text chatbots. we will decided accordingly flow and develop chatbot using IBM Watson. We will integrated custom components if required which is not present in library. IBM Watson library anyone can easily learn and develop chatbots.
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Support Rating
Act-On
Since we start using Act-on for ourselves and our clients, we have been supported very well. Often we need to integrate with legacy systems and we find the support team on our side during the whole endeavor. Always asking if they can help us further, always willing to do a better job. The support of Act-On is one of the main differentiators
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IBM
We've rarely had to engage support, but they've always been prompt in responding and very attentive. Support experiences have been extremely positive (but we're mostly happy that we just don't have any cause to routinely need support in the first place!).
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In-Person Training
Act-On
Dan D. was great. He took the time to understand how I needed the program to run, and was very flexible to our special CRM setup.
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IBM
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Act-On
Act-On had a lot of resources, and their staff was great at answering any questions I had to make sure we got started on the right foot. Looking back, I would have preferred some additional training sessions since we didn't have any previous experience with Marketing Automation and best practices.
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IBM
Excellent course material.
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Implementation Rating
Act-On
What impressed me most is that Act-On showed full committment in making our implementation successful, even when it required additional support from their team. This gave me a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings. Most other software software vendors are not anywhere close to being this responsive and effective
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IBM
Overall the implementation was simple.
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Alternatives Considered
Act-On
Act-On is easier to use than Marketo, but not as visually appealing and user-friendly as HubSpot. It's much better than Pardot, as Pardot feel clunky every step of the way. SharpSpring is comparable because of its price point but surpasses Act-On in its tools and intuitive interface. We selected Act-On because of the pricing model and thought all things would be close to parity with other options. It depends on the team you have. If you have developers and a marketing team that knows some html/css, you can get by with Act-On.
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IBM
Make has more community of workflows to follow that have been redeveloped and are available for download. Selecting WxO is based on our trust level with IBM and the propositions of the Granite model being less biased, more business trained, and the ecosystem allowing for expansion with Assistant and Discovery.
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Scalability
Act-On
Before I feel like I need more features, the Act-On customer service reps are contacting me telling about new features as part of my account.
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IBM
From past 3+ years I am using IBM Watson in our current project easily can implement and manage and monitor user how their using. Is there and update also just update dialog is just enough to change no need to touch any other templates. Multiple language will support, and action and dialog speak recognize chatbot we can create as per client requirement. Overall, as of now good experience with IBM Watson.
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Return on Investment
Act-On
  • With the Automated Series, we were able to put in place campaigns that generated revenue that took no time to continue running once set up. This was a positive feature allowing employees to work on another project while the campaign ran on their own.
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IBM
  • By automating tasks that would otherwise require human intervention, organizations may achieve cost savings in terms of labor, especially for handling large volumes of routine inquiries.
  • Virtual assistants can handle a large number of simultaneous interactions, making them scalable to accommodate growing customer bases and increasing workloads without a linear increase in staffing.
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ScreenShots

Act-On Screenshots

Screenshot of the Automated Journey Builder. Here, users can personalize customer interactions from awareness to loyalty.Screenshot of the Analytics Dashboard. This is used to compare performance over time, filter by segment, and export report components.Screenshot of the Email Composer. Here is where users design emails optimized for desktop and mobile with a drag and drop builder.

IBM watsonx Orchestrate Screenshots

Screenshot of IBM® watsonx Orchestrate® homepage UI when you enter into the product.Screenshot of Catalog of AI agents and tools in different domains from multiple partnersScreenshot of Creating agents - from scratch or using a pre-built templateScreenshot of Multi Agent Collaboration - Employee Support Manager AgentScreenshot of IT domain agents from IBM and other partnersScreenshot of Integrations from multiple common applications