Integrify vs. SAP NetWeaver BPM vs. VisualCron

If you know workflow programs, and if you are tech-savvy, then this program will help you with nearly everything. If you need a workflow made better or just need one period, then this will help. You can use it for nearly anything where there is a process. Unfortunately, in any of these scenarios, if you are not tech-savvy, then you do not want to use this program. It will be frustrating. Same can be said if you are handing the program off to someone. It can be too complex for some people. That said, if they are willing to learn the program, then you may be OK. But ultimately, you will lose time and effort. For us, Integrify was used in Admissions - the workflow had to be very specific, and was very complex when it came to the re-enrollment process; however, I would not have suggested it to HR. While it could have helped them, it would have resulted in many hours lost because of the complexity of the program if I were to have left. I'm not saying I was the be-all, end-all for it in HR! I am saying that they had never worked with a workflow program before, and it was going to cost her more time than she could spare.

Incentivized

It is well suited when we need to integrate business processes with SAP ERP and SAP CRM - the solution can be integrated with business rules/procedures defined in SAP ERP/CRM and NetWeaver can be used to monitor the rules and flag off exceptions. When there are multiple workflows running, it tends to slow down running of these processes. Also, it entirely depends on SAP portal for it to run efficiently.

Incentivized

VisualCron does accommodate continuous file processing. Like packing and unpacking compressed files, splitting or merging files, sending E-mail's and executing queries on databases. VisualCron in less suitable for performing very complex operations on files like, arithmetic with numbers, dates or amounts. Very complex job scripts become cluttered. Debugging Job scripts is not easy.

Incentivized

• Easy to develop an intake form.
• Workflow diagram is simple to follow and make adjustments to.
• Dashboard is helpful in identifying bottlenecks in the process.

Incentivized

• Virtual paper trail. Iterations of process and current documentation are all stored as "artifacts", leaving a great trail.
• Configuration of users. BPM somewhat magically determines which users will be impacted and automates rules.
• A pro (that is also a con) is the design interface. If you know what you are doing, it is incredibly powerful and malleable.

• VisualCron can pack and unpack files from many types of packing methods.
• Clear job scripts with complex constructions can be written in VisualCron
• VisualCron provides a clear graphical overview of the situation of all jobs.
• VisualCron clearly indicates when a job has run into an error.

Incentivized

• It's complicated. No, really. When you log in, you won't know much about what you're doing and you may only get about 10% of what the program is capable of. This is not a good thing as some will just give up before delving further into the program. If it is too complicated at the outset for someone who doesn't understand forms or how these kinds of programs work, you will not gain new clients unless you are there the moment they create an account. You can have someone reach out, but - in my experience - the decision to continue with a program or write it off is in the first ten minutes.
• When I first looked at it, printing larger flows was an issue. They have since addressed this, so the point of mentioning this is that (while they eventually looked back at the bigger picture) looking at large and small views would have been helpful.
• The people I consulted had issues with Javascript. There were ways to get around it, but these people did not have the time to spend on that and asked me to find another solution.

Incentivized

• Live readings would be nice.
• Easier to maneuver
• Work with all systems with the press of one keystroke

Incentivized

• VisualCron should more specifically indicate the root cause of an error.
• If copying a file goes wrong, VisualCron reports 'can't copy file'. I expect 'no read permissions from original' or 'no write permissions from destination'.
• VisualCron offers no way to execute a Job script line by line
• In VisualCron, nested loops cannot be created.

Incentivized

As a big fan of SAP in general, the BPM solution fits right in with all the other things SAP does well, and does it with incredible efficiency

We have our own tech support for systems, I would say they probably could use more training on it, I don't really think it's anything regarding the SAP system, but more the knowledge they have on the system itself. It seems to take longer for them to fix any issues we may come across.

Incentivized

Questions and problems can be addressed to VisualCron 's support department via E-mail. I usually get a good answer from them fairly quickly. There is also a VisualCron forum where you can ask questions that will be answered by other VisualCron users.

Incentivized

I think Integrify was a good product for its cost. The only thing it really lacked was project management capabilities. It was difficult for our manager to go into the dashboard and see what work his employees were working on, who has what, and how long they have had certain tasks. It is doable, but just not very quick and simple.

Incentivized

I found the initial setup of NetWeaver is much simpler than other products especially in an SAP environment where we have SAP ERP/HRM/CRM as it can be well integrated with other SAP products. The only drawback is the need/dependency on SAP Portal. It is better suited in an environment where SAP ERP is running.

Incentivized

For simple processes, VisualCron is easier to use and maintain. For complicated processes, Quadient Inspire offers more options. The graphical representations of waiting, running or completed jobs is adequate for both products. The logging of job actions is better in Quadient Inpire as in VisualCron.

Incentivized

• For the people I consulted - it helped them put more into the personal aspects of the business. While certain processes ran, they could keep an eye on the data, but were otherwise free to focus on the important aspects of the business. They were a marketing group. Their copywriter was able to be a copywriter instead of just filling out forms all day!
• It's adaptable. You can cross-pollinate any department with it, provided you know what you are doing. So, you are not getting a program for HR, and another for Marketing. Integrify can span the whole business. You can cut costs in focusing on one workflow product rather than a handful.
• It did have one negative impact on the place I consulted. Their tech-savvy person left in early 2019, and nobody else was able to use the program. Nor did they want to try when opening it up and trying to understand it. I was able to help out, but ultimately they were discouraged. I would recommend training multiple people if you use this product, and emphasize their support team!

Incentivized

• Helped us harness integrated benefit from having SAP ERP/CRM by leveraging NetWeaver to define business processes/rules and monitor exceptions
• Did not have any negative experience except for the fact that at times when multiple rules run, it can be somewhat slow

Incentivized

• With VisualCron, I need 3 times less time to get file processing right.
• If a VisualCron job goes wrong I need twice as much time to find the problem.
• Visualcron does not run on Linux but on Windows which can make an upgrade and reboot take up to 6 times as long.

Incentivized