Fortra’s Automate vs. Microsoft Power Automate

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Fortra’s Automate
Score 9.0 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
Microsoft Power Automate
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Power Automate is an advanced automation platform offering a range of features, including AI-powered automation, robotic process automation (RPA), business process automation (BPA), digital process automation (DPA), and process/task mining. The platform aims to empower organizations to securely automate their operations at scale by leveraging low-code and AI technologies.
$15
per month per user
Pricing
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Power Automate Premium
$15
per month per user
Power Automate Process
$150
per month per bot
Hosted RPA add-on
$215
per month per bot
Process Mining add-on
$5,000
per month per tenant
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Small Businesses
airSlate SignNow
airSlate SignNow
Score 8.5 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Appian
Appian
Score 8.8 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Appian
Appian
Score 8.8 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(4 ratings)
8.6
(71 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(11 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(26 ratings)
User Testimonials
Fortra’s AutomateMicrosoft Power Automate
Likelihood to Recommend
Fortra
It's great for repetitive or regularly scheduled activities like reports or file transfers. However, it's not so good for on-demand activities. It doesn't support task shortcuts to run specific tasks. If it did it would be perfect.
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Microsoft
Microsoft Power Automate is the best tool to extend Microsoft services you already use. Hands down. Prototyping workflows is very easy in Microsoft Power Automate. It's also the best choice for sending custom cards through Teams and email. It's the easiest way to get data from Microsoft Graph.
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Pros
Fortra
  • Very detailed task builder. Easy to read step by step a task's operation even if you don't have much programming knowledge.
  • Scheduling for automation jobs is very flexible. Allows us to create all kinds of job schedules as needed.
  • Organization of jobs, tasks, conditions is done well. Allows us to easily manage our items.
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Microsoft
  • Sending confirmation email to clients and user once the flow is triggered.
  • Fetching or Dumping files from one location to another if the flow is triggered.
  • Schedule flow helps to send alerts and triggers the flow at a specific interval of time to carry out the required task.
  • Power Automate also be used to convert any file format to a specific file format and save it to the required location
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Cons
Fortra
  • A reporting capability on tasks: enabled, disabled, by folder, by trigger, etc. Currently there is none.
  • An "OR" in their conditional statements - currently there is only "AND".
  • Some kind of temporary backup when changing a task - separate from the current back up/restore functionality (which works well).
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Microsoft
  • Many times it doesn't feel very "low-code" or intuitive. AI builder is helping more and more.
  • Workflows should have a longer lifespan in days, we have approval processes that take months and it's very annoying to fix if the instance is stopped.
  • Better debugging and quick fix help
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Likelihood to Renew
Fortra
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
my employer is absolutely fearful of ever changing anything, ever.
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Usability
Fortra
It's just very easy to use, extremely versatile, and very reliable. It's hard to find use cases where it won't work.
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Microsoft
Power Automate has an intuitive interface that is easy for novices to use. It doesn't require programming knowledge, however having that experience will help troubleshoot potential issues if they do arise. There are advanced features that allow the use of "code-like" steps that will help power users get more advanced automations set up quickly.
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Support Rating
Fortra
Support is very helpful and responsive, although using the tool is very user-friendly, so I hardly use the service.
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Microsoft
I really have had a need to contact Win Automation support, but when I do google how to do a task, Win Automation has an extensive message board with a broad number of topics and questions answered where I could see how other people were able to solve similar problems to the ones I have.
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In-Person Training
Fortra
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
after reviewing the main features of Power Automate, the Microsoft trainer focused on some of our real life use cases implementation, from simple to more advanced.
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Online Training
Fortra
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
although it was productive, it is more difficult to stay focused and in a 7 hours a day online training (including screen share issues and the fact that the trainer just can't precisely show the exact location of your mistake)
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Implementation Rating
Fortra
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I had to migrate from Robocorp to Power Automate. The automation was using API and sharepoint. So it was better to use Power Automate instead of Robocorp so we did the migration. in some areas the migration was easy but creating flows and making it smaller codes was difficult. Debugging the code was tough so we took lots of time.
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Alternatives Considered
Fortra
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Microsoft
Power Automate is a no-code/low-code solution tailored for workflow automation, data integration, and AI integration, making it an excellent choice for Microsoft-centric organizations. OutSystems, on the other hand, is a comprehensive application development platform, offering rapid app development with both low-code and traditional development options. This platform is well-suited for organizations seeking custom application development. Nintex specializes in workflow and process automation with a strong focus on SharePoint and Office 365 integration. It also includes advanced features like document generation and robotic process automation (RPA).The choice among these platforms should align with your organization's specific needs, considering factors like integration requirements and the desired level of technical expertise. In the bottomline, it's up to cost and licensing.
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Return on Investment
Fortra
  • It's been a net positive as AutoMate requires less eyes on specific tasks so that people can focus attention elsewhere and do more analysis.
  • Less manual work also decreases the chances of mistakes and/or missed jobs. Since Automate can schedule everything, send email notifications, etc., there is less time wasted.
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Microsoft
  • It has encouraged everyday users to get a feel for low code no code without the detailed technical programmings skills
  • This has encouraged the use of Power Automate to replace what was once an excel filled with complex macros and VBA!
  • It has significantly saved time for someone like myself from chasing people for information and now I can create an auto alert using PA
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ScreenShots

Fortra’s Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of

Microsoft Power Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Work Queues, Initial pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Signed-in web portal home pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Signed-in web portal create pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Desktop designerScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Hosted RPAScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Display of DLP violations (on Run)