Item: IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation
Rating: 6
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation is one of the low-code solutions IBM offers to customers. You can automate repetitive business workflows to save cost and speed up critical processes such as handling refund requests or guessing the salary range for an applicant, based on multiple factors inherited from your various solutions. It is really more of an enterprise-grade product, as opposed to Zapier.

Pros and Cons

No-brainer if you are already using other IBM Cloud products
Great documentation with easy-to-follow in-app tutorials and real-life examples
Top-notch scalability and security options

Like most IBM products, the interface is minimalistic and not very user-friendly.
Lack of openness, it's not a plug & play solution that just works with your landscape.
Poor product support, this feels more like a solution IBM created to exist in the low-code space.

Return on Investment

High learning curve that makes user adoption difficult
Pricing is really high and not aligned with the competition (there is plenty)
We found some surprising good cases where the AI nearly acted like a human agent

Alternatives Considered

Zapier, Integromat, Workato, Automate.io, UiPath Enterprise RPA Platform, SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation and n8n

We ended up going with a different solution. IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation felt like a nice addition to the IBM Cloud bundle, but we were not getting a positive ROI due to its lack of native connectors with non-IBM apps. The AI is definitely a strong point, and probably more advanced than the competition, but the reality is that most of our workflows were still essentially built on predefined rules - and we found that other products were offering a much simpler and transparent experience to do just that.

Automation Components Used

IBM Business Automation Workflow
IBM Operational Decision Manager
IBM Filenet Content Manager
IBM Datacap
IBM Robotic Process Automation with Automation Anywhere

Implementation

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation works with pricing modules so you can pick & choose, although the pricing is quite high for this product so it only makes sense to buy a full bundle to get significant volume discounts. IBM makes it easy to purchase the solution and have it implemented since there is not much configuration to perform in the cloud. It's ready on day one.

IBM Business Partner

N/A

Key Insights

Do you think IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation's feature set?

Did IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation again?

Other Software Used

Integromat, Zapier, Automate.io, Workato, SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation, UiPath Enterprise RPA Platform, Tricentis Flood, Tricentis LiveCompare, Tricentis NeoLoad (formerly Neotys NeoLoad), Tricentis qTest (formerly QASymphony), Tricentis Tosca

Likelihood to Recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation has a lot of potential but does not offer any differentiators [in my opinion]. You will find the same features as any other enterprise low-code solutions such as SAP, but your low-code solution is only as good as the number of external apps it supports. Otherwise, you need to build those connectors yourself, which clearly defeats the product purpose. Right now, [I believe] IBM [Cloud Pak for Business Automation] only makes sense for IBM-centric customers.

Great low-code addition for customers with existing IBM Cloud subscriptions.

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation