ActiveBatch Workload Automation vs. Integrify

Any large business or organisation that wants to manage their workload effectively and with the least amount of room for error might choose the ActiveBatch Automation tool. Being a consultant I feel that It aids in task automation and has the flexibility to change in response to varying company requirements. It helps to save huge time by doing all the repetitive tasks on daily basis. During the patching activity the schedulers can be stopped. It also help by alerting us if any system/job is down so that SLA can be saved. Overall ActiveBatch Automation stands as a dependable cornerstone for ensuring the seamless operation of our tasks.

Incentivized

It is great as a way to move from a manual paper process to something digital and more streamlined. There is a learning curve for users when it comes to developing a proper form and following/tracking the flow of information. Overall it is a great move, just be ready for some resistance.

Incentivized

• Makes scheduling easy to understand, follow, and rerun jobs when necessary.
• Allows for cross-team coordination of scheduled tasks which reduces errors.
• Makes stopping jobs easy when needed for server/database downtime.
• Scripting enables us to easily change email addresses for failed job alerts.
• Nested plans/jobs make creating and changing dependencies simple.

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

• String handling / parsing. I find myself using PowerShell to do a fair amount of text parsing (particularly if manipulations are needed) - not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly a place where ActiveBatch could be improved.
• Debugging - or lack of it! With no stepping debugger, it can be a longer process than many other programming / scripting environments: rather than simply stepping through and observing state changes, I find myself inserting logging steps to excess, then having to clean them up once the error is found.
• The perennial - Documentation! While a near-universal complaint for *any* software, ActiveBatch's developer documentation is somewhat spotty - just where I need detail, I find summary-level info. There is lots of documentation (as there should be for a tool with such a wide range of applications), but it is in mixed formats (some PDF, some CHM), and the descriptions of specific fields within job steps is often little more than I can get in a tool-tip in the GUI. Allowable ranges, expected formats for string data, and similar helpful details are inconsistent.
• The KnowledgeBase at ASCI's web site often has examples which answer the questions I have, but not always - and not always under the search terms one would think to use.

• 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

We can easily add new plans/jobs in our batch schedules. Also, coordination with reporting and QA jobs is simple to do. Building schedules, restarting jobs, triggering dependencies is easy to understand. The system is very stable and allows us to easily see overall processing times.

Incentivized

My colleague contacted them directly, I only know hearsay on this but it was not good.

Incentivized

The workload automation solution is based on the specific needs of an organization, as well as the features, capabilities, and costs of various solutions. A thorough evaluation process and consideration of these factors can help ensure the selection of a solution that aligns with overall business objectives and meets the specific needs of the organization.

Incentivized

When it comes to workflow, you want something reliable. Something that covers all the bases. You don't get that with a lot of platforms because they want to be the "heart of the <insert name here> industry." Integrify is like a little blob of playdough. It is its own creature, sitting there in the middle, just malleable enough for you to stretch it to whichever department you want without it breaking. If you handle it badly, it will break and not work. But if you treat it right, and work with it, then it can become virtually anything for you.

Incentivized

• ActiveBatch can automate intricate procedures and minimise manual involvement, which can boost an organization's production and efficiency.
• Organisations can save money by using ActiveBatch to automate operations, which lowers the expenses of manual labour and potential mistakes.
• Implementing ActiveBatch could come with hefty up-front expenses including licencing, instruction, and consultancy fees, which could have a short-term negative impact on ROI.

• 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