ActiveBatch Workload Automation vs. Okta Workflows

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

The integration I used Azuqua for was based on Salesforce, Wrike and Office 365. I found the integration of Salesforce reasonably straightforward, Wrike was limited in the "cards" capability but functional (there are bugs but there are also workarounds but they required assistance from the Azuqua support team) and Office 365 was quite immature (primarily around Excel bugs but also email was limited).

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

• The best part about Azuqua is that you do not need to write code. You do however need to have an understanding of logic and how the software works. This happens to fit me perfectly as someone with basic programming experience.
• Their Support is second to none. Not only are they extremely quick and responsive, but their answers are never canned responses and always provide valuable content.
• They seem to take feedback seriously and will continue to evolve and make a better product.

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.

• I think it requires an easy way to migrate flows created from one user to then move the ownership to another user. It happened to us that one of our engineers left the company and he had the Azuqua account and flows. It required quite some time, cases and telephone calls to do the migration to my account.

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

The system is working as it should, keeping our programs safe from outside hackers. Helping us keep our passwords safe, convenient and already ready to get us logged into the program securely and quickly. Verification that only authorized users are able to access our company's programs. Okta Workflows (Azuqua) is a very good system that has helped our company greatly.

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

I evaluated Zapier and Microsoft Flow before coming across Azuqua. Zapier was too simplistic and didn't allow for transfer of enough variables. The price point also didn't work for the value it could provide. Microsoft Flow couldn't make the connection with Smartsheet, and I was unable to get Microsoft support or Smartsheet support to assist me with the issue.

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.

• Increased time savings. We could not function as a matter of daily business if we did not have a tool to automate project folders (and complementary workflow management profiles) for the thousands of projects that flow through daily.
• Opens up a greater understanding of all the silos and divisions within the company infrastructure and tests secure means to link those groups safely and share information.
• Opens up the chance to communicate with other API information sources if our company is doing a partnership with another organization. Granted everything is square with IT security.

Incentivized