Top 5 Enterprise Automation Tools to Look Out For
Enterprise automation used to mean clunky enterprise resource planning (ERP) software in the past.
While these were a step in the right direction, they were not exactly user-friendly. Already overwhelmed IT or engineering teams were needed to configure and set up these automation tools. Sometimes, this meant that the rest of the company remained either stand-still or left to manage the current inefficiencies while waiting for the IT department to finish building the automation tool.
Enterprise business process automation has evolved to an era of low code/Nocode, drag-and-drop, and AI-powered platforms.
These enable employees to build out their own workflow automation systems tailored to the needs of their role. AI-powered automation tools also learn from user behavior, identify patterns, and make decisions within workflows.
As a large enterprise, it is important to know that a fancy automation tool won’t solve all your automation needs magically. You should look out for enterprise-ready automation tools built for security and scale. These tools enable you to seamlessly handle complex automation across your entire organization as your business expands.
In the following sections, we will discuss why you need to go for enterprise-ready automation tools and the top 5 enterprise automation tools that you should look out for.
Why Enterprise-Ready Automation Tools?
Industry Specificity Enterprise-ready automations often have pre-built connectors and functionalities designed for your specific industry. You can easily connect your applications seamlessly without writing any line of code. This ensures the platform understands your workflows, data structures, and industry terms.
Security Security is a critical factor when it comes to enterprise-ready automation tools. Large enterprises often have a complex ecosystem of applications. As an enterprise, connecting numerous third-party apps to a cloud-based automation tool without enterprise-grade security is dangerous. Secure enterprise automation tools also enable on-premise hosting on your servers.
Data should not only be secure when it is at rest. It should also be secure when in transit. A great enterprise automation tool has industry-standard encryption protocols to ensure that even if data is intercepted in transit, it remains secure.
Scalability Large enterprises grow a lot and their automation needs evolve right along with them. A one-size-fits-all automation tool might work for a basic task today, but it won't be able to keep up with the expanding automation requirements of an enterprise. A generic tool might have limitations on user capacity, creating bottlenecks and limiting adoption. Enterprise-ready automation tools are built to scale horizontally, allowing you to add more resources to handle an increasing number of users and workflows.
These enterprise automation tools are also constantly evolving, with a clear roadmap for ongoing feature development and scalability improvements. This ensures you have the tools you need to stay ahead of the curve and embrace new automation possibilities.
Integration Capabilities To truly automate workflows across your enterprise, you need a tool that can seamlessly integrate with various third-party tools and applications. The tool should enable features like pre-built connectors, robust APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), and a commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest integrations.
Without proper integration, data gets locked away in silos within each application. Enterprise-ready automation tools act as bridges between these silos, allowing data to flow freely and enabling you to build automation that leverages information from across your entire application ecosystem.
Governance and Control Large enterprises need centralized control over their automation processes. This ensures consistency and efficiency. Most importantly, it prevents unintended consequences. Think of it as establishing clear traffic rules for your automation ecosystem. Enterprise-ready tools ensure that only authorized personnel can create, edit, and run automation, preventing unauthorized modifications or accidental disruptions.
Enterprise-ready tools provide comprehensive records. These display every action taken within the automation platform, including who created automation, when it was run, and what data it accessed. This detail provides insights for troubleshooting, ensuring accountability, and maintaining compliance with internal governance policies.
Top 5 Enterprise Automation Tools to Watch Out For
Activepieces is a no-code, open-source business automation tool designed to help large enterprises automate various processes without the need for extensive coding knowledge.
Here are some key features and benefits that make it suitable for large enterprises:
No-Code Automation:Activepieces allows users to automate tasks without writing code. It provides a visual flow builder and pre-built templates for industry-specific business automation
Open-Source and Self-Hosted: Activepieces is open-source (MIT licensed) and can be self-hosted on enterprise servers.
Integration with Multiple Apps: It supports integration with so many apps, including popular tools like OpenAI, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Stripe, Pipedrive, Gmail, and SendGrid. This extensive integration capability helps in automating various business processes across different departments.
Customization: Users can create their own pieces using a TypeScript framework, ensuring strict typing and testing. This allows for customization and the creation of new automation pieces as needed.
Community and Support: Activepieces has a strong community and support system, where users can contribute and find solutions. This community aspect is beneficial for large enterprises looking for continuous support and updates.
Cost-Effective: Activepieces offers a cost-effective solution compared to other automation tools like Zapier, which can be expensive for large-scale use. The open-source nature and self-hosting option reduce costs further.
Scalability: Activepieces is designed to scale with the needs of large enterprises. It supports high-volume automation tasks and can be customized to meet the specific requirements of different departments within the organization.
BluePrism
Blue Prism is an enterprise automation tool that offers a comprehensive suite of features and capabilities. Here are some key aspects of Blue Prism
Integration and Scalability: BluePrism supports integration with a wide range of applications
Browser Support: BluePrism supports the automation of web pages and applications in both Chrome and Firefox browsers, enabling web-based processes and enhancing the flexibility of the tool.
Pre-built automation components, reducing the need for custom coding and speeding up the deployment of automation projects.
Zapier
Zapier enables large enterprises to automate workflows across their technology stack.
Here are some key aspects of Zapier
Scalability: Zapier is designed to scale with the growing needs of enterprises. It can handle high volumes of automated tasks and workflows without compromising performance or reliability.
AI and Chatbot Integration: Zapier allows large enterprises to build custom AI-powered automation and chatbots to streamline processes and enhance customer/employee experiences.
Centralized Management and Visibility: Zapier provides enterprise-level features like admin controls, activity logs, and workflow monitoring, enabling large organizations to maintain visibility and control over their automation initiatives across different teams and departments.
Automation Anywhere
Automation Anywhere allows enterprises to automate a wide range of complex, rules-based tasks and processes using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Here are some of the key features of Automation Anywhere.
Scalability and Flexibility: The platform can handle high volumes of automated tasks and workflows across different systems and applications, making it suitable for large-scale deployments.
Cloud-Native Architecture: It has a cloud-native platform that provides the benefits of cloud computing
Ecosystem and Support: Automation Anywhere has a strong partner ecosystem and provides comprehensive training, documentation, and support resources to help enterprises successfully implement and scale their automation initiatives.
Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is an automation platform designed to streamline business processes and automate repetitive tasks across various systems, applications, and services.
Here are some key features
Integration Capabilities: Power Automate supports integrations with popular services like Dynamics 365, SAP, and Salesforce. It also allows users to create custom connectors for any cloud application
AI and Machine Learning Integration: Power Automate integrates AI and machine learning capabilities, providing intelligent automation and decision-making.