After you’ve made the decisions to automate, you’ve identified your opportunities, and you’ve got employee buy-in, you’re going to need to decide how you want to automate. There are various automation software options to choose from and picking the right one for your business is a crucial step. Let’s talk about some of these automation tools and which automation software option is right for your business.
Top Automation Software
The first thing we should do is categorize the automation software options. When you look into the automation platforms at your disposal, you’ll see two different categories: API-integration platforms and RPA platforms. Each has its own set of benefits.
API Integration Platforms
With an API integration platform, you can connect an array of different cloud-based applications and automate their interactions. Utilizing these platforms allow your APIs to talk to each other, share data, and optimize your API-related processes. Here are some of the top API platforms that you might consider using:
Zapier - Zapier is probably one of the most well-known automation software options out there. With Zapier, you can make workflows that automatically move information and data between a huge selection of web apps. Zapier also doesn’t require coding experience, making it have a low barrier to entry and a user-friendly interface.
Integromat - Integromat is another popular automation tool. Integromat works in a similar way to Zapier, connecting APIs and web apps. Integromat is more complicated to use than Zapier, but that means it can also be set up to handle more in-depth workflows.
Tray.io - Tray.io has similar features to the other two platforms, but it is more geared to enterprise-level and large businesses.
Robotic Process Automation Platforms
Next, let’s look at robotic process automation platforms. These platforms tend to be more full-featured and customizable than their API-integration counterparts. RPA platforms can operate without the need for outside APIs. You can customize workflows with your own -in-house APIs and legacy applications. This, of course, often requires custom-coded solutions, making them more complicated to implement than the comparatively simple-to-use API integration platforms.
RPA platforms also have the option to utilize unattended bots in a greater capacity. Unattended bots are triggered by a schedule or logic in workflows, meaning they don’t necessarily need human input to trigger. Attended bots do.
Here are the top RPA platforms to consider.
UiPath - UiPath is a popular and widely used RPA tool. UiPath is considered a web-based orchestrator and has the ability to run bots on the front-end and back-end.
Automation Anywhere - Automation Anywhere is another widely used RPA platform. This software is cloud-native and web-based, making it great for scaling. With AUtomation Anywhere, you can program intelligent automation, attended bots, and unattended bots.
Custom API Integrations
Custom API Integrations also need to be considered when you automate your business. If you need a custom API to connect to apps and allow them to share data, it will have to be done manually. An automation service provided, such as Bailey, can handle this if you’d prefer to leave it to a professional.
Choosing Your Automation Platform
As you can see, the choice of what automation software to use is an important one. It really will depend on your business, the types of applications you use, and the workflows you need to automate. Many businesses even implement multiple platforms to meet their automation needs.
If you’re having trouble deciding on which is best to implement, you can always turn to an automation service provider to give you guidance. Here at Bailey, we know which platforms are best for any use case. You can turn to Bailey when you’re trying to figure out your path to automation.