ActiveBatch in '24: Pros, Cons & Features Based on 385 Reviews

According to the latest IT automation trends, 82% of survey respondents mentioned that they started using a workload automation tool. ActiveBatch by Redwood is a workload automation software and enterprise job scheduling tool that can orchestrate jobs and workflows across systems, ensuring timely and accurate processing. The tool averages a score of 4.5 based on a total of 385 B2B user reviews (See Table 1).

In this article, we provide a detailed review of ActiveBatch’s software, including its pros and cons, and features based on B2B user reviews.

Review of ActiveBatch Software

Pros

• Customer Service: In our evaluation of ActiveBatch reviews, Customer Service stands out as the top-rated attribute, earning a score of 9.5 out of 10.
• Ease of use: The most frequently used positive term to describe ActiveBatch is “Easy to use,” appearing in 16% of all the reviews.

• Workflow management: 8 users on G2 mentioned the ease of managing and modifying workflows with the pre-defined jobs in the library. ³
• Compatibility and integration: The tool is compatible with various tools and applications, simplifying task automation across multiple platforms (See Figure 2).
• Alerts and notifications: The alerts and notification are customizable, enabling better management and oversight (Figure 3 & 4).
• Automation efficiency: Through automation capabilities, the users mention quick and complete automation, resulting in reduced manual intervention and decreased manual errors (See Figure 4).
• Accurate data capturing: The tool is commended for its real-time processes and accurate data capturing capabilities, providing valuable insights (Figure 3).

Cons

• Learning curve: Users who are not familiar with automation and scheduling tools may find the solution a bit challenging to learn and use. Additional resources or training may be necessary for smoother adoption as 4 user reviews highlighted on G2⁵ and Trustradius.⁶
• Reporting capabilities: In three of the all user reviews, the reporting capabilities were mentioned to be slightly limited. Users recommend improvement of reporting functionalities particularly with the input of IT specialists, to (See Figure 2).
• Installation process: One user suggested an improvement for better support during the installation process to reduce complexities in setting up and configuring the software (See Figure 1).

What is ActiveBatch?

ActiveBatch is an Enterprise Job Scheduling and Workload Automation Software. The tool functions as a unified framework to efficiently coordinate and streamline automation processes across various silos. The primary objective is to enhance IT agility for businesses while minimizing the time spent managing multiple automation tools.

The solution introduces the Integrated Jobs Library, featuring pre-built integrations accessible through a low-code drag-and-drop interface. This approach significantly reduces the reliance on custom scripting, covering various areas such as workload management, business and IT processes, managed file transfer, big data, and more.

Features and capabilities of ActiveBatch

ActiveBatch features are positively mentioned in 5 different B2B user review sources by 29% as AIMultiple’s analysis shows. It offers advanced job scheduling and workload automation capabilities, reliable integrations with diverse applications, databases, platforms, and technologies.

Here is a summary reviews of the software’s features and capabilities on a review platform:

Automation

Automation is the core capability of workload automation tools. It involves the scheduling, execution, and management of various tasks and processes without manual intervention. ActiveBatch automation capabilities can support no-code/low-code development. Here is a list of these automation capabilities include with their scores on G2 (See Figure 5):

1. Workload processing encompasses the handling of batch, real-time, and streaming data tasks, providing a comprehensive solution for end-to-end data management across systems. This feature scores at 94% based on insights from 80 user reviews.
2. Scalability extends the software’s functionality, allowing it to adapt to growing demands and maintain optimal performance, achieving a high user satisfaction score of 91% based on 74 reviews.
3. Intelligent automation enriches the platform with AI analytics, enabling insightful data-driven decision-making. Acknowledged in 44 reviews, this feature attains a user satisfaction score of 91%.
4. Workflow automation: Sstreamlines the Data Warehouse lifecycle by leveraging pre-defined jobs from the library, enhancing efficiency and earning a high score of 94% based on 15 reviews.
5. Multi-platform support facilitates real-time data ingestion and updates across various environments, gaining a user satisfaction score of 93% from 12 reviews.
6. Data simplicity supports no-code/low-code development patterns, simplifying the software usage and achieving a user satisfaction score of 92% from 12 reviews.

Functionality

Functionality refers to the range and effectiveness of features provided by workload automation tools to meet diverse requirements. ActiveBatch can offer a wide array of functionalities such as:

1. Job scheduling automates batch jobs and repetitive tasks, providing centralized management for end-to-end business processes with an outstanding user satisfaction score of 96% from 88 G2 reviews and 9.6 points from 20 Trustradius ratings (Figure 6 & 8).
2. API / Integrations enable seamless communication, receiving a user satisfaction score of 87% based on 63 reviews.
3. Integrations cover a broad range of enterprise applications, contributing to business continuity, with a user satisfaction score of 91% from 37 reviews on G2 and 9.6 points from 21 Trustradius ratings (Figure 6 & 8).
4. Extensibility allows the platform to be extended with additional features and functionalities, earning a user satisfaction score of 88% from 40 reviews (Figure 6).
5. Reporting and analytics provide tools for visualizing and analyzing data, scoring 78% with 41 G2 reviews and 9.7 points with 21 Trustradius ratings (Figure 6 & 8).
6. Documentation management involves the automatic creation and management of documents, scoring 87% based on 10 reviews (Figure 6).
7. Platform support ensures compatibility with a wide variety of data sources, achieving a user satisfaction score of 94% from 14 reviews (Figure 6).
8. Central monitoring offers a dashboard for monitoring trends and forecasts, scoring 9.6 based on 22 Trustradius ratings (Figure 6 & 8).

Data Delivery

Data delivery involves the reliable and efficient transfer of data between systems as part of automated workflows. ActiveBatch can support data delivery mechanisms, including:

1. Load balancing monitors traffic and scales infrastructure workloads, achieving a user satisfaction score of 88% from 29 reviews (Figure 7).
2. Application integration facilitates the direct integration of files and data into applications through APIs, scoring 86% from 43 reviews (Figure 7).
3. File transfer acceleration provides scalable administrative controls over file transfer speeds, scoring 93% based on 41 reviews (Figure 7).
4. Content routing expedites the routing of static and dynamic content for faster file delivery, earning a user satisfaction score of 90% from 34 reviews (Figure 7).

Administration

Administration encompasses the tools and features that enable the efficient management, monitoring, and maintenance of the workload automation environment. Workload automation tools should provide a user-friendly interface for administrators to configure and manage automated processes, monitor job executions, set up security and permissions, and troubleshoot issues. Some of the administration capabilities and their scores for ActiveBatch are listed above with their G2 scores¹¹:

1. Administration console offers easy tools for routine tasks, achieving a user satisfaction score of 89% based on 81 reviews.
2. Workflow management streamlines workflows for efficient IT support, scoring 92% from 76 reviews.
3. IT Issue identification IT Issue Identification proactively identifies and prioritizes IT issues, scoring 89% from 60 reviews.
4. Proactive workflow supports trust actions, whether manual or automated, contributing to a user satisfaction score of 90% from 39 reviews.
5. Error alerts provide immediate alerts in case of faults, scoring 90% from 48 G2 reviews and 9.6 points from 22 Trustradius ratings. ¹²
6. Service management offers operational access 24/7, providing flexibility for IT users and scoring 90% from 42 reviews.
7. Service automation proactively identifies IT issues, achieving a user satisfaction score of 94% from 13 reviews.

Governance

Governance involves enforcing policies, ensuring compliance, and maintaining control over the automated processes within an organization. Workload automation tools should have governance features that allow administrators to set policies, manage access controls, track changes, and generate audit trails. Some key governance features of ActiveBatch are:

1. Access Control supports LDAP Protocol for access control and governance, scoring 89% based on 43 reviews on G2.¹³
2. Compliance supports compliance with various standards in 32 reviews, scores 90% on G2.¹⁴
3. Logging and audit trails: Ensure regulatory compliance, earning a score of 9.6 from 21 ratings on Trustradius (Figure 8).

Alternatives to ActiveBatch software

To choose the best automation tool for your business, business leaders and analysts are recommended to review tools and compare them against their alternatives. Here are some top alternatives for ActiveBatch Workload Automation Solution:

• RunMyJobs by Redwood Software: RunMyJobs is an enterprise job scheduler and workload automation solution. Redwood Software can automate scheduling of various tasks and ensure streamlined operations.
• Stonebranch: Stonebranch is a workload automation software, specialized in automatic scheduling and event automation. It can streamline operations by automating tasks and processes.
• Tidal Software: Tidal Automation platform is a workload automation tool that can automate and orchestrate processes, improving operational efficiency.

Recent developments on ActiveBatch

ActiveBatch has gained recognition from prominent industry analysts, including Gartner, Forrester, and EMA.

For instance, ActiveBatch Workload Automation has been included in Gartner Peer Insights on IT Process Automation (ITPA) and Gartner Workload Automation Magic Quadrant. In these evaluations, ActiveBatch is cited for its ease of use, advanced functionality, customer support, and a competitive total cost of ownership.¹⁶

In a separate study conducted by Forrester Consulting, ActiveBatch demonstrated its potential for enterprises to achieve a 153% return on investment (ROI) within a mere 3.4 months through the deployment of ActiveBatch. ¹⁷

Further reading

Explore WLA and job scheduling solutions in-detail:

• Top 12+ IT Automation Software: Vendor Benchmarking
• Top 11 Batch Scheduling Software: Vendor Benchmark

External sources

• 1. “ActiveBatch user reviews on Gartner.” Gartner. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 2. “ActiveBatch user reviews on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 3. “ActiveBatch user reviews on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 4. “ActiveBatch user reviews on Capterra.” Capterra. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 5. “ActiveBatch user reviews on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 6. “ActiveBatch user reviews on Trustradius.” Trustradius. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 7. “ActiveBatch user reviews on Trustradius.” Trustradius. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 8. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 9. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 10. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 11. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 12. “ActiveBatch feature reviews on Trustradius.” Trustradius. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 13. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 14. “ActiveBatch automation feature rates on G2.” G2. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 15. “ActiveBatch feature reviews on Trustradius.” Trustradius. Accessed at February 28, 2024.
• 16. “Industry Recognized Leader in Workload Automation.” ActiveBatch. Accessed at February 29, 2024.
• 17. Ibid.