Opcon Automation in: Pros, cons, features & 4 alternatives

In a survey, 82% of businesses plan to add or replace their workload automation and orchestration technologies.¹ Some of the reasons behind such dissatisfaction associate with:

• Lack of functionality by 67%
• Low quality of customer support by 53.
• High costs by 49%. ²

OpCon Automation is one of the potential workload automation software that business leaders and IT teams might choose. However, it is challenging to know if OpCon is the best fit for their company without making such a big investment.

One way to overcome these issues is to evaluate the tool based on user reviews and compare its features against its alternatives.

Review of Opcon automation software

Pros

1. Issue resolution: In two platforms, 6 users commented positively about the support team and issue resolution efficiency. The users explained that they typically receive a response the same day with a solution. In cases, where the problem was not solved immediately, the support team kept working with the user to schedule a follow-up, indicating a commitment to resolving issues.
2. Forecasting capabilities: Users praised job forecasting and scheduling capabilities, which provides insight for production staff and planning and managing workloads.

Cons

1. Learning curve: A user mentioned that programming and configuring OpCon can be challenging, especially for those without extensive automation experience.
2. Limited Web-based integration: OpCon cannot log into purely web-based interfaces without a direct connection via FTP/SFTP. This limitation might require additional configurations or workarounds for certain tasks.
3. Error messages: One user complains that the error messages can be unclear, complicating the troubleshooting process. 

Features and capabilities of Opcon automation

• Automation capabilities, like a script repository, provide an all-in-one solution for script creation and management.
• Infrastructure management that can support various legacy systems to streamline infrastructure operations
• File management is the ability to upload, download, transfer, extract, process, and monitor files to ensure smooth data transfer and file handling across multiple systems.

• Data warehousing to automatically extract, load, and transform (ELT) processes, ensuring accuracy and efficiency of processed data. 
• Business Intelligence (BI) to enable consistent and reliable data analysis for business decision-making.
• Fiserv DNA connector integrates with the Fiserv DNA platform to automate and control the programs, applications, and utilities designed to run jobs in the DNA core system. 

• Self-service to execute and manage automated processes without IT intervention.

Here is a video of self-service automation capability explained in detail:

What is Opcon Automation?

OpCon Automation by SMA technologies is an enterprise-level workload automation and job scheduling platform designed to manage, control, and automate a wide range of IT and business processes across diverse systems and applications. It allows organizations to orchestrate complex workflows, streamline operations, ensure compliance, and reduce manual interventions by automating repetitive tasks. 

Alternatives to Opcon Automation

An organization must assess competitors of a tool and compare it against these alternatives as a former step in the implementation process. This way, the firm can improve decision-making and ensure choosing the most suitable and powerful solution.

Here are four notable alternatives to consider:

Please note that the table ranks vendors based on their employee numbers, excluding sponsors, which are determined from data extracted from LinkedIn. User review scores and numbers are aggregated from five distinct sources.

ActiveBatch

ActiveBatch is an IT automation and workload automation platform designed to facilitate the management, automation, and orchestration of workflows across diverse environments. It offers flexibility to allow users to meet dynamic business requirements.

ActiveBatch consolidates multiple functionalities into one platform to:

• Manage file transfers and script lifecycle
• Optimize cloud-based IT infrastructure resources by automating IT processes and orchestrating ERP, BI, and BPM processes
• Simplify data center operations, including ETL tasks and Hadoop workloads, by automating SQL server tasks and building end-to-end job chains across multiple SQL Servers and various applications
• Improve incident management and resolution through a ServiceNow-certified extension, along with pre-built actions and alerts

Compared to OpCon:

• Ease of use: According to AIMultiple’s analysis of ActiveBatch based on different review sources, 16% of ActiveBatch users specifically mentioned its ease of use.
• Customer satisfaction: ActiveBatch is rated 87/100 in customer success and satisfaction, passing OpCon Automation that received 57/100, based on the G2 user reviews. ⁸
• Migration: ActiveBatch provides a faster migration experience than OpCon, according to G2 user reviews.⁹
• Additional functionalities: On G2, ActiveBatch was highlighted for its additional functionalities, like proactive workflow management and error alert systems, in comparison to OpCon Automation, where such features were not mentioned by users. ¹⁰

Explore more on ActiveBatch platform, its strengths, weaknesses and unique features.

RunMyJobs

RunMyJobs, developed by Redwood, is a cloud-based workload automation platform that simplifies job scheduling, execution, and monitoring for enhanced operational efficiency across various cloud environments.

RunMyJobs integrates with SAP RISE, S/4HANA, and BTP, holding more SAP Certified Integration designations than any other job scheduling software product. RunMyJobs users can execute critical end-to-end background processes, such as Order to Cash, Business and Production, and Financial Closing, across ERP and other systems using features like:

• Self-service to build process flows easily with a simple UI, requiring minimal IT and programming skills, suitable for both IT and business users.
• REST or SOAP web services to connect to unlimited servers, applications, and environments, from SaaS to legacy systems, on-premises or in the cloud.
• CI/CD processes and tool chain to automate software development and deployment workflows.
• Single pane of glass to monitor all automated processes in real-time with a single dashboard and get early warnings to prevent delays or issues.
• Customizable alerts ensure the right people receive timely, relevant information.
• SaaS solution with high availability, self-updating agents, quick upgrades, no hosting costs, and built-in cloud redundancy.

Compared to OpCon:

• Ease of use: In AIMultiple’s RunMyJobs analysis, 5% of the reviews regarding RunMyJobs specifically mentioned its ease of use.
• Customer support: RunMyJobs is rated 96/100 in customer support, passing OpCon Automation that received 24/100, based on the G2 user reviews. ¹¹
• Performance: On G2, reviewers mention RunMyJobs’ superior performance in workload processing and scalability in contrast to the OpCon Automation platform. RunMyJobs users also highlighted its proactive workflow, error alert capabilities, and service management features, setting it apart from OpCon Automation.¹²

Discover RunMyJobs’ capabilities, pros and cons by checking our our vendor deep-dive.

Stonebranch

Stonebranch offers an enterprise automation platform with a focus on workload automation and job scheduling. The platform can help with centralized control and visibility over any task, running in the complicated IT environment. 

Compared to OpCon:

• According to AIMultiple’s evaluation of Stonebranch, the users rated the tool interface as user-friendly by 3%.

Explore top Stonebranch alternatives.

Tidal Software

Tidal Software enables easy automation and orchestration of manual tasks across IT infrastructure for improved operational reliability.

Compared to OpCon:

• Tidal Software offers similar features to OpCon Automation except IT issue identification. Yet, the tool extends OpCon by offering Runbook Automation (RBA) capability that allows users to automate documented procedures and scripts for tasks like system restarts, application deployments, and routine maintenance. ¹³

Compare all workload automation tools in our constantly updated and comprehensive solution list.

Latest news on SMA Technology

Last year, SMA Technologies introduced Robotic Process Automation (RPA) capabilities for its OpCon Automation Platform, specifically designed for financial services. This expansion enables clients to automate activities like interest rate adjustments, customer onboarding, and regulatory compliance. ¹⁴

In 2022, SMA Technologies acquired VisualCron, a Windows-based automation, integration, and task scheduling tool. Through this acquisition, SMA strategically targets smaller organizations seeking automation solutions that do not require OpCon’s power and scalability. ¹⁵

In 2018, SMA Solutions released the latest version of its OpCon Automation software, OpCon 18.3, by adding couple of new features such as OpCon Vision improvements, OpCon Deploy for workflow management and versioning control, and enhanced script-level privileges for embedded scripts.

OpCon 18.3 also introduced discovery of dependencies, new events, and keywords to reduce manual coding and facilitate easier troubleshooting for users. ¹⁶

Further reading

Evaluate more workload automation tools and their alternatives through our data-driven benchmarks:

• Top 7+ Workload Automation Tools: Vendor Benchmark
• Top 11 Batch Scheduling Software: Vendor Benchmark
• Top 12+ IT Automation Software: Vendor Benchmarking

If you need more help, do not hesitate contacting us:

External sources

• 1. “2024 Global State of IT Automation Report.” Stonebranch. 2024 Accessed at May 15, 2024.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. OpCon review in Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms.
• 4. OpCon Enterprise IT Software Reviews | Gartner Peer Insights.
• 5. Resources - SMA Technologies.
• 6. Ibid.
• 7. Ibid.
• 8. ActiveBatch vs. Opcon | ActiveBatch Workload Automation.
• 9. ActiveBatch vs. Opcon | ActiveBatch Workload Automation.
• 10. Compare ActiveBatch Workload Automation vs. OpCon vs. Stonebranch vs. Redwood Software | G2.
• 11. SMA Opcon Alternative | Redwood.
• 12. Compare ActiveBatch Workload Automation vs. OpCon vs. Stonebranch vs. Redwood Software | G2.
• 13. Vergleichen Sie OpCon vs. Tidal Automation | G2.
• 14. SMA Technologies Announces Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to Streamline Financial Services Workflows. Business Wire
• 15. SMA Technologies Acquires VisualCron. Cision PR Newswire
• 16. SMA Solutions Announces Their OpCon 18.3 Release with New Vision and Deploy Modules. Cision PR Newswire