Uipath is an easy to use RPA tool with a comparatively low learning curve. The tool is easily accessible to developers through a community edition. It is quite popular and has a fairly large community.
It is one of the tools that has many certified developers thanks to free certifications through their academy. Uipath has a comparatively easy licensing model and is easy to procure as well.
UiPath is not the most robust tool though especially with respect to error handling, security etc. Also, their Customer support seems to be stretched thin due to their rapid growth and is probably catching up.
Who should use UiPath?
Uipath is best for independently-minded teams. If you and the team like to explore things yourself and get started quickly, then this may be the tool for you.
Top 3 advantages of choosing UiPath
- Ease of Use: Uipath has an easy to use interface to configure workflows. There is an inbuilt recorder that generates a part of the configuration for you. Since it is easy to use out of the box, it enables faster deployments as well.
- Quickstart: You can get started quickly by downloading the tool and learning with the help of UiPath Academy. The tool is comparatively easy to learn, there are a lot of learning resources and a community to support as well.
- Poised for growth: UiPath has a strong and growing subscription base that has resulted in valuation hike and a rapid pace of funding. This augurs well for the growth of the tool especially the addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Top 3 challenges with UiPath you need to be aware of
- Bot management: UiPath is behind in terms of adding Security features and overall robustness of the tool. They can do better in terms of enabling management of reusable automation.
- AI/Cognitive: Uipath has added Cognitive features in partnership with ABBY and Celonis but is comparatively behind tools like Automation Anywhere. These features will hopefully become stronger with the strong funding.
- Domain Expertise: UiPath is focussed on generic bots and lack industry-specific automation and offerings.
Licensing and approximate cost for UiPath
UiPath licenses multiple components separately. You can pick and choose what you need for your Automation needs. For eg. You can start off with Studio and Attended Bot and maybe add Unattended bots & Orchestration if needed.
UiPath Studio:
- This is where you configure the workflows.
- Around $3K per year.
Attended Robot
- These augment humans and are triggered by people at computers.
- About $1.2K per year
Unattended Robot
- These are Robots that are triggered automatically and do not need human intervention.
- Around $8K per year
Orchestrator:
- This is an optional component that manages, controls and monitors UiPath Robots.
- Around $20K per year.
These are the approximate costs as of November 2018. This pricing could be more complex and vary based on your agreement. For eg., There may be volume discounts.
My ranking
This is my personal raking* of UiPath from what I have seen and can infer so far. It is a quick snapshot of where I think UiPath is comparatively stronger. These may change as the tools evolve.
* Ranking for each area out of a maximum of 5. For eg. features is 4 out of max 5 for UiPath.
