Opcon Automation: Pros, cons, features & 4 alternatives
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.
Evaluate OpCon automation based on user reviews and compare its features against its alternatives:
Review of OpCon automation software
Pros
- 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.
- Forecasting capabilities: Users praised job forecasting and scheduling capabilities, which provides insight for production staff and planning and managing workloads.
Cons
- Learning curve: A user mentioned that programming and configuring OpCon can be challenging, especially for those without extensive automation experience.
- 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.
- 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. Score is based on B2B user review data.
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.
RunMyJobs vs. OpCon:
- Cloud-native SaaS architecture with automatic scaling, updates, and high availability. OpCon is still commonly deployed on-prem.
- SAP ecosystem integration via SAP certifications and connectors (e.g., S/4HANA, RISE with SAP).
- Central orchestration across hybrid environments, including cloud, infrastructure, and applications.
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.
Stonebranch vs. OpCon:
- Hybrid IT orchestration of workflows across cloud, on-prem, containers, and legacy systems.
- API-first workflow automation that supports integration and orchestration using REST/SOAP APIs and scripting.
- Event-driven automation to trigger workflows based on system events, file arrivals, or external signals.
- Workflow visibility and control for centralized monitoring and management of jobs across all environments.
Explore top Stonebranch alternatives.
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 vs. OpCon:
- Prebuilt integration connectors to automate workflows across multiple enterprise applications and systems with minimal custom scripting.
- Workflow monitoring by real-time job status, alerts for SLA violations, and workflow visibility.
- Low-code automation for business users that allows non-IT users to execute predefined workflows via a portal.
- Data pipeline and batch orchestration to support ETL processes, SQL Server job chains, and coordination across multiple applications.
Tidal Software
Tidal Software enables easy automation and orchestration of manual tasks across IT infrastructure for improved operational reliability.
Tidal Software vs. OpCon
- ERP and enterprise system integration to automate workflows across ERP systems and other enterprise applications.
- Job dependencies and sequencing to support conditional execution, dependencies, and workflow prioritization.
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. 1
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. 2
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. 3
Further reading
Evaluate more workload automation tools and their alternatives through our data-driven benchmarks:
- Top Workload Automation Tools: Vendor Benchmark
- Top Batch Scheduling Software: Vendor Benchmark
- Top IT Automation Software: Vendor Benchmarking
Reference Links
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