External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
My main use case for Workato is to do the maintenance of some BPA automation processes, building a recipe for everything in the process to make everything go smarter and faster. It works better than themselves.
One of those weekly automation processes uses a lot of approvals in the process, and I use Workato to define these approvers, set them, and check if everything goes well.
In Workato, I can see everything that goes behind the process. You can see how everything works, how the tool works in the background. If something goes bad and an error appears, I can see why it happened.
The best features Workato offers, in my opinion, are the easy integration with many different types of tools.
The Workato interface is so easy to use.
Workato has impacted my organization positively by reducing errors, which is one of the most important improvements I can see, and one great thing is that in Workato I can do many things that the main BPA platform we use does not do. Error reduction has helped our team in Workato as we can see more details about the most common errors and what makes everything go bad. With this specific data, we can develop a new and better solution. Workato helped us to do this. We can see more details about the errors and solve them.
Workato has improved a lot of my work because there I can develop many flows easier and faster. At this moment, I do not have anything that frustrates me.
At this moment, I do not remember anything I would see as an improvement.
I chose this number, 8.5, because if I would give a higher score, Workato should improve in some areas.
I have been working in my current field for one and a half years.
I think it is easy to scale up in Workato because you can build flows with many actions and steps, allowing you to create big processes with many phases. I think that is very easy to scale up.
I have never had to contact customer support, so I do not have any experience with them.
Negative
Before Workato, I used the native solutions of the platform called Pipefy.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was a bit challenging in the past because the client I was working for did not have an unlimited license to use unlimited tasks and could not create many different processes and flows in Workato. However, today, it is a good experience because the client has an unlimited license, allowing me to do everything I want in Workato, creating many different types of flows and complex processes.
I did not evaluate other options before choosing Workato. Workato is very stable, and I would like to keep using it.
My advice to others looking into using Workato is to read the documentation of the platform to know how to use the actions, how to use the tasks, what to input, and what comes in the output. I think that by reading this documentation, you can understand faster how the platform works and do many different things more quickly.
At this moment, we are a reseller of Workato, but we do not have close contact.
I was not offered a gift card or incentive for this review, and I have no additional thoughts about Workato before we wrap up.
On a scale of 1-10, I rate Workato an 8.5.
I am working as an integration lead, and we had a project where we implemented an integration for one of our clients. The use case in our project was to bring data from a source system, Shopify, where we transfer all dimensions and fact data to Snowflake. This integration was achieved through Workato.
The most valuable features of Workato include event streams that enable loosely coupled APIs and maintain reusable flows in the platform. We can bind multiple subscribers to them and have the same data supplied across multiple channels and multiple subscribers.
Another valuable capability I am currently exploring is Intelligent Document Processing, which allows us to read PDFs and images and extract those details. This is especially useful for invoices and purchase order receipts.
The recipe-driven automation in Workato is very impressive. For the same client project, we extracted purchase orders from emails and pushed them into the file system. The automation worked as expected, and we didn't face any issues with the Workato email connector.
Regarding connectors, I have used approximately 20 to 30 connectors. The most useful was the Ruby connector, which allows us to run Ruby scripts and get the required output. This was particularly helpful during our integration when we extracted and implemented business logic for multiple complex transformation scenarios. Similarly, we can run Python scripts and JavaScript as well, making these useful tools for data transformation.
There are storage limitations in Workato. The event streams come with a limitation of only 512 KB. If the payload size is huge, those payloads cannot be published into the event stream. We have to use storage and split the data. It would be beneficial if Workato could improve these size limits on event streams.
The Ruby connectors also come with a memory size limitation of around 45 MB, which could be increased to around 100 MB.
Regarding stability improvements, the memory capabilities need enhancement. Additionally, there was an action missing for inserting data into Snowflake tables. It would be advantageous to have the ability to insert records in batches. This is a missing point and an area for enhancement.
I have been working with Workato for the last six to eight months on a project for one of my clients, Sempra.
We haven't moved our APIs to production yet, but it has been stable across all the connectors and versions we are using. I don't see any major issues at all, so whatever versions we are using are stable.
For the stability rating, I would rate it a 7.
Workato demonstrates good scalability. We can scale as much as possible according to our plan, whether it involves recipes or connections.
I would rate the scalability of Workato an 8.
I interacted with technical support regarding an issue where we needed help with a memory limitation. We reached out, and they informed us about the maximum memory limit for our connector. We were looking to increase the memory size, but that wasn't possible. I'm looking forward to how they can improve this size limitation for higher volume integration.
Based on my experience with the technical support, I would rate them a 9.
Positive
The initial setup of Workato was straightforward, and I didn't face any challenges. This was due to the training materials shared by the Workato team, which were really helpful.
I work with the client through conference calls, so our architect handled the purchase. I haven't utilized real-time data synchronization in my project.
For metrics and KPIs regarding AI-driven insights, I check dashboards where I monitor task usage and dependency graphs.
I haven't utilized any AI capabilities in my project yet.
I cannot comment on Workato's compliance with industry standards.
I haven't been working with anything else other than Workato in the last 12 months. I can confirm my availability over call or email.
Overall rating for Workato: 8 out of 10.
There are plenty of use cases for Workato. We have a vendor management system, which is a different SaaS product, where Atlassian as a company onboards our vendors. We put a purchase order, they address that purchase order, and then they raise invoices, all on the vendor management system. We need to sync this information to our ERP system, as we use a different ERP for financial management. We sync the data of vendors getting onboarded and raising invoices into our financial system for payments. To sync the data from the vendor management system to ERP, we use Workato for integration. This includes invoices, credit memos, supplier onboarding, and changes to supplier bank details for payments. Internally, we also have an employee expense management system where employees submit expense details for reimbursement. Since this financial information needs to be synced, we sync employee details and expense claims into our financial system, which is again an Oracle product.
I have utilized Workato's real-time data synchronization feature for managing vendor invoices sync to Fusion, which is our ERP application. Previously, we did batch syncing, meaning data synced weekly or daily, causing finance team members to have to review a bunch of invoices at once. With Workato, as soon as an invoice is put in our vendor management system, we sync it within two to three minutes, providing a real-time experience. This process improves vendor relations as it prevents delays in payments that could lead to breaches of payment terms or dissatisfaction.
I find the automation building in Workato quite easy, which is a general feature I appreciate. Unlike other automation iPaaS tools I've used that require installations on my laptop, with Workato, I only need a browser and an account to build automations. They also provide an easy way to parse XML, CSV, and JSON files without needing to know any programming language. If you're familiar with these data formats, you can navigate through building automation easily. Additionally, there's something called SQL queries; it's not a database but an app where developers can parse a collection of data using SQL, which many in IT are familiar with. If a transaction fails, I can replay that transaction with just a click of a button, making it much easier compared to other systems requiring additional setups for failed transactions. Workato is also rolling out amazing features such as workflow apps, allowing easy building of UI-based forms that operate within business processes requiring manual interventions, such as approvals or rejections.
I can assess that Workato's recipe-driven automation has saved the finance AP team around 780 hours of their time in just the last year through a couple of automations for vendor management. That's a quantifiable number focused on just vendor management that I've recently presented to the business.
In my opinion, Workato's licensing model could be enhanced. They have evolved from a recipe-based licensing system to a task-based one, which can be limiting for productivity. An open licensing option would allow for unlimited usage, which would simplify management, although there could be downsides such as paying for unused capacity. Additionally, Workato currently cannot handle huge loads of transactions, which is a significant drawback.
I have been working with Workato for roughly four years, predominantly three and a half, and three to four months on exploring the platform. Overall, it has been roughly four years in total.
Before Workato, we used MuleSoft and custom integrations developed on a Java framework and Spring Boot. The leadership team decided to switch because MuleSoft was becoming costly and lacked the innovation expected following its acquisition by Salesforce.
Workato defaults to AWS for its cloud infrastructure, and we don't have options to deploy it on-premise or on other cloud providers such as Azure or Google, as we do with MuleSoft.
I would rate Workato's stability at 99.999%. I haven't faced downtime, but the open agent component that connects Workato cloud to secure networks shows instability. This component is about 95% reliable, requiring occasional restarts. Workato manages its upgrades efficiently, providing advance notifications and guidance.
As for scalability, if there is a sudden burst of transactions, Workato struggles to handle it efficiently. While I can adjust configurations easily to manage expected loads, it's not ideal for sudden spikes.
I would rate Workato's technical support a 10 out of 10. The customer service has improved significantly over the last two years, making it easy to approach them without ticketing. They provide immediate assistance through a chat option on the platform.
Positive
Before Workato, we used MuleSoft and custom integrations developed on a Java framework and Spring Boot. The leadership team decided to switch because MuleSoft was becoming costly and lacked the innovation expected following its acquisition by Salesforce.
I work for a company which uses Workato to build our automation, and I use the platform to develop certain automations. I am a Senior Integration Engineer at the current position, and as an individual contributor, I write certain automations on the platform itself.
I don't know how Workato was purchased, but not through AWS. To give context, we had MuleSoft with us, and the prices of MuleSoft were increasing, which is one of the iPaaS platforms. The leadership team wanted to see what other emerging iPaaS platform was coming at a lower cost, and if it solved our problems, we would use it. That's when the interest to look out has come in, and I believe it's through the leadership team who knows somebody at Workato that pitched in that idea. It took two to three months of assessment, and then we decided to go with Workato.
Onboarding new resources into our development team is easy due to Workato's usability, enabling them to start delivering projects within a week if they have a couple of years of experience in the integration domain. This is much quicker compared to other tools I've used, which required thorough training and hands-on experience that could take much longer.
I use many of Workato's pre-built connectors including Fusion, Salesforce, SFTP, HTTP, Database, File, S3, SQS, and DynamoDB—probably more than 10 connectors. We even built a custom connector with support from Workato to meet specific needs. The pre-built connectors facilitate real-time sync, helping developers who don't need to know the system behind the connector. They can efficiently deliver automations, enhancing overall developer productivity.
I have experienced Workato's AI-driven insights, particularly for data mappings and document processing features using OpenAI LLM. We also utilize the Insights API to track how many recipes are consumed and our total task assignments under our license. Through custom-built integrations, we receive notifications about sudden bursts of traffic flowing into Workato, thus allowing the operational team to review potential causes for these spikes. We use metrics related to our task budget from Workato to ensure effective resource management.
I consider Workato's pricing to be mid-range, not too expensive but not too cheap either. As they release more features, such as workflow apps and the document processor, these come at extra costs. Currently, I would categorize Workato as moderate in pricing. My overall rating for Workato is 8 out of 10.
The usual use cases for Workato include real-time data processing from either SFTP or SAS, and we have implemented multiple use cases for our clients in the past 3.5 years. For example, the employee data processing, where they use Workday to hold employee details, is the source for us to integrate data from Workday to multiple target systems, such as communications through Slack or meetings via Zoom. We also utilize ITSM tools such as remedy force services and several other core systems, syncing employee master data on a daily basis for onboarding, offboarding, and data changes.
Another use case includes the security systems, where we implement badge access for new onboarding or visitors coming to the office. We have integrated various systems, from Workday to JumpCloud to Genentech and ITSM tools such as Freshservice. As a middleware, Workato helps us automate business workflows and reduce manual work, thus enhancing productivity and efficiency. Additionally, we have another client for whom we implemented financial transaction data integration from SAP to Kupa and different systems, showcasing Workato's role in data integration and business workflow automation.
Real-time data synchronization is being used for multiple clients, where many SAS applications have real-time triggers. In Workato, we have triggers to receive data from sources, whether from an ERP system or any other system, and we have successfully implemented that real-time data sync.
We use many of the pre-built connectors in Workato on a daily basis. There are numerous connectors that enhance our interaction with Workato. The number of connectors we typically use depends on the use case; for complex use cases, more connectors are required. It entirely depends on business requirements and specifications, so we cannot define a specific number of connectors.
The most valuable feature of Workato is that billing is based on task actions; whatever actions we take on the Workato platform will determine the task consumption and billing for each workflow. More optimized workflows lead to less billing for clients. Furthermore, they have introduced a Copilot feature for automation, helping build recipes and code with simple prompts. Additionally, they are developing AI solutions for clients. These are some top features, along with various others implemented per client specifications, such as CICD implementation and runtime connection changes.
The benefits of using Workato for our customers include automating business workflows and data integration. By addressing their manual efforts, which are time-consuming and prone to errors, Workato helps clients reduce costs while increasing productivity. We implement solutions that enable seamless data integration between different systems, minimizing time-consuming manual processes. A positive impact we see is cost reduction, as manual efforts are significantly lowered. For example, in production support teams, manual processes are streamlined through CICD implementation, allowing for a seamless integration of different environments with minimal errors and faster deployment.
In Workato, there are some limitations regarding very high transactional data in file formats. For instance, we have a 90-minute job timeout, and queues larger than 10,000 size will be purged. Additionally, processing large files requires chunking them into smaller sizes. The team is actively working on customizing the platform per client requirements and is rapidly releasing features to address these limitations.
I have been currently using Workato and implementing the solution for the clients for more than 3.5 years.
Workato is quite stable, and they are continuously improving the product's stability by implementing various connectors that are already available.
I am not sure about Workato's scalability, as that falls under the Workato team's expertise. We focus solely on implementation.
We have communicated with Workato's technical support in the initial days. I would rate the technical support from 7 to 7.5; it may also depend on the different people we interact with, but I would rate it up to 8.
Positive
The initial setup for Workato is relatively straightforward because it is a cloud application. The Workato team provides the necessary support for setup; we just need to specify our requirements, and they will create the access for us.
I have been working with clients for Workato implementation, focusing on consulting and implementing solutions for their business needs. We automate basic workflows and handle various complexities to seamlessly integrate different SAS applications and other applications. Regarding the pricing of Workato, I don't have much knowledge because I haven't purchased it; that information primarily comes from their implementation team that handles client solutions. My overall rating for Workato is 8 out of 10.
As part of the integration team, we use Workato for integrating systems such as NetSuite and Oracle ARCS. Specifically, we design recipes in Workato using both connections to collect data from NetSuite based on saved searches. This includes accounts and GL balances, which we refer to as amounts. We gather these from saved searches in NetSuite, perform some transformations in the Workato recipe, and then transfer that data to Oracle ARCS. In Oracle ARCS, we create profiles for the specific data and transfer the amounts from NetSuite to the corresponding profiles, allowing clients to perform their monthly or quarterly reports based on this data.
I have worked with Workato's real-time data synchronization feature, such as collecting data from NetSuite and updating Oracle ARCS. This process is a real-time sync; every day at 6:00 a.m. PST, the recipe runs, executing saved searches in NetSuite to pull data and transfer it to Oracle ARCS. Additionally, I have worked on other projects involving real-time synchronization, such as from Salesforce to NetSuite, where we update account, brand, and country information in Salesforce. The recipe triggers in Workato based on specific conditions, and we pick up record details from Salesforce to update the same records in NetSuite.
Currently, we primarily utilize the NetSuite SOAP connector for many projects in my company. By using this connector, the NetSuite team internally creates some saved searches and provides REST API calls. We then utilize the HTTP pre-built connector in Workato to make API calls, process the information, and send it to the destination system. Using the pre-built NetSuite SOAP connector enables us to execute saved searches or SQL queries, allowing us to search for data cost-effectively for clients without requiring new connector purchases.
The best feature of Workato that I especially appreciate is its low-code, no-code platform. Many candidates find coding hard to grasp, so with this Workato platform, we primarily use low-code, no-code methods. In cases where a client's requirement is atypical and cannot be met using Workato connectors, we create a custom connector using SDK. Aside from that, we do not utilize any technical coding in Workato while developing recipes; we mostly leverage the platform. This is the main aspect of Workato that appeals to me.
The main benefits I have seen from using Workato include its ease of use and low complexity. For example, tasks such as data field mappings or data verification can be managed by clients themselves without needing to reach out to a Workato developer.
Regarding assessing the impact of recipe-driven automation on task management efficiency, we use a real-time approach. Instead of applying condition logics, we implement batch processing, where each batch contains around 50,000 or 30,000 records. We process those records in batches and utilize conditional statements, which reduces task utilization in this complex integration system.
From my point of view, a few improvements regarding Workato could include the notification system, which should inform clients or businesses quickly and be accessible through a mobile app. For example, Salesforce has a mobile app that provides notifications about errors or changes in business strategies. If Workato could develop a similar mobile app, it would be a great advantage for businesses and clients.
Apart from the mobile app, I believe incorporating AI would be a significant improvement for Workato. Furthermore, the recently used AI agents in Workato's chat support would be a great feature as well.
Positive
I have basic knowledge of MuleSoft. Initially, at the start of my career, I built some projects on MuleSoft, connecting Salesforce and NetSuite using MuleSoft Studio. Additionally, I have industrial experience with Salesforce Admin tasks for Sales Cloud and Service Cloud and some knowledge in CPQ from Salesforce. Currently, I work as a member of the integration and data teams, managing tasks related to both areas, including Power BI reporting.
In terms of comparing Workato to MuleSoft or other iPaaS products, I find that Workato has a user-friendly interface compared to MuleSoft. MuleSoft includes many versions, while building recipes or programs in MuleSoft feels more complex compared to Workato. While MuleSoft is stronger in terms of available connectors and systems, I believe Workato has potential to be widely adopted as confidence in its use grows, similar to MuleSoft's current standing.
In terms of ROI, or return on investment, they mentioned that they charge for recipes based on time consumption. If we build callable recipes, those do not incur charges. For main recipes, there are charges, so by focusing on creating as many callable recipes as possible based on requirements, we can improve cost efficiency for the business.
Regarding pricing, my core team members, including my senior member and manager, handle the licensing and setup costs. As I lead a few team members, they take care of the yearly costs associated with licensing and other financial aspects.
As an integration team member, we mostly utilize the Workato platform over MuleSoft and Dell Boomi. However, in the future, there may be considerations to adopt one of those platforms in conjunction with Workato.
From my experience, I highly recommend using Workato because it offers cost efficiency compared to other iPaaS technologies. The training process for newcomers is easier compared to using Dell Boomi or MuleSoft. Workato is simple enough to train individuals on, and its tool efficiency is enhanced when an experienced person manages it. Overall, I suggest businesses adopt Workato over alternatives such as MuleSoft and Dell Boomi.
Currently, we primarily utilize the NetSuite SOAP connector for many projects in my company. By using this connector, the NetSuite team internally creates some saved searches and provides REST API calls. We then utilize the HTTP pre-built connector in Workato to make API calls, process the information, and send it to the destination system. Using the pre-built NetSuite SOAP connector enables us to execute saved searches or SQL queries, allowing us to search for data cost-effectively for clients without requiring new connector purchases. I rate Workato a nine out of ten.
We use Workato for iPaaS, which is like a middleware enterprise service bus. We use it for transformation, quick data migrations from one platform to another, and building connectivity. It's got over 300 pre-built connectors. We use it mostly for migration projects for quick benefits over traditional solutions.
Workato is low code, intuitive, and easy to use. The biggest feature of Workato is its pre-built connectors. Suppose you have to move something between Salesforce and ServiceNow. Based on the volume of data you're looking at and the complexity, this would take anywhere between three to six months in SSIS. With Workato, you can do it in two to four weeks once you have all the data and requirements mapped out.
Workato's Extract, transform, and load (ETL) and extract, load, and transform (ELT) are not very strong and could be improved for very complex transformations. Workato's licensing model is a bit confusing, and it's not very transparent. They charge for SAP, but then there's a cap on the number of transactions as well. I found it very difficult to understand how each transaction is considered.
I have been using Workato for more than two years.
I had no issues with Workato’s stability.
I rate Workato a nine out of ten for stability.
Workato is a pretty scalable solution. About three to four of our customers are using Workato.
Workato’s initial setup is very easy.
We have seen a return on investment with Workato.
Workato is an expensive solution.
Workato is deployed on-cloud in our organization. They've also got an on-premises connector, but primarily it's on-cloud. It's a SaaS application.
If budget is not a constraint, I'd definitely recommend Workato because of its ease of use and the time it takes to get started and see an outcome. The solution has helped our customers see an outcome in less than two weeks. The solution's cost is on the higher side, but if budget is not a constraint, then you can choose Workato.
Workato is a pretty solid platform. The solution's ease of use and the ability to deliver results make it very intuitive to define complex transformations.
Overall, I rate Workato a nine out of ten.