Tips and examples
Workato has been a popular automation tool, but it's not the only one out there. In this post, we will explore the top 5 Workato alternatives for efficient workflow automation in 2023. We've selected Zapier, Make.com, Microsoft Power Automate, n8n, and IFTTT as the best alternatives that offer a range of features and integrations to help simplify your business processes. Whether you're a small business owner or a large corporation, these tools will help you save time, increase productivity, and improve your bottom line. We already did a review post about Workato, we recommend checking that out as well.
Let's dive in and see what each of these automation tools has to offer.
Zapier is a popular automation tool that allows you to connect over 3,000 apps and automate workflows without writing any code. It offers a user-friendly interface and a wide range of automation features, making it an excellent alternative to Workato. Zapier's pricing is based on the number of zaps, or workflows, you create, and the number of tasks you run per month.
Compared to Workato, Zapier is more affordable and easier to use, making it an excellent choice for small businesses and individuals who want to automate their workflows quickly.
Make is another powerful automation tool that offers a range of features and integrations to automate workflows. It allows you to create complex scenarios with multiple steps, and its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to set up automation without any coding.
Compared to Workato, Make.com offers more complex automation scenarios and a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create workflows. It's also more affordable than Workato, making it a great choice for small and medium-sized businesses.
Formerly known as Microsoft Flow, Microsoft Power Automate is a powerful automation tool that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office 365 and other Microsoft products. It allows you to automate workflows, trigger notifications, and perform other tasks without writing any code.
Compared to Workato, Microsoft Power Automate is more affordable and easier to use, especially if you're already using Microsoft products in your business. It offers a range of integrations with Microsoft products, making it a great choice for businesses that rely on Microsoft products.
n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that allows you to connect over 200 apps and services. It offers a range of features, including email notifications, webhook support, and data manipulation tools.
Compared to Workato, n8n is more affordable and offers more customization options. It's a great choice for businesses with unique automation needs and wanting to customize their workflows.
IFTTT is a popular automation tool that allows you to connect over 650 apps and devices. It offers a range of features, including applets, which are pre-built automation workflows. IFTTT is free to use, and you can create your own applets or use the pre-built ones.
Compared to Workato, IFTTT is more affordable and offers a wide range of pre-built automation workflows you can use immediately. It's a great choice for individuals and small businesses that want to automate their workflows quickly.
In conclusion, there are several alternatives to Workato that offer a range of features and integrations to automate workflows. Zapier, Make.com, Microsoft Power Automate, n8n, and IFTTT are among the top alternatives that are affordable, easy to use, and offer a range of customization options. When choosing an automation tool, it's essential to consider your business needs, the number of apps and services you need to integrate, and your budget. By selecting the right automation tool, you can save time, increase productivity, and improve your bottom line.
These tools are awesome, but what is better is knowing how to use them. Ready to dive into and talk to an expert? Contact us today and automate your life with Makeitfuture!
Cloud Integration, iPaaS, SaaS, BPA… Ough, hard to keep track of all these terms. They are currently used frequently (and increasingly) in the context of automation, and it is sometimes difficult to make a clear distinction and distinction. We have already written blog posts on the terms iPaaS, SaaS and BPA, but we’ll take them up again here to make the difference.
But let’s start with cloud integration, because that’s the central umbrella term in which we embed all the other technologies in this blog post.
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
To illustrate these advantages, an example is suitable that we know well from our everyday work as an automation agency:
The central data to be used here is the data of a major customer. This can be the simplest information, such as the address. This address is required in numerous but completely different processes in the company: on the one hand, for correct invoicing in accounting. On the other hand, in the CRM system, where all the data of the large customer is also stored. But the address is also important in sales, for example, when employees go to the sales meeting on site.
Now the customer announces that the address of the company has changed after a move. This information will reach you by e-mail. There are now two options:
01. The e-mail is forwarded to all affected departments, accounting, sales, customer service, marketing… All persons open their corresponding program, CRM, accounting software, marketing tools (such as newsletter marketing) and change the data already stored there of the customer. This means that in multiple applications, different people do exactly the same thing: change one address.
02. But there is also an alternative: By connecting your applications, thus by integrizing them, the customer’s e-mail, or rather the information it contains about the address change, is automatically passed on to all affected applications: CRM, accounting, marketing, ERP. This does not require any clicks, because the cloud integration detects a trigger, i.e. address change, and thus automatically starts the process.
What sounds unimpressive in a single process becomes more effective when such a process occurs several times a day or weekly. Because there is a lot of data that is available in different applications and should always be correct. If these applications are cloud applications they are suitable for cloud integration.
But cloud integration doesn’t just happen. There are now a variety of applications that enable and implement this. Such tools usually allow us to link the relevant cloud applications on a central platform and define clear rules on when, how, where, how much data should be passed on and what happens to them.
To realize cloud integration, there are various applications and technologies that are sometimes used interchangeably.
We have made a first distinction between iPaaS and BPA here.
We explain the term SaaS in more detail here.
Cloud integration is rather an umbrella term that includes numerous technologies, such as SaaS, iPaaS and BPA, and this is also absolutely necessary. Cloud integration is a concept that is made possible by appropriate technologies.
However, all terms share the commonality that they are cloud-based and thus offer enormous potential for growth and scaling. In addition, they are often cheaper to implement and maintain because changed requirements are easy to implement.
As an independent automation agency, we implement cloud integration according to your requirements. We use a variety of SaaS tools and iPaas (strictly speaking BPA) software. Together we find individual solutions that are flexible and scalable.
