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Celonis is a business process management (BPM) and process intelligence platform helping companies document, analyze, monitor, and improve operations. With built-in process mining tools that pull rich data on system-level events, leaders can get system-level visibility into business processes and monitor efficiency KPIs.
But Celonis has a niche audience: enterprises with historical data stored in legacy systems, like CRMs and ERPs. And users that fall outside of that niche may not be able to take full advantage of this platform. Here, we'll explore why teams may need an alternative to meet their process intelligence goals and the eight top alternative process mining platforms.
Why teams seek Celonis alternatives
Because Celonis is best for gathering data from enterprise systems, companies wanting to perform business process management or process intelligence procedures on newer tools will likely need another option. Teams focused on gathering AI-driven data insights and running process automations will also find that Celonis falls short of their needs. In addition, businesses might consider Celonis competitors for the other following reasons.
- High cost and complex licensing that limit scalability: Celonis is enterprise-grade software and comes at an enterprise-grade price, which may be too expensive for smaller, more cloud-based organizations that don't need to perform a deep-dive on years of legacy system data.
- Long implementation timelines due to heavy data modeling: Celonis is not a tool for generating quick wins. Instead, it excels in modeling historical data from enterprise systems. Competitor tools often have real-time workflow harvesting features with AI-driven analytics. They help teams spot inefficiencies and make data-driven decisions on process automation and improvements, supporting timely pivots.
- Steep learning curve for non-technical and business users: Celonis relies on expert-level data analysis, meaning it's not an ideal option for teams without a dedicated analyst. What's more, users need to learn the Celonis Process Query Language (PQL) programming language, which means that team members without an IT background may struggle. Many alternatives shine in offering low-code or no-code platforms that require zero tech know-how to run and that don't demand professional data analytic skills to interpret.
- Dependence on clean event logs, slowing time to value: Celonis excels at gathering data, but if the source information isn't clean and consistent, the data it presents won't be of much use to business leaders. They can't confidently make decisions based on what could be faulty information. So, in order to harvest useful data and accurately spot areas of improvement, teams will have to clean up, align, and cross-check information before running process mining with Celonis. Competitor tools often look at as-is workflows instead of legacy data, helping teams quickly pinpoint inefficiencies and generate valuable improvements.
8 leading Celonis competitors and alternatives
Businesses seeking low-code, quick time-to-value, zero-learning-curve options and that don't need to read a wealth of historical data from enterprise systems, will find excellent alternatives among the following eight tools.
Scribe Optimize
Scribe Optimize is a lightweight, easy-to-adopt platform that improves processes without relying on event-log based mining. Scribe complements Celonis by adding the human and execution layer missing from system-level process mining. While Celonis shows how processes flow through systems, Scribe shows how people actually execute those processes across tools and teams. Furthermore, it keeps documentation up to date automatically, and turns insights into everyday enablement with recommended changes, automations, and ROI estimates, so leaders can make informed decisions on process improvements.
UiPath Process Mining
UiPath is a well-known robotic process automation (RPA) tool, through which bots perform repetitive tasks, saving humans time on labor, while ensuring consistency in these sequences. In addition to its core automation features, UiPath offers a process mining add-on that captures real-time business processes in systems and applications, giving users information they can use to improve workflows---primarily through UiPath's central feature: automation.
IBM Process Mining
IBM Process Mining is an enterprise level intelligence tool that leverages AI to analyze event logs from systems like an ERP or a CRM. The tool not only helps teams visualize their processes but also discover bottlenecks, redundancies, and deviations (conformance checking) while offering "what-if" simulations on potential improvements and automation opportunities.
SAP Signavio Process Intelligence
SAP Signavio Process Intelligence is a process-mining and modeling tool that enables users to monitor and analyze workflows while pinpointing optimization opportunities and compliance issues. This software pulls data from CRMs and ERPs, flagging potential problems and performing root-cause analysis on them, driving immediate value for the organizations that use it.
ARIS Process Mining
ARIS Process Mining captures, monitors, models, and analyzes business processes by gathering event log data from systems like an ERP or a CRM. The tool discovers bottlenecks, variations, inefficiencies, and risks, keeping operations as compliant and efficient as possible. ARIS also offers enterprise architecture alignment, mapping business strategy against IT implementations.
Automation Anywhere
Automation Anywhere is a web-based, low-code system that leverages both Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Generative Artificial Intelligence to automate improved end-to-end business processes. Its core function is streamlining repetitive, manual work through the use of digital bots.
ABBYY
Abbyy is an AI-powered platform that uses Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and Process Intelligence to automate business processes. Through machine learning, this software mines workflow data, performs root cause analysis on issues, and suggests process improvements.
Apromore
Apromore is an AI-powered process mining tool that analyzes data from enterprise systems and simulates end-to-end business processes, revealing redundancies and bottlenecks. The tool also offers recommendations on process improvements and automations that support performance and compliance.
How to evaluate Celonis competitors
Businesses can often find several good options among Celonis competitors, that allow an organization of any size and process intelligence needs to gather the data and insights required. Use the following evaluation tips to hone in on the single most ideal platform for your company.
- Effort required to update and maintain process models: Workflows change and if you use process data to create user guides or for audit documentation, then you need the most up-to-date record of as-is work. Making manual edits or executing time-intensive data mining to generate updated workflow maps or analytics can stall work and even cause errors (people may continue running obsolete workflows in the absence of updated guides). Seek a tool, like Scribe, that automatically processes changes as they shift.
- Depth of process discovery, conformance checking, and root cause analysis: Some tools are better at gathering data than analyzing it, so if you want analytical support, look for a platform that offers AI-driven insights on conformance, inefficiencies, root causes, and automations.
- Ability to connect insights to automation, workflows, or alerts: Tools with more advanced AI functionalities help business leaders make data-backed decisions on process improvements and execute them. If you need support in not just reading data but turning it into action, consider AI-heavy tools that can, for example, alert you of process inefficiency, suggest an automation, and run that automation.
- Usability for business teams without heavy technical support: If you don’t have a dedicated IT team that can re-code or re-configure the platform as needed or help frame data in an easily legible way, choose a low-code or no-code tool, like Scribe, that offers simple one-click process mapping features and automatic documentation.
How Scribe Optimize makes process mining easier
Enterprise-grade process intelligence platforms like Celonis help analyze stable, transactional processes inside legacy systems, but aren’t able to show how users actually perform workflows on a daily basis.
Scribe goes beyond traditional process mining to give users continuous, privacy-safe understanding of the human workflows beyond system logs. Scribe Optimize pinpoints where time is lost and can help users make data-backed decisions on operational improvements, complete with projected ROI. With Scribe, leaders know what is happening now and what to improve next.
FAQs
What are the pros of Celonis?
Celonis is excellent for enterprises that wish to model and analyze historical data. As a high-powered, system-level tool, it can gather and organize massive amounts of information from CRMs, ERPs, and similar systems.
What are the cons of Celonis?
Celonis adoption has a learning curve and requires the support of IT professionals and data analysts. It also only reads historical system event-log data and not continuous workflows in the present. Finally, it lacks the strong AI-analysis capabilities of many of its competitors.
Is Scribe Optimize easier to implement and maintain than Celonis?
Yes, Scribe Optimize is a no-code tool that users without previous know-how can begin using on day one. Focused on continuous improvements, Scribe Optimize helps teams achieve their change management goals by allowing them to visualize current workflows, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize business process improvements.
How long does Scribe Optimize take to deliver value?
Scribe Optimize helps you understand the workflows your team is performing today, providing immediate data and, in turn, value.
