My company uses Camunda Platform as a business process optimization or business process engineering tool.
Camunda
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Good and Bad things about Camunda
A stable and flexible tool useful for business process optimization that is easy to deploy
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is flexible. I want to see if the tool is good enough for my company to continue with its use or if there are some limitations. If, at our company, we are sure that it would take us to complete your business processes engineering exercise up to the level of enterprise architecture, then we would really be able to appreciate the tool. I am unsure of the product's capabilities because I am unfamiliar. I want to get someone experienced enough to suggest to me which is the best choice for a BPM tool.
What needs improvement?
Collaborations and process documentation in Camunda Platform are areas with shortcomings that need improvement. It would be appreciated if we were more flexible in managing the processes.
I am unsure if we can get a beta version of the tool with many features, including data modeling, apart from process modeling. If we get something that can be achieved with data modeling and collaboration features for any tasks, including the ones from outside, it would be much more appreciated.
We want a common platform for taking care of customs and domestic taxes since that could be a good thing for our business process across our entire company.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Camunda Platform for about three months. I am a user of the product.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been a stable solution so far since it meets our needs, including data modeling, which we need to do before we embark on analyzing and optimizing the business processes.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has 6,000 employees, out of which around 100 people use the product.
How are customer service and support?
I contacted the solution's technical support since I wanted them to give me some facts regarding the points raised by a person from GBTEC, a German company, who claims that Camunda Platform can't fulfill some expectations since its imitations in terms of capabilities, especially collaboration features. I dropped an email to Camunda Platform so that someone from the support can let me know about the product's data modeling and whether it can go up to the enterprise architecture level or if something is missing in it, because of which we might have to get a beta or higher version.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very easy and flexible.
The solution is deployed on-premises.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Camunda Platform is an open-source product.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We, the employees, had suggested the company authorities opt for Camunda Platform. I was looking into certain facts from Camunda's support team so that I can suggest a good way to help my company design business processes. Our company has to look after customs and domestic taxes, and BPMN in Camunda Platform has been done using the custom function.
What other advice do I have?
We intend to do a few things with the product, and I am unsure if it would raise or drop the product's rating in the future.
So far, considering the modeling purposes for which we used the tool in the last month, I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
A cost-effective solution that can be used for automating networking business processes
What is our primary use case?
We use Camunda Platform for automating networking business processes.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Camunda Platform is its Microservices architecture, which is easily integrable with APIs.
What needs improvement?
Camunda Platform's customer support could be improved because their response is quite slow.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Camunda Platform for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Camunda Platform is a stable solution. However, we recently lost a lot of data because the solution's database was down.
I rate Camunda Platform a seven to eight out of ten for stability.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is quite straightforward. I rate Camunda Platform a six or seven out of ten for the ease of its initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
Camunda Platform's deployment was done in a day.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Compared to other software, Camunda Platform is quite cost-effective.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate Camunda Platform a seven or eight out of ten.
Lightweight Flexible tool
Best BPMN Tool in Market
An amazing product when everything is set up the way that it is supposed to.
Powerful tool to connect business flows and the technology driving them
Provides excellent documentation and Camunda cockpit acts as a powerful dashboard, offering a comprehensive view of processes
What is our primary use case?
We have implemented it for an existing production application called Click End Connect, which is used for Orange Shops. Click End Connect allows users to view available mobile devices, select the shop that best suits their needs, and collect the chosen device within two hours without having to wait in the shop. The application handles stock verification and ticket collection processes seamlessly.
How has it helped my organization?
We have the Camunda Platform's cockpit, which is a key component of the Camunda Platform. By utilizing the Camunda cockpit, we can define stages and collect valuable data, including key performance indicators (KPIs). This allows us to identify areas of weakness that can be improved upon.
The BPM (Business Process Management) cycle follows a pattern of collecting data, making improvements, executing processes, and then continuously refining them with the input of the entire team. The Camunda cockpit serves as a powerful tool provided within Camunda Platform. It acts as a dashboard, offering all the necessary information and key performance indicators required for effective monitoring and decision-making.
What is most valuable?
The most important thing about Camunda is that it's open source. It's a tool that is tuned to our pro profile concept, which suits our preferences and project needs. It's been really beneficial for us.
The connectors available on Camunda Platform have responded to all our requirements, such as sending emails, and SMS, making web service calls, API integration, and handling show requests.
Additionally, we were able to connect it with the Docker platform, allowing us to use containers that meet our performance needs.
What needs improvement?
There is something that could be improved, particularly the availability of a drag-and-drop front-end tool for the workflow designer. When building interfaces, there are limited tools to work with, especially when dealing with different types of tasks, such as user tasks and system tasks. It would be beneficial to have something like the latest version of Ondula, which offers more flexibility and ease of use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Camunda for five years now. We collaborated with a company called Schema in Paris, which provided us with support when needed and integrated closely with us. Camunda was the first product we put into production, and it has been quite successful.
We are currently using the seventh version of Camunda. We haven't upgraded to the eighth version yet. However, we are studying the possibility of migrating to the new version, especially the cloud-based variant with DB platform integration, among other features.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution if you have a properly configured server, regardless of the server type you are using (e.g., Apache, Nginx, or others), Camunda remains stable.
As long as you have a good configuration, you shouldn't face any significant problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. We use four containers for our production environment. It is scalable and easy to maintain.
We haven't encountered any problems with scalability during both the testing and deployment phases.
How was the initial setup?
It is not overly complex to set up and implement if you are already a Java developer. For Java developers, it is quite straightforward and manageable.
However, if you are, for example, a PHP developer or someone working with a different technology stack without Java skills, it may be a bit challenging to get started with Camunda. In such cases, I would recommend seeking assistance or guidance.
Camunda is a highly documented platform. I really appreciate that aspect. When I started working with Camunda, I made sure to read all the documentation for the APIs and other related information. It's a well-documented tool.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment process utilizes DevOps practices. We make use of tools like Docker, which are suitable for various platforms and easy to use.
The deployment usually takes around five minutes. This includes steps such as packaging, configuring the environment, installing the application, and allowing the server to start. The entire procedure is completed within five minutes.
Moreover, it can be managed by a single engineer or developer who has experience with CI/CD, DevOps platforms, Docker, and related technologies.
Although not a junior developer, one knowledgeable person can handle the deployment process. In our case, we had one individual who handled the deployment for us, and for subsequent applications, each of us was responsible for maintaining our own application.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There were some features that were only available in the paid version, not in the community version we used. For instance, we implemented an interface ourselves to view the history of our process instances because the historical data functionality was not accessible.
It is available, but it is part of the enterprise edition, which requires a paid license. We didn't have the option to purchase licenses as we migrated to open-source tools.
So we had to customize our interfaces and tools using the Camunda API to replace the functionality found in the enterprise edition. That's how we managed it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have compared Camunda with the Bonita platform, and Camunda came out as the preferred choice in terms of features and functionality.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend developing their expertise and skills with BPM. They should have a deep understanding of architecture. Starting with good releases is important because it allows users to become familiar with powerful tools and solutions.
If you encounter a real problem, it is crucial to have a well-configured environment, whether it's a web server or any other production platform. Implementing BPM with good practices and optimization is key.
Overall, Camunda can be a powerful tool to work with when used in an optimized and well-implemented manner.
Overall, I would rate Camunda Platform an eight out of ten.
Advantages and disadvantages of Camunda Platform
- configurability,
- ablity to orchestrate different sources (APIs, services, business logic, etc)
- bringing IT and business closer together
There are no competitors to Camunda, you either using Camunda, or do not use orchestrator.
- pricing :(
- lack of C8 community edition
- problems with efficiency with C7
- lack of RabbitMQ sending/receiving message
- C8 product inmaturity (in terms of features)
- transport and logistics process,
- handling full authorization process of application,
- sales processes,
- articles publishing processes.