If your B2B team is drowning in repetitive tasks, manual handoffs, and "who dropped the ball?" emails, you're not alone—and you're not stuck. Workflow automation platforms promise to fix all that, but picking the right one is a minefield of marketing buzzwords, hidden costs, and features you’ll never use. This guide is for B2B teams who want to actually get stuff done—not just talk about “digital transformation.” Let’s cut through the noise and get practical.
1. Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Before you even look at a single pricing page, get specific about your pain points and goals. Most automation tools—whether it’s Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), Workato, Tray.io, or Power Automate—claim they can do it all. Spoiler: they can’t, and you probably don’t need them to.
Ask your team: - What are the 3-5 workflows we’d automate first? - Are these simple (move a lead from form to CRM) or complex (multi-step, conditional routing, custom APIs)? - How technical are the people building these automations? - What apps do we actually use daily—and will that change soon?
Pro tip: Write down your must-haves and nice-to-haves. If you’re not sure, start with one manual process you hate and reverse-engineer how you’d automate it.
2. Get Real About Who Will Build and Maintain Automations
Here's the unsexy truth: a slick automation is only as good as the people who keep it running. If you don’t have in-house developers or ops pros, no-code is your friend. If you do, flexibility matters more.
- Zapier is built for non-technical users. If your team can use spreadsheets, they can probably build Zaps.
- Make (Integromat) is more powerful for complex, multi-step logic, but the learning curve is steeper. Great for operations folks who don’t mind tinkering.
- Workato and Tray.io target enterprise teams and require more technical chops (and budget).
- Microsoft Power Automate is obvious if you live in Office 365—less so if you don’t.
Bottom line: If you need to ship automations fast and keep them simple, lean toward tools designed for non-developers. If you have lots of edge cases and dev resources, you can go deeper.
3. Compare App Integrations—Don’t Assume They All Work the Same
Every platform boasts “thousands of integrations,” but what you can actually do with each app varies wildly.
Check: - Is your must-have app supported natively, or will you need workarounds? - Are the triggers and actions you need available? (E.g., can you trigger on a “deal updated” vs. just “deal created”?) - Any limits on data volume or frequency? - Does the platform support custom webhooks or APIs if you need them?
What to ignore: Marketing counts. "Over 5,000 integrations!" doesn’t mean deep or useful support. Always test your real workflow before committing.
4. Weigh Pricing—But Don’t Just Look at the Sticker
Pricing is a minefield. Most tools use a mix of “tasks,” “operations,” or “runs”—all of which mean “the more you automate, the more you pay.” Watch out for:
- Zapier: Charges per “task” (each action, not just each workflow). Gets expensive fast with lots of volume.
- Make: Cheaper per operation but counts every step in a scenario—even filters and logic branches.
- Workato/Tray.io: Built for enterprise. Pricing is usually opaque, requires a sales call, and starts high.
- Power Automate: Cheap for Microsoft shops, but extra connections and premium features cost more.
Pro tip: Run the numbers on your most common workflows. A tool that looks cheap at first can become a budget black hole when you scale up.
5. Dig Into Security, Compliance, and Support
B2B teams have to answer to IT and compliance—eventually. Don’t ignore this until you get burned.
Check for: - SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and granular permissions (if you care about who can break stuff) - Data residency options (important if you work with EU or regulated data) - SOC2, GDPR, HIPAA, etc. (if you have to check those boxes) - Real support—not just forums or slow email responses
Honest take: Zapier has improved here but is still more SMB-friendly than true enterprise. Workato and Tray.io are built for big companies, but you’ll pay for it. Make offers decent controls, but support can be slow.
6. Test Real-World Usability (Not Just Demos)
The best automation tool is the one people actually use. Every platform looks great in a webinar; you’ll only know if it fits by trying to build a real workflow.
Do this: - Set up a test account and automate one of your real, ugly processes. - Involve the people who’ll use it day-to-day. - Break it on purpose—see how easy it is to troubleshoot and fix. - Check if you can hand off ownership without a six-hour handover.
What matters: Clarity, helpful error messages, and the ability to see what’s running (and why something failed) without a PhD.
7. Watch for Traps: Lock-in, Maintenance, and “Shadow IT”
A few things folks wish they’d known before signing the contract:
- Lock-in: If you build 100 automations on a proprietary platform, moving is painful. Export options are usually limited.
- Maintenance: Even “set-and-forget” automations break—APIs change, apps get renamed, triggers disappear. Make sure someone owns upkeep.
- Shadow IT: If anyone can build automations, anyone will. That’s great for speed, but it gets messy fast. Establish some guardrails.
Pro tip: Keep a spreadsheet or use the platform’s documentation features to track what’s running, who owns it, and why.
8. Popular Platforms at a Glance
Here’s a ground-level look at the big names:
- Zapier: Easiest for non-techies, huge app directory, fast to set up. Gets pricey at scale. Limited on deep, complex workflows.
- Make (Integromat): More power, better for multi-step or conditional logic. The interface is quirky. Support can lag.
- Workato: Enterprise-grade, deep integrations, high cost, expect a learning curve and a sales process.
- Tray.io: Similar to Workato, with a heavy focus on API flexibility. Pricey and developer-friendly.
- Power Automate: Obvious choice if you’re all-in on Microsoft. Otherwise, the UI is clunky and integrations outside the MS ecosystem are hit-or-miss.
Ignore the “AI” hype for now: Most platforms talk up “AI automation,” but unless you have a very specific use case, it’s not a game-changer yet.
9. Make the Call, but Keep It Simple
Don’t let analysis paralysis kill your momentum. Pick the platform that fits your top workflows and your team’s skill set, then start small.
- Automate one process end-to-end.
- Document what you built.
- Show your team the value, then expand.
You can always switch later (with some pain), but waiting for the “perfect” tool means nothing gets automated at all.
TL;DR (But Still, Read the Whole Thing)
- Know your real needs and who’ll build automations.
- Check if your must-have apps are supported the way you need.
- Run the numbers on pricing, including growth.
- Don’t skimp on security and support.
- Build and break a real workflow before buying.
- Track what you automate—and who owns it.
The best workflow automation tool isn’t the fanciest; it’s the one your team will actually use. Start simple, automate the annoying stuff, and iterate as you go. That’s how you get real value—no buzzwords required.