SimplyAsk (Symphona) is a no-code platform for operations teams in telecom, manufacturing, and local government. Kestra is a general-purpose orchestration platform for engineering teams that need data pipelines, infrastructure automation, and technical workflows at production scale.
Declarative YAML orchestration platform for engineering teams. Define data pipelines, infrastructure automation, and event-driven workflows in version-controlled YAML. Language-agnostic, self-hosted or on Kestra Cloud, with GitOps and full audit trails.
Bundled no-code platform for operations teams. Drag-and-drop canvas lets business analysts automate customer service flows, order management, and service tickets without writing code. Purpose-built for telecom OSS/BSS processes and vertical-specific business operations.
SimplyAsk Symphona is SaaS-only, with no self-hosted option. Engineers who need to run workflows locally, deploy in air-gapped environments, or integrate with infrastructure tooling like Terraform and Ansible have no path forward. Kestra runs in two commands.
curl -o docker-compose.yml \https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kestra-io/kestra/develop/docker-compose.ymldocker compose up
# Open localhost:8080# Pick a Blueprint, run it. Done.Download the Docker Compose file, spin it up, and you're ready (database and config included). Open the UI, pick a Blueprint, run it. No vendor coordination, no infrastructure prerequisites beyond Docker.
# SimplyAsk Symphona is SaaS-only# 1. Sign up at simplyask.ai (7-day free trial)# 2. Log in to Symphona dashboard# 3. Open Flow, drag-and-drop process steps onto canvas# 4. Configure triggers: schedule, API, email, or webhook
# No local installation or self-hosted option available# Minimum paid plan: $1,000/month (25,000 process steps)Sign up for a Symphona account at simplyask.ai to start a 7-day free trial. Workflows are built visually in the Flow canvas. No local installation option; all automation runs in SimplyAsk's SaaS environment.
YAML is readable on day 1. Docs are embedded in the UI for easy reference, the AI Copilot writes workflows for you, or start from our library of 200+ Blueprints. Engineers bring their existing scripts with no wrappers or refactoring required.
# SimplyAsk Flow has no code representation.# Workflows are built visually and stored internally# in SimplyAsk's proprietary SaaS format.
# To integrate infrastructure tooling (Terraform, Ansible,# Kubernetes), you must wrap all operations in REST API calls.# There is no native shell execution or container support.
# Example: to run a Terraform plan, you would need to:# 1. Wrap the Terraform CLI in a custom REST API service# 2. Call that API from a Flow HTTP action step# 3. Poll a second endpoint to check for completionSimplyAsk Flow workflows are built by dragging steps onto a visual canvas. Supported integrations need no code; complex logic is configured through form-based condition builders. Workflows are stored in SimplyAsk's proprietary format with no code export or version control.
Orchestrate data pipelines, infrastructure provisioning, business processes, and event-driven automations in one platform. Self-host with full control or use Kestra Cloud.
Purpose-built for business process automation in telecom, manufacturing, and local government. Strong for customer service flows, order management, and service ticketing. Not designed for data pipelines, shell execution, infrastructure provisioning, or engineering-team GitOps.
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | Universal workflow orchestration | Business process automation (telco and operations) |
| Workflow definition | Declarative YAML | Visual no-code drag-and-drop canvas |
| Target user | Engineers, data teams, platform teams | Operations teams, business analysts |
| Languages supported | Agnostic (Python, R, Bash, Node.js, SQL & more) | No-code (REST API calls only for custom logic) |
| Infrastructure automation | Native support (Terraform, Ansible, Bash, containers) | Out of scope; built for business operations, not infrastructure tooling |
| Data pipeline support | Native support (ETL, dbt, Spark, Airbyte) | Not designed for data workloads |
| GitOps and CI/CD | Native Git sync, Terraform provider | No Git integration, no code review workflow |
| Self-hosted deployment | Docker, Kubernetes, air-gapped support | SaaS only, no self-hosted option |
| Open source | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Closed source, proprietary SaaS |
| Self-service for non-engineers | Kestra Apps | ✓ Visual canvas for operations analysts |
| Multi-tenancy and RBAC | Enterprise namespace isolation | Enterprise plan only |
Kestra made the data mesh possible. We produce far more data now, and deliver it nearly 10 times faster.
Every Kestra flow is a YAML file that lives in a repository, moves through a CI/CD pipeline, and promotes from dev to staging to production the same way application code does. Every change is tracked, reviewed in a pull request, and auditable. Automation gets the same engineering rigor as the infrastructure it controls.
Terraform plans, Ansible playbooks, Bash scripts, and Docker containers all run natively in Kestra. Tasks execute in isolated containers, so existing scripts work without wrappers or refactoring. Bring the code, define the trigger and retry logic in YAML, and run it. Infrastructure automation from provisioning through configuration to notification can live in a single workflow.
Kestra is open source under Apache 2.0, with 26k+ GitHub stars and a codebase you can inspect, extend, and deploy anywhere. Self-hosting is available on Docker, Kubernetes, and in air-gapped environments with no outbound internet access required. For teams making long-term infrastructure investments, an open community and a permissive license are a different foundation than a proprietary SaaS platform.
Find answers to your questions right here, and don't hesitate to Contact Us if you couldn't find what you're looking for.
See how Kestra can simplify your workflows—and scale beyond no-code business process automation.