Does Integration and Automation converge as Blue Prism merges with Tibco?
Yesterday, Vista Equity announced the acquisition of Blue Prism and its subsequent merger with Tibco (which Vista had acquired a few years prior.) This merger of an iPaaS vendor with an RPA solution continues the trend towards the convergence of these two categories. Driving this trend is the customers' desire to simplify and reduce the number of moving parts involved in bringing their apps and data together.
When we started Tibco back in 1997, it was the original integration vendor. Similarly, Blue Prism is the OG of the RPA space. So the merger between the two is significant, even if for historical reasons. Their coming together is more validation of the integration/automation convergence we've been predicting for some time.?
Since founding Workato, our vision fueled by customer interactions and validated by the market has been that data and business processes - integration and automation - are inextricably intertwined. Organizations are fed up with a multitude of tools to integrate data, processes, and user experiences. Recently, a couple of other key moments in this trend have been the UIpath acquisition of Cloud Elements and the Mulesoft acquisition of ServiceTrace .?
While all of this M&A activity reflects a need for simplicity and cohesion in how companies bring their data, applications, and processes together, we don't believe they address what customers are looking for.
It remains multiple parts
Customers want to reduce the number of moving parts for simplicity, speed, ROI, less tech debt, and clarity. While moving two tools under one umbrella makes life easier for accounts payable, they are still two differently architected platforms - which means different skillsets for the teams managing them and two different approaches to the problem. The customer experience does not fundamentally change.?
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Integration and automation are more than just iPaaS and RPA
Combining iPaaS and RPA is only part of the story. Integrating data, automating workflows, and unifying UX across all of our applications also requires API management capabilities, workflow chatbots, data pipelines tools like ELT/ETL, business process management, and more. The problem today is the sheer number of these tools companies must wrestle with for end-to-end automation. Companies want the speed, simplicity, and cohesion of doing all of this in a single, versatile tool. It is what we call "The Power of One ."?
Built-in vs. bolted-on approaches to integration and automation?
At Workato, we've always said that strong connectivity to all your systems and integration is the foundation for automating workflows across those apps. We call it "integration-led automation," which differs from the "integration with automation" approach of these merged companies.?
Businesses have wrestled for a long time with silos and fragmented integration and automation tools. Mergers and acquisitions often confirm a market need but don't necessarily solve the customer's pain point. We support the sentiment behind the Blue Prism acquisition, but in our opinion, customers demand the power of one: a holistic, democratic, native solution – built-in, not bolted-on.?
Solution Director at HCL Technologies ?Enterprise Integration- iPaaS, Leading Workato Practice, Mulesoft, Dell Boomi, ?Agile Digital Transformation ?Infor ERP, ERP, CRM ?Oracle Cloud, Oracle APEX, ORDS
3 年Great Article, Very Insightful. Thanks Vijay. Integration + Automation by Workato are packed with simplicity and speed. Like built-in v/s bolted-in very well phrased.
Quasi-retired. I am working with groups on previously undisclosed advanced technologies, and outlets.
3 年Great article, Vijay. Thanks!
Cyber Security Advisor
3 年Great insight and very thought-provoking post. Integration-led automation is the new standard.
Independent IT Advisor
3 年Undoubtedly #integration and #automation are converging, as it is logical. To a certain extent "automation" is just a nice new name for what used to be called "process integration". Isn't it? In my view, the convergence process probably doesn’t stop here. Low code application platforms, metadata management, multi experience application platforms and API Management are also very likely to merge in to give birth to the Application Composition Platform (ACP). For sure a "buy" strategy to ACP gives vendors a short term upselling opportunity as well as a time-to-market advantage over companies building it from the ground up. The challenge is that assembling all these components into a cohesive platform requires a lot of efforts and time (and may even prove impossible, as, alas, software is not infinitely malleable). It is not just about the UX, but also about the IT experience. It must be consistent , effective and efficient. Monitoring, managing, administering and governing a platform made up of multiple tools, coming from different development streams, can really be a big challenge for IT. Even if these tools come from the same vendor! Of course a cloud delivery model can smoothen some of these challenges, but still ...
Enabling clients to use data, leverage AI, apply advanced operational analytics and automate business processes to drive positive business outcomes across digital operations.
3 年Always ahead of the curve Vijay Tella. We’re thrilled to be with you on this movement and enjoying the momentum that’s picking up behind Workato’s wake.