Robotic process automation could bring new prospects among cloud services providers.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is one of the current buzzwords in technology. It has a myriad of opportunities for business growth. RPA solutions come in distinct sizes and types. This technology also promises to provide cloud service providers an edge in the highly-competitive cloud computing market. Taking into consideration, we will see ahead why cloud leaders like Microsoft and IBM are acquiring RPA vendors and what does it mean for the market? These acquisitions significantly follow an effort among platform providers over the past years to ready comprehensive automation platforms, utilizing AI, low-code platforms, and robotics.

Microsoft's acquisition of Softomotive to boost Power Automate

In May 2020, Microsoft announced the acquisition of robotics process automation software provider Softomotive Ltd. with an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was reportedly the third for Microsoft since March 2020, following the purchase of telecommunications software providers Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch Networks. Through this latest acquisition, Microsoft intends to integrate Softomotive's flagship software WinAutomation into its existing RPA platform, Power Automation.

WinAutomation provides businesses the ability to automate repetitive activities that workers perform on their Windows machines. The software works by recording the user's screen as they perform a task inside a business application. It also converts these activities into a reusable workflow that can be executed without any manual input.

IBM acquires WDG Automation 

Following the suit of driving greater automation efficiency, IBM in July 2020, acquired WDG Automation, a robotic process automation software provider in Brazil. However, the financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition, which was estimated to close in Q3 2020, came on its heels as tech giants like Microsoft and newcomers like Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism and UiPath endeavor to automate millions of manual business processes worldwide.

This acquisition will strengthen IBM's AI-driven automation platform, making it one of the most fully-equipped platforms for CIOs and COOs that seek to quickly transform and standardize business and IT operations for growth, efficiency, and resiliency. According to the company, it plans to bring WDG Automation's RPA and AI-powered, omnichannel chatbot capabilities to two areas where enterprises have critical automation needs: transforming business processes and managing IT operations.

ServiceNow also takes the RPA plunge

ServiceNow is a provider of cloud-based solutions that define, structure, manage, and automate services for enterprise operations. Recently, the California-based company acquires an India-based RPA startup Intellibot. Through this acquisition, ServiceNow plans to integrate Intellibot's automation capabilities into its own product suite to drive easier integration between applications. According to ServiceNow, the announcement comes on the heels of the company's no-code workflow announcements earlier this month and is part of the company's broader workflow strategy.

Appian to become a one-stop-shop for automation as it acquires Novayre Solutions SL

Appian, a provider of a low-code software development platform for powerful application development, has also acquired Novayre Solutions SL, an RPA software vendor. The acquisition makes Appian a one-stop-shop for automation, with best-in-class solutions for workflow, AI, and RPA. Novayre Solutions SL is a developer of the Jidoka RPA platform, the highest-rated RPA software on Gartner Peer Insights.

Nonetheless, these acquisitions indicate that tech giants that were previously just utilizing automation, are now capitalizing on this space in a big way. Apart from this, there is an increasing appetite for robotic process automation solutions in today's highly-competitive market.

Moreover, it is interesting to see how other cloud services providers will come ahead to acquire software vendors in the automation space. Robotic process automation is a fast-growing software industry, predicted to reach US$12 billion by 2023, according to Forrester. The market growth is largely attributed to enterprise deployments of RPA solutions.