IBM has announced it is to acquire Brazilian robotic process automation (RPA) software provider WDG Automation.
The acquisition further advances IBM’s AI-infused automation capabilities, spanning business processes to IT operations. Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in Q3 2020.
By embedding WDG Automation’s RPA capabilities into IBM’s existing AI-infused automation capabilities across business processes and IT operations, business leaders including COOs and CIOs will have broader access to intelligent automation through software robots.
According to IBM, the acquisition will also extend IBM Services’ ability to transform clients’ operations as RPA, analytics and AI bring more intelligence to the enterprise workflows that fuel adaptive and resilient businesses and helps to expand IBM’s capabilities for delivering automation pervasively across client organisations.
As a result, businesses will reportedly be able to re-engineer, optimise and standardise operations, while eliminating business processes and IT operations that are redundant or unnecessary. Available through IBM Services, organisations will be able to quickly identify more granular opportunities for automation, including tasks that have many steps, as well as help ensure consistent and accurate data is being used across all tools and business functions, including customer service, IT, finance, HR, and supply chain.
“IBM already automates how companies apply AI to business processes and IT operations so they can detect opportunities and problems and recommend next steps and solutions,” said Denis Kennelly, general manager, cloud integration, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software. “With today’s announcement, IBM is taking that a step further and helping clients accelerate automation to more parts of the organisation, not just to routine, but more complex tasks so employees can focus on higher value work.”
Headquartered in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, WDG Automation provides RPA, intelligent automation, interactive voice response and chatbots primarily to customers in Latin America. Its technology is designed for business users to create automations using a desktop recorder without the need of IT. These software robots can run on-demand by the end user or by an automated scheduler.
As part of the acquisition, IBM will integrate over 600 pre-built RPA functions from WDG Automation into Cloud Pak for Automation to help businesses turn insights from AI into automated actions. Organisations including Banco Galicia, ENN Group in China, PNC Bank throughout the USA, several Qatar government entities, and UK NHS Blood and Transplant, currently using IBM Cloud Pak for Automation capabilities to digitise and automate work.
