Workflow automation software company ServiceNow Inc. today made another acquisition, buying a startup called FriendlyData Inc. that has built a natural language interface for querying databases.

FriendlyData’s interface does what its name suggests, making it easier for business workers without technical skills to query data in plain English and obtain insights. ServiceNow, which didn’t disclose the value of the deal, said it will integrate FriendlyData’s natural language query tech into its Now platform, which is its main application platform-as-a-service offering that’s used to automate customers’ information technology infrastructure.

“With this technical enhancement, our goal is to allow anyone to easily make data driven decisions, increasing productivity and driving businesses forward faster,” Pat Casey, senior vice president of development and operations at ServiceNow, said in a statement.

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the acquisition looks to be an astute one. He explained that voice is rapidly emerging as the new user interface because people can speak faster than they can type and machines nowadays can better understand human speech.

“But the challenge does not stop there, because very specific and often seldom-spoken terms for customer names, product names and more need to be developed and applied,” Mueller said. “That’s where technology like FriendlyData’s natural query language platform can help ServiceNow to lift its applications to the next level, with voice and speech leading to a new user and customer experience.”

ServiceNow has been pursuing a strategy of acquisitions to boost its natural language capabilities for some time. Earlier this year it acquired a company called Parlo that brings natural language understanding into enterprise systems, so machines can understand the nuances of human expression. Just days after that acquisition, ServiceNow added its first artificial intelligence-based chatbot service to the Now platform.

ServiceNow also acquired the software-as-a-service management company VendorHawk Inc. earlier this year. The previous October, it snapped up low-code software development firm SkyGiraffe Inc., whose platform enables nondevelopers to build simple software applications.

ServiceNow Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe talked more about the company’s AI strategy when he appeared on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile event livestreaming studio, during the company’s Knowledge 2018 conference in May:

Image: ServiceNow