IBM Corp. today announced plans to acquire Italian software maker myInvenio Srl, which provides an analytics platform that helps enterprises determine how to best apply technologies such as robotic process automation in their operations.

The deal’s value was not disclosed. IBM expects it to close by the end of the quarter.

Enterprises are applying RPA and other automation technologies to free up employees from repetitive business tasks such as copying transaction records between accounting applications. In a large organization, there might be thousands of tasks that could be automated to at least some degree. Process mining products such as myInvenio’s platform help enterprises identify the workflows that they should automate first to achieve the biggest return on their RPA and artificial intelligence investments.

The firm’s namesake platform turns usage data it collects from business applications into graphs that analysts can consult to find the most promising automation opportunities. The software can, for example, analyze how employees interact with a supplier management system to find which parts of ordering new merchandise take the most time. According to myInvenio, its algorithms also show the exact cost of workflow bottlenecks to make assessing the return from automation projects easier. 

After they identify the tasks that should be automated first, analysts can use the platform to create what myInvenio refers to as digital twin simulations. The simulations make it possible to experiment with different ways of implementing RPA. By trying different approaches, companies can find the approach that would produce the most significant cost savings.

IBM plans to incorporate myInvenio’s technology into its IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation product, which provides a collection of RPA and AI tools. The company said that the deal will also allow it to make the software available to its IBM Global Business Services consulting business, as well as partners. Data from digital twin simulations could be used to guide RPA-focused consulting projects and increase success rates. 

“With IBM’s planned acquisition of myInvenio, we are continuing to invest in building the industry’s most comprehensive suite of AI-powered automation capabilities for business automation,” said Dinesh Nirmal, the general manager of the IBM Automation business group. The acquisition of myInvenio comes less than a year after the company purchased WDG Automation Inc. Ltd., an RPA provider whose technology was also incorporated into the IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation suite.

The suite is one of the growing number of software products IBM offers as part of its Cloud Pak portfolio. The solutions in the portfolio cover a wide variety of use cases ranging from RPA to network infrastructure management and cybersecurity. They’re all built on Red Hat OpenShift, the Kubernetes platform of IBM’s Red Hat subsidiary, which allows them to run in hybrid cloud environments.

The acquisition of myInvenio will ultimately boost not only IBM’s automation capabilities but also its hybrid cloud strategy by giving enterprises another reason to adopt OpenShift and Cloud Pak software.

Photo: IBM