UPDATED 13:22 EDT / AUGUST 06 2021

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Low-code automation provider Appian acquires process mining specialist Lana Labs

Appian Inc., a major provider of software for automating business tasks in the enterprise, has acquired Berlin-based process mining technology provider Lana Labs GmbH.

Appian announced the deal on Thursday. The acquisition comes in a time when the process mining segment is becoming a bigger focus both for enterprise software makers and tech investors.

Nasdaq-listed Appian offers a low-code platform that enables enterprises to automate repetitive tasks usually done manually by employees. The company shares that focus with robotic process automation or RPA providers such as UiPath Inc., whose software also allows organizations to streamline repetitive business workflows.  Appian too provides RPA capabilities as part of its platform, but it takes a somewhat different approach to automation. 

RPA tools work by observing how employees perform a task in a business application and generating a software “bot” that can carry out the task automatically. Appian’s platform, in turn, enables companies to create automation workflows that use not only software bots but also other technologies to streamline business processes. Appian-powered workflows can include manual steps, as well as RPA technology from other companies such as UiPath.

For example, a manufacturer could use Appian’s platform to automate the task of processing product orders from customers. It might create a workflow that uses an RPA bot to extract the contents of product orders, then input the extracted data into an artificial intelligence algorithm that determines what department the file should be sent to. Lastly, the manufacturer can add a manually-defined rule that specifies the document should be redirected to a manager instead if the AI fails to determine the relevant department.

The acquisition of Lana Labs will enable Appian to add process mining capabilities to the mix as well. Lana Labs provides an AI-powered process mining platform used by enterprises such as Telefonica SA and KPMG International Ltd.

Before a company can apply software to a manual business task, it first has to identify which of the steps involved in the workflow could be automated. This initial phase of automation projects is known as process mining. Lana Labs’ platform visualizes the individual steps that make up a business workflow in a dashboard to help decision-makers identify opportunities to increase efficiency.

After analyzing how a company processes product orders from customers, the platform might find that the most time-consuming step involved in the task is the chore of manually loading details from orders into the sales database. Executives can then determine that they should prioritize automating the data loading step first as part of the company’s RPA initiative. Lana Labs also provides a dashboard that enables decision-makers to monitor how the efficiency of business processes changes over time. 

“There is natural synergy between process mining, process modeling, and automation,” said Appian Chief Executive Officer Matt Calkins. “We believe that our acquisition of Lana Labs means that only Appian will be able to take customers from knowing to doing, in a unified suite.”

Process mining has recently also become a bigger priority for IBM Corp., which competes in the business automation market with a number of products. The company in April acquired process mining software provider myInvenio Srl in a move designed to expand its automation portfolio. UiPath has also been working to expand its capabilities in this area. 

One reason why process mining is drawing increased interest is that as the number of companies adopting RPA to automate business tasks continues to grow, more demand is emerging for software products capable of spotting new task automation opportunities. The trend has caught the attention of not only industry players such as Appian and IBM but also tech investors. Celonis GmbH, a process mining startup, recently raised $1 billion in funding from a consortium led by Durable Capital Partners and T. Rowe Price Associates.

Image: Appian

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