Nintex expands range by acquiring RPA vendor Kryon
Acquiring Kryon enables Nintex to expand its scale. Robotic process automation is important for enterprises seeking digital transformation in their business.
Process intelligence and automation vendor Nintex has acquired Kryon Systems, a robotic process automation vendor, for an undisclosed amount.
Nintex revealed the acquisition on February 15.
Nintex, founded in 2006 and based in Bellevue, Wash., says its process automation platform is used by more than 10,000 organizations around the world.
Spate of acquisitions
In recent years, Nintex has grown with acquisitions, but the acquisition of Kryon, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, is Nintex's first major acquisition under its new majority investor TPG.
In October 2020, Nintex bought K2 Software, a digital process automation vendor. In June 2021, Nintex acquired AssureSign, a vendor of electronic signature software.
The steady stream of acquisitions is a sign that Nintex wants to not only expand dramatically, but also widen its financial scope, said Kashyap Kompella, an analyst at RPA2AI Research.
"Through current and future acquisitions, Nintex is putting together the scale and the story for going public," Kompella said. "With the acquisition of Kryon, Nintex is adding process mining and RPA capabilities alongside their existing process management and document automation solutions."
Although the peak of excitement about RPA is past, RPA is still an important technology for enterprises seeking digital transformation, Kompella added.
But instead of an RPA-first strategy for automation, enterprises are examining which automation approaches serve them the best, and deciding whether they want RPA tools, low-code automation systems, business process management platforms or serverless approaches.
Through current and future acquisitions, Nintex is putting together the scale and the story for going public.
Kashyap KompellaAnalyst, RPA2AI Research
Instead of looking to AI software that only addresses a single application, "customers increasingly prefer AI-enabled platforms that provide a mix of capabilities," Kompella said. "Acquisitions such as Nintex-Kryon or Automation Anywhere-Fortress IQ are a reflection of that shift."
In December 2021, Automation Anywhere, a dominant RPA vendor, agreed to acquire Fortress IQ, a process discovery and mining vendor.
Remaining competitive
For its part, being acquired by Nintex will help Kryon remain competitive in the RPA market, Kompella said.
Founded in 2008, the vendor caters to Fortune 500 organizations in industries including finance, insurance and telecommunications. Its customers include AIG and Verizon, according to the vendor.
Kryon has been focused on combining process mining with RPA for a while, Kompella said. However, much bigger competitors such as UiPath and Automation Anywhere have been able to add process mining capabilities with acquisitions.
