A capability we used to consider as something separate from Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is now driving an accelerated competitive shift across our clients from Workato, an established Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS) toolset, to UiPath Integration Service. This shift, driven by compelling cost savings due to very different licensing models, is just a symptom of the overall transformation and expansion of the RPA marketplace that UiPath continues to drive at a pace that humbles other offerings.
At Lydonia Technologies, our focus on helping our clients scale their automation programs always involves helping them take advantage of the remarkable breadth of platform capabilities that UiPath RPA provides. In fact, it is almost a crime to call UiPath “RPA” – it is not “just RPA” or “just” anything anymore. What a few years ago we called Intelligent Automation (IA) or Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) is now just a subset of UiPath’s capabilities. All of the Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence, IPaaS, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP),Process and Task Mining, Workflow and Data Services, etc. components are all now best-of-breed offerings within UiPath’s platform. UiPath offers capabilities that go even further – unmatched Test Automation capabilities, compelling no-code Citizen Developer productivity tools, and much more.
We routinely see industry analysts rating UiPath as a top-tier leader in areas that, a few years ago, UiPath wasn’t playing in at all. We can quickly leverage UiPath’s expanding capabilities at our clients thanks to UiPath’s investment in rapidly and fully integrating these capabilities into and across their entire platform. Nothing is “bolt-on” or limited in its integration across other UiPath components – something truly remarkable in the software industry. By matching expanding capabilities with the fastest, simplest RPA deployments, the overall time to value is absolutely outstanding.
Contrast this to Workato. While Workato is looking to stretch its workflow automation into the RPA space, few would claim that they yet offer a competitive offering to established RPA players, nor do they have appreciable market share yet in this space. Additionally, their existing licensing and pricing model is seen as exceptionally pricey and is based on charging per integration “recipe” (more detail is available here, though from a Workato IPaaS competitor – Workato no longer makes pricing publicly available). A recipe is simply an automation built using Workato. Rather than an all-inclusive subscription, a charge per integration or “connector”, or an overall transaction volume model, Workato charges for each different job that runs, even if they are using the same integration to the same system. For many Lydonia clients, this represents a radically different cost compared to the thousands of API calls monthly that “come with” UiPath for no additional charge, or the comparatively inexpensive 3 million to 20 million API call bundles available to support massive scale.
How did UiPath disrupt the IPaaS industry so quickly? It started with their acquisition of Cloud Elements, an established IPaaS vendor, in Q1 of 2021. Then UiPath did what it does so uniquely well, integrated the acquisition into their platform, and launched their IPaaS offering in October of 2021. A year later, they are already disrupting the marketplace.
Interestingly, UiPath and Workato also have tight integration – with UiPath providing a Workato Activities package that allows for seamless RPA use of existing Workato recipes. We can help customers shift from Workato without the need for a “forklift” migration, doing it as they develop new integrations and automations, applying UiPath capabilities to existing deployments, and accommodating any organization’s priorities or schedules. For existing UiPath customers, this is a no-brainer. For those not yet using the market-leading UiPath platform, this is a compelling reason to examine it.
For more information, please reach out to Lydonia Technologies at info@lydoniatech.com