Microsoft has bought Minit, a Bratislava, Slovakia-based process mining technology vendor, for an unknown fee, signalling its ambitions in the process automation sector, the firms stated today. The acquisition would “further enable” Microsoft to “assist… customers digitally change” by building a more full view of their processes and recognising which of those activities are ripe for automation, according to Microsoft.
“At the moment, Minit helps organisations transform the way they evaluate, monitor, and optimise their processes.” In a blog post on Microsoft’s corporate blog, Justin Graham, Microsoft’s general manager of process insights, stated, “Minit’s solutions have helped businesses get deep insights into how processes work, find core causes of operational difficulties, and assist in avoiding undesired process outcomes.”
With the release of new features in Power Automate in 2019 and the acquisition of Softomotive, an RPA software supplier a year later, Microsoft dipped its toes into process mining. However, with Minit, the tech giant is doubling down on a software segment that, according to Polaris Market Research, may be valued at over $11 billion by 2030.
It wasn’t immediately apparent whether the entire Minit crew would join Microsoft, or if the company would continue spread out across its current sites. (Minit currently has offices in London and New York, as well as a headquarters in Amsterdam.) According to CEO James Dening, customers should not expect a change in the level of service they currently receive.
As stated in a blog post on Minit’s website, “We are looking forward to what it means to become part of an industry leader like Microsoft and what that means for us—how we can use that scale and excellence to continue to deliver outstanding solutions to our clients.” It’s been an honour to lead the firm for the past year, and I’m looking forward to continuing my journey with the team as part of what I believe is the world’s premier software company.
Microsoft representative Zara Huang told TechCrunch that the Minit team will join the Microsoft Process Insights team and that Minit team members’ current work locations will remain unchanged.
Prior to the acquisition, Minit, founded in 2015 by Rasto Hlavac and funded with €10.3 million (US $11.40 million) prior to the acquisition, was one of a growing number of startups creating process mining solutions for enterprise clients. Process mining, also known as task discovery, involves extracting data from systems such as desktops, email apps, and workflows to identify root-cause workflow difficulties and bottlenecks. It’s a major component of robotic process automation (RPA), a technology that promises to replace dull, repetitive processes previously performed by humans while also creating logs to uncover cost-saving opportunities.
