IBM to acquire WDG Automation

IBM announced today it will acquire WDG Soluções Em Sistemas E Automação De Processos LTDA (also known as WDG Automation), a Brazilian software provider of robotic process automation (RPA) services. The terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but it’s expected to close in the third quarter.

IBM’s acquisition of WDG Automation will enable IBM to embed WDG Automation's RPA capabilities into IBM’s existing AI-infused automation capabilities.

The acquisition will also increase IBM Services' ability to transform clients' operations as RPA, analytics and AI offer additional intelligence to business workloads.

Further, IBM will integrate more than 600 pre-built RPA functions from WDG Automation into Cloud Pak for Automation. IBM also plans to integrate WDG Automation RPA into its capabilities for automating IT operations, specifically those related to Watson AIOps and Cloud Pak for Multicloud Management.

"IBM already automates how companies apply AI to business processes and IT operations so they can detect opportunities and problems and recommend next steps and solutions," said Denis Kennelly, general manager of cloud integration, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software.

Kennelly added that with today’s announcement, IBM is not only “helping clients accelerate automation,” but also enabling employees to “focus on higher value work.”

Robson Felix, founder and CEO of WDG Automation explained, "Automation is crucial in the digital era, as businesses need to perform several repetitive or routine tasks, so that employees are able to focus on innovation. I'm incredibly proud of the role WDG Automation has played in the RPA market with a unified and integrated platform to help companies in Brazil increase their productivity.”

WDG Automation is headquartered in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil and provides RPA, intelligent automation (IA), interactive voice response (IVR) and chatbots to customers located throughout Latin America.