News
Nintex Acquires Fellow Workflow Automation Firm K2
- By Kurt Mackie
- October 02, 2020
Microsoft partners Nintex and K2 Software Inc., both process management and automation specialists based in Bellevue, Wash., are about to get closer.
Nintex this week announced a "definitive agreement" to acquire K2 for an undisclosed amount. Both companies are close partners with Microsoft on solutions like Microsoft 365, particularly SharePoint. The K2 buy, according to Nintex, would give it access to "approximately 50 percent of the Fortune 500 and will generate over $200 million in annual recurring revenue."
The two companies have been competitors in the process automation space, noted Rob Koplowitz, a vice president and principal analyst at the Forrester research and consulting firm. "While they've competed head to head for many years, they've also established very strong, and complementary, technology and market positions," Koplowitz stated in a Forrester blog post.
K2 has specialized in addressing automation at a medium-to-high complexity level, while Nintex offers a broader portfolio of products to support automation, Koplowitz explained. He noted that there's some overlap in the two companies' product lines, which could invoke tough choices with the consolidation.
In general, Nintex with its K2 acquisition will need to address the broader trend of the low-code process automation market, Koplowitz suggested. It turns out that Forrester has published a research report on this very topic last month. The low-code process automation market is set to grow from $6.2 billion in 2019, reaching $14.5 billion over the next four years, per Forrester research.
Koplowitz noted that even Microsoft is a competitor in this low-code automation space with its Power Platform tools, namely Power Apps and Power Automate.
Nintex's acquisition of K2 still needs to clear regulatory approvals. The two companies expect the deal will close "in the coming weeks."
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.