CIOs will use AI and low-code to combat SaaS sprawl

How does Nintex differentiate itself in a crowded market of integration, automation and low-code development tools?

Nintex is nearly 20 years old, and we started as a SharePoint add-on for workflows. Since then, we have rapidly expanded, both organically and inorganically. We were an early player that saw automation turning into a platform, not just a single piece of the puzzle. While many brands started by doing one product well, our viewpoint was that workflow will eventually connect to application development, which will connect to robotic process automation (RPA), process management and document generation. We started building out all those pieces, and that’s the company we are today.

We now serve over 8,000 mid-market customers – which for us is companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees – and also work with 1,000 of the Fortune 2000. We are now rapidly moving towards a true platform where we are bringing different pieces together, with AI across the board.

What are the typical entry points for customers into the Nintex platform? Do they buy the whole suite at once or start with individual components?

The platform concept is relatively new for us. Traditionally, customers come to us for one or two specific products. Workflow automation is a common starting point because it addresses a universal need to streamline complex processes. Document generation is another, especially for companies using tools like Salesforce that need to output and manage documents.

Our on-premises workflow product, K2, has also been a real surprise. I thought on-premises was a legacy world, but an IDC report shows it’s growing by 10% annually. Industries like oil and gas and banking are keeping certain data on-premises for compliance or cost reasons.

In the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, we see strong adoption of our process mapping tool, Nintex Process Manager. Many organisations want to understand and map their processes before they even begin to automate them. So, a typical customer starts with one of these key products and then expands as they realise the interconnected nature of automation.

Are customers just automating existing workflows, or are they re-engineering broken processes first?

That’s where Process Manager comes in first. A smaller company might know exactly what it wants to automate and jump straight to workflows. But a large enterprise, like the large banks we work with, will first use our tools to get a clear picture of what’s happening across the business.

“If your processes are broken and you’re using multiple, disconnected platforms, you can’t get a clear view. You don’t know which workflows are automated and which aren’t. In that scenario, throwing AI at the problem is just wasting money”

Amit Mathradas, Nintex

We see automation tools as the rails on which AI runs, like a train. If your processes are broken and you’re using multiple, disconnected platforms, you can’t get a clear view. You don’t know which workflows are automated and which aren’t. In that scenario, throwing AI at the problem is just wasting money.

Our advice is to first get your engine clean. Use process management to create a clean sheet, then automate your workflows to capture everything, and finally, run AI on top of that to magnify your efficiency. You can’t do AI effectively unless you have your automation house in order.

Where do AI agents fit into your product strategy?

They are absolutely central. At a basic level, AI agents improve the build-time experience. For example, instead of manually building a form, you can now enter a prompt like, “Build me a form to do X,” and the AI will create it and connect it to a workflow.

Where it gets magnified is when we bring our products together. The output from one process can become the input for an agent in the next process. For instance, you could use an agent to analyse a process and identify a bottleneck. You can then use the output of that analysis to prompt another agent to automatically design a workflow to solve that specific problem.

That interconnectivity, where the agentic frameworks of different products talk to each other, is where the flywheel really starts picking up for our customers.

Will those AI agents be able to recommend process improvements based on anonymised data from what other customers in the same industry are doing?

Yes, that is absolutely something we are going to get to. The basic framework for us right now is using data to make smart decisions within a customer’s environment. But the power really is in being able to say, “Did you know that 500 other banks do this? Here is our recommendation for you.” It’s on our roadmap and is something we will be working on pretty quickly.

Many enterprise resource planning (ERP) suppliers are building similar capabilities. Do you see Nintex as a layer that sits on top of these systems?

My thought is that Nintex is a neutral third party that sits on top of systems of record, and this is becoming even more important today. A classic example is HR onboarding. When you onboard a new employee, you have to set them up in Salesforce, Workday and Microsoft, and you need to collect documents for verification.

Many of the large system-of-record suppliers have their own automation tools, but the challenge is their tools often stop where their ecosystem stops. Real-world business processes don’t work that way; they span multiple systems. To solve complex automation problems, you need a neutral third party that can connect to these different systems and orchestrate processes on top of them. That is a clear advantage for a company like ours.

A recent Nintex report highlighted the problem of SaaS sprawl. Do you believe companies will start replacing SaaS applications by building their own using low-code platforms?

Yes, the build-versus-buy conversation is starting to pivot. With the advent of AI and platforms like ours, CIOs are realising they can replace basic applications with a single platform.

I’ll give you an internal example. We use a SaaS tool to manage our company’s stock options. At its core, it’s an application development front end, a workflow engine for approvals, a document generation component for contracts and an e-signature function, all sitting on top of a system of record. We have all those capabilities within the Nintex platform. If we connect those pieces, can we replace that external SaaS tool? The answer is yes.

A platform approach allows you to have a centralised team of skilled people who are trained on one platform and can service multiple departments, which is a much more governable model than having dozens of different tools spread across the organisation

As a CEO of a mid-market company, I’m already thinking this way, and so are our customers. This is what Satya Nadella meant when he said, “SaaS is dead.” He was referring to these single-purpose SaaS tools, the simplest of which will likely be replaced by platforms that allow you to build and repurpose applications multiple times.

But isn’t that view contingent on a company having the resources to build those applications?

I would disagree with that. We are a mid-market company with over 1,000 employees, and we work with 8,000 other companies of a similar size. They don’t have thousands of engineers. The big shift is what we call the three A’s: AI, automation, and low-code applications. These technologies are allowing mid-market companies with limited resources to use platforms like Nintex to start replacing things. I see it happening, and I hear it happening. It’s here.

This is also causing a shift in power. For the past decade, SaaS purchasing decisions have moved into individual departments. The CIO’s role was often limited to ensuring security, serviceability and compliance. With AI, that power is moving back to the CIO, because to get the maximum output from AI, you need clean, centralised automation. CIOs are now looking at low-code platforms and saying, “I can build this, and I need more control over what we’re building.”

A key concern for CIOs is the governance of applications built by departments. How does the Nintex platform address this?

It’s a great question, and having a single, consolidated platform is a core part of the answer. If you have one platform that includes application development, workflow and document generation, and your team knows its capabilities and limitations inside out, that in itself becomes a governance model. You’re building everything with one toolkit.

The other point is that the concept of the citizen developer was, in my view, a bit of a misnomer. It sounded great, but you don’t see people in marketing coding and building applications. To build powerful tools, you still need some technical knowledge, even if low-code makes it much easier.

A platform approach allows you to have a centralised team of skilled people who are trained on one platform and can service multiple departments, which is a much more governable model than having dozens of different tools spread across the organisation.

What automation and AI adoption trends are you seeing in the Asia-Pacific region?

I would separate Singapore from the rest of the region. When I talk to customers and partners here, there is strong alignment with what’s happening in the US and Europe. There’s a lot of global representation in Singapore, so the trends flow through.

Across the rest of Asia, the focus is still more on getting basic automation right. They know AI is coming, but they are tackling simpler challenges first. This might be a good thing, as it gives them time to clean house and establish a solid automation foundation, so when they do adopt AI, they can operate from a much cleaner base. However, I believe the timeframes for adoption will be massively compressed. The move from on-premises to cloud took a decade in some parts of Asia. The move to AI will happen much faster.

Can you share an interesting customer example that highlights the power of your platform?

We are very proud of our work with National Gallery Singapore. When the pandemic hit, they needed to implement contact tracing to stay open for visitors. They had no existing workflows or systems to manage this. We helped them build a model to track visitors, time slots and capacity, which allowed them to continue operating. We’ve now adapted that solution to help other businesses manage foot traffic and customer flow.

Another example is a major global beverage company. They had spent millions on a custom application to track their drivers. We showed them how they could rip that out and build a replacement with our low-code platform to not only track deliveries but also to digitise the entire documentation process, from collecting signatures to filing registrations. These are the age-old processes that every business struggles with, and releasing the human potential tied up in them is what makes me proud.

There is a lot of discussion about AI replacing jobs. What is your perspective on that?

I think about it completely differently. The headlines are all about large organisations, which make up maybe 10-20% of private sector jobs. For the majority of businesses – the mid-market and SMBs [small and medium-sized businesses] – I see AI as a magnifier, not a replacement tool. If you give a 500-person company AI tools, it doesn’t mean they will cut 10% of their workforce. It means they can now act like a 2,000-person company because they have the tools to compete at a much higher level.

That, to me, is the real power of AI. It’s not about headcount reduction; it’s about a massive productivity increase that will allow smaller companies to generate far more output. I’m a glass-half-full person, and I believe that’s where the true economic advantage of AI will really kick in.

How fast is Nintex growing in terms of revenue or other metrics?

We are a private company owned by TPG, so I’m not at liberty to discuss specific numbers. What I can tell you is that we are a healthy, profitable business doing what you would expect in this space.

For me, regardless of our growth today, I see a tsunami coming in terms of the platform play. This is the conversation I have with my teams. CIOs are telling us they want to get rid of all these independent tools and buy platforms to solve repeatable processes.

My R&D team is the surfboard, building the capabilities, and my go-to-market team is the surfer. When that wave hits, we either ride it or get tumbled over by it, but it is coming. The noise is building up, and our focus is on showcasing the power of our platform to help customers manage that change.