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UiPath Emphasizes RPA Partner Ecosystem Expansion

Robotic process automation (RPA) software company UiPath continues to expand its partner ecosystem, while also striving to mentor more RPA consultants and software bot developers worldwide.

RPA software allows businesses to write code and bots that rapidly automate formerly manual tasks across multiple departments — from IT service desks to HR, finance, customer support and more. MSPs can leverage RPA software to automate their own businesses, and they can also offer managed RPA and bot services to automate end-customer businesses.

Demand for RPA software is accelerating. Indeed, global RPA software revenue is projected to reach $1.89 billion in 2021, up 19.5% from 2020, according to Gartner.

UiPath Community and Partner Ecosystem Details

With growth in mind, UiPath described its latest ecosystem and partner milestones during a quarterly earnings call with Wall Street financial analysts, and during the UiPath DevCon 2021 virtual conference in June 2021.

UiPath CEO Daniel Dines
UiPath CEO Daniel Dines

Among the key takeaways: The UiPath Community has more than 1.5 million members, the RPA software company says. The community spans "customers, partners, freelancers, enthusiasts, and beginners" -- though the company did not disclose the various levels of engagement within the community.

Meanwhile, UiPath's worldwide partner base now spans more than 4,000 companies -- up 35 percent year-over-year, CEO Daniel Dines said during a June 8, 2021, earnings call with Wall Street analysts.

Recently expanded UiPath partnerships include global systems integrator Deloitte, and distributor Ingram Micro, Dines noted. Moreover, Ingram Micro has used the RPA software internally to automate more than 100 processes, and has plans in place to do even more, Dines indicated.

UiPath Ecosystem: Three Key Moves

UiPath is taking three steps to further expand and strengthen the community. The efforts, which surfaced at DevCon 2021, include:

  1. A use case repository: This involves an "extensive list of use cases authored by Community members." The  use cases include an overview, details on which UiPath products and other applications were used, skill level, applicable industry categories, and the top return on investment (ROI) driver, the company says.
  2. UiPath Community job board: The job board spans freelance work to full-time employment in dozens of countries, the company says.
  3. Community Mentorship Program: The program pairs mentees with mentors for a minimum of six meetings and other types of support.

Additional moves ahead of DevCon included partnering to promote UiPath training centers worldwide.

RPA Software Market: Competitive Landscape

Of course, UiPath isn't alone in the RPA industry. Amid torrid RPA market growth, multiple technology companies are acquiring RPA software providers and associated RPA consulting skills. Key RPA software companies and bot software tools include Automation AnywhereBlue PrismMicrosoft Power Automate and ServiceNow, among others.

Even IBM is jumping into the action, as part of IBM CEO Arvind Krishna's M&A effort to pivot the enterprise technology provider toward multi-cloud software that drives business automation.

Despite the intense competition, UiPath remains in rapid growth mode -- both organically and through M&A. For instance, the company in March 2021 acquired Cloud Elements, which develops an API integration platform that may drive more connections with third-party software.

And for the UiPath quarter ended April 30, 2021, the company said:

  • Revenue was $186.2 million, up 65 percent year-over-year.
  • Annual recurring revenue (ARR) was $652.6 million, up 64 percent year-over-year.
  • The net loss was $239.7 million, larger than a $52.8 million net loss in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
  • UiPath's balance sheet -- including cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities -- increased to $1.9 billion as of April 30, 2021, the company said.

It was the first earnings report since UiPath launched a successful IPO (initial public offering) in April 2021.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.