Microsoft acquires Softomotive (2020)
Microsoft bought the London-based RPA vendor Softomotive to embed desktop automation into Power Automate, covering applications that run on Windows without accessible APIs.
Power Automate gained the ability to automate legacy Windows applications, broadening Microsoft's automation footprint.
RPA became a native layer in Microsoft's cloud platform, and UiPath sharpened its pitch as the independent alternative.
The same play HCL is running: a platform vendor buying UI-level automation to fill the gap where orchestration alone cannot act.
