by Jim Lundy
On the heels of our first Tech Spectrum for Workflow and Content Automation (WCA), both DocuSign and Nintex made moves to enhance their product portfolios, but the deals they made were completely different. Nintex spent less on Promapp and got a solid deal. DocuSign is spending $220 million on SpringCM and the consensus is they spent too much.
Did DocuSign pay too much for SpringCM?
DocuSign Buys SpringCM: Adding DocGen at a 10x Multiple
With the addition of SpringCM, DocuSign expands its ability to provide document generation and contract management capabilities. In the past, DocuSign partnered for many of these capabilities. With SpringCM, DocuSign can now compete for larger deals by offering an advanced DTM capability. The new native capabilities come at a very high price (all in cash) and we think DocuSign had cheaper alternatives.
Nintex Buys Promapp: More Process for Less Money
Nintex did not disclose the purchase price for New Zealand-based Promapp, but we think it was far less than what DocuSign spent. Promapp’s secret sauce is its ease of use that allows beginners and business teams to become successful pretty quickly. It is far easier to use than others we have seen to date. It goes further than flowcharting tools like Visio and many may want to upgrade to a low-code process engine. Promapp enables collaboration, along with the ability to manage change and process variants.
When Partners Become Competitors
While we think there is still some element of partnering between DocuSign and Nintex, we think we will see overlap, which means fewer partner deals going forward. It isn’t just Nintex. Other firms, such as Intelledox, which partners with DocuSign, also have some decisions to make. Finally, even for content analytics where DocuSign featured new partner Seal Software onstage at Momentum, the jury is out on what functionality DocuSign will embed from SpringCM.
The Race to Workflow and Content Automation
The race to automate document-centric workflows is present in the deals involving DocuSign and Nintex. Nintex focused more on lightweight process; they already have leading document generation and workflow. DocuSign needed more native document generation capabilities, which SpringCM now provides, along with content management features. Others, such as Adobe and HelloSign, already have made investments in Workflow and Content Automation. Today, the demand is to automate the entire lifecycle of content.