WIANCO OTT Robotics GmbH

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager at a German multinational consultation company. We offer automation services within our service line, including robotic process automation (RPA) and AI technology.

Before this was my main focus, I was into irruptive pricing, risk management for banks, and accounting. We’ve done several implementation projects for large financial companies. Over the last two years, I’ve changed my focus to test and intelligent automation and test automation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WIANCO OTT Robotics GmbH?

We have alliances with big vendors in the RPA market and with companies like WIANCO. We use their solutions primarily for remote test automation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WIANCO has an angled approach to automation, which is from a cognitive AI perspective. They’re only going through the UI, analyzing the app’s interface with machine learning and object recognition. They have unique features called “shape recognition” and OCR text recognition. For example, we need scripting permissions to automate some SAP systems, but we don’t have this issue with EMMA, WIANCO’s solution.

We’ve seen some advantages to this approach. It’s easy to use for function steps. We have a no-code framework, so we don’t need people with IT skills to automate it. Also, it provides good transparency for process modeling. For example, if a step fails, the user sees a screenshot with different markings. The button changes, and we simply update its shape and send it to a central repository, which is quite easy to learn after a couple of hours of training.

The solution is ideal for smaller clients and teams, where there might be a lack of IT skills. We’re also using their solution for automated hardware testing in pharma, car development, and other industries. Additionally, the team is quite flexible about customization. We have a remote platform where we offer EMMA, and WIANCO offered us to open their solution for certain AI tools. Now, we can build customized automation solutions for clients.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with five people, including Michael (CEO), Paul (CTO), and Ralf (Research & Development Manager). Ralf is an expert in shape and text recognition. We initially had a few sessions with him to explain what results we wanted.

How did you come to work with WIANCO OTT Robotics GmbH?

They were a local company, and their solution offered functionalities that other vendors in the market didn’t address. They had good test report generation. All the actions of the bot were documented with screenshots and clear descriptions.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost is below €100,000 (approximately $116,000 USD). We have a budget for our alliances, and the work with WIANCO is funded through this.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WIANCO in late-January 2020, and it’s ongoing. We’ve offered them a partnership with our company because we see good business cases for the test automation service. We see it for process automation as well, but there are a lot of competitors in the RPA market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The impact right now is on the test automation part. We’ve used WIANCO’s software for client projects in the field with good results. We’ve also used the tool to automate test management reporting on a daily basis.

We’ve had issues with rearranging requirements into test cases on our HP ALM system. The internal IT from the client told us that it could only be done manually, so we programmed the bots with ammo and left them for hours. They performed the work and documented it perfectly.

How did WIANCO OTT Robotics GmbH perform from a project management standpoint?

We use email to communicate. We also have virtual team sessions and go to their offices for demos. The communication’s always been fine. WIANCO responds fast,  and they’re straight to the point. Moreover, they’re always there to support us if we face an issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always do good work for us. We’ve had technical issues, but we can always trust WIANCO to come up with a solution. When we were automating something, we found an issue that we couldn’t solve with EMMA. We explained it to WIANCO and got a solution for it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The main disadvantage is that WIANCO is a small, young company, not a big software vendor. Software is constantly improving, and they could improve by speeding up new releases.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They have a lot of small clients on the German market, so WIANCO is a good option for someone looking to reach an automation target without a large investment. It’s good to make a small proof of concept of the automation solution, and WIANCO offers good entry points for this.