Microsoft is becoming a member of a sizzling pattern in tech acquisitions: process mining.

The Redmond, Wash., company this morning introduced the acquisition of Minit, a 50-person company primarily based in Amsterdam that makes automated instruments for figuring out and untangling inefficiencies in business processes.

Microsoft’s deal comes two days after information processing company Celonis acquired Process Analytics Manufacturing facility, a competitor to Minit that integrates with Microsoft’s Energy BI information analytics and visualization platform.

It follows previous offers in the process mining sector together with SAP’s acquisition of Sigvanio, IBM’s acquisition of myInvenio, and Appian’s acquisition of Lana Labs.

Monetary phrases of Microsoft’s Minit acquisition weren’t disclosed. The company might be half of the Microsoft Process Insights group, reporting to Justin Graham, Microsoft GM of Process Insights.

Mary Jo Foley writes on ZDNet: “Microsoft had been dabbling across the edges of process mining with Energy Automate, however as of the Minit acquisition, Microsoft now could be a real participant in the rising process-mining house.”

Minit staff will stay in their present areas, and the company will proceed to market its present merchandise with no change for present prospects, a Microsoft spokesperson mentioned in response to our questions. Microsoft is in the early phases of figuring out how the Minit know-how might be built-in into its merchandise.

Minit CEO James Dening posted concerning the deal right here.

It was tempting to say “it’s been a Minit” since Microsoft made an acquisition, however in a disappointment for headline writers all over the place, it’s pronounced mine-it, and Microsoft has been fairly energetic on the M&A entrance, most notably its (a lot bigger) pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and its not too long ago accomplished Nuance deal.