Tecala acquires Sydney-based automation specialist RapidMation

Initially flagged last year after a successful capital raise, Australian technology consultancy Tecala has made its first strategic acquisition, picking up Sydney-based automation specialist RapidMation.

Tecala has bought the Sydney-based automation advisory for a reported $10 million, creating a new business unit dubbed ‘ADA’ – Automation, Data, and Artificial Intelligence.

The deal will see Tecala’s ranks swell to around 200 professionals across Australia, and follows an $18 million investment secured from private equity firm Armitage Associates toward the end of last year.

“Bringing RapidMation into Tecala comes at a momentous time,” stated managing director Pieter DeGunst. “We see immense potential over the coming decade for our clients to fundamentally transform their business operations utilising automation and artificial intelligence solutions. The RapidMation team expands our resources and capabilities substantially, helping us meet the growing market demand for these solutions.”

Originally founded in 1997 as a straight-up IT consultancy, Tecala has evolved under the leadership of DeGunst since 2006 to become a fully fledged technology services provider to the mid market, with a continuing long-term strategy to transform alongside new and emerging technologies. In recent times, that has translated to an increased focus on areas such as cybersecurity and intelligent business solutions, including automation.

Speaking to CEO Magazine last year on the subject of automation, digital workflows, data insights and app integrations, DeGunst stated: “We fully believe that Australia is at the forefront of leveraging these technologies to be competitive on a global scale… When designed and deployed correctly, these are truly game-changers in how an organisation can operate and scale, and also make significant improvements to its profitability.”

Now, Tecala has further put its money where its mouth is through the purchase of RapidMation. Established in Sydney in 2018 by Shaun Leisegang and Hennie Laubscher, respectively CEO and COO, the company supports clients in transforming repetitive and time-consuming processes through various forms of automation in areas such as employee onboarding, accounts payable, expense claims, insurance, and ideas management.

“We are extremely excited about joining forces with Tecala,” stated Leisegang, who cited the opportunity of finding both a complementary business fit as well as a cultural one. “Tecala and RapidMation share a common vision around the mission-critical importance of AI-powered intelligent automation and the way that combining our two companies will enable game-changing new ways for us to help organisations be successful in this area.”