Celonis Process Mining in ’23: An In-Depth Look at Products, Features and Competitors

Process mining has emerged as a hot technology, helping organizations analyze process data to maximize efficiency. As an early innovator since 2011, Celonis has rapidly gained market share thanks to its robust capabilities.

However, companies like IBM, Microsoft and UiPath are expanding into process mining through acquisitions. This poses a real competitive threat.

That‘s why I‘ve put together this comprehensive guide comparing Celonis to alternatives. I‘ll share insights from my experience as a data analyst consultant so you can determine if Celonis is the right choice.

By the end, you‘ll have the knowledge to select the best process mining platform for your needs.

Let‘s start by examining Celonis‘ origins and meteoric growth…

The Impressive Rise of Celonis

Celonis was founded in 2011 in Munich, Germany by three entrepreneurs: Alexander Rinke, Martin Klenk, and Bastian Nominacher. They had a vision for a new technology to optimize business execution through process data.

This new category they pioneered became known as “process mining.” It has taken off incredibly since those early days.

Some key milestones:

• 2018: Celonis raises $50M funding and launches the Intelligent Business Cloud, hitting new revenue records.
• 2019: Celonis secures $290M in Series C funding, reaching unicorn status with a $2.5B valuation.
• 2020: Series D funding of $1B makes Celonis the leader of a red-hot process mining market.
• 2021: Valuation balloons to $11B after raising another $1B in Series E funding.

This hypergrowth shows how hot process mining has become, with Celonis at the forefront redefining business execution.

Let‘s analyze what‘s driving such incredible demand for Celonis‘ offerings.

The Powerful Capabilities Fueling Celonis‘ Rise

Celonis offers end-to-end process mining capabilities that help organizations unlock major efficiency gains.

Here are some of the key features and benefits provided by Celonis technology:

Automated Process Discovery

• Analyze system log files to visualize actual business processes
• Understand processes across siloed systems in one unified view

Benefits: Gain fact-based understanding of true as-is processes

Actionable Process Insights

• Identify process bottlenecks, waste, variants and risks
• Quantify potential savings from optimizations

Benefits: Prioritize highest-impact process improvements

Conformance Checking

• Compare actual processes versus ideal processes
• Pinpoint root causes of deviations and quantify their impact

Benefits: Continuously monitor processes and prevent deviations

Process Simulation

• Model "what-if" scenarios to forecast process changes
• Quantify expected improvements without disrupting operations

Benefits: Test optimization ideas virtually to minimize risk

Task Mining

• Capture desktop actions to analyze how users work
• Identify process friction and digitization opportunities

Benefits: Optimize employee experience and productivity

These end-to-end capabilities make Celonis the category leader. But how widely have they been adopted?

Celonis by the Numbers: Staggering Market Adoption

Celonis’ technical capabilities have enabled it to achieve dominant market share.

Consider these adoption metrics:

• 2,000+ customers across industries like finance, manufacturing, healthcare and more
• $400M+ annual recurring revenue (ARR), growing at triple digit rates year-over-year
• 90% of Global 2000 companies have adopted process mining, with most choosing Celonis
• 60% market share of process mining software per leading industry estimates

This data shows why Celonis is the #1 choice for enterprises seeking process excellence. The numbers also suggest the market has significant runway for continued hypergrowth.

But how does this adoption translate into real-world impact for customers?

Transforming Business Execution: Celonis Customer Success Stories

The proof is in the results. Here are a few examples of process improvements powered by Celonis:

• Siemens shortened lead times by over 25% across project management processes
• Uber reduced payment errors by 62% and slashed complaint resolution time by 20%
• Vodafone improved line activation cycle time by 22% saving over 70K hours yearly
• CitiGroup accelerated account opening turnaround time by 20%, improving customer experience

These quantified business impacts exhibit the immense value Celonis can unlock.

But what exactly are the products delivering this value? Let‘s explore Celonis‘ software portfolio.

Celonis Product Portfolio: Execution Management System and More

Celonis offers a range of process mining software to meet diverse needs:

Celonis Execution Management System (EMS)

EMS is the flagship product for Celonis. It enables end-to-end process excellence capabilities on one unified platform:

Key highlights:

• Leverages AI to analyze process data and uncover insights
• Low-code automation and intelligence configuration
• Over 2,000 plugins to extract and integrate process data
• Industry-specific applications to accelerate ROI

EMS provides the full process mining toolkit needed for process excellence.

It is offered in three tiers:

• Starter: Core process mining capabilities
• Professional: Adds task mining, predictions, automation
• Enterprise: Additional data connectors and scale

This lets companies align capabilities to their maturity level. EMS is Celonis‘ most popular product based on adoption.

Celonis Studio & Studio Apps

Celonis Studio provides tools for power users to customize EMS:

• Develop function boxes to extend capability
• Create custom dashboards and applications
• Automate deployments across environments

Celonis Studio enables expert practitioners to tailor Celonis to their unique needs.

Out-of-the-box apps are also available, like:

• IT process monitoring
• Order-to-cash analytics
• Supply chain visibility

These provide turnkey value in common process areas.

Celonis Task Mining

Task mining analyzes desktop behavior to optimize user workflows. Key features:

• Auto-records desktop actions like apps used and keys clicked
• Analyzes tasks, applications, and workflows
• Identifies productivity barriers and digitization gaps

Task mining complements EMS process data to improve employee experience.

Celonis Machine Learning Workbench

This package enhances EMS with custom machine learning capabilities:

• Ingest and prepare data for modeling
• Build, evaluate, and deploy ML models
• Embed predictions into process flows

It allows data science teams to leverage EMS data science-powered insights.

Celonis offers products for both business users and technical teams on one unified platform. But how does it technically work under the hood?

How Celonis Technical Capabilities Deliver Value

There are three key steps in Celonis‘ technical approach:

1. Integrate Data

Celonis extracts process data from sources like ERPs, databases, and apps. It provides pre-built, drag-and-drop connectors to simplify setup.

Customers praise this ability to unify data from disconnected systems into one source of truth.

2. Analyze and Visualize

Powerful algorithms automatically analyze the integrated data to discover actual process flows. Users can visualize these processes with interactive dashboards.

Advanced analytics like process variant analysis, root cause identification, and predictive modeling provide actionable insights.

3. Enable Action

Celonis activates improvements directly from process insights:

• Automate repetitive tasks with low-code tools
• Embed reports and metrics into apps to monitor processes
• Add alerts for process deviations or bottlenecks

This closed-loop approach sets Celonis apart. It bridges the gap between insights and process changes.

But how does Celonis‘ approach compare to alternatives?

Comparing Celonis to Key Process Mining Competitors

While Celonis leads in market share, new entrants are emerging to challenge it. Let‘s compare Celonis to top alternatives:

IBM Operational Decision Manager

IBM entered process mining by acquiring myInvenio in 2020.

Verdict: IBM ODM may appeal to existing IBM customers but has less specialized process mining capabilities.

UiPath

UiPath acquired ProcessGold in 2021 to augment its RPA offering.

Verdict: UiPath appeals for simple RPA use cases but trails Celonis for advanced process excellence.

Apromore

Apromore is an open-source process mining platform.

Verdict: Apromore provides free access but lacks capabilities for enterprise use.

This competitive analysis shows that newcomers still lag Celonis considerably in process mining maturity and capabilities.

But how does Celonis stack up on pricing?

Comparing Process Mining Software Pricing: Celonis vs. Alternatives

Pricing varies based on deployment model, license terms, and functionality needs. Here‘s an overview:

Celonis commands a premium for its best-in-class capabilities. Mid-market companies may find better value in UiPath or IBM ODM. Apromore offers free access but requires extensive internal skills.

Pricing should be evaluated based on expected ROI. Celonis generates 10X+ ROI by driving major process improvements.

Now that we‘ve compared Celonis to alternatives, let‘s take a look at what the future holds.

The Road Ahead: What‘s Next for Celonis Process Mining

Celonis appears positioned for continued breakout growth in coming years based on these positive indicators:

• Expanding partnerships: Celonis keeps deepening integrations with systems like ServiceNow, Workday, Salesforce and SAP to fuel growth.
• New product innovation: Celonis‘ roadmap includes additions like climate risk analysis, augmented process intelligence, and process robotics. The innovation pipeline remains robust.
• Global expansion: Celonis is localized into 5 languages and keeps setting up new entities internationally, tapping into growing worldwide demand.
• Increasing market maturity: As more companies realize process mining‘s benefits, Celonis first-mover advantage sets it up to capture spend.

Barring major disruption, Celonis looks destined to continue dominating process mining thanks to its technology leadership and execution.

The Verdict: Is Celonis the Right Choice for Your Business?

Celonis provides the most complete and powerful process mining capabilities available today. It offers quick time-to-value along with the flexibility to scale to the largest organizations.

That said, you should evaluate your specific needs, budget, and existing landscape before deciding:

Consider Celonis if:

• You want best-in-class process mining functionality
• You need AI-powered process insights and automation
• You have complex processes and data sources to integrate

Look at alternatives if:

• You need basic process modeling at the lowest cost
• You want plug-and-play integration into Microsoft or IBM ecosystems
• You prefer open source software with greater customization

For most companies seeking serious process transformations, Celonis is a top-tier choice. Backed by extensive research, I can confidently recommend Celonis as a process mining leader capable of optimizing global business execution.

I hope this detailed guide provided you with clarity on Celonis‘ powerful capabilities as well as how it compares to alternatives like IBM, UiPath, and Apromore.

If you need any advice selecting the right process mining platform for your organization, feel free to get in touch! I‘m always happy to provide vendor-neutral guidance to help you maximize the business value of process excellence.