Enterprise IT stacks are notoriously disconnected, with critical data scattered across on-premises systems, SaaS tools, legacy databases, and APIs. Enterprise IT News interviewed Ankesh Sagar, Senior Director of Marketing at Workato, to discover how the company intends to eliminate these barriers and bring intelligent automation within reach of every enterprise function in an organisation.
Connecting the dots for an Integrated Enterprise
Workato’s platform is built for connectedness at scale. “With more than 8,000 connectors spanning SaaS applications, legacy systems, databases, even RPA we enable enterprises to unify virtually every part of their business – without writing custom code,” Ankesh said.
These connectors are more than simple API bridges; they serve as foundational building blocks. This foundation is critical because without enterprise orchestration that connects data and processes across functions, AI agents would be limited to siloed functions rather than delivering enterprise-wide impact. Workato’s low-code, drag-and-drop system accelerates deployment, reducing integration backlogs and empowering both business and IT teams to build automation ‘recipes’ collaboratively.
A stand-out feature is their Connector SDK, which allows teams to build bespoke connectors for any specialised applications, creating a truly adaptable and governable platform where data flows and end-to-end workflow processes spanning different departments are automated.
AI agents without boundaries
At the heart of Workato’s offering is what they call “agentic orchestration, and this vision underscores why orchestration isn’t just an add-on.” AI agents are no longer limited by single data sources or siloed tools – they can access, search, and act on data wherever it resides, whether that’s in Salesforce, SAP, Google Drive, or home-grown databases. Once systems are connected, these agents (and employees themselves) can retrieve real-time data, process documents, update records, launch workflows, and trigger notifications – all within well-defined governance.
“The magic,” Ankesh explained, “is that Workato abstracts away the technical complexity of document processing, RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), and vector storage, so business users can easily maintain and use their knowledge.
In this way, AI agents don’t just automate simple tasks – they orchestrate end-to-end workflows that previously demanded manual, multi-tool intervention. They can analyse patterns, flag anomalies, or even escalate urgent issues by drawing insights from disparate silos.
On top of that, role-based access controls, audit logs, and full compliance with SOC2, ISO, HIPAA, and GDPR, ensures IT and business teams always have clear visibility and control over what agents do and what data is accessed. True agentic orchestration becomes possible and agents can orchestrate workflows across the entirety of a business.
A synergising convergence
How does this differ from a traditional RPA platform like say, UiPath. “Legacy RPA is focused on UI automation – bots imitating user clicks on PC screens – which can be brittle and hard to scale,” Ankesh noted.
“Workato’s API-first, cloud-native platform enables real-time, robust integration with built-in business logic, connectors, and error handling.” In legacy environments where systems lack APIs, Workato provides a UI-based RPA connector (in partnership with Robotiq.ai) which integrates with Workato’s platform.
This way, both web-scraping and UI-based automations can co-exist with API-led workflows. Ankesh said, “This blend gives customers flexibility without fragmenting the automation stack.”
We have a responsibility to educate the market, in particular, helping enterprises understand that AI without orchestration risks being fragmented. Whereas with a strong orchestration foundation, agentic AI becomes a real multiplier across functions within the organisation.
Ankesh Sagar
He also reminisced about the past decade when integration (iPaaS), RPA, and AI started out as distinct, siloed technologies. “Fast-forward to today, we are seeing a convergence into enterprise orchestration – a unified model that combines API integration, RPA for UI fallbacks, and AI/ML decisioning with the same platform.” This convergence matters because enterprise orchestration forms the essential foundation that enables agentic AI to scale securely, intelligently, and across business functions.
Workato sits at the core of this transition by letting users build recipes that:
- Integrate via connectors/API;
- Fall back to RPA when needed;
- Invoke AI models for smart decision logic;
- Orchestrate processes end‑to‑end and;
- Include human steps and governance controls.
Driving Awareness
“If you give me one hour today, I will make you a Workato expert,” Ankesh said, highlighting the platform’s ease-of-use and comprehensive features.
“We are employing a multi-layered education strategy. For CIOs and executive audiences, we have produced thought leadership content, such as our best-selling book, ‘The New Automation Mindset’, which explains how IT leaders can build a new framework for orchestrating their business.”
In addition, there is curated content and free guided training available on the Workato Academy platform—a self-directed learning portal with certification—as well as open, collaborative forums for C-suite executives to discuss challenges with their peers.
The icing on the cake is the flagship World of Workato (WoW) user conferences, where over 1,000 professionals from both technical and business backgrounds come together to share real-life use cases and discover the latest connectors and recipes they can use for immediate business impact.
“We have a responsibility to educate the market, in particular, helping enterprises understand that AI without orchestration risks being fragmented. Whereas with a strong orchestration foundation, agentic AI becomes a real multiplier across functions within the organisation,” Ankesh added, noting that earlier this year, Workato ran a National Developer Challenge, enabling more than 100 teams of developers across Singapore to access and innovate with Workato’s platform and its AI features.
He concluded, “At these engagements, we share Workato’s vision for a strategic, unified approach to agentic orchestration. The goal is to create active user communities where Workato customers can share real-life success stories that demonstrate the power of taking a strategic rather than piecemeal approach to integration, automation and AI implementation.”
