Automation is no longer a technical upgrade. It is a business argument.

That was the message from Workato as it formally launched its Philippine entity, Workato Philippines Inc., following four months of local operations buildup.

In a media briefing on 22 April, managing director Tyrone Borromeo said companies need to align automation efforts with business outcomes to drive adoption.

“You have to line it up with... your overall business outcomes,” Borromeo said. “If [companies] don't modernize their technology, guess what? Their competitors will.”

Borromeo described Workato as a platform built to simplify what used to be complex.

“We automate work. We make things easier by automating and integrating systems together,” he said.

Workato positions itself as a platform that connects enterprise systems, from SAP to Salesforce, without requiring heavy coding.

“In the past, integration has always been something that’s very difficult. You have to have programming skills… Workato came to make that much easier,” Borromeo added. “We democratize something that used to be very hard.”

But adoption, executives said, hinges on proving impact.

For Christopher Calalang, associate director for information technology and data services at Prince Retail Group of Companies, the pitch to management came down to lost revenue.

The Cebu-based retailer, which operates more than 70 stores nationwide, previously relied on manual and fragmented systems to manage inventory and procurement.

“Before [Workato], system kept on failing, orders were delayed,” Calalang said. “Sales were lost.”

By linking systems through automation, the company was able to reduce delays and scale operations, making the case for wider adoption.

Borromeo said the platform also plays a key role in enabling newer technologies.

“A lot of companies are going through that journey right now, applying AI,” he said. “The challenge is, how do you make AI real? You have to connect these systems.”

“Because we already have that connectivity layer, it became natural for us… we use that to make AI real,” he added.

Training, often seen as another hurdle, was addressed through simplicity and incentives.

Workato’s platform uses a low-code, no-code approach, allowing even non-technical teams to build automated workflows, referred to as “recipes.”

“This type of technology is now going to the business. It’s not requiring technical people anymore,” Borromeo said. “You don’t even need coding skills.”

At Prince Retail, teams were encouraged to complete certifications through gamification, with rewards given to employees who completed training modules.

“It just takes about 30 minutes of your time,” Calalang said.

Borromeo added that the company also conducted hands-on training sessions for local partners and clients, lowering the barrier to entry.

The platform is also evolving alongside artificial intelligence, with features such as “genies,” or AI agents, built on top of automated workflows.

“These ‘genies’ are basically our agents… you give them a job, you give them skills, and they do the work,” Borromeo said.

Workato also highlighted the rise of Model Context Protocol, or MCP, a new standard that enables systems to connect more seamlessly with AI tools while maintaining enterprise-level security.

“We consider ourselves a leader in that space… connecting systems to AI in a secure and governed way,” Borromeo said.

The company said the Philippines represents a major growth market, citing a multi-billion-dollar opportunity driven by demand for automation and digital transformation.

“With the shift toward AI and automation, the opportunity here is huge,” Borromeo said.

With clients including Jollibee Foods Corp., Philippine Airlines, and Prince Retail, Workato is betting that automation will move from IT departments to the boardroom.

The pitch is simple: automate, or risk being left behind.