Typically, nonprofits are at a technical disadvantage, often running dated and cheap or free systems, said Alan Pelz-Sharpe, founder and principal analyst at Deep Analysis.

“As [machine learning and AI] take hold over the coming years, that gap will grow further,” he said. “So, there is no doubt that there is a need to help them to bridge that gap. The merger in that regard makes a great deal of sense.”

Still, Pelz-Sharpe noted, machine learning and AI are increasingly bundled with and embedded in standard business applications; Google and Microsoft, for example, build the technologies into their office suites.