Businesses have started to rethink the way they operate. Different ideas are coming together to lead a new revolution and automation plays a huge role it. More and more business processes are becoming automated. Mundane tasks are being removed with the help of Business Process Automation. This has resulted in new opportunities. Due to automation, businesses are able to focus on their customers, creativity, and innovation. There are many service providers that provide you with the technical expertise to convert your traditional business model into one that relies on business process automation. Thus, businesses are able to create internal capability. There are various processes that can be automated and with the help of a service provider, those sweet spots can be discovered to provide the business with the biggest impact or the quantifiable benefit.

Increased Flexibility, Agility & Speed

One of the reasons why businesses are flocking towards the opportunity of automation is because of the fact that automation provides increased flexibility, agility and speed. Automation is a solution which provides business organizations with the tool to respond to changes in demand flexibly. Production can be scaled according to the growth in real-time. Moreover, it can also be re-programmed in order to provide support to the ever-changing needs of your business.

Boosts Operational Performance

Business activities can be centrally managed with automation to cut down on direct costs such as operating costs. Moreover. higher quality processing, increased output and productivity can be expected. Therefore, a business that wishes to compete in the world of today has to rely on automation. There is no easier and better way to achieve optimal performance.

Improved Customer & Staff Satisfaction

RPA technology is used to carry out the repetitive and mundane processes. This allows the employees to be feel empowered in order to focus on activities that add value like customer relationship management. Furthermore, with the help of automation, customer experience would also be improved to a much higher level due to quicker response times, product consistency, and personalized services.

 

What Is Automation?

Automation is a term that is used to describe the use of technology to perform or facilitate tasks which required some type of human action or judgment. Tasks refers to more than just activities in the operational environment as it encompasses other tasks as well such as designing, discovering and thinking about carrying about the tasks on their own. When it comes to automation or rather the popular term hyper-automation, it refer to the combination of automation tools, packaged software, and machine learning in order to carry out the work. The need for using a certain type of automation tool depends on the requirements of the business organization and the existing IT architecture in place.

So What Is Hyper-Automation?

The world is moving towards hyper-automation. Hyper-automation refers to the speeding up of automation in such a way so as to use the latest automation tools in order to provide the ultimate solution to the business.

It refers to more than just the breadth of tools used, but even the steps undertaken in automation such as reassessment, monitoring, measuring, automating, designing, analyzing, and discovering. However, one should keep in mind that when it comes to hyper-automation, it is a market state wherein it is unavoidable for organizations to operate unless they are able to quickly and continuously identify and automate as many business processes as possible. There are a few implications to it as mentioned below.

• Changes in the scope of automation. Increased knowledge work would be automated. The entire focus would span the automation of transactions, discrete and individual tasks, and others based on rigid and static rules. Thus, it would optimize the levels of automation to provide a much more dynamic and enhanced experience and the business can take advantage of the outcome.
• Resources will be coordinated and work will be managed according to the tools used. Moreover, organizations will have to make use of evolving technology in order to provide support to the growing scope of the business.
• Some of the tools include process automation, task automation, packaged software, and decision management through the use of machine learning technology.
• The processes will need to be designed in order to boost agility. Therefore, the business has to support the processes and reconfigure the operations to meet the ever-changing needs of the business and to tackle competition. Hyper-agile tools and practices are required to achieve a hyper-automated state.
• Staff engagement is critical to bring change and enable staff to provide value. Only incremental advantages would be gained in case employees that are engaged are not able to transform the operations digitally. It means that the business has to overcome challenges that come with silos. The organization would need to integrate the capabilities of the suppliers and its partners, and to allocate the resources in the best way possible to achieve this.

Hyper-Automation Key Components – IBPMS & RPA

In order to reap the benefits of hyper-automation, the right technologies and tools have to be selected to handle the unique challenges faced by the business. The main focus of hyper-automation is the understanding of the wide range of software options, how these relate to each other, and how such options can be coordinated and combined to provide greater value to the business. However, it is difficult to do so as the process is complicated due to the availability of different technologies. Some of these are mentioned below for better understanding.

• RPA or Robotic Process Automation is an effective way to establish a connection between the legacy systems which do not have APIs using modern systems. RPA will help move the structured data from one system to another in order to promote integration between the legacy systems. The process does not take a long time as it is only relied upon for the movement of data. Knowledge workers can also be augmented using RPA tools for carrying out the daily tasks which would enable repetitive and mundane tasks to be removed.

The defined integration script would allow the data to be manipulated and would help with the movement of data from one environment to the other. These tools are easily available to business users as the integration depends on the interaction of metadata.

• IBPMSS which stands for Intelligent Business Process Management Suite is more powerful than RPA. It manages the long-running processes. IBPMSS is an integrated set of tools/ technologies which help coordinate things, machines, and people. It relies on the rules and processes in place which manage many tasks as well as drive the user interface. Robust APIs allow for integration with external systems to be achieved. Strong decision models can be used for the simplification of the environment. It provides one with a natural integration point for machine learning and advanced analytics. The entire life cycle of the business processes are supported by IBPMSS such as for continuous optimization, monitoring, execution, implementation, design, analysis, and discovery.
• The IBPMSS enables one to collaborate on improvement and iterative development of the decision models and processes. Professional developers and business analysts can rely on IBPMSS for achieving the best results. The technology is perfectly complementary and be deployed along side other applications.

Smart Workflow

Smart Workflow has become one of the most popular software tools out there. It integrates different tasks that are performed by machines and humans. Smart Workflow helps users to track the status of various processes and to initiate different processes in real-time. Different groups can use the software to manage work including human users and robots. Bottlenecks will be better identified and evaluated.

Advanced Analytics/ Machine Learning

This is where useful algorithms which help identify patterns come into place. They identify patterns from structured data like performance data. Structured data provides useful information to supervised algorithms which look at both the input and output before predictions are made. On the other hand, unsupervised algorithms are used for observing the structured data in order to gain insights on patterns. Advanced analytics and machine learning has been a game changer for businesses. For instance, when it comes to insures, improvement of compliance is crucial as well as the reduction of cost structures. This is why there is a need for gaining insights and advanced analytics helps provides those actionable insights in order for the business to make the right decision. HR groups have been extensively implementing advanced analytics to asses and determine the key attributes of managers and leaders so as to plan the succession of leadership, develop unique career paths, and for predicting behaviors.

Natural Language Generation

Natural language generation has become increasingly popular. Software engineers have been able to create seamless interactions between technology and humans. For instance, broadcasters use natural language generation for creating stories in real time. Structured performance data could be used for automatically writing external and internal management reports.

Cognitive Agents

Cognitive agents are also used for speeding up automation or rather hyper-automation. It is a technology which combines natural language generation and machine learning to create an entirely virtual workforce that is able to make decisions based on emotions detection, learns from sets of data, communicates, and executes tasks. Cognitive agents are used for providing support to customers and employees through chat or the phone such as in the case of an employee service center. Companies can use cognitive technology for increasing conversion rates, reducing validation errors, and boosting the overall return on investment significantly.

The Future of Business Operating Models

The truth is that the future of business operating models is here. As automation takes care of rote tasks, employees are better able to focus on satisfying customers and thinking of new ways to add value to the organization. Furthermore, automation helps provide useful information which can be used for achieving the business goals. In order to reap the full range of benefits that come with automation, the business has to fully implement automation in order to unlock considerable value rather quickly as compared to by relying on individual elements alone.

Highest Returns

In addition to the above, automation proves the highest returns. Investors are able to get the most out of their investments made by implementing automation. Besides, it makes decision-making a lot easier by providing vital information that is both accurate and reliable. As more and more businesses realize the potential of automation and the fact it offers such a high return on investment, there would be a surge in automation-backed practices. Some places around the world have already experienced the benefits of hyper-automation and are heavily investing in the future of business operating models in order to not just compete locally, but globally.

Greater Control

Besides, automation provides businesses with greater control. As new discoveries are made in real-time, businesses will have better control over the various processes. Machine learning has made it easier than ever before to automate processes and to provide further control over even the most difficult of tasks. This has resulted in a business model where businesses can optimize control over the entire organization. Not a single task is out of control. Moreover, automation will provide better reporting of operations. Thus, the business will have far better insights than it could possibly have received by employing specialists. This information can be used for improving different processes and for boosting the productivity.

 

How You Can Get Started With Automation?

If you want to truly transform your business processes, then you need to fully prepare the organization for automation. Automation does not require a huge investment in infrastructure as it focuses on the information systems that are already available. RPA software plays a major role in driving that change and for achieving rapid implementation. Some companies have even been able to get their RPA systems running in just two weeks. In order to implement automation, the role of the operating model has to be aligned accordingly. The design of the automated processes has to consider the entire portfolio and capability of the software solution for optimization and maximum impact.