Automation: The Big Business Need of 2021

 

“Automation is the replacement of Human Action!”
The simplest terms that define the concept. 

Automation earlier was less emphasized and was lightly suggested by leaders, on the flip, today it has reached the heated board-level discussions and is considered as a strategic priority by the businesses that conducive success.

With companies embracing robust technologies at all levels, giving a push to Artificial intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Deep Learning (DL), Natural Language Processing (NLP), etc., more and more businesses are pursuing automation.

If we say that there are plenty of things machines are capable of doing better than humans, we won’t be wrong as organizations tend to adopt Intelligent Automation suites that are providing strategic automation solutions with effective results.

Source

Automation involves a great variety of systems and processes that are executed with minimal or no human intervention. All activities carried out by a person within an organization are supported by a process, whether formalized or not, that indicates how information flows within the enterprise.

When these processes are defined say, which people, from which areas, and what tasks may develop within the process, as well as the information that enters, how it is transformed, the mode through which it is delivered, drags us towards a system. 

This is when a business establishment begins to consider the need or benefits of automating. Here are some of the benefits to expect:

-Cost Reduction
Helps eliminate the use of excessive resources and improves equipment load, also reduces material and printing costs.

-Error Reduction
Helps to avoid communication or human errors and prevents miscalculations and inaccuracy.

-Increased Speed
Enables significant reduction in time via increasing the execution speed.

-Traceability & Transparency
One can trace and track the processes at all times and follow-up the trails.

-Real-Time Reports & Results
One can access analytical reports promptly at the moment and receive always updated results in real-time.

Aspects to Consider when Automating a Process

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not necessarily everything under a process can disengage human intervention and can be made automatic, instead, there are a few parameters that one needs to take into account.

-One needs to know the actual process from end to end
-There is a need to measure the time consumed on each task
-Analyze deeply the aspects of the process that can be simplified
-Incorporate software or applications that help facilitate work and communication

Resultantly, by monitoring and analyzing the process in a comprehensive way a company can be successful in applying business process automation in a real sense, simultaneously promoting its growth. 

Appknock is committed to offering bespoke automation of processes to aid businesses to become more efficient in their administrative and development tasks, thereby, guaranteeing the quality of service.

Automation Technologies: Growth & Deployment

Compared with the past few years, companies have strenuously paid heed towards prioritizing automation and have alongside laid focus on employees as much as technology, rethinking to modify their operational paradigms.

The 2018 survey conducted reported 57% of the businesses initiated to piloting automation of business processes in a number of business units whereas the 2020 figures report a hike of 9% in its implementation on successive grounds and those who haven’t begun yet, state their immediate plans to incorporate automation in 2021.

 

Business Actions taken to Automate Business Processes (in %)

source

Next, when respondents were asked to state the most commonly deployed technologies, business process management and robotic process automation topped the list followed by the trail of image recognition, machine learning, conversational automation, natural language processing, and so on.

Automation Technologies Commonly Adopted & Deployed (in %)

The ascending adaption of technologies for automation proves that companies aim to enhance human productivity rather than replace manual labor. 

There is a factor of trust and quality shown by entrepreneurs in the super-powerful technologies where they wish to pair intelligent automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning robotics with individuals to handle the exceptions that machines aren’t capable to do. 

The desire doesn’t end here, further the motive is dragged to make machines and devices smart by taking in the information from human interaction and making the best possible use of it.

SMEs: What More to Look Ahead?

One cannot deny that automation has become one of the business imperatives where almost all major companies look forward to locking the potential of automation. So here are some critical tips to be considered by small-medium sized establishments to incorporate parts of the automation mandate.

#Determine & Pivot on Crucial Business Processes

Identify the major business processes to automate and operate them in a more efficient manner in order to verify and evolve business competencies against your pre-defined goals and initiatives.

Spending time on digging up specific solutions on the painstaking points may not work every time, one can benefit in applying a systematic approach to automation in significant business processes. 

Every business carries ‘an aspect of change’ in different operations, parts, activities, or even departments, thus automation helps to optimize these processes ideally, voiding the chances of you to lose data, time as well as reliability.  

#Invest in People, Technologies & New Ways of Working

Many people believe that technology is less of a boon and is here to replace human jobs but it’s time that we realize that automation is a way that can be utilized by businesses to enhance human productivity and ultimately scale progress.

This is proven by chatbots and virtual assistants where these tech-driven devices enable employees to fetch automated data in real-time within no time and help them build close relationships with potential prospects and customers. 

But before expecting desired results, the employees working must be well acquainted with the automation technologies and must promote a culture of continuous learning before welcoming new techniques/technologies.

The trio of people, technologies, and innovative ways aid an organization to meet its automation goals that would require a company to create new roles and modify the new ones for well-engineered talent management.

[Prefer Reading: “Enhanced User Experience? Think Chatbots”]

#Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration

Automation embedded in operational tools adds benefits in bringing together the capabilities of individuals from different departments. Software service providers are capable of reinventing critical business processes powered by innovation and automation that support the operational model, collaborating with different working areas.

“Extensible business automation strategy enables your business to take control of those processes and free up time and resources so you can focus on what’s important.”

[Prefer Reading: “IoT Security Challenges to Overcome in 2021:]