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Understanding the Power of Connected Automation

April 4, 2022

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The sudden disruption in the traditional approach to business during the COVID pandemic was a glaring signal that the pandemic recovery would be digital. Soon after, business leaders were hit by the inefficient, traditional enterprise models. Companies are now looking at a more Connected Automation strategy. They need to implement autonomous operations with Intelligent Automation to keep up with the increasing digital competition.

Despite the conjoined efforts put by many to complete the transition, enterprises adopting Intelligent Automation struggled to scale and realize value from their automation investments.

How can enterprises scale their automation journey? What is Connected Automation, and how can it help?

Overview of the Current State of Automation Programs

Intelligence process automation (IPA) investments have accelerated within two years, with a projected $10.9 Bn spent in 2021 alone. Yet many failed to realize the full potential of this investment or earn a substantial ROI.

The inability to adopt Intelligent Automation strategically can be seen as one of the many reasons for such failures. Only 10-12% of enterprises have achieved a semblance of scale in their automation adoption initiatives. Selecting the wrong processes for automation is another reason attributed to enterprises’ inability to accrue the benefits of Intelligent Automation. Most commit to the error of focusing on ‘quick-wins’; instead, the best approach should be converting labor, time, and cost-intensive tasks first.

The Barriers to Scale Intelligent Automation

There will be various roadblocks and multiple challenges as enterprises move along the automation maturity curve. Such barriers can vary from the narrow mindset of people to their technology immaturity. A few such hindrances are mentioned below:

Implementing Automation in Silos: Large enterprises work through several overlapping but disconnected solutions that perform a single task but not necessarily together. They don’t work together, share information or serve any unified purpose. Hence, implementing Intelligent Automation in silos can be a significant hindrance to scaling its success across the length and breadth of the company.

Cost-focused Automation Approach: When automation is tactical or cost-focused, transforming the full potential of Intelligent Automation becomes difficult and fails to cater to larger digital transformation goals.

Knowledge and Skills Gap: Talent and skill unavailability or lack of idea readiness can pose a significant roadblock in full-scale Intelligent Automation implementation.

Lack of Contextual Intelligence :
Data silos or fragmented data scattered across unstructured documents or formats hinder the smooth transition of existing processes to automation.

Fragmented or Broken Processes: When business processes are broken or fragmented, automation implementation can fail to deliver expected outcomes. Also, implementing automation in silos deter proper sharing of information, which often results in wrong process automation adoption.

Automation Disconnected from Human Capital: In the absence of a human-centric holistic approach to Intelligent Automation, only a tiny percentage of employees can fully leverage the benefits of Intelligent Automation. Simply deploying automation to substitute machines for human workers reduces cost but does not translate into value.

What is Connected Automation?

According to experts, Connected Automation is the final state of Intelligent Automation, bringing people, processes, and data together. These are the core aspects of any operation.

Strengthening the Process Connect with Automation

Business processes are central to any transformation. But, process fragmentation poses a major barrier to delivering Intelligent Automation at scale. This happens when a unified workflow is absent in critical processes. Connecting processes can bring end-to-end processes into a
unified workflow and accelerate automation.

Deepening Data Connect with Automation

Data is another fuel for transformation. Unfortunately, poor quality or unavailability of contextually relevant data can be a challenge in scaling Intelligent Automation. Connecting data enables decision-making by unearthing relevant data for enterprises and unlocking insights captured in unstructured documents.

Widening People Connect with Automation

People are the heart and soul of transformation. Connecting people is all about democratizing Intelligent Automation for innovation and embedding it in the organization’s culture. When you increase the number of people involved in transformation, you expect higher speed, scale, and impact at a strategic level.

Conclusion

Sudden disruptions, unpredictable changes, and other challenges are becoming common in the business landscape. No one is immune to such changes. Nevertheless, such disruptions are carriers of immense opportunity, just as we had seen after the COVID pandemic hit the world.

However, leveraging Automation in isolated pockets will continue to inhibit its full potential. Hence, platforms like AssistEdge 19.0 can be the real game-changer for businesses trying to ride the change successfully.

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