Business Process Automation

Business automation is a term for the use of technology and software applications that perform/automate repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for higher value work. This includes business process automation (BPA), robotic process automation (RPA) and AI-powered automation.

Whether you’re running a small business or a large enterprise, automation is an excellent way to streamline operations and drive business growth. To realize the full potential of automation, businesses need to consistently utilize proven automation software and best practices across all workflows — from creating faster, digital customer experiences to simplifying internal processes.

There are various types of business automation, they include: basic automation, process automation, advanced automation and intelligent automation.

Basic automation takes simple, rudimentary repetitive tasks and automates them — helping to eliminate errors and accelerate the pace of transactional work. Some of these tools are available for free online or in some cases at very affordable costs. You may think of such tools that automate the budgeting process or diary planning and invoice generation utilities. It all depends on what your needs as an organization or person are and a simple google search will lead you to a favorable tool to achieve your goal.

Process automation manages business processes for uniformity and transparency. Often handled by dedicated software integrated in all or key departments of the organization. Process automation can increase productivity and efficiency — while also delivering valuable business insights. This type of automation focuses on the organizational processes and the data that flows within, into or out of these processes as well as what data is required to feed into another process. Think of a procurement department that must raise a requisition that needs to be approved by the finance director or a Purchase Order that raised by a procurement officer in the procurement department that needs to be processed by an accounts officer in the accounting department. Process automation helps integrate all these steps. Most organizations need process automation to achieve the next level of growth.

Advanced automation brings together humans and machines to integrate multiple systems across the organization. Supporting more complex processes, advanced automation relies on unstructured data coupled with machine learning, natural language processing and analysis. It promotes knowledge management and decision support for specialized work. Think of the systems that Google uses to bring you relevant search results with a high degree of accuracy or how Amazon will recommend a product to a shopper based on their shopping patterns.

Intelligent automation is driven by AI, it means that machines can “learn” and make decisions based on situations they have encountered and analyzed. For example, in customer service, virtual assistants powered by AI can reduce costs while enabling smarter interactions between customers and human agents.

Business Automation sets your business apart and helps streamline internal processes hence resulting in efficient customer service. To achieve the next level of growth, organizations must automate and take advantage of the benefits that accrue from automation.