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Hyperautomation: An introduction to your toolbox

A technology toolbox
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Mathias Fransen
‍In this blog, we will discuss the term hyperautomation: it’s origine, what is so special about this new hype and why so many vendors are pushing it into the market

“Hyperautomation” was first used by Gartner, calling it the #1 trend in strategic-business process management for 2020. Since then, hyperautomation continues to be the focus trend that will have the highest impact in the coming years.

Although most trends are backed by a single technology, hyperautomation does not focus on one single technology. Instead, hyperautomation is a business-driven and disciplined approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet, and automate as many business and IT processes as possible. It thus involves the combination of multiple advanced technologies.

Often companies that start automating their business processes, focus on only one single technology (such as RPA) to perform manual, repetitive tasks with the focus on creating the highest ROI possible. This often results in technology thinking instead of aiming for the best business solutions. Creating your ideal solution might even mean revising the whole process instead of automating it.

I heard a comparison from one of my colleagues that really strook me. When you are building a cathedral you will not do that with a single hammer. Rather than that, you will need a chisel, a crane, trucks… This analogy is also true when automating processes. Depending on the process you want to automate you might need different tools. Some give you better insight into the data you are using like AI, some will execute certain tasks in the background (RPA) and some will orchestrate users throughout the process (Low code Apps). Or an algorithm that will make intelligent decisions or transform pdf’s into structured data (AI). Notice the focus on your processes and not on finding cases to solve with RPA for example, a very common pitfall for most companies.

The stack of hyperautomation technologies/platforms includes:

  • Artificial intelligence (AI)
  • Machine learning
  • Event-driven software architecture
  • Robotic process automation (RPA)
  • Business process management (BPM) and intelligent business process management suites (iBPMS)
  • Integration platform as a service (iPaaS)
  • Low-code/no-code tools
  • Packaged software
  • Other types of decision, process and task automation tools

The same applies to the people you involve in your automation teams. Like during the building process of a cathedral, you need end users that check everything is according to their wishes, architects that check if the construction is strong enough, builders who are focused on putting the bricks correctly etc…

The combination of these different profiles and making them work together in an efficient manner is critical to have a successful automation team. Using an agile methodology often helps to create small solutions fast and adapt them according to changing processes or changing customer needs. But think before you act… Clearly define how the automation team should look like, what are their responsibilities and define the processes on how to tackle new processes and adaptations but also what processes to prioritize. We at RoboRana therefore the concept of an Automation bible that captures all of these rules a center of excellence should comply to.

Want to know more about how to create your bible? Connect here & let’s meet for a coffee!

Stay tuned for our next series on Hyperautomation predictions…

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