In the fast-paced world of business, time is always ‘of the essence’ and the quicker you can deliver, the more likely you’ll be able to outshine your competitors. As such, business automation technologies have never been more critical. In fact, a recent survey conducted by Kyocera Document Solutions found that 90% of organisations in Australia and New Zealand are already using business automation (BA) technology to improve their processes.
From streamlining operations to improving customer satisfaction to ultimately increasing profitability - process automation can be a real game changer for the future success of a business. In this blog, we take you through the business process automation trends that have the power to transform your organisation.
Cloud-based automation
Many businesses want to move away from expensive on-site servers. Cloud-based automation is a way this can be achieved with significant cost-savings and a great speed to implementation. In addition to automation’s ability to streamline tasks and processes, cloud computing technology can optimise resource allocation, enhance agility and increase scalability to handle changing demands.
Cloud automation has a range of uses including speedy infrastructure provisionings, application deployment and management, continuous integration support - and it can even facilitate backup and crisis recovery workflows. By implementing cloud-based automation such as the Kyocera Intelligent Automation Platform, organisations can achieve operational efficiency, cost optimisation and faster delivery of services.
Micro automation
This refers to the implementation of small-scale automation solutions to optimise and streamline specific tasks or processes within a business. It involves using technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence, and machine learning to automate repetitive, rule-based, and time-consuming activities.
The main principle of micro automation is to break down larger processes into smaller, more achievable components and automate them individually. By focusing on these granular tasks, organisations can achieve incremental improvements and efficiencies throughout their operations. Micro automation can be particularly beneficial in complex business processes that involve multiple steps, systems, and data sources.
End-to-end visibility
It might seem like a no-brainer, but ensuring your business has true end-to-end visibility can be a real game changer. After all, functions shouldn't be limited or prohibitive. Rather, they should help streamline all your business’s processes, allowing departments to work and collaborate together with ease.
A siloed approach to running a company can cause a range of issues, potentially leading you to lose out on new business, or even lose existing customers. Simply ensuring that all aspects of your business are visible to those that need them means that you can increase productivity by cutting down on unnecessary time wasted searching for things. Plus, you can also ensure that you are in the best possible position to benefit from any potential opportunities in the future.
Hyperautomation
Automation is undoubtedly an essential tool for improving the efficiency and productivity of your business, with 55% of ANZ companies believing that automation will continue to play a larger role in their business. However, hyperautomation takes this concept to a whole new level. Where standard automation can provide relief from repetitive tasks, hyperautomation improves this function even more.
Hyperautomation helps businesses go the extra mile by breaking down preconceived tasks. It can promote smart and accommodative tactics that can actually improve performance, rather than working on a continuous, repetitive loop. This is all possible thanks to advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine learning. These tools can even find processes you might not even think can be automated and have bots to perform them, eliminating human involvement in low-value tasks and allowing your team to focus on the things that matter.
Customer Experience (CX)
A high-quality customer experience is the cornerstone of any successful business and shouldn’t be overlooked at your peril. Sure, technology might be changing rapidly, but successful businesses have been built on effective customer service for centuries, and that’s one thing that will never change.
The good news is that this business process automation trend can really help take your customer’s experience of your business to another level. As well as boosting your offering to new and existing customers, automation can also reduce human resource costs, ensuring speedier response times and ultimately improving experiences for your clientele. More than that, it also allows your team to utilise their time better, meaning they can focus on higher-value tasks.
As technology continues to improve, the onus remains firmly on businesses to make sure that they stay up to date with the latest business process automation trends, or face potentially unpleasant circumstances.
The business automation story is entering the next phase as it expands its role in our tech stacks and transforms the way we work. Download our new whitepaper, An Automated Future, to learn how business automation will shape Australian and New Zealand organisations in 2023–25.
