The notion of automation only goes back to the 50’s with Fordism and finds a real dynamic nowadays. According to a study done by Salesforce in 2021, 81% of companies would move toward more automation of their business processes. The trend is strong and is reinforced by a new concept: “hyperautomation”.
Gartner, the source of this one in 2019, actually recently highlighted hyperautomation as a strategic trend in technology expected in 2022. According to them, this concept responds to an ever-increasing need for digitalization, operational excellence and growth. This should lead to a smarter and larger automation of the current automation.
Difference between automation and hyperautomation
So what are the big differences between automation and hyperautomation?
Automation regularly optimizes one and only one part of the business process. Hyperautomation allows a more global action than automation, on the whole process chain.
Automation leads to productivity gains. Hyperautomation brings intelligence to operational efficiency with even greater gains.
What is hyperautomation?
Hyperautomation could be summarized as a technology or a set of technologies that will enable a more complete, agile and end-to-end automation of the organization. We can notice, among others, two main categories of technologies:
- Technologies related to Artificial Intelligence with for example:
- Machine Learning: to identify, categorize and organize information with a learning logic
- Deep Learning: learning technology based on artificial neurons
- NLP (Natural Language Processing): that allows a machine to recognize and understand human language
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BPM, which automatically maps a process and all the human/machine interactions in the company, and iBPM, which adds a first level of intelligence to BPM, such as machine learning or the automation of certain tasks called RPA
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iPaaS: a platform that simplifies the integration of data, applications and systems of an enterprise in the cloud. These platforms facilitate the interconnection of your solutions and systems and allow a better fluidity and agility within the organization
- Low code / No code: technologies that allow from automatic or visual models to create mobile or web applications without computer development
- RPA: technologies that enable the automation of business tasks
For which fields of application?
Hyperautomation can be applied to a wide range of domains and global processes such as:
Customer Relationship
Supply Chain
Finance
Benefits of hyperautomation
The benefits of hyperautomation are multiple and can be grouped into 3 main categories:
- A benefit for your teams: Thanks to hyperautomation, your teams can now focus on tasks with higher added value, leaving aside the most repetitive and uninteresting tasks. In the context of customer relations, for example, they will be able to bring value to the most complex issues and thus deliver a better customer experience. This brings a greater capacity to respond to customers and a better operational efficiency. This will only increase their involvement and motivation
- Hyperautomation will also be a real decision support tool. By processing and automating a greater number of tasks, hyperautomation will, thanks to the technologies used, capture a lot of data and knowledge about the company’s operations. This structured data constitutes a real added value for decision making in the company
- Hyperautomation also allows for better compliance and risk control in the company through the control and mastery of processes operated in the field. The example of financial processes speaks for itself: by automating a greater number of tasks done by humans, the company reduces the risk of errors
Engaged and value-focused associates, reliable and compliant processes, as well as data for decision making, make hyperautomation a real productivity lever for the company.
Process Mining: a requirement for hyperautomation?
Hyperautomation requires an accurate view of the performance of your existing processes and how they work.
Mark Kerremans, VP Analyst at Gartner, talks about the fundamental role of Process Mining in the successful implementation of hyperautomation: it provides an end-to-end view of your business processes and brings an essential understanding of the field before automating.
To conclude, hyperautomation goes beyond simple automation and allows the creation of much more independent systems and processes capable of going faster, of carrying out more and more complex tasks that can even go as far as decision making.