What a difference a year makes. In 2018, robotic process automation emerged as the biggest trends to watch—not just in technology, but in business, regardless of industry or company size. Over the course of 2019, we’ve seen the conversation shift from visionary explorations of artificial intelligence to most straight-forward and easy-to-implement use cases for robotic process automation (IPA) to a sort of blending of the two in the form of what is now being called intelligent process automation (IPA). Half way into 2019, intelligence process automation has now taken center stage, representing a happy medium between pie-in-the-sky broad applications for artificial intelligence and the far more narrow, brute force automation of dull, one-dimensional routine mouse and keyboard tasks well suited for RPA.
Intelligent Process Automation combines automation of the routine with self-learning capabilities, so that automated systems and applications and get guidance from process owners by monitoring and recording their (mouse and keyboard) interactions and learning from them. In this context, “learning” means adapting an existing algorithm to new instructions without the need for any coding, programming or manual re-configuration. Which, frankly, is pretty darn cool.
Better than being cool, though, is being useful, applicable and practical. And the fact that IPA can be all of those things, particularly for back office processes like vendor invoice or customer order processing, makes it even cooler.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here is a short list of timely, recommended reads in intelligence process automation.
Here is a quick list of our recommended reading for this month:
“…most organizations won’t be able to… have business users sit down with developers and walk them through these complex processes…the only practical solution — is to adopt an intelligent low-code development platform that enables business users and other experts to help directly with code creation. Low-code development will accelerate software creation and enable these myriad other processes to finally get help from automation they need.” – Aithority
“I think of RPAs as “dumb bots” that can help with simple chores…they need to be molded with proper business knowledge and a high-level vision. In my opinion, these bots, based on how you implement your process automation solution, can evolve into a more “intelligent” solution with the ingredients of AI and ML” – Forbes
”Organizations seeking to reap the full benefits of robotic process automation are beginning to see artificial intelligence as a key technology for optimizing their process flow.” – CIO
No doubt, 2019 will continue to produce surprises when it comes to process automation and innovation. One thing is certain: gone are the days of business as usual. More companies will embrace and adopt intelligent process automation for common, high-velocity back office processes like vendor invoice or customer sales order handling. Companies that have already reaped the rewards of some initial projects or processes will apply those same tools to more complex and challenging processes, including lower-volume but higher value processes that could not be automating cost effectively without a highly flexible, low code approach.
To explore how Intelligent Process Automation and data capture can help automate and accelerate operations for your back office and throughout your enterprise, contact your Artsyl Technologies representative.