Need flexibility? Let intelligent automation be your yoga master
by Greg Crowl, Director of Sales Engineering, Asia Pacific & Japan at Kofax
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| Source: Kofax. Crowl. |
The pandemic is just a part of life now, and many organisations are still struggling to perform amid wildly dynamic conditions. One could even say there’s an “outbreak” of underperformance in many companies, with board members raging just as much as COVID. They want results, not excuses.
The problem, however, is as soon as an organisation gets one business challenge under control, something changes, and another obstacle appears. Unpredictability seems to be the only thing companies can rely on these days. The only choice is to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Companies thriving in today’s landscape (and yes, there are some) have learned to adapt on the fly. Similar to a yoga master, they’ve achieved zen in a chaotic, ever-changing world. What’s the secret of these masters of business? Flexibility. It’s the key to being able to react quickly and effectively to the unexpected.
You may be wondering how they did it. In yoga class, it takes time and patience to improve your flexibility, but innovative companies built in flexibility quickly with intelligent automation. A low-code intelligent automation platform guides business line leader through the process of automating high-value business workflows, much like a yoga master guides students to a zen-like state.
Once digitised, automated workflows cushion the business from the unexpected, making it easier to be proactive at a time when your competitors are stuck in a reactive state. And leveraging multifunction devices (MFDs) is a great warm-up stretch for achieving those broader digital transformation goals.
One of the main areas companies have been forced to adapt is in their overall work model. Many have implemented a range of operational strategies, from fully virtual to hybrid to a complete return to physical offices. In many cases, we’re even seeing a combination of these approaches within a single organisation. Challenges that existed before these new work models have been exacerbated. Employees feel isolated, processes are inefficient and data is inaccessible.
Intelligent automation helps companies overcome these obstacles through digital workflow transformation that orchestrates and monitors sophisticated, long-running processes. But where to start? Think MFDs. They’re already connected devices, making them an ideal catalyst to accelerate digital transformation strategies.
For instance, smart MFDs with content-aware capture technology are a crucial component of an intelligent automation platform. These powerful devices digitise documents and make it simple to share information across the organisation, regardless of where employees are working.
Workflows are automatically initiated based on content, driving efficiencies and productivity. Digital controls also improve security and compliance, which has become increasingly important given the prevalence of remote and hybrid work and the increased reliance on the cloud. This approach enhances the value of your MFDs beyond their basic functionality—driving incremental value, increased customer retention and return on investment (ROI).
A survey of 450 IT and automation decision-makers found organisations have leveraged automation for myriad front- and back-office functions. Specifically, 58% have automated the digitisation of information, and 52% have automated front-desk interaction. Saved from manual, repetitive work, employees have more time to focus on innovative tasks.
Digitally transforming high-priority business workflows that connect people, processes and data turns the massive amount of unstructured data coming into your organisation into actionable insight, so you can make well-informed decisions. And your MFDs, when augmented with intelligent automation software, are key to making it happen. A recent benchmark study, Intelligent Automation Platforms Accelerate Digital Workflow Transformation Success, discovered when firms prioritise automating the right types of workflows and processes, they can expect to achieve numerous benefits. The advantages are evident in concrete metrics:
- Improved customer experience (50%)
- Cost savings (46%)
- Efficiency savings (44%)
- Increased revenue (42%)
Customers get a frictionless and delightful experience, regardless of the latest challenge beating down your door. With intelligent automation as their guiding mantra, organisations can bend rather than break in the face of unpredictability, over-achieving in performance and giving the boardroom and stockholders results they demand.
While many companies have already started to automate, not all are on the path to enlightenment. Nearly half (45%) of respondents to a recent study reported their organisations are taking an ad hoc approach, automating their many use cases with various solutions from a multitude of vendors.
This piecemeal approach lacks the ease and fluidity needed for true flexibility. The following challenges were reported as a result of a piecemeal approach, as opposed to a single holistic platform:
- High technical debt (46%)
- Delays in successful outcomes (35%)
- Difficulty in solving large operational challenges (34%)
- Problems of scale (34%)
- Discontinuity in employee experience (32%)
An integrated intelligent automation platform eliminates the challenges that come with a multivendor approach. Not only does it make your organisation more flexible, but it’s crucial for digital workforce management. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of employees say they prefer a single technology platform for two reasons: 78% say it provides them with greater efficiencies, and 65% say it allows them to be more productive.
Wondering what capabilities a holistic platform needs for maximum flexibility? Here’s a list of the core “poses” your intelligent automation vinyasa* flow should include:
Document intelligence
Unlock the value in data with content-aware capture. Add artificial intelligence technologies for deeper data insights and deliver secure document-based workflows driving increased productivity.
Capture and print workflows
Intelligently process and digitise documents with multichannel document capture and optical character recognition, improving customer engagement, reducing costs and improving compliance and security.
Process orchestration
Add and manage a digital workforce on-demand for scalability, agility, while ensuring no business disruption.
Connected systems
Bring together all your critical business systems through an open architecture and prebuilt adapters.
Robotic process automation
Automate routine, manual tasks, eliminating errors and freeing employees to focus on more strategic work.
Low-code platform
Speed up the automation process with an intuitive system that lets citizen developers and more advanced coders contribute to projects, delivering a faster ROI and enabling companies to react quickly.
Do you want the ability to react quickly to the twists and turns of your business without compromising on the customer experience or revenue targets? Augment your MFDs with intelligent automation capabilities and join the masters of business who have achieved zen status, delivering on their mission amid chaos and unpredictability. Become a master of flexibility so you can work (and adapt) like tomorrow, today. Namaste**.
*Vinyasa refers to the smooth transition between yoga poses.
**Namaste can mean both 'hello' and 'goodbye'.
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