Looking for business expansion? But how will you attain high productivity with your staff always busy solving small issues and executing recurring tasks?
Business process automation is an easier option for businesses looking for growth as it enables an organization to reduce its dependency on the workforce by 80%.
Automating the small business tasks can help your employees spend more time focusing on what really matters for business growth rather than performing monotonous tasks that can be performed using robots and business tools.
With this, the automation industry provides business owners with two robust automation techniques.
- Business process automation which works on business analytical tools and work-flow engines to drive out some accurate outcomes for the technical experts to work more efficiently.
- Robotic process automation is a technique where the software bots are used to automate the business processes with predefined inputs and outputs given to them. Here the robots only automate the processes defined to them to get particular outcomes.
Both of these techniques do an immense job to make the work easier for business workers, but there is still the need for human intervention to accomplish automation.
This called for a smarter automation technique that requires zero human involvement to perform business operations, and thus Intelligent Process automation systems came into the picture.
Herewith this article, we will understand what the IPA system is, it’s working and the business benefits that the entrepreneurs get with its deployment in their business operations.
So let’s dive in and start with its definition.
What is Intelligent Process Automation?
IPA is an automation technology that takes RPA and business automation to the next level by embedding intelligence in the RPA automation. With the use of today’s whirling technologies like AI and machine learning, a layer of self-learning capability is added to the normal RPA system.
IPA embedded business applications acquire a decision-making ability where the system analyzes the gathered data to give some smarter solutions and accomplish a task.
Unlike RPA, the IPA doesn’t show an input error and stops the operation but helps the users to identify the mistake and solves it using its machine intelligence, removing the need for human involvement from the automation process.
How IPA works in the real world?
IPA works to enhance the automation process by meeting the limitations of the RPA system with the use of intelligent technologies.
Practically stating, RPA systems are used to automate repetitive business tasks and predictable business processes. Here based on the data stored in the system, the specific event trigger points are made which calls for a specific action to be taken by the RPA systems.
The ability of RPA limits to the pre-defined norms and the system stops the operation once some undetermined action comes in the flow.
In such a situation, the IPA system uses its intelligence to get the data or action in the RPA understandable form to take the further robotic process into execution.
Example:
- IPA system converts the unstructured information that comes to the system for processes into structured using optical character recognition for the RPA to match its predefined format to perform the automated task, this removes the need for a person to make the data into RPA readable form.
- Using machine learning algorithms, IPA recognizes some patterns that make it intelligent enough to make decisions for the system. This helps it to learn things and improve the automation system to perform the right actions.
For an online appointment booking tool, the IPA system doesn’t allow the user to book two appointments in the same slot, it has the intelligence to verify the availability of slots to avoid overlapping.
The RPA system here would book 2 appointments in the same slot as this is what is instructed to do (book the appointment).
Moving further, let’s know about how this automation system would help businesses improve efficiency to generate more revenues.
Operational benefits Intelligent Process Automation provides to business
Better decision making
The IPA system is capable of analyzing a huge amount of system data (structured and unstructured) that gets generated using Artificial intelligence technology.
This feature helps it to make some actionable decisions not just for the systems it’s embedded in but also helps the business owners get insights to make data-driven decisions.
Depending upon the business process that is put under automation like billing, form filling, purchase order processing, employee onboarding process, and many more, the insights collected from these processes can help drive key information to back an excellent business strategy.
Reduced business downtime
System downtime is a big issue for businesses dependent on particular software. Based on the hour, the unavailability of the software might stop business operations, costing a huge amount to the business owners.
IPA monitors the system 24/7 and has the ability to sense the upcoming threat to detect and resolve the issues that can cause a system breakdown.
With the reduced chances of business downtime, the amount of losses faced by business owners also reduces. This also helps maintain business targets and achieve them on time without any hurdle of the system getting errors or time involved in getting it done in case of the system getting out of order.
Improves employees work efficiency
Most of the businesses fail as they are not well organized and have a lot of data to be streamlined which remains pending with the passing time just to remain piled up files in a storeroom. Here many businesses ask their employees to work on their files and which is a boring and monotonous task.
IPA systems when implemented with such data processing software can take the burden off the employee’s shoulder. The system is designed to sort the data based on the matric and can organize them using their intelligence to drive some business insights.
Here as the employees are freed up from the repetitive task can use their skills to use those insights to create better business plans or suggest some small important actions that can contribute to business success. Thus improving employee satisfaction.
More accurate data processing
Repetitive tasks when done manually have possibilities of errors as humans lose interest and concentration in doing a certain action.
This can cost a business to a great extent. With IPA systems the processing of the automated tasks is more efficient, accurate, and faster in comparison to when done by a human.
Tasks like filling a bank form or doing a business transaction have a fixed format but need precision when putting into execution.
IPA reduces the risk of incorrect data input, transactional errors, missing of a certain procedure, and wrong application of a rule to a process, by handing over such tasks to robots that are intelligent to work upon.
This imparts more accurate operations to an organization to have a swift workflow ensuring 100% precision.
Flexible business processes
The business market is very fragile to keep up with one mode of operation. As per the need, the business owners need to change the work processes and the business plans.
The IPA automation system is flexible enough to work upon any changes and adapt it to its working process.
Its self-learning ability makes it agile to match up with the new format and perform the actions with the same efficiency as before. This makes it easier for the business owner to make his decisions based on the needs without worrying about the deployed automation solution on the system.
Well, these were some of the benefits that IPA systems provide to businesses, but to your information, the list has no end.
Final thoughts
Automation is the need for every business in order to ensure a smooth business journey. Whether its a medical, banking, IT corporates, customer services, or any other niche, the automation of repetitive tasks just takes half of the burden off to induce higher business productivity.
Business process automation has become a significant part of a business to survive and grow the competitive business world. Mixing intelligence with the automation can resolve all the business owners’ concerns while also saving time and money involved in the process.
IPA systems can extend the business capabilities by providing them with intelligent workflows and enhance the business operation on a larger scale with the highest returns.
Author Bio:
Parth Patel is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of SyS Creations a leading managed IT services firm focused on technology-driven healthcare solutions with a customer-centric, journey-first approach. Operating the IT Infrastructure of Healthcare SMEs and startups keeps him on his toes and his passion for helping others keeps him motivated.
