Automation Integration (Convergence)

Introduction

"...Automation is a force multiplier that empowers organisations of all sizes to do more with less. It frees people from performing time-consuming repetitive tasks, so they can focus their efforts on higher value tasks that require a human touch. This can help start-ups scale to compete against larger incumbents, while also allowing the bigger players to remain nimble in the face of growing competition..."
Matthew Calkins, 2022

Automation needs to be integrated and work in unison to achieve its maximum impact. Automated services need to be unified with a holistic approach rather than a piecemeal, disjointed approach; the latter can create silos that will divided the organisation.

"...tactical, cost-focused automation can hinder and organisation's broader digital transformation efforts. Islands of disconnected automation lead to a myopic view of what is possible, while overreliance on a single automation technology leads to sub-optimal outcomes..."
Matthew Calkins, 2022

Need to be able to combine a collection of diverse automation techniques such as robotic process automation (RPA), low-code, native integration platforms (iPaaS), process intelligence, chatbots and machine learning.
"...the system whole-of-business automation integrates multiple adjacent and complimentary automation techniques, process architectures, organisational behaviours and partner, co--innovation models..."
Matthew Calkins, 2022

"...by strategically combining different automation technologies, they can cover the entire life cycle of the process, from discovery, process mining, creation in workflow and execution..."
Matthew Calkins, 2022

Convergence

Need to be a generalist rather than specialist in this field.
"...$US 2.5 billion in acquisitions across the sector and the creation of 18 strategic partnerships within the last 12 months......The day is coming where you can't be just a RPA vendor, process mining vendor or workflow vendor, you've got to be all of the above......You have to own all the components that constitute automation. Along with the need for convergence to avoid the creation of disjointed automation silos, organisations must also avoid dependence on data silos by embracing 'data fabric'......The idea behind data fabric is to bring together data from across your enterprise.....as if it is all part of a local database......Data fabric becomes the automatic integration layer everyone in the business can use..."
Matthew Calkins, 2022

NB Automation is more than just working the same way more efficiently. Automation is part of digital transformation; it is more than repetitious and unchanging; it can provide a competitive advantage.