Process Automation: Changing the landscape of digital transformation

17th Jan, 2019

Digital transformation has the potential to transform any business. If it’s done right. We’ve all seen projects fail, time and time again. Transformation is hard. We get it. So it’s time to take a different approach. 

Our CTO, Richard Farrell, spoke to Forrester Research’s VP, Rob Koplowitz, to tackle this issue. And it all boils down to process. If we turn to the trailblazers in the CX space, Amazon, it’s the end-to-end automation that makes them stand out. 

Listen to what they had to say here.

Automating processes: who is in control?

Rob begins by explaining what digital process automation (DPA) means. And how you can get the most of the tech. Process automation platforms have grown in popularity, but which one do you choose and who makes that decision? What IT wants and what the business wants are often very different.

With companies like Amazon threatening the market, companies are rushing out to buy systems, without understanding customer needs, or their internal goals. 

This is where we are different. We turn the people that know your customers (your business users) into developers.  Allowing them to automate one process at a time, the right way to do transformation. But IT stays in control. IT set access controls and vet apps before launch.

Shattering data silos

Mapping customer journeys is great. But they often ignore the back office. You might create a shiny new mobile app which looks great, but if that app just sends an email to an operations department, then the customer will be waiting just as long. Not a great experience.

Rob and Richard talk about how departments need to work together to automate a complete process. Rather than emails getting sent around the business and re-keying information into each system (along with spelling mistakes!) This is what Amazon does. They get rid of any manual processes. 

It’s often easier to get funding for the new shiny app rather than the functional back-office tool. And customers don’t see (or care about) how you process their request. But it’s the back-office that is killing your customer experience. So this is where you need to invest. 

Looking into the future

Legacy systems and data silos will continue to be a problem in nearly every company. But the future is bright. Collaboration is going to be key.  When IT and business work together you can solve process issues, fast.