How digital tech is set to transform business operations?

We are progressing through the New Normal, wherein global businesses are aiming to transform themselves with ground-breaking digital technologies to stay competitive and thrive.

As a case in point, organizational performance across industries has witnessed a rise in the months, thanks to collaboration tools and supporting technological leverage.

When compared with the previous year, i.e. 2019, the performance delivered by individual functions has also been significantly higher. It’s a testimony to the collective resilience of us as a society in adapting to the New Normal with improved productivity, commitment, and dedication.

Technology has played a vital role in triggering this agility in adapting, ensuring business continuity while enabling the human workforce to operate from home. At Infosys BPM, we had 97% of our digital BOTs seamlessly delivering services when BCP was invoked.

Key technologies

Unlike the past, current and future business operations will require a rainbow of technologies, such as tactical automation, custom solutions, and intelligent process automation to be ahead in the race. These can be parked under the broad umbrella of business process automation.

Service providers need to scale up to be able to implement and integrate an array of technologies, depending on client preferences. While ERP/CRM upgrades will still be important for the back-office, new-age technologies like AI/ML will be key to enhance the end-user experience in consumer-facing operations.

Tactical automation and RPA will bring value to businesses in areas where ERP/CRM upgrades take longer, or where AI is expensive. While analytics has been key in the technology mix, intelligent analytics will not only affect how businesses consume insights but also drive transformation in many cases.

As preferences of end customers towards the use of digital methods see a marked change, theorganizational focus is also shifting beyond process efficiency to deliver business value through improved customer experience and operational resilience.

The selection of technology will vary on various factors, including strategic priority and preferences of client businesses. The near future will increasingly focus on Intelligent Process Automation and integrated technology solutions, such as these:

Chasing automation

The automation implementation at an organizational level should be considered as a strategic, well-thought-through initiative. Automation is a large “change management program,” akin to running a race. Like in a marathon, endurance tactics are essential to managing such a complex program and execution. The entire automation implementation life-cycle (discovery, solution design, delivery, support, and maintenance) will require seamless execution with the right control measures at every stage; compliance to regulations and standards; and most importantly,synergies between teams, as in the case of a relay race.

Simply put, automation is a key ingredient for human-ware service delivery. There are a few critical success factors for every automation program. They are as follows:

Integrating human ware

The BPM industry is currently leveraging technology to reimagine its role as a co-creator of business value and improved customer experience for the clients. The BPM industry in the New Normal stands on the principles of human-ware, wherein human capabilities are engaged more in innovation and enhancement, while the repetitive work is automated with the help of machines or software.

We define human-ware service delivery as the best of people capabilities blended with the best of technology to deliver services, co-create business value, and enhance the customer experience.

There are many business processes with standard input and output, such as month-end reconciliations and order creation, which are completely rule-based and can be automated entirely. With the rise of intelligent automation, the possibility of extreme automation leading to exponential efficiency improvement has gone up significantly. The extent of automation possibility has become a function of the technical capability of service providers and customers’willingness/ability to spend.

But there are functions where it is advisable to retain the human effort, even if the automation possibility of a process is high, to retain the empathy in delivering customer experience. This is especially applicable in customer helpdesks, where a customer would instantly feel relaxed knowing they are being helped by a human being.

In my view, deploying automation and integrating it with human ware capabilities requires careful planning. My three key takeaways from implementing large automation programs are:

An aspirational goal with a digital mindset and human-ware approach, rather than pure automation, will be the future of large automation programs that can drive substantial value for organizations.

• The Author of this article is Gopal Kulkarni, AVP - Business Head - Technology Solutions and Automation, Infosys BPM