Blog | Business Workflows & Digital Transformation

The 5-Minute Guide to Business Automation.

April 21, 2022August 18, 2020 by Ian Gosling

A comprehensive guide to help your business improve productivity with process automation.

What is business automation?

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I build software that makes business automation easy. They smile, nod politely, and put me down as doing something with computers. They don’t know what I am talking about. And yet they should. Not because they should be interested in me (though that would be nice) but because automation is one of the three technological As transforming business today: automation, analytics and artificial Intelligence. There are many different names for business automation, namely: business process automation, digital automation, intelligent process automation, digital transformation or robotic process automation. As you can see it’s an ever-expanding list of jargon. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE.org) are writing the dictionary of automation (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8070671). They call business automation ‘Software-based Intelligent Process Automation’. Their definition is a tortured piece of English that has clearly been written by a committee of engineers after too much coffee: ‘A preconfigured software instance that combines business rules, experience-based context determination logic, and decision criteria to initiate and execute multiple interrelated human and automated processes in a dynamic context. The goal is to complete the execution of a combination of processes, activities, and tasks in one or more unrelated software systems that deliver a result or service with minimal or no human intervention.’

businessman hand working with modern technology and digital layer effect as business strategy concept-1

It’s an accurate technical definition, but it is the kind of writing that makes people’s eyes glaze over. Wikipedia’s shot at the same job (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_automation) is a lot more comprehensible. ‘Business process automation (BPA), also known as business automation or digital transformation, is the technology-enabled automation of complex business processes. It can streamline a business for simplicity, achieve digital transformation, increase service quality, improve service delivery or contain costs.’ However, I think we can be even simpler than that. My definition is: ‘Business automation is getting software to do some work so that humans don’t have to.’

Why automate?

Human beings are good at dealing with highly variable situations where subtle judgement, complex communication and understanding human emotions are critical. Conversely, people are poor at doing repetitive, rule-based tasks accurately. Human beings enjoy novelty, they find repetitive work boring. So work slows, errors creep in, and employees try to find a job doing something more interesting. Automation software loves the work that people hate. It is good at speed, repetition and accuracy. Implementing automation can reduce the time spent on tasks by 75% to 99% depending on the level of human involvement, and this has obvious business implications for reducing costs. It is perhaps less clear, but equally vital that it can also increase the tempo at which your business operates. As software completes tasks within seconds instead of hours or days then cues staff or another automation to begin the next task, then the overall pace at which your business responds increases. It is not only the amount of time that a member of your team spends doing a task (time spent) that can drop to near zero, but also that the ‘time elapsed’ between when a job was requested, and when it is completed drops rapidly. As your customers (both internal and external) are becoming more used to an ‘Amazon Prime’ business culture of immediate fulfilment, then the ability to deliver quickly is a competitive edge.

How do I implement business automation in my business?

Automation software is now available for use in use all sorts of contexts. The business context for automation varies both by the volume of runs of a process and the type of technology that is currently being used to do the job. The possible software solutions for these contexts are different though, of course, the same company may encounter one or more of these situations. You need to select the right type of software for your business situation.

High volume, currently using enterprise software applications (bespoke ERP applications)

If you are a large business seeking to automate processes operating at a high volume of repetition and involving multiple existing computer systems, then you should be looking at robotic process automation software. Crucially this software is designed to enable automation without wholesale replacement of a business’ existing software systems. The leading providers in this category are Automation Anywhere, UI Path and Blue Prism. These are intricate pieces of software which have capabilities in API integration, desktop automation (software pretending to be a human on your existing systems) and increasingly AI. Typically implementations cost low hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars and involve a tech team or implementation partner.

Low to high volume, currently using standard desktop and cloud software (MS Office, email, CRMs)

It never ceases to amaze me the number of processes in sophisticated businesses that are still managed by people using spreadsheets as a database, MS Word for documents, email and then cut and paste between them. Importantly this is work that is not currently handled within existing enterprise software, though it may need to be triggered or provide information to it. Typically this kind of work has been done by people because the cost of automation is too high and the processes unique to a particular business. However, the use of cloud-based low-code (simple scripting) and no-code (drag and drop) automation platforms means that companies can build, operate and support an automated system with non-technical staff and budgets from a few thousand dollars a year. It has opened intelligent automation up to companies that could not previously afford this kind of tech. Typically the platforms in this space have a lot of flexibility and yet also allow control, audit trail and monitoring and allocating tasks to human beings. These systems will typically automate document production, calculations, task allocation, approvals, data transformation, integrations and updating records. It is also worth distinguishing this kind of automation software from project and business process management platforms like Asana and Monday.com. These help you manage the allocation of work to employees but don’t automate the work itself. Separately, there are many cloud-based, software platforms focusing on automating marketing (Hubspot is the leader) and accounting (Receipt Bank, for example).

Two colleages discussing ideas using a tablet computer

Low to medium volume, currently using no software or standard cloud software (Gsuite, online CRMs)

The entry point to automation when you have very low or no budget is software like Zapier and IFTTT (short for If That Then This). These online packages act as integrators linking many different cloud-based software services together – a Google form triggers the creation of a CRM entry and the sending of an email, for example. Boot-strapping entrepreneurs and small businesses have created remarkably inventive combinations of applications that can automate whole products. However, the interface, control, data governance and security issues are much trickier to manage, so it is less suitable as a business matures and grows.

Automation is accessible

Just over ten years after the automation revolution began, automation is now available to businesses of all sizes and all technical abilities. Now is the time to begin looking at how you can start the digitisation and automation of your business operations.

Pick the scope of the automation project – look for your most obvious pain point
Select the right context from the list above
Examine your vendor choices
Consider PoC or trial

Transforming Your SME With Automation.

April 21, 2022June 29, 2020 by Ian Gosling

Helping enterprises keep up!

Leveraging automation to lower operational costs, reduce delays and errors, improve employee engagement, and boost customer satisfaction can be a game-changer for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Optimising your workforce increases profits

A study conducted by Harvard Business review found that 71 per cent of managers feel employee engagement is one of the most important factors in overall organisational success. When a company automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks, employees can spend less time on basic administrative tasks and more time on strategic tasks. This encourages employees to be more productive and engaged, directly linking to business success and increased profits.

Adapting to seasonal ebbs and flows in business

One way that automation can help businesses grow is to help manage the seasonal spikes and troughs that can be especially challenging for SMEs. In addition to allowing staff the time to engage in tasks that help the business grow, automating routine tasks can lessen the need to hire additional staff during busy times, only to let them go when business slows down.

Enhancing management

Automating repetitive management and operational tasks can give managers the time to inspire, lead, and develop a strategic vision for achieving sustainability in your business. As with all staff, more fulfilled managers are more likely to be better leaders and role models.

Minimising human error and ensuring compliance

When a system for a process is set up once, then automated, the opportunity for human error is greatly reduced. This can greatly improve accuracy of your systems and data.

Improving customer support

According to a 2018 survey by Hubspot research, 80% of customers expect a response within 24 hours while 60% expect it to come within 10 minutes or less. By automating the processes needed to provide this service, SMEs can keep up, or even surpass their customers’ expectations.

Keep it simple

Even though SMEs do not have the resources of large corporations, that does not mean that they can’t afford automation. In fact, it generally means the opposite, that they can’t afford not to automate. The key, though, is to keep it simple.

Streamline your goals

Before setting up any automated system, it’s helpful to conduct an audit of the processes that would lend themselves to automation. Look at the tasks staff members spend the most time on. When you find a task that has elements that are repeated frequently, you have found an opportunity for automation.

For example, perhaps your staff is spending a lot of time manually sending out the same document. This task will have several elements that can be automated, freeing employees to spend time on the tasks that cannot be automated.

Ease of use breeds success

Business automation doesn’t mean that everything in your business will be automated. You can start off as small as you’d like, trying out different automation practices and seeing what works for you. Choose a system that is intuitive and easy to learn, for example, AUTTO’s automation workflows can be built by simply dragging and dropping actions into one process that can have as few, or as many steps as you need.

What do clients want that legal tech can solve?

April 26, 2022June 29, 2020 by Ian Gosling

What do clients want?

It’s easy to assume that clients hire law firms for their expertise, but a research study by Salesforce in 2018 shows that reputation is not enough. According to this study, when clients pay for a service they aren’t just buying the end result. What they are really looking for is a good client experience. It doesn’t matter how large or small the client’s company is, or how much business they generate for you. They want to feel that their unique needs are recognised and addressed by a firm that understands implicitly what is at stake and can act upon that to create the best outcome.

These needs are often at odds with another requirement that seems to contradict the desire for personalised service: value for money. The question remains: what do clients consider “value for money,” and how can law firms sell their specialised expertise in a way that serves clients best while delivering the value they expect?

How do clients measure value for money?

It goes without saying that legal clients want a positive outcome. They also want fast service from a firm that makes them feel that their business is important. When a firm meets these objectives, is this enough to satisfy the client lust for “value for money?”

If the bottom line is not improved, then the answer is no.

The legal marketplace is more competitive now than ever before. Professional services such as accounting firms, alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) and even clients’ in-house legal teams are now competing with law firms and driving down the cost of legal services. At the same time, the cost of hiring a law firm continues to rise. According to law.com the price of hiring a law firm increased by 130% between 1996 and 2018, well above inflation.

It’s clear that it is time to innovate or be left behind. Take, for example, the repetitive, low-value tasks that clients don’t expect to pay for. They are often vital to client work and business administration but do valuable (and expensive) staff members need to do these tasks? Automation can do this work quickly and efficiently, allowing staff the time to give clients that individualised attention they expect, while lowering the cost of providing these services.

Clients want outstanding service

Quick service delivered at a lower cost is not worth much if it does not provide what clients need. This is where law firms have an advantage over other services providing legal services. The right technology, combined with the subject matter expertise of a skilled lawyer can provide the best possible scenario for clients because the more your technology does for you, the more time you have to add value to your services. In short, automation can give you more time to think about and approach issues that are important to your clients..

Lawyers can also gain from automation and the extra time it provides.. New recruits do not undertake years of study to spend their working days doing menial administrative tasks. Therefore, the increased opportunity to engage in meaningful, client-facing work results in better employee satisfaction. This opportunity to focus on high-value work increases employee retention, giving your firm a greater overall level of skill, experience, and institutional knowledge, which benefits both the firm and its clients. It’s genuinely a win-win situation.

The point, of course, isn’t to use technology for everything, nor is it to replace lawyers with technology. It’s to find the best ways that people and technology can share the workload to provide the best outcome for lawyers, staff and clients, alike.

New immigration policies – a case for automation.

April 11, 2022April 18, 2020 by Ian Gosling

New UK immigration policies are under fire as businesses and pundits alike predict the effects of greatly reduced access to unskilled labour. The new points-based immigration system is designed to cut the number of low-skilled migrants entering the UK while making it easier for highly-skilled workers to migrate.

Low unemployment rates challenge businesses
According to the office of National Statistics, the UK unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent is currently at its lowest since the mid-1970s, adding to the impending shortage of low-skilled workers. Despite this high rate of employment, Britain suffers from poor productivity growth. Some economists believe that a ready supply of cheap foreign labour is to blame by discouraging companies from investing in technology.

Investing in automation
Home secretary Priti Patel defended the UK government’s post-Brexit immigration regime, saying: “If we invest in people, including the right investment in terms of new technology and skills, more people would be able to work in many sectors.”

Businesses now have to think about creative ways to fill the gaps as technology and business process automation comes to the fore. The UK immigration plan states: “Businesses will need to adapt and adjust to the end of free movement … It is important that employers move away from a reliance on the UK’s immigration system as an alternative to investment in staff retention, productivity, and wider investment in technology and automation.”

The message is clear
Businesses will be under increased pressure to automate routine processes, allowing highly-skilled workers the time to engage in work that needs specialised knowledge, skill or the human touch.

According to Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England: “The UK’s low automation adoption is part of our lagging productivity, especially for SMEs, which is preventing a much-needed rise in economic growth, wages and living standards. Automation could bring about a new focus on better, more creative jobs and shorter working hours,” he said.

This assertion is prompting some economists to question if one of the goals of the UK’s new immigration policy is to push business to fix the productivity problem addressed in the government publication: Automation and the future of work.

Investing in R&D
To fulfil the need for more technology, the UK government has committed to increasing investment in research and development (R&D) in the UK from the current 1.7% of GDP to 2.4% by 2027, with a longer-term goal of 3%, but Automation and the future of work warns that the UK’s current immigration policy would limit the country’s ability to attract the right skills for automation and robotics. It states that unless the UK government and businesses are able to create a pipeline of UK researchers and workers who can support the domestic automation industry, it will still be necessary to recruit from overseas.

The current adoption rate of automation technology among small and medium-sized enterprises is only 4%, compared with 28% in large businesses. The report noted that SMEs generally lack management experience and digital skills, making it unlikely they will adopt disruptive technology.

No-code automation could provide the solution
But what about no-code automation technology? By reframing automation away from resource-intensive technology, such as AI and IOT, no-code technology makes automation accessible to all organisations, no matter what the size.

Easily accessible online technology, such as AUTTO can provide an alternative to overly complicated, expensive solutions such as AI. Online automation solutions can be set up to automate day-to-day business processes within an hour, giving staff time to prioritise tasks that provide the products and the service that can transform a business.