From Automation to HYPERautomation and beyond

In October 2019 Gartner published its report of Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020 (1) in which it ranks Hyperautomation as the number one and most relevant trend for organizations, since then; not only many favorable opinions have been expressed on the matter; but some valid observations have also been made about its challenges. My purpose is to clarify what Hyperautomation is, why it is urgently needed and what is, in general, its place within the arsenal of options available to organizations.

What is automation?

Let's start by defining "Automation". The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "[1] the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate [3] by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labor" (2). Automation can be physical when we use, for example, a loom to manufacture textiles, a kitchen accessory to bake bread in our home, or a robot in an automotive plant to take a sub-assembly and fastens it to a car chassis. In its digital form it can be an application – from the old "green screen" to an application for a smartphone –, a batch file to execute a series of operating system instructions, a Business Process Management system ( BPMS) to automate a P2P process or a software robot (RPA) to run an invoice reconciliation task.

The type of automation to which we refer mainly is carried out in a for-profit or non-for-profit organization, in its digital modality and focuses on business processes. Let us remember that the execution of the set of business processes of a company allows it to fulfill its mission or purpose. Some summarize that by saying that business processes constitute "the business" of an organization. Some of the benefits that automation can generate are:

• Increase employee productivity
• Improve the customer experience
• Achieve operational efficiencies
• Increase revenue
• Reduce costs to improve profitability
• Improve quality
• Mitigate or eliminate risks

 How to build bridges between the "islands of automation"?

Process automations implemented worldwide, for the most part, has been done through the development of applications dealing with accounting, inventory management, accounts payable, billing, purchasing and vendor management, manufacturing, employee expenses, as well as many other functions and use cases. Paradoxically, in recent decades, even in 2019; in the period in which companies have invested the most in applications and systems; the labor productivity of employees in developed countries (OECD) has stagnated (3). The explanation for the low impact of these investments on labor productivity is associated with the fragmentation of functions when using applications with different user interfaces, databases and their own logic; what is known as “islands of automation” and that, finally, the employees of the organizations have to connect manually to execute end-to-end processes. So far, these "islands" can only be integrated with technologies such as BPM systems (BPMS) or Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

Hyperautomation

Software robots (RPA) are achieving great popularity due to the fact that they yield great benefits quickly, thus generating a positive profitability in a very short term, they are not intrusive, their cost is low and the development and implementation time of automations is fast, we are talking about a few weeks. However, RPA faces challenges such as identifying and selecting the right processes to automate or that is applied more for the automation of specific tasks than for end-to-end processes, which is why it is said to be a valuable “tactical solution"; but that RPA alone cannot solve all automation problems. Gartner verbalizes this observation with the phrase:

“As no single tool can replace humans, hyperautomation today involves a combination of tools, including robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent business management software (iBPMS) and AI, with a goal of increasingly AI-driven decision making.” (1)

In other words, hyper-automation is a construct coined by Gartner to synthesize the set of technologies that are required to achieve automation and that it defines as:

“Hyperautomation refers to an approach in which organizations rapidly identify and automate as many business processes as possible. It involves the use of a combination of technology tools, including but not limited to machine learning, packaged software and automation tools to deliver work.” (4)

 In another document Gartner also clarifies:

 “[hyperautomation is] a defined strategy to scale automation with tactical and strategic goals. [to] deliver end-to-end automation beyond RPA by combining complementary technologies to augment business processes.” (5)

 Hyperautomation questioned

As much as the importance and urgency of implementing hyperautomation in organizations to achieve their business results and develop agility and resilience seem to be evident; some specialists have made some observations that are worth reviewing.

RPA focuses only on predictable and repetitive processes. In the webinar "RPA vs BPM: differences, complementarities and myths" (6), Pedro Robledo, president of the ABPMP Spain chapter; points out that RPA is useful when dealing with predictable, repeatable processes; that there are unpredictable processes that, in principle, cannot be automated. He points out that it is critical not to mistake BPM systems (BPMS) that serve to automate processes, for the Business Process Management (BPM) discipline, since the latter deals with automated processes and those that cannot be automated; and that, in order to really contribute to the Digital Transformation of the organization; RPA and any other automation technology (also those included by Gartner in the hyperautomation construct) should be framed in the Business Process Management that his association, ABPMP, defines in its BPM CBOK? guide as:

"A disciplined management approach to identify, design, execute, document, measure, monitor, and control both automated and non-automated business processes to achieve consistent, targeted results aligned with an organization’s strategic goals."

“Automation is not the only solution to improve the way your business works”. In his article “Behind the Hype: Why There’s More to Process Improvement than Hyperautomation” (7), Southard Jones, Celonis VP of Product Marketing, points out that there are four ways to improve processes:

1. Standardize your process.

2. Streamline your processes.

a. Removes bottlenecks.

b. Avoids duplicate work

c. Reduces manual effort and boosts employee morale. Jones states that is here that automation comes to play.

3. Optimize your process.

4. Orchestrate you process.

He adds that technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence or RPA can help; but that a holistic process improvement strategy is required.

Jones is right about the strategy and the capabilities of the technologies, my opinion is that Gartner does not position hyperautomation as "the solution" to all the problems organizations are facing; rather, Gartner classifies it as the main strategic technology trend for 2020; I emphasize the word "technology", which brings up the concept of a means or resource that the organization can leverage using a holistic approach such as Business Process Management as defined by the ABPMP. In addition to the fact that hyperautomation includes Process Mining among its automation technologies toolbox (“DigitalOps” in Gartner's parlance) which, as far as I know, is capable of giving visibility and providing the elements for the application of the four ways of process improvement mentioned by Jones.

“Think outcomes before technology”. In the same article, Jones emphasizes that companies seeking to achieve true Process Excellence must first decide the business outcomes they seek and then decide which process improvement approach to use. Jones is right; in fact, Gartner (5) recommends, as a first step to enable hyperautomation in organizations with RPA and other technologies creating an automation roadmap (“Plan Your Automation Journey”) whose first activity is the definition of the desired business outcomes and goes on saying:

"It is important to define your digital ambitions. Enterprise architects and business process owners must collaborate to set a vision for their digital business initiatives."

 Hoping that these ideas and perspectives can help to clarify the concept of hyperautomation and, above all, to facilitate a vision of its application in our readers' organizations, I will be ready to deal with any question or comment.

REFERENCES:

(1) Smarter with Gartner, “Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020,” October 21, 2019. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2020/

(2) "Automation." Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automation. Accessed 16 Aug. 2020. Meanings 1 and 3 were used.

(3) OECD (2019), OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b2774f97-en

(4) Gartner "Predicts 2020: RPA Renaissance Driven by Morphing Offerings and Zeal for Operational Excellence," Stephanie Stoudt-Hansen, Frances Karamouzis, Arthur Villa, Saikat Ray, Rob Dunie, Nicole Sturgill, Laurie Shotton, Derek Miers, Fabrizio Biscotti, December 10, 2019.

(5) Gartner “Move Beyond RPA to Deliver Hyperautomation”, Saikat Ray, Cathy Tornbohm, Marc Kerremans, Derek Miers. December 16, 2019.

(6) Webinar “RPA vs BPM: diferencias, complementariedades y cuentos” in Spanish (“RPA vs BPM: differences, complementarities and myths”), Pedro Robledo, June 13, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfPgzpxWhM

(7) Celonis “Behind the Hype: Why There's More to Process Improvement than Hyperautomation”, Southard Jones, March 17, 2020. https://www.celonis.com/de/blog/more-to-process-mining-than-hyperautomation

? 2020 Miguel Angel Garcia Ramirez. All rights reserved.