This is a guest post by Bob Violino, a freelance business and technology writer. He can be reached at bviolino@optonline.net.
With a growing number of organizations looking to automate all kinds of business processes so they can reduce costs and improve efficiency, expect hyperautomation to become a priority for many.
Hyperautomation leverages several components of process automation, integrating technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA)—which serves as the core—artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, process mining, data analytics, and other advanced automation tools.
Each of these components is designed to enhance an organization’s ability to automate processes and workflows. Working together, they provide the “hyperautomation” that takes automation to a whole new level. This strategy, when applied end-to-end within an enterprise, can improve processes in ways that can have a much greater impact than traditional automation capabilities.
An end-to-end hyperautomation platform supports every phase of the automation lifecycle. It enables enterprises to scale automation across the organization quickly, leveraging tools such as AI to capture, analyze, and prioritize processes in any department.
Demand for hyperautomation is on the rise. An April 2020 report by Coherent Market Insights forecasts that the global hyperautomation market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2019 and 2027, surpassing $23.7 billion by the end of the forecast period.
Among the market drivers are digitalization and automation of manufacturing processes worldwide and increasing demand for RPA technology. Organizations around the globe are integrating RPA with AI to allow software robots to mimic machine operator behavior, the study says.
In addition, hyperautomation providers are partnering with different companies to create and offer RPA solutions. For example, UiPath in 2019 entered into a partnership with DVT, an AI and data analytics software company in South Africa, in which the companies are developing RPA software and will offer services.
Many manufacturing companies are adopting hyperautomation to reduce operational costs and increase the efficiency of overall manufacturing processes.
Any organization that’s looking to benefit from digital transformation and perform well in the post-pandemic business world should consider deploying a hyperautomation strategy. While standalone RPA can deliver a number of benefits, companies need a more sophisticated approach if they are to truly gain from automation.
Research firm Gartner, in a late 2019 post,cited the term hyperautomation and listed it as the number one strategic technology trend for 2020. “Hyperautomation extends across a range of tools that can be automated,” the study says, “but also refers to the sophistication of the automation (i.e., discover, analyze, design, automate, measure, monitor, reassess.).”1
“As no single tool can replace humans, hyperautomation today involves a combination of tools, including RPA, intelligent business management software, and AI, with a goal of increasingly AI-driven decision making,” the report says1.
“Although not the main goal, hyperautomation often results in the creation of a “digital twin” of an organization,” Gartner notes1, allowing the organization to visualize how functions, processes, and key performance indicators interact to drive value. The digital twin then becomes an integral part of the hyperautomation process, providing real-time, continuous intelligence about the organization and driving significant business opportunities.
In another recent report2, Gartner recommended several steps for companies looking to deploy hyperautomation:
- Drive organizational adoption and avoid potential missteps on the hyperautomation journey by engaging business units, IT, security, and assurance functions into a process automation governance board. This will help drive organizational adoption and avoid potential missteps on the hyperautomation journey.
- Plan your hyperautomation journey by focusing on a wider spectrum of business functions and knowledge work. Strategize and architect across the toolbox of options, including RPA, intelligent business process management suites (iBPMS), integration platform as a service (iPaaS), and decision management tools. This is the only way to effectively leverage related components (for example, process mining, analytics, user experience, and machine learning).
- Avoid the hype with rigorous due diligence of RPA offerings and their ecosystems. Focus on the providers’ abilities to address outcomes critical to your organization across multiple areas.
“Success will result from a mindset that is focused on starting with the business problem and then selecting the right technology with a broader roadmap of the overall hyperautomation journey,”2 Gartner says. Success in these endeavors will lead organizations to change their funding models so that all new process initiatives consider funding by underlying automation as part of the business case.”2
Editor’s note: You can dive further into the benefits of hyperautomation by watching the UiPath Hyperautomation Week webinar series. It’s available on demand, so you can watch at your convenience.
And don’t forget to get your complimentary copy of the Gartner Predicts 2020: RPA Renaissance Driven by Morphing Offerings and Zeal for Operational Excellence report.
1Smarter with Gartner, “Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020,” https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2020/.
2Source: “Gartner Predicts 2020: RPA Renaissance Driven by Morphing Offerings and Zeal for Operational Excellence,” Stephanie Stoudt-Hansen, Frances Karamouzis, et. al., December 10, 2019.