Automation comes at the core of digital transformation. And, if you are a digital nomad like me, you must have used automation in day-to-day life.

You just came back from a long vacation and want to share your picture on your socials. So, you go to Instagram, select a picture, and put a great caption on it.

Once you have inspected it thoroughly, you hover over the option of sharing. But before sharing one step remains, you click on share on Facebook and other connected socials.

Above is a very simple example of automation in our daily lives. From sorting our news and emails to making our presentations and posting pictures on social media, automation is now ingrained in our lives.

Now, when we take this simple automation to the global business it becomes a lot more complex and a lot more intelligent. This gives rise to something called Intelligent Automation (IA).

Q1. What is Intelligent Automation?

Intelligent automation is a combination of automation and artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional automation, sometimes its called an Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) or cognitive automation, is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), business process management (BPM), and robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline decision-making across organizations.

Traditionally, automation was repetitive and required human guidance with is not the case for intelligent automation. It is mostly autonomous and required minimum to no human attention.

Q2. What are the 4 Pillars of Intelligent Automation?

Intelligent Automation consists of the successful and interconnected implementation of 4 key technologies:

· Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence is the most critical component of intelligent automation. It analyzes structured and unstructured data by using ML to develop a knowledge base and formulate data-based predictions.

Artificial Intelligence encompasses other technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Visual Recognition, and Big Data.

· Business Process Management (BPM)

Business Process Management, also known as business workflow automation, is a technology that helps automate workflow to provide greater agility and consistency to business processes.

· Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation uses software robots, or bots, to complete back-office tasks, such as filling out forms or extracting data. It complements and leverages artificial intelligence to handle more complex tasks.

Q3. What are the Challenges Addressed by Intelligent Automation over Traditional Automation?

Challenges give rise to innovation and intelligent automation is no different. Some business challenges created a demand for IA. Now, let’s see, how is going about resolving those challenges.

· Changing Talent Demographics

In some countries, the aging workforce has become a big challenge. Because in the aging workforce fewer workers can perform physically demanding tasks. Secondly, some sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing, face a shortage of workers. Lastly, some markets are facing rising costs and scarcity of labor.

In such cases, many sectors are turning towards automation as it makes a good investment and economic sense.

· Increasing Complexity

We are creating data at an alarming rate. This has outstripped us of the ability to keep up with the information.

For instance, one study suggests that every five years, the medical information is doubling.

Similar to power tools, intelligent automation enables knowledge workers to process, understand, and effectively use volumes of information.

· Increased Focus on Efficiency, Growth, and Differentiation

In many developed and undeveloped countries, growth has slowed. In such places, companies face fierce competition.

Hence, many of them opt to apply intelligent automation to cut down on costs by improving efficiency.

IA also differentiates products and services with new features and experiences and helps them grow in new markets.

Q4. What are the Benefits of Intelligent Automation?

Automation in general has provided many benefits across industries. When it comes to Intelligent Automation, you will notice the striking similarity between the benefits of intelligent and traditional automation.

Just remember that the primary benefit of IA is that it enhances traditional automation to do what it already does—only better, faster, and with less human intervention.

Here, are the key benefits of intelligent automation (IA):

· Reduce Costs

Intelligently automating systems and processes can reduce costs drastically by augmenting the workforce and improving productivity. Companies can use data and analysis to ensure accuracy and accelerate production.

This provides businesses with the ability to scale quickly without compromising quality, increasing risk, or putting a strain on the existing workforce. Leaders can reap the benefits through higher production yields and improved ROI.

· Improve Accuracy

Intelligent automation can enhance quality and improve accuracy through consistent processes and approaches. The strength behind IA is the use of artificial intelligence to drive decision-making and bring a consistent approach to repetitive tasks.

· Improve Customer Experience

it can improve customer experience by providing a higher quality, reliable product to market in a short time, or get answers to queries faster. This also provides a richer, more positive experience for the customer. It, thereby, offers a competitive advantage for the company.

· Address Compliance and Regulations

We all know that every industry requires to adhere to specific types of regulatory policies. Intelligent automation can leverage task automation features to prove a more consistent approach.

Q5. What is an Intelligent Automation Application?

Intelligent automation streamlines processes that can be resource-intensive, costly, and prone to human error. The applications of IA span across industries and provides efficiencies in different business areas.

· Automotive

Intelligent automation has greatly impacted the automotive industry by making major improvements in the manufacturing process. Manufacturers can more effectively predict and adjust production with IA.

Robots have helped them reduce the need for manual labor and improve defect discovery. This, in turn, has provided a higher quality product at a lower cost.

For example, in Germany, a Volkswagen engine production plant uses collaborative robots to handle a physically demanding engine assembly process. This helps the company prevent injury, ensure accuracy, speed processes, and ease the physical burden on employees.

· Life Sciences

Drug production is a highly regulated process and requires a tremendous amount of data collection, collation, processing, and analysis. Besides, drug trial is not considered successful without trusted results.

Intelligent automation is helping the industry overcome the manual approach and demolish calculation errors.

For example, with the help of intelligent automation, the Covid-19 vaccines were produced in record time which is an example of how IA provides improved production speed and quality in automated processes.

· Healthcare

Intelligent automation, along with natural language processing (NLP), in the healthcare industry is providing a consistent approach to data collection, analysis, diagnosis, and treatment.

Besides, the use of chatbots in healthcare appointments requires often a shorter time to diagnose.

· Insurance

Intelligent automation can virtually eliminate the need for manual rate calculations or payments in the insurance industry. Furthermore, it can simplify paperwork such as claims and appraisals.

IA also helps companies adhere to compliance regulations easily.

Q6. What is the Future of Intelligent Automation?

Automation, since the very beginning, has had an impeccable impact on industries across the world. It has freed humans from doing repetitive and mundane tasks manually.

Now, with , businesses can completely remove the need for human intervention from repetitive tasks through IA. It has now enabled businesses to establish more consistency and simultaneously reduce their costs within the workflows.

In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the digital transformation fueling investments within automation infrastructure. In the future, roles will continue to evolve as remote work also surges. Businesses focused on low-level work will be reallocated to implement and scale these solutions.

Integration of IA within the workforce expose skills gaps, and employees will need to adapt to the changing work environments. Businesses have to support these transitions to mitigates anxiety and ensure that employees remain resilient.

Lastly, intelligent automation is the future of work, and the adoption of IA will give companies a competitive edge in their respective markets.

FAQs:

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

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