When organisations seek to introduce Intelligent Automation solutions, we usually find that the best results are achieved when we work closely with the client in an agile process. This enables both us and the client to assess the impact of change during the deployment.
NTT DATA offers four sets of services for implementing Intelligent Automation:
- Automation Strategy and Excellence is the umbrella under which the big picture comes together – vision, strategy, operating model and approach to accelerating automation across the organisation.
- Then follows Rapid Process Simplification, a phase where we streamline business operations and identify opportunities for Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Existing processes need to be mapped and replicated by RPA, but first, any inefficient processes must be straightened out – as Bill Gates once said, automating an inefficient process just magnifies the inefficiency.
- The next part of the sequence is Agile Automation, where automation solutions are designed. The solutions are flexible, enabling the automation to be changed in the future. This provides a scalable, sustainable solution that secures long-term value.
- Automation as a Service, finally, provides fully managed RPA as a Service to deliver bots on demand for functions ranging from automatically responding to email, to automating thousands of tasks in an ERP system.
Productivity radically improved
A programme like this will have a radical impact on productivity. Typically, 20-40% of the admin workload can be automated with RPA.
As the bots move in and take over repetitive office jobs, people will be freed up to apply their uniquely human skills to tasks that only people can do, such as problem-solving, creative work and customer-facing activities that require social skills. As well as becoming more productive, the organisation will also be able to offer better service.
Better jobs
Freed from repetitive admin tasks, tomorrow’s jobs will be more productive, interesting and rewarding, intellectually as well as financially. But this can’t happen overnight. A wider reorganisation may be required if RPA is going to deliver its true value.
Different parts of the organisation should take part, to ensure that this is not just an exercise in stripping out costs. The opportunities for improvement are much greater than this. HR needs to get involved at an early stage and prepare staff for the jobs of the future.
Once automation is implemented, it becomes ‘business as usual’ with NTT DATA’s collaborative and innovative approach. This is far more valuable to the organisation than just having a standard automation solution built and handed over.
Automation a joint effort
The automation process is based on real-time mapping of operations, typically done jointly between NTT DATA and the client in open discussion during a workshop. The automation is brought to life for all to see, with participants invited to make changes. The visualisation is then made available on a live dashboard for further editing by everyone involved, before being signed off.
Using this collaborative approach to Agile Automation, a roadmap can be achieved in days, not the months conventionally taken. It also enables the organisation to further develop its automation plans itself, without the support of NTT DATA.
The future effectiveness of the company’s automation is assured with a framework that turns intelligent automation into business as usual.