As companies continue to integrate digital applications and systems into their processes, digital transformations become more common. Shifting to digital formats can boost efficiency, improve customer experiences and allow businesses to remain competitive in the modern market.
One essential aspect of digital transformation is hyperautomation. During this process, businesses automate manual procedures in workflows. Hyperautomation uses tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to reduce manual and repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher-priority responsibilities.
This article — and the accompanying episode — takes a closer look at hyperautomation by:
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Here is a hyperautomation definition from Jimmy Hewitt:
“At a high level, Hyperautomation is an approach, it is a method, it is a category. Hyperautomation is a framework, a set of tools, even a mindset or a philosophy. Hyperautomation allows you, your team, and your company to infuse various types of automation into your existing business and it enables you to define new, more efficient processes so you don’t find yourself automating bad processes to begin with. It is a space that touches both employees and customers, and it’s typically introduced via the operations or finance departments—for starters—until it grows into a level of maturity that requires its own small team and a leader like a “director of intelligent automation” or “of hyperautomation.”- Jimmy Hewitt
It’s often beneficial to look at multiple definitions to gain a complete understanding of a topic. In this section, we provide three different definitions of hyperautomation from leading technology companies. Each example can help you develop a stronger hyperautomation meaning.
Gartner is a leading information technology (IT) and research company. They conduct critical research about digital trends and assist clients with digital transformations. They define hyperautomation as a “business-driven, disciplined” strategy that companies use to “identify, vet and automate” their company and IT processes.
Then, the company lists examples of the resources used in hyperautomation, such as:
We analyzed Gartner’s definition to understand it more closely. Their description contains several different components, which we break down below. It uses these approaches to define hyperautomation:
Overall, Gartner’s definition thoroughly explains different components of hyperautomation and how it relates to other digital procedures.
Next, we looked at a hyperautomation definition from Automation Anywhere, a leading provider of intelligent process automation solutions:
“Hyperautomation is the combination of RPA and other AI technologies, which together enable rapid end-to-end business process automation and accelerate digital transformation.”
Automation Anywhere’s definition is more succinct. They emphasize robotic process automation (RPA), but we like the acknowledgement of working together with other hyperautomation tools to achieve end-to-end business process automation.
Lastly, we included an explanation from IBM, another top industry name:
“The concept of automating everything in an organization that can be automated.”
IBM’s definition is simple and accurate. It summarizes hyperautomation concisely but lacks a bit of detail.
After exploring different definitions, let’s take a closer look at the essential features of hyperautomation. Here are six hyperautomation capabilities and their tools organized in order of how to start your hyperautomation journey.
Process mapping and mining are important tools for hyperautomation. You must understand your processes before you can automate them, and these strategies give you a starting point for evaluation. These tools allow businesses to:
Check out these resources for more information:
Robotic process automation is known as your “digital employee.” It can replicate human activity on computers. The best use case for implementing RPA is to automate those highly-repeatable, high-volume tasks. That way, you remove manual work from typical workflows.
Warning: Some RPA vendors are building capabilities within RPA platforms. Be discerning about non-task automation capabilities coming out of RPA platforms and look at purpose-built capabilities.
The key differentiator between business process management and RPA is the amount of time it takes to complete a unit of work.
For example, RPA measures work in hours and minutes, while BPM uses hours, days, weeks and months.
BPM is proactive automation. In other words, it tells people what to do and when to do it. In addition, BPM has more visibility.
BPM provides visibility into current workflows for managers and executives. It allows you to reassign work and provides rich dashboarding into the completion status of the work that matters most.
Business rules management captures, organizes and facilitates intuitive management upkeep of business rules and decisions. It frees up time for higher quality and knowledgeable work.
Additionally, BRM is easily adjusted and not hard-coded. Business rules change depending on inflation, regulations and other critical market factors. BRM decision platforms allow users to modify rules as needed.
Enterprise content management provides proper content, document and record taxonomy structure. The platform’s content search function embeds into common Office products, like Word, Excel and Outlook. ECM can also help you manage retention and disposition schedules.
Overall, ECM allows you to seamlessly interact with important content such as application and claim forms, correspondences and notices, or anything that drives your business capabilities.
Lastly, data capture classifies general content to reduce manual monitoring of general inboxes. It extracts data and metadata from the content for you, reducing manual workloads. Then, it passes data and metadata downstream to other humans or hyperautomation tools (RPA or Workflow) to finalize the rest of the process. You can mostly find data capture at the front end of workflows, capabilities and business processes.
At Salient Process, we carved out a space for this term and topic at the intersection of business architecture, technology, process improvement and operational excellence with a host of secondary benefits. Overall, hyperautomation allows you to:
It’s important to maintain a regular discussion about hyperautomation with your company. For instance, you should consider the reasoning behind your hyperautomation goals and how you plan to execute them. Here are other questions to think about:
Consider your end goal for wanting to employ hyperautomation. Get specific with your reasoning. Make it measurable and use it to direct your company to see if and how you are achieving it. That way, your goal becomes more manageable and possible.
For instance, answer questions like:
In addition to why, discuss how you plan to achieve hyperautomation. Identifying a plan beforehand makes it easier to follow through and achieve your overall goal.
These are a few tips for getting started:
Yes! You can find our podcast Bots & Thoughts on all podcast streaming services. Check it out now!
If you have a topic idea, contact us today. We want our podcast to answer your questions, and if you have something that you want to hear, we would love to know. In addition, you can ask questions and get in touch with our Salient Process team.
At Salient Process, we understand the importance of comprehensive digital transformation. We work closely with each client and use a North Star methodology to align your procedures with overall business goals. Our expert team works hard to understand your unique needs, making a customized plan for success. With our hyperautomation solutions, you can move closer to your digital transformation goals.
More on Hyperautomation:
Scaling Beyond RPA to Hyperautomation
More on Salient Process:
Bots & Thoughts: The Hyperautomation Podcast
Salient Process is a full-service digital business automation shop and proud IBM Automation business partner. To learn more about us at our website, request a free consultation with one of our expert automation advisors! We look forward to guiding you and your company along your own unique Hyperautomation journey.
