Ever since Robotic Process Automation became widely understood people have been talking about the potential to combine automation capability with other smart technologies like AI and Machine Learning. As the ideas took shape the notion was referred to interchangeably as Intelligent or cognitive Automation.
At Quanton we believe Intelligent Automation is now a practical reality and represents considerable opportunity for organisations who are expediting digital transformation imperatives.
This is the first article in our new series on Intelligent Automation and is based on content from our brand new 2020 Guide to Intelligent Automation.
Gartner claimed that Hyper Automation would be the number one strategic technology trend for 2020. Hyper Automation, as defined by Gartner describes the ability for advanced technologies to automate processes and augment humans.
Many local organisations are looking at and even implementing smart technologies, but we believe these deployments in the context of Intelligent Automation are contained and low scale. We also believe New Zealand is lagging the global adoption and successful application of Intelligent Automation capabilities.
Quanton is here to lead the Intelligent Automation conversation for New Zealand and we started with three simple goals:
We have achieved these goals and now we want to share the knowledge.
In its most distilled form, Quanton Intelligent Automation™ comprises of three basic steps – the interpretation of information and creation of structured data, probabilistic assessment relative to a target outcome and autonomous process execution.
Importantly, Quanton Intelligent Automation™ capabilities may interact directly with systems, things or humans (internally and externally of an organisation) in any number of different channels, to initiate processes, collect data inputs, execute processes, and enact process outcomes.
Quanton Intelligent Automation™ is a Capability, not a technology.
One of the most asked questions we encounter is “what does Intelligent Automation capability look like?” or “how would Intelligent Automation capability work?”.
We have created the Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model which we believe provides a general response to these questions and is intended to serve as a starting point to help innovators develop their thinking.
The Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model, which is fully explained in the 2020 Guide to Intelligent automation, is a multi-layered capability model which incorporates, people, processes, technology, and operational governance.
Quanton Intelligent Automation™ is not independent of your existing capability, technologies, frameworks, operating policies or practices.
The Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model is designed to work within and be part of your existing operating model and technology architecture. It is designed to give business leaders a strategic tool to transform and enhance existing ways of working, not create another programme which is mutually exclusive of current resources and focuses.
Quanton Intelligent Automation™ creates a new realm of possibility for processes that can be automated across the breadth and depth of an organisation.
Many traditional approaches are reliant on structured, digital data inputs. General estimates suggest that 20% of data in an organisation is structured, limiting the application of automation only to those processes, or aspects of processes that can readily access usable data.
But what about the processes that are executed using the 80% of data in an organisation that is semi or quasi-structured, or unstructured? What about the business decision that are made and applied using the 80% of data in a business that is not 100% structured?
Without Quanton Intelligent Automation™, the potential application and depth of benefit from automation is most likely limited to back office-processing or areas of the business that have likely been targets for automation in the past. An easy example would be finance related processes.
When we think in terms of traditional automation programmes there is a standard list of benefits that businesses can usually expect. For example, cost efficiencies, consistency, processing speed and capacity, cost control, compliance and necessarily cost reductions.
Because Quanton Intelligent Automation™ can address a greater breath and depth or processes, and be used to a greater scale, we do believe that these benefits will be extended.
But more importantly we believe the Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model creates significant scope to drive competitive gains in your customer experience and the one I really get excited about is creating the potential for revenue growth.
Customer Experience Improvements
Customer service is often constrained by the sustainable level of resources that can be applied to service delivery and channels, models or places that are cost effective to deliver services in. Quanton Intelligent Automation™ removes these constraints, de-couples headcount from revenue and necessarily creates opportunity for revenue growth.
Using Quanton Intelligent Automation™, customers could access your services when they want, where they want and how they want, whether through Facebook Messenger, email, telephone IVR or website chatbot.
They could receive faster responses, resolution and request fulfilment giving your business a competitive advantage. All while providing you certainty that customers are receiving a tailored experience that is consistent with your brand values, operating imperatives and compliance
requirements.
The numbers we consistently see in case studies are 20-30% improvements to customer satisfaction.
Driving Revenue Growth
Quanton’s Intelligent Automation™ model has the potential to support revenue growth when it is applied to customer service, areas of service delivery and revenue generating processes.
Using Quanton Intelligent Automation™ businesses have the potential to achieve three strategic imperatives that create the foundation for revenue growth:
You can increase processing capacity, be where your customers are and be accessible 24-hours a day, 7-days a week – on demand.
When you create the ability for your customer to access your services at 3am in the morning from their mobile device, because that’s what suits them, you create the potential for scalable revenue growth.
One: The Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model is based on multiple technologies and interrelated dependency.
Two: The modular design of the Quanton Intelligent Automation™ model is designed to continually evolve with business needs and evolving technology trends.
Three: Expect to see greater augmentation of service delivery between the human and digital workforces.
Four: Intelligent Automation capability is agnostic of the business area where it can be applied, the channels that users gain access through and the audiences that can be served.
Five: There is a new frontier for potential business benefit – including potential revenue growth.
Intelligent Automation is now a practical reality, but New Zealand businesses are lagging global adoption trends. This needs to change.
At a high level we have articulated what Quanton Intelligent Automation™ is and how it could work from a capability perspective. We have done this to help shape the thinking of the innovators and changes agents in New Zealand businesses.
Talk is easy. Our third goal was to demonstrate what is practically possible now. So, we built a live demonstration which we’ll talk about in a future article or you can find out more about in now in our new guide – The 2020 Guide to Intelligent Automation.