Intelligent automation 101

Intelligent automation (IA) describes a large category of technology solutions that automate once manual processes, so businesses can anticipate the needs of users and customers. It helps organizations simplify or eliminate tedious tasks through technology that learns as it operates, meaning the product six months after implementation will work better than it did after week one, and 12 months after implementation will surpass the efficiency of the six-month mark.

Intelligent automation combines several key technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning (ML), business process automation, intelligent routing and natural language processing, to name a few. These technologies are interconnected and are part of a broader, strategic, well-funded digital transformation plan.

• Intelligent capture identifies and extracts information from documents automatically — whether in paper or digital format. It uses a combination of optical character recognition (OCR), intelligent character recognition, optical mark recognition and barcode recognition to capture structured or unstructured data.

• Workflow automation is software that defines a series of tasks based on a process and automatically acts on those tasks without the need for human intervention or manual steps. It is part of the larger business process management solution that optimizes business processes and provides real-time visibility for informed decision-making and better business insights.

• Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) where systems learn from data, patterns and inference to act on unanticipated variations with minimal human intervention. These machine learning systems are able to autonomously continue their learning over time. Some examples of how machine learning is used in various industries are fraud detection in banking, disease diagnosis in healthcare and invoice processing in accounts payable.

• Robotic process automation allows organizations to automate tasks performed on applications and systems that are repetitive with little variance. It is relatively fast and easy to integrate into existing IT architecture with immediate benefits such as reducing manual tasks, eliminating data entry errors and improving turnaround time.

According to a study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Hyland, decision makers are looking to intelligent automation to power their business forward in terms of efficiency, customer experience and improved innovation.

For example, in terms of content related tasks, respondents to the study say they expect to, or have already seen great advancement in these areas:

• 76% have or expect to improve customer experience

• 57% have increased innovation

• 63% have or expect to increase employee productivity

> Read more | 24 stats that will change the way you think about managing content

In this regard, intelligent automation benefits businesses by:

• Increasing business value by reducing costs and improving speed, accuracy and transparency. Automation driven by machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, text analytics and chatbots will have the biggest impact on operational processes like customer communications management, data capture, business process management and case management.

• Improving the employee experience by minimizing repetitive, manual tasks and removing bottlenecks, enabling workers to focus on higher-value assignments. For example, in the Forrester survey, 81% of decision makers predict that AI-enabled content automation will enhance content-heavy processes by 2026. This could drastically increase the productivity and day-to-day happiness of a workforce.

• Improving the customer experience (and all stakeholder experience) by serving the right information to the right users at the right time. Using intelligent automation empowers organizations to out-think the competition by reinventing the business and driving new deliverables, contributing to improved customer experience.

The technology industry is fast-moving with digital transformation trends coming and going, and new solutions entering the market all the time. Sometimes the newest concept takes off, finding its way into organizations quickly and to great success. Other times, exciting new concepts see slow but steady adoption, eventually finding their place into the everyday. And for some concepts, early promise leads nowhere.

Here are the intelligent automation trends to keep on your radar.

Embedded intelligence

Embedded intelligence describes components of AI that are native to a platform. For example, a content services platform with embedded intelligence can predict, classify and enrich content based on business-specific needs using its foundational capabilities. Although AI has long been tablestakes for CSPs, the market is evolving to demand that intelligent features be embedded in solutions.

Market trend: In the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Content Services Platforms, Gartner noted embedded intelligence as one of four key trends impacting content services, and said: “AI is critical to content services. In the past, it has been an interesting feature looking for a use case. However, it is becoming increasingly embedded with real business solutions from correspondence management to case management.”

Deployment in the cloud

Deploying your IA solutions in the cloud still qualifies as a trend — but just barely. The tactic is quickly becoming mainstream for businesses, with 13% of organizations in a Deloitte survey already running their automation solution solely in the cloud, and nearly half already using it for at least some automation.

Cloud deployment helps organizations scale faster and better accommodate growth and changing business conditions. It also:

• Streamlines the management of your solutions

• Allows experts to manage and optimize your platform’s IA tools for increased project success

• Frees up IT resources so they can focus on achieving goals instead of managing infrastructure like patches, security configurations and upgrades

Market trend: In a 2021 survey by Forrester, 86% of software decision-makers are using ECM as SaaS in some capacity, either to complement or to replace on-premises systems.

Hyperautomation

Based on the need for a more coordinated, wider-reaching automation approach, many organizations are adopting the idea of hyperautomation. “Hyperautomation is a business-driven, disciplined approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet and automate as many business IT processes as possible,” according to Gartner. This push typically deploys a variety of intelligent automation tools, especially AI, ML and RPA to get as many processes as possible running without human intervention.

Market trend: Gartner named hyperautomation a tool for sculpting change in its Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022 and noted: “By 2024, diffuse hyperautomation spending will drive up the total cost of ownership 40-fold, making adaptive governance a differentiating factor in corporate performance.”

An investment bank uses RPA to eliminate four hours of manual labor a day

The problem: To remain compliant with regulations, an investment bank created a total capital ratio report after every trading day. This report took a highly skilled employee four or more hours each day to complete. The manual process had numerous problems, including susceptibility to human error and plummeting job enjoyment by the employee.

The solution: The RPA solution integrated with the bank’s back-office program landscape and was taught to complete the regulatory report and send it to a human for approval. The results? The report is completed in minutes, the possibility of human error was eliminated and personnel bottlenecks were removed with the freed-up employee.

Read the full case study, Hyland RPA automates daily regulatory reporting activities for prominent investment firm.

A mining company saves $5 million annually with AP automation

The problem: An iron-ore mining company had a paper-based, decentralized Accounts Processing (AP) operation that processed 360,000 invoices a year — and resulted in slow and labor-intensive processes. That kind of lag is bad for the customer experience and bad for team morale.

The solution: An AP solution leveraged intelligent capture, extraction intelligence and workflows; the invoices were analyzed and processed upon receipt, routed to company headquarters, and flagged for early-payment opportunities. These captured savings resulted in annual savings of $5 million, and the time saved by eliminating manual entry allowed employees to be reassigned to higher-value tasks.

Read the AP automation success story.

What is the difference between Intelligent automation vs. RPA?

While both RPA and intelligent automation can free up your knowledge workers to focus on more value-driven tasks, RPA is best leveraged when task automation is repetitive and doesn’t require a learning component.

RPA installs a digital workforce to complement your human workforce by allowing both to perform — and excel — at tasks that play to their strengths and provide optimum value for the organization. RPA is not about replacing workers with robots; Instead, It’s about automating routine tasks. With RPA, you can move the burden of tedious and tiresome tasks from an employee’s workload to a “digital” worker. RPA tools are especially effective for repetitive tasks, such as predictable mouse-click workflows.

How does intelligent automation differ from automated intelligence and artificial intelligence?

Intelligent automation focuses on automating processes with learning capabilities. Automated intelligence and artificial intelligence have broader, distinct functions and applications.

How do intelligent automation tools integrate with legacy systems?

Effective integration requires choosing a modern ECM platform, which is compatible with existing IT infrastructure.

How can intelligent automation be implemented in an organization?

Implementation begins with identifying business challenges, gathering data, and selecting the right solution that integrates with your existing systems and processes.

Explore Hyland for process automation