Intelligent Automation: How to Start?

As digital transformation gathers pace and the acronym AI is used in almost every article, businesses of any scale strive to go with the tides and implement AI-powered technologies aimed at workflow automation to stay ahead of the competition.

What Is Intelligent Automation (IA)?

If briefly, Intelligent Automation (IA) represents a technology that deploys AI algorithms, ML, and RPA technologies for automation of various operational processes. Sometimes, IA is also called “intelligent process automation”. The technology helps businesses of any scale to streamline the workflow through the automation of routine repetitive operations and provides real-time data analysis to facilitate decision-making.

Importance of Intelligent Automation: Key Reasons

The digitalized world dictates its own terms for business owners: without digital transformation and AI-powered automation, enterprises find it very challenging to stay competitive. Intelligent automation isn’t an option but a necessity.

IA solutions can automate some business processes or provide end-to-end automation. Typically, enterprises turn to IA to:

• Reduce manual paperwork
• Accelerate the workflow and eliminate delays in document processing
• Increase the accuracy of document processing
• Improve customer service via efficient and personalized responses
• Cut operational costs
• Optimize the workflow and boost productivity
• Integrate various apps and instruments into a single system.

Besides, Intelligent Automation solutions provide real-time analytics and insights on customer behavior and market trends, so sales teams and business owners could make data-driven decisions.

Intelligent Automation: Benefits

• Improved productivity and operational efficiency
• Reduced costs
• Enhanced customer loyalty
• Increased revenues
• Higher competitiveness
• Scalability
• Security and Compliance

Intelligent Automation: Key Components

As we mentioned above intelligent automation deploys different technologies to provide the required functionality.

The 5 principal components include RPA, business process management, automation tools, AI, and data.

Rule-based RPA is the workhorse for simple repetitive tasks. RPA tool frees employees from time-consuming routine work and accelerates back-office processes.

BPM instruments are used primarily for the identification and elimination of operational inefficiencies. The software helps enterprises to adapt to changes and optimize change management.

Automation tools include apps and integrations, such as low-code process automation (LPA) and intelligent document processing (IDP) for further workflow automation. They serve to enable seamless interaction and data sharing between platforms.

AI is responsible for the cognitive function of the solution as it powers interaction between other instruments and analyzes data.

Data is an essential component of the IA system. To set up automated workflows IA platforms use raw data for training their systems. Additionally, data is crucial for ML algorithms that ensure the self-learning capabilities of the system.

How Does IA Work?

Intelligent automation consists of a series of processes integrated into a single system to ensure an optimized workflow.

In fact, IA helps to redesign and automate operational processes in the following ways:

–          The RPA component is responsible for the automation of routine tasks;

–          ML algorithms ensure self-learning;

–          and AI takes care of cognitive aspects and introduces advanced analytics and decision-making capabilities into rule-based automation.

What Is the Difference between IA and RPA?

Business owners often use the terms “RPA” and “Intelligent Automation” interchangeably, yet still, technologies differ significantly.

While both technologies have been designed to improve corporate operational efficiency, RPA is an efficient instrument for the automation of simple repetitive tasks, such as data entry & extraction. Intelligent Automation goes further and helps to automate more complex processes, its capabilities include predictive analytics and NLP.

In other words, an Intelligent Automation platform can have RPA functionality; however, robotic process automation doesn’t need IA to function. RPA instruments automate repetitive time-consuming processes and can be further streamlined by AI.  

Intelligent Automation: Applications Across Industries

Enterprises across diverse industries implement IA for business optimization. Intelligent Automation has found applications in banking and finance (invoice processing,account management, financial reporting, etc.), insurance (claims processing, policy management, regulatory compliance, etc.), healthcare (scheduling, billing, customer service, and so on), manufacturing (inventory management, quality control, etc.), and many other sectors.

Some common IA applications include:

• AI-powered chatbots. With the built-in NLP technology, bots are capable of understanding and interpreting customer requests and delivering fast and consistent replies.
• Compliance management. All the compliance data is consolidated in a single database; Intelligent Automation supports real-time monitoring of risks, suspicious activity, and warning signs. 
• Supply chain management and logistics. Intelligent Automation streamlines supply chain management and ensures timely delivery of documentation, such as bills, contracts, and invoices. Deployed in the transportation sector, IA helps to avoid unexpected downtimes through predictive maintenance based on monitoring devices installed in vehicles.
• Document processing. AI-driven docflow processing significantly improves back-office efficiency and results in reduced operational costs, higher productivity, improved ROI, and enhanced customer experience.

How to Start with IA?

Before you start your Intelligent Automation journey, consider the following aspects:

1. Analyze major challenges. Assess the complexity of processes, system integrity, and data volumes.
2. Identify business goals. Set the priorities: whether you need to reduce costs, accelerate the workflow, or enhance customer service.
3. Assess current operational capabilities. Determine gaps and decide on what processes you need to improve first to reach your business goals.
4. Choose an IA solution. With many vendors offering intelligent automation services, the choice of the right solution is pretty challenging.
5. Implement the solution and monitor the progress.

As versatile as IA technology is, some platforms continuously improve the functionality of their solutions and stay a step ahead of competitors.

Graip.AI provides versatile intelligent automation solutions and helps businesses to simplify complex workflows and optimize operational efficiency.

–          24/7 responsive customer support

–          Individual approach to every customer

–          Fully customizable and template-free solutions

–          Seamless integration with CRM, ERP, CPQ, and other systems

–          Guidance and training for your personnel

–          Extensive portfolio of success stories

The Graip.AI team will take care of your IA journey from A to Z and ensure that your company harnesses AI power to achieve its business goals.  

Joshua White is a passionate and experienced website article writer with a keen eye for detail and a knack for crafting engaging content. With a background in journalism and digital marketing, Joshua brings a unique perspective to his writing, ensuring that each piece resonates with readers. His dedication to delivering high-quality, informative, and captivating articles has earned him a reputation for excellence in the industry. When he’s not writing, Joshua enjoys exploring new topics and staying up-to-date with the latest trends in content creation.

Author