Hyperautomation - Introduction
Hyperautomation (Hyperautomation) is a process of automating all the possible workflows and processes in a business organization, ranging from production chains or assembly lines to marketing or sales processes. For this purpose, it combines various advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA). As the name implies, hyperautomation enables to automate almost any task which gets repeated again and again.
We can say, in modern business organizations, hyperautomation serves as the primary factor behind the digital transformation and enhanced efficiency because it reduces both efforts and costs involved in low-value tasks. It also minimizes human involvement in processes and workflows across the organization and hence human errors.
In this chapter, we will have a discussion on some fundamental concepts of hyperautomation, from its basic definition to evolutions and role in digital transformation of businesses.
What is Hyperautomation?
Hyperautomation is the process that allows to automate most tasks, processes, or workflows across the organization by making the use of technologies like AI, ML, BPM, RPA, etc. In simpler words, hyperautomation is the concept that automates everything that can be automated in a business organization.
Hyperautomation is the key concept behind the digital transformation of business organizations. It minimizes the human involvement in most business operations and allows to improve efficiency by eliminating human errors.
Today, business organizations are implementing hyperautomation to streamline their processes using emerging technologies like AI and ML, so that their human employees can focus on higher values tasks and processes. Hyperautomation in modern organizations is becoming an essential requirement for their survival and ranking.
Evolution of Automation from RPA to Hyperautomation
Let's now understand how automation in business organizations is shifted from robotic process automation (RPA) to hyperautomation.
The concept of hyperautomation is emerged because RPA has limitations when it comes to automate complex processes in business organizations. Hyperautomation can overcome most limitations of RPA because it makes the combined use of multiple technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, process mining, business process automation, in addition to robotic process automation.
Unlike RPA, Hyperautomation can automate tasks and processes end-to-end with enhanced decision-making capabilities. Since hyperautomation uses advanced analytics and cognitive technologies, it improves the responsiveness in business processes.
The following discussion provides some more insights about evolution of automation in business processes from robotic process automation to hyperautomation.
Stage 1: Early Automation
In business organizations, automation began with automated execution of rule-based, repetitive tasks like data entry, report and invoice generation, etc.
Stage 2: Integration of Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
The integration of RPA technologies into business processes enhanced the efficiency by automating some more complex tasks or processes that involve the use of structured data. But RPA couldn't handle tasks that require intelligence for decision-making and exception handling.
Stage 3: Integration of Intelligent Technologies
Now, the stage came in automation, where intelligent technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are integrated with the robotic process automation to enable cognitive decision-making in processes. These technologies allowed to handle unstructured data and exceptions. Thus, the integration of AI and ML enabled a predictable execution of automated processes.
Stage 4: End-to-End Process Automation
This stage of automation is considered as the beginning of hyperautomation, where business organizations started to create a comprehensive automation ecosystem for automating their work flows and processes.
At this stage, various advanced technologies like AI, ML, RPA, process and task mining, data analysis, etc. are integrated together to automate entire processes and workflows in the organizations.
How Traditional Automation is Different from Hyperautomation?
First of all, it is very difficult to state a clear difference between traditional automation and the hyperautomation, but in the context of modern businesses, the traditional automation can be considered as a part of hyperautomation.
The traditional automation, simply referred to as automation, can be considered the process of automating rule-based, repetitive tasks without any human intervention. It is basically the automation of processes and tasks at a small scale and mostly automates individual tasks rather than entire processes or workflows.
Whereas, hyperautomation is considered the intelligent automation of processes that makes the combined use of multiple advanced technologies like AI, ML, RPA, task mining, process mining, data analytics, etc. Hence, it enables a large-scale automation of end-to-end processes that require cognitive decision-making.
Role of Hyperautomation in Digital Transformation of Businesses
Hyperautomation is playing an important role in digitally transforming the businesses. It makes the use of emerging technologies like AI, ML, RPA, BPM, etc. for automating end-to-end processes and workflows across the business organizations. Hyperautomation allows to speed up business operations along with enhancing operational efficiency and reduced errors.
Basically, hyperautomation is taking the process automation to next level and enabling businesses to complete their processes faster and freeing up resources for higher-value tasks.
Conclusion
In this chapter, you learnt some basics of hyperautomation and its role in transforming businesses. Let's move to the next chapter to understand the factors that highlight the importance of hyperautomation in modern business organizations