Exploring history and the current scenario of business process automation

In today's digital age, we generally see an increased hype around automation technologies. However, the foundation of automation dates back over centuries. Reports suggest that the ancient Greeks were versed in automation concepts. As far back as 420 BCE, Greek engineers developed automation systems propelled by compressed air, steam, and hydraulics. Moreover, the great Greek mathematician and engineer Hero of Alexandria reportedly have built various automata for religious and ceremonial purposes. Most of them were machines that were able to perform basic functions like opening gates or decorative objects like clocks or mechanized dioramas.

This long history of automation has represented numerous opportunities to create new value from the balance of the classic paradigm of people, process and technology. During the 20th century, scientists and engineers made significant leaps and bounds towards automation and process improvement. These breakthroughs cover mainly three phases. First, the development of enterprise systems and effective manufacturing process methodologies like Lean and Six Sigma in the 1980s. Second, the widespread adoption of business process management systems. And third, the advent of digital process automation that enabled organizations to deliver enhanced customer experiences, as well as automate complex business processes.

Enter 21st Century – Information Age

As we have entered the digital age, where information is overflowing everywhere, everyone wants to get the most out of their resources to seize every single opportunity. This paradigm shift in the information age has enabled enterprises to explore advanced technologies to effectively process the information they seek to hold. With the introduction of enterprise resource planning systems in the 1960s and now digital process automation (DPA), data-driven enterprises have started automating their tasks that are complex to human workers.

Business process automation (BPA) emerges as a business strategy where enterprises use technology to organize their personnel and systems through workflows. Credited to its considerable productivity and cost savings benefits, BPA goes beyond traditional data management and records to advanced software systems and programs that integrate all applications companies have.

Business process automation enables companies to orchestrate, integrate, and automatically execute their processes. It unifies processes to a degree of transparency, as it keeps the computing architecture intact. It also combines the business functions that should logically be more integrated and propagates them out across the company.

The value of automation primarily lies in the efficiencies it creates. According to an IBM report, automation of processes can remove errors, lessen biases and perform transactional work in a fraction of time than humans. It has demonstrated up to 75% cost savings on repetitive tasks compared to human performance, with 25 to 50 % being the generally reported outcome. The report further noted that early adopters of new technology and AI-driven automation capabilities already experienced a significant impact across plenty of business functions.

Although automation delivers substantial advantages to an enterprise, not every business process is apt for automation. In this regard, companies must determine which processes are best suited to automation and which ones are best handled by humans. They also must look at the strategic and operating drivers for process improvement in their organizations and respective domains.