virtual-operations.com

Practically every major organisation is on

a automation journey, capitalising on the

power of Process Automation and

integrating Artificial intelligence (AI) with

Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

Properly executed, the potential benefits

can even surpass the media hype. It

really is possible to create sustainable

transformation and deliver significant

shareholder value. It feels undoubtedly

like there is an automation gold rush on

the horizon. How to make the most of

this new frontier?

As with every gold-rush there are draw-

backs, pitfalls and … cowboys.

Companies can only succeed if they

know where the gold is, what it looks like,

and how to mine it. Done correctly, the

risk is low and there are fortunes to be

made with the right approach.

In this document we examine the crucial

part that AI can play in large scale

Automation Programmes. We offer you a

10 point C-suite guide, written from an

expert practitioner’s perspective.

virtual-operations.com

There are many technologies available today and

the vast array can, at first, be confusing. Many are

complementary and many perform the same

function; albeit in different ways. The simplest

approach is to consider them in groups. The

principal groups are: Robotic (e.g. Blue Prism),

Desktop (e.g. Openspan) and AI (e.g.

Perceptive). We also routinely include products

such as analytics and OCR but these are

peripheral. To maximise the potential, you will

need to understand the role each of these

products plays, what their strengths and

limitations are and how they can be combined to

best effect for your process portfolio. It is worth

remembering that these tools are relatively

inexpensive but, in combination, the cost may

become prohibitive. You also need to consider

how this market may shape up in a few years’

time. We often advocate a “champion and

challenger” model to guard against the possibility

of our clients’ chosen technologies no longer being

available or best in class. It is almost certain that

you will require a combination of at least two

technologies. This is where AI plays a pivotal role.

The AI we are referring to is not cognitive and we

don’t expect cognitive technology to play any

significant role for many years (We are often asked

if we support truly cognitive technology but the

truth is it’s not ready yet). The AI we deploy is

mainly used to take unstructured, non-digitised

information and digitise it, extracting key data as

required. It then hands over the inputs (previously

unstructured) to a robot or an application in such a

way that it can be used. We have worked with

many Fortune 100 clients and in every case AI was

required to complement the RPA tool(s).

Surprisingly the service provider market is

relatively immature. Most of the technical product

providers will offer short-term help with

implementing their products but very few have the

resources to do this at scale and prefer to

concentrate on developing their products. With a

few notable exceptions, the majority of the BPO

and Consulting providers have been slow to adopt

Process Automation and most are restricted to

one technology offering (and a process level

approach) which may lead to small pockets of

efficiency but will not lead to large scale

transformation. Automation is a low-cost service

offering, can be transitional in nature and

therefore doesn’t lend itself to the commercial

models of these organisations.

The choice is between: do-it-yourself, partially

outsource (and form a joint automation team) or

outsource completely. Running automation in-

house has a number of attractions. It is lower cost

in the long term, key-skills are retained within the

organisation and dependency on external

providers is minimised. However, it will take longer

to achieve the desired outcomes and many

organisations lack the skills, focus and drive to

manage large-scale programmes of this nature. If

you decide to partially or fully outsource

automation services, then you will need to

consider the maturity of the services market. It

doesn’t make economic sense to outsource to a

partner who must train resources from scratch to

meet your needs, you may as well do that yourself.

You also need to consider how you want to buy.

The standard approach is time and materials but

you may wish to pay as you use (access to tools by

the minute), pay per transaction or pay for value

delivered.

The attraction of the different pricing models

becomes more obvious when the portfolio of

candidate processes is known. For example, paying

by the robot-minute works best with large-scale

but highly seasonal work. High volumes of simple

transactions, on the other hand, might lean

towards a transaction-based pricing model. Note

that many of the AI providers will only sell on a

value pricing basis, based on a percentage of the

overall business case delivered through

automation.

Whatever you decide in terms of technology and

service choices, our recommended approach is

“think big, move fast and get organised”. This is

based on the considerable experience gained by

Virtual Operations in supporting our clients’ large-

scale automation programmes.

virtual-operations.com

Understand your objectives. We have

found that the principal drivers dictate

the way in which the programme is

constructed. Cost reduction is almost

invariably a major goal but can be considered as a

pre-requisite. Other operational issues are often

seen as more important including:

Enabling legacy systems to interact seamlessly

with new technologies (a major step towards

creating a digital enterprise)

Increasing regulatory compliance (and regulator

confidence)

Workforce management (especially coping with

peak or seasonal work-loads)

Reducing the off-shore footprint

Improved customer experience / satisfaction

and follow-up (e.g. combining IVR, Artificial

intelligence and robots in call centres)

All large organisations will have a wide

range of processes which could be

automated and technologies which can

be deployed. Defining your

‘Operational Landscape’ is a critical step in

optimising the value from automation. The

following link will guide you further. http://virtual-

operations.com/key-questions-to-consider/

Communicate and sell. A wide range

of stakeholders will become involved in

any programme of significant scale.

Regular and timely communication

(selling and education) is a vital element in

managing the stakeholder group. Business owner

buy-in will create a pull for automation. Remember

that automation programmes are low risk but will

invariably involve disruption. With the holistic

approach disruption is anticipated, managed and

minimised. Personnel who are to be released or

redeployed will require particular attention not

least because the detailed process data will be

gathered from within this group. External

communication is also a major consideration as

stock markets look favourably upon well -

orchestrated change initiatives.

Think big and take a holistic approach.

Aim at least at the functional level & not

process by process. http://virtual-

operations.com/rpa-and-the-glass-ceiling/

Build an Automation Centre of

Excellence (CoE). Unlike Shared

Service Centres, CoE’s in the automation

world are relatively small. The purpose

they serve is to provide the resources and tools

required to ensure a consistent, low risk, leveraged

cost to the programme and the disciplines and

standards, (strategic focus, governance and

prioritisation) that should be applied across the

organisation. The CoE will:

Manage the Target Operating Model design and

development (roles, organisations,

relationships, governance (working with IT)) of a

federated CoE to support and sustain full-scale

production;

Build an automation methodology for use

within the CoE;

Align CoE activity to other areas of activity

within the organisation such as IT Roadmap or

other process optimisation (eg Lean) and

shared services to break through the

automation “glass-ceiling”;

Act as subject matter experts in support of the

automation technology;

Manage skills sourcing and/or training;

Future-proof the programme by keeping pace

with the leading automation technologies.

virtual-operations.com

Release sufficient resources and

budget. Well planned and organised

automation-programmes will break-

even after approximately 12 months. It

is a false economy not to invest in a programme

which will have such a rapid and high return.

Appoint a Head of Automation from

within; a focal point and an organiser.

This is a senior role and requires a

combination of vision, persuasion and

project management abilities.

Train your own people where

possible. The most diffi cult tasks we

face are identifying the right

opportunities and then mapping them

accurately. Once the process has been mapped,

the implementation is usually straightforward.

Run Pilots not Proofs of Concept.

All of the leading technologies have now

been proven on multiple occasions. If

you need reassurance with your own

systems and your data then we would recommend

that you run a pilot which can go into production

and deliver value when it succeeds.

Don’t stop in-flight

Automations. In many

organisations isolated

automation initiatives are

already underway. Typically these are tactical, with

a single tool (usually Robotic) and are conducted

on a process by process approach. Our advice is to

let these initiatives continue. They are highly likely

to succeed, they present little risk, they will almost

certainly underpin automation as a change lever

and, most importantly, they can be gathered in

when the CoE is operational.

Virtual Operations UK Ltd

Palladium House

Argyll St

London

W1F 7LD

+44 2035 891 549

contact@virtual-operations.com

virtual-operations.com

In part 2 and 3 of this series we will explore the

operational framework required to bring new auto-

mation value to life and some tips on how to

choose a partner.