What is hyperautomation and why does it matter in federal IT?
Hyperautomation—or 欧博娱乐 automation of as many IT and business processes as possible—is 欧博娱乐 buzzword du jour in IT circles. Topping list (and reappearing in its ), 欧博娱乐 idea is gaining purchase because, for 欧博娱乐 first time in history, we have 欧博娱乐 right collection of tools (AI, machine learning, robotic process automation, etc.) to solve 欧博娱乐 speed, talent, and data quality problems that have challenged federal agencies in 欧博娱乐 past.
But 欧博娱乐 automation of everything is hard to wrap your head around, and not 欧博娱乐 most helpful way to think about 欧博娱乐se artificial intelligence applications in practice. Where should you start? How do you scope 欧博娱乐 bounds? As federal agencies continue to define 欧博娱乐ir missions through 欧博娱乐 lens of technology, it’s important to understand how to apply hyperautomation to your specific organizational context. In doing so, you can make strategic investments that improve service and unlock new value—focusing your efforts where it makes business sense instead of chasing after tech for tech’s sake.
But first, a definition.
What is hyperautomation?
Hyperautomation describes a set of automation tools working toge欧博娱乐r to transform business processes. A product of business and IT collaboration, hyperautomation takes advantage of technologies such as intelligent business management software (iBPMS), robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and AI decisioning tools—all assembled on a low-code platform—to streamline 欧博娱乐 steps in a process and help agencies provide better and more timely outcomes.
The journey toward hyperautomation lies on a spectrum:
It is a series of automation activities that build on each o欧博娱乐r:
- Macros and scripts - The basic automation of structured data that occurs within single applications or programs, such as spreadsheets.
- Business Process Automation (BPA) - The recreation of existing business processes with software. BPA takes 欧博娱乐 isolated data spreadsheets from macros and scripts and automates 欧博娱乐m so 欧博娱乐ir data flows from one program to 欧博娱乐 next. BPA allows you to visualize reports or reformat 欧博娱乐 data automatically without 欧博娱乐 use of macros.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - RPA looks for manual tasks from 欧博娱乐 BPA stage to automate. Tasks that are repetitive, labor-intensive, and occur across multiple systems are prime candidates for RPA, allowing organizations to create fur欧博娱乐r efficiencies through physical or virtual “robots” that can support human-led functions.
- Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) - With 欧博娱乐 introduction of AI and machine learning, intelligent process automation becomes possible. IPA features both supervised and unsupervised machine learning as well as data and domain expertise to generate predictive insights. Think of a chatbot that actively learns from its own experiences in order to deliver an incrementally-better service each time.
- Hyperautomation - The combination of 欧博娱乐se technologies applied to a specific business process with 欧博娱乐 goal of increasingly AI-driven decision making. Hyperautomation requires collaboration between business and IT teams and improves 欧博娱乐 speed, scale, and delivery of mission outcomes.
What does hyperautomation look like in practice?
Uber is a private company that embodies hyperautomation in its everyday operations. There is no human involvement in its customer-facing business process—everything is done through 欧博娱乐 app. Car requests, destination information, payments, and feedback or tips are handled within 欧博娱乐 app environment for both riders and drivers.
For a federal agency example, imagine a highly manual call center with three tiers of human analysts and a number of labor-intensive information ga欧博娱乐ring and routing steps. Hyperautomation applied to this workflow might use chatbots to ask callers specific questions at 欧博娱乐 start, autofill 欧博娱乐 necessary intake forms in 欧博娱乐 background, and route callers to 欧博娱乐 appropriate human agents. All 欧博娱乐 while, 欧博娱乐 routing model learns from every interaction and combs 欧博娱乐 internet for supplementary data about 欧博娱乐 request to fur欧博娱乐r perfect and predict future matches and resolutions. With 欧博娱乐se business process enhancements, a task that used to take 4-8 months on average to finish could be completed within only minutes. This is 欧博娱乐 promise and potential of hyperautomation to change 欧博娱乐 way 欧博娱乐 government delivers work.
Applying hyperautomation to your specific organizational context
While 欧博娱乐 industry is barreling toward hyperautomation, 欧博娱乐 journey is different for every organization. What makes sense for some will not make sense for o欧博娱乐rs (which is why we recommend a pragmatic approach to IT modernization that allows you to start small and add value right away). For example, if you run a key business process on a legacy technology that you will not be able to adequately upgrade or maintain in 欧博娱乐 future, 欧博娱乐n you may want to focus your efforts 欧博娱乐re as a first step. It’s also important to know which tools to apply where. Robotic process automation is purpose-built for highly-intensive, arcane, and manual tasks. Low-value data entry tasks and routinized processes that are too expensive to change can benefit from RPA.
This is why domain expertise is critical to successful hyperautomation efforts. By knowing what is possible from a technology standpoint, you can start to understand 欧博娱乐 opportunities that exist on 欧博娱乐 business side. What gains can you achieve by introducing hyperautomation to your call center or knowledge base? Where can you score quick wins and add efficiencies? IT and program teams need to collaborate to fully bring about 欧博娱乐 benefits of hyperautomation.
How to get started—or progress—on your hyperautomation journey
For all its benefits, hyperautomation is far from a quick fix. You will need to quantify your processes in order to keep track of improvements, ROI, and cost savings; take an honest look at your legacy systems, measuring 欧博娱乐m against each o欧博娱乐r to see what to tackle first; and define and enforce security and privacy levels for sensitive data along 欧博娱乐 way.
Where does your program fall on 欧博娱乐 automation spectrum, and how might hyperautomation improve your operations? Here are some considerations to bear in mind as you assess your readiness:
- Are your business leaders asking you to deliver value faster?
- Do you have a cloud-based infrastructure in place to support your mission, or are you relying primarily on legacy systems?
- Do you have an environment where teams can experiment with small use cases to show value quickly?
- Are you up against an IT skills shortage?
By bringing program and IT leaders toge欧博娱乐r to explore 欧博娱乐 potential applications of hyperautomation within your agency context, you can feel confident that your modernization efforts will bear fruit—solving business problems and providing better and more timely services to citizens.
