BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION

4 key reasons to adopt cloud-based business process automation

It goes without saying that efficiency is the name of the game in modern-day business. From marketing to manufacturing, from product innovation to post-sales, businesses are on a drive to constantly reduce costs, optimise processes and maximise profits. Towards this end, automation was touted as a huge evolution over the typical manual business processes prevalent in the second half of the 20th century. Now, it’s time for cloud-based Business Process Automation (BPA).

What is this beast called cloud-based BPA? As the name suggests, it is software tools and technologies that operate on the cloud and automate business processes: typically accessed via a browser, many BPA tools are accessed as Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. There are no significant upfront costs – most SaaS platforms offer subscription-based and pay-per-use models. Think automation of call centre processes, procurement approvals, employee leave management systems, time and attendance tracking and much more.

In this piece, we make a case for the adoption of cloud-based BPA as an enabler, even a game changer, to strike the chord of efficiency for businesses.  BPA enables enterprises to streamline processes by automating repetitive tasks, reducing errors and costs, and improve overall productivity. The bottom line? Efficiency, of course.

The benefits of going the cloud way with BPA are many. Here are four compelling reasons why businesses should consider adopting cloud-based BPA:

Scalability and Flexibility:

Cloud-based BPA enables businesses to scale their operations as needed, whether they are expanding rapidly or periodically contracting, as in businesses that have seasonal volume changes. This technology can easily accommodate an increase in demand, enabling businesses to adapt quickly to changes in the market. Cloud-based BPA also provides flexibility in terms of access, as employees can work from anywhere, at any time: all they need is a device that has an internet connection. This can be especially beneficial for remote teams and international operations.

Companies have offered employees access to flexible benefits via employee services such as payroll, leave management, and reimbursement tracking using cloud-based business process automation.

Improved Efficiency:

By utilising cloud-based BPA, organisations can automate tedious and time-consuming tasks, which in turn enables employees to concentrate on more strategic assignments that bring greater benefits to the company.  The technology can also reduce errors, as automated workflows are less prone to human error. Additionally, cloud-based BPA can streamline communication between departments, reducing the risk of miscommunication and delays.

For instance, typical accounting flows in large corporations such as invoice approvals and payments can be automated by Robotic Process Automation (RPA), reducing time to payments and associated errors.

Cost Savings:

Cloud-based BPA can help businesses save money by reducing the need for manual labour and paper-based processes. This technology can also help reduce the risk of errors, which can be costly to correct. Additionally, cloud-based BPA can improve decision-making by providing real-time data and analytics.

Automating procurement processes with vendor registration, RFP process automation and automated issuance of purchase orders is a key area where global enterprises have harvested cost savings.

vSuperior User Experience:

Cloud-based BPA can improve the user experience by providing faster and more accurate service. Consider the superior candidate experience a company can provide when employee onboarding and allied flows are automated and flow seamlessly. This gives the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) of the organisation a definite fillip. The technology can also help businesses respond to customer inquiries and requests in a timely manner, helping maintain SLA commitments. Additionally, cloud-based BPA can provide real-time insights into customer behaviour and preferences on their digital platforms and properties, enabling businesses to tailor their services accordingly.

It’s evident that cloud-based BPA can provide businesses with numerous other benefits in optimising already-automated processes and automating manual flows.

We conclude with a cautionary note on the move towards automation: It’s important to do it right - as Bill Gates famously remarked, “Automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Companies must identify the right operations to automate, shortlist the best vendors and implement the automation in stages, constantly tracking the optimisations. The size of the target user base and the costs of deployment are key factors in deciding when the automation must occur in the business process lifecycle.

Allying with the right partner who brings in the requisite experience and expertise on the area to be automated could be the differentiating factor between a successful move towards cloud-based BPA and one that’s a dud. Consider all these factors as you plan for your organisation.

For organizations on the digital transformation journey, agility is key in responding to a rapidly changing technology and business landscape. Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliver and exceed on organizational expectations with a robust digital mindset backed by innovation. Enabling businesses to sense, learn, respond, and evolve like a living organism, will be imperative for business excellence going forward. A comprehensive, yet modular suite of services is doing exactly that. Equipping organizations with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience, and in-depth data visibility across functions leading to hyper-productivity, Live Enterprise is building connected organizations that are innovating collaboratively for the future.