Business process automation (BPA) is one of the most popular forms of Digital Transformation, with more and more companies seeking to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability. But as with every Digital Transformation project, there are risks that must be considered and this is true of process automation development projects too.
Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to avoid the risks of business process automation. You simply need to understand the dynamics of these challenges so you can take measures to avoid those pitfalls as you proceed with your BPA project.
BPA Risk: Integrating Multiple Processes Into a Single Process Automation
One risk associated with business process automation arises when you try to integrate multiple processes into a single automated process flow. Combining two or more processes brings a number of challenges since you must consider multiple sets of steps and you’ll need to ensure that all integrations are properly addressed.
The dynamics of these combined processes are far more complex than what you would see for the automation of a single process flow. You must perform more intensive testing for these process automations to ensure that everything is working as expected.
BPA Risk: Failing to Address Parallel Systems and Integrations
When performing business process automation projects, you need to consider more than just the process flow that you’re automating. There are often parallel systems and platforms that require integration. For example, you may have a process that pulls data from several sources; you’ll need to establish integrations with those data platforms in order to ensure that your process automation works as expected.
You may also have to send data to another platform once the automated process is complete. These integrations can be challenging, especially if there is no pre-existing API in place. Therefore, you’ll need to perform a bit of research to identify what integrations are required. You also must determine whether an API is available; if not, you’ll need to perform a bit of coding to achieve that integration. The latter process can take some time, so it’s an important consideration that can affect your project timeframe and budget.
BPA Risk: An Adverse Impact on Employee Morale
In some cases, employees may fear automation and similar Digital Transformation projects because they erroneously believe that this technology places their jobs in jeopardy. Business process automation projects are associated with a high degree of anxiety over job security. This is due to misconceptions over the role of BPA technology.
Business process automations are ideal for repetitive tasks that often harm employee morale. Certain tasks harm morale due to the boring, mind-numbing repetition associated with those processes. Even so, many still fear the loss of their jobs when the opportunity arises for business process automation. What they fail to realize that when these automations are implemented, the humans aren’t laid off. Instead, they are freed to focus on higher level tasks that are far more interesting and engaging. So employees usually stand to benefit from BPA — not suffer with layoffs.
BPA Risk: A Lack of Proper Monitoring
For a business process automation to succeed, you must implement consistent monitoring. Even with thorough testing, you may still encounter challenges with a business process automation project. This allows you to verify that everything is working as expected after deployment is complete. If a problem is detected, you’ll need to take immediate action so as to limit any negative impact from the issue in question. This can be especially useful for detecting integration issues which can arise if the “connection’ between platforms is disrupted.
Fail to perform proper monitoring and you could end up with a problem that interferes with operations and adversely impacts parallel integrated systems.
Business process automations bring lots of potential benefits, but you must prepare employees with proper training to ensure they accept this new technology and make the most of your Digital Transformation projects. What’s more, with continual monitoring and the careful integration of multiple processes, you’ll avoid common BPA risks and pitfalls.
Achieving Maximum ROI With Business Process Automation
To maximize your chances of success, you must entrust your process automation development project to an experienced Digital Transformation firm like 7T. When you automate the right process in the right way, the ROI can be significant since you’ll see a host of process automation benefits: better productivity, improved profitability, reduced error rates and increased speed. You also need to partner with the right business process automation development company; one that takes a collaborative approach to Digital Transformation projects such as this. That’s exactly what we do here at 7T.
At 7T, we take a collaborative approach to enterprise development projects, including business process automations. We engage the client from the discovery phase to deployment. Our many Digital Transformation service offerings include process automation solutions, enterprise software development for ERP and CRM systems (among others), along with SaaS development for web apps and mobile apps, amongst others. We work extensively with cutting-edge technologies as we strive to help clients solve pain points, improve efficiency and achieve their business goals.
We’re guided by the approach of “Digital Transformation Driven by Business Strategy.” As such, the 7T development team works with company leaders who are seeking to solve problems and drive ROI through Digital Transformation and innovation. We then provide collaborative, multi-phased and impactful Digital Transformation solutions.
7T has offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin, but our clientele spans the globe. If you’re ready to learn more about Digital Transformation and how business process automation can benefit your business, contact 7T today.
