Automation: Uncovering a shared understanding

Is it just me, or is automation everywhere these days? I admit my observations are a little biased, as I work at a software company, but it certainly feels like “automation” has surfaced in every facet of my work life as of late. And although I’ve noticed the uptick in the term’s popularity across countless meetings, conference talks, and general day-to-day conversations, it appears that we are limited in our shared understanding of what this term really means and whether it’s just another corporate buzzword/business fad.

In other words, what is automation, and is it here to stay?

First, I think it’s important to point out that automation is not a product; instead, I find it helpful to think of it as an end goal — something you can achieve by using a product that enables you to automate. Automation, in general, is a streamlined process that aims to eliminate or reduce manual (and, let’s face it, monotonous!) human tasks with software.

Example: every time a sales rep closes a deal in NetSuite, a celebratory Slack message is automatically sent out to the team channel. See the live demo here (7:55–11:30).

Now, let’s level up by breaking it down even further.

Depending on your business and individual needs, you may run across the following types of automation:

• Task Automation: replaces a repetitive and manual task but is limited in scope

Example: Creating a new service request or IT ticket from an email or form with no need to update multiple systems.

• Process Automation: automates a series of tasks (see above)

Example: Typically, a service request, like the example above, requires a series of actions to resolve the issue. An example of process automation in the case of a service example might include the above (creating a new ticket from an email or form), followed by sending a notification to the user when the item status changes so they know where their ticket is in the queue, and then ultimately adding descriptive details to reports and dashboards owned by the service team.

• Hyperautomation: described by Gartner as “a business-driven, disciplined approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet, and automate as many business and IT processes as possible”. Here you’re no longer automating processes in isolation.

Example: In the case of hyperautomation, organizations need to bring together the trifecta — their integration, API management, and automation technologies to connect ALL of their data and applications.

Now that we’ve uncovered a shared understanding of automation, it’s apparent just how powerful (not to mention empowering) automating tasks and processes can be. There is a real opportunity to improve productivity, consistency, and operational efficiency. But, you don’t have to take my word for it — just look at new research which indicates that automation demand surged in more than 90% of companies over the last two years. Presented with these findings, I think it’s safe to assume that automation is not just another corporate buzzword and will be here for the long haul.

For those of you who have made it to the end of this mini-exploration of automation, I’m curious: Does your business represent one of the 90% demanding automation? If so, how are you automating your tasks and or processes?