Page 27 - Dainfern Precinct Living issue 7 2022

Business
Travel
enablers to reach one’s destination. Maistry says that Robotic Process workers that operate 24/7, executing
Automation is the answer. “RPA tools error-free, repeatable business
“In defining the digital business offer potential ways to automate processes.
strategy, most executives are taking repetitive, manual, rules-based
a blue-sky thinking approach in tasks. Whilst RPA is not the answer Apart from reducing manual
redefining the purpose of the to all automation conundrums interventions in repeatable business
organisation. This might seem within the enterprise, it does offer a processes, one can use the technology
revolutionary and necessary at the compelling alternative to traditional to reduce the headcount in batch-
time, but it could create an execution BPO tools.” driven data input and output
challenge for IT,” he explains. processes.
Instead of months-to-years to
Unrealistic expectations often automate business processes within “One could also link to legacy or
create complexity in the planning the enterprise, RPA can achieve similar external systems in a non-intrusive
and execution phases. The project results within weeks-to-months. manner that would otherwise be too
becomes inundated with technology cost prohibitive to integrate into one’s
imperatives: cloud, artificial The earliest versions of RPA internal business process, or avoid
intelligence, big data and IoT, without technologies were primarily anchored major systems re-engineering for the
due consideration of where and how in screen scraping technology – which purpose of integrating or automating
each of these imperatives will add allowed a software ‘robot’ to mimic part of a business process,” he
direct financial benefit, create value user interactions. However, RPA comments.
differentiation or build brand equity. technology has evolved significantly
since then. Today, RPA vendor, UiPath, If there is a requirement to have a
Instead, the yardstick is the size of the offers a host of ‘out of the box’ user speedy, cost effective, error-free,
data lake, the speed of data retrieval, interface interaction, integration repeatable automation of business
data mobility and the reduction of the and descriptor technologies that processes, then RPA should be a
ICT opex budget. Before you know it, can be configured to mimic business consideration. More so, if there is a
a few years have passed, hundreds of processes in an attended (user requirement to transition knowledge
millions of Rands have been spent and monitored, controlled and interfaced) workers tackling mundane and routine
the failed project is attributed to poor or unattended (‘lights-out’) mode. This tasks, to become an integral part of the
organisational structures, inadequate allows one to create a team of virtual digital transformation journey.
organisational change management
and a lack of executive support.

Maistry says perhaps the focus should
be evolution and not revolution. “In the
era of the knowledge worker, the quick
wins should be around how we free
up business knowledge workers to be
active participants and leaders in the
digital transformation journey. After all,
they are the ones with the knowledge
of the organisational nuances.” Image: Catherine Merlin
“Before the transformation, they would
be spending their time manually
manipulating a melange of structured
and unstructured data as resident
data jockeys, guiding and mending
the business processes with short-
term fixes and inadvertently creating
a precedent of what they regard
as acceptable practice, acceptable
turnaround times and acceptable
service levels.”
Is this intentional? Definitely not. The
sheer volume of repetitive manual
tasks leaves the expert with little time
to stop, think and act. It is very possible
that the business process has not been
electronically orchestrated due to the
nature of the process e.g. multiple
decision point inputs - or it could be
cost-prohibitive to use some sort of
middleware or BPO tool to integrate
the process.
Notwithstanding, any brownfields
digital transformation initiative is going
to be dependent on having optimised
business processes, preferably digitised.
This will surely remove all friction in Image: National Cancer Institute
the system, ensuring that customers
and suppliers can engage with the
enterprise in an efficient, timely and
cost-effective manner.

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