Unified Architecture: How to Simplify Automation Decisions

Summary

With many advanced technologies to choose from, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA), a primary challenge for organizations is figuring out the best way to apply and manage them. Rather than utilizing stand-alone solutions, businesses should focus on a cohesive approach that relies on interconnected ecosystems to deliver scalable results. This means orchestration is pivotal to integrating process automation technologies.   

According to Gartner, many enterprise application leaders find it difficult to implement process automation technologies because of a lack of unified architecture, prompting a shift in perspectives on the market and sparking the emergence of what Gartner terms "Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies," or BOAT. Beyond the traditional patchwork of solutions, BOAT calls for organizations to align various automation capabilities into a single, orchestrated framework.  

A report from IDC spotlights "AI-powered automation" and the move toward AI and business automation convergence. This is in response to organizations looking to reshape their operations to become more proactive and adept at orchestrating complex business processes. 

With intelligent automation (IA), enterprises leverage a combination of multiple automation technologies–including AI, RPA, business process automation (BPA), low code environments, integration services and more–focused on helping deliver tangible results such as financial performance or customer satisfaction and overall business growth.   

Businesses can organize, automate and continuously improve business processes, all while bringing together every application from across their operation. AI is used to improve both the results and the experience for everyone involved.  
 

Scaling with generative AI 

McKinsey & Company found that about 65% of people surveyed say their organizations are using generative AI regularly. In fact, three out of four believe that this tech is set to bring major or even disruptive changes to their industries in the coming years.  

Gen AI’s impact could be far-reaching, affecting customers, patients, employees and many others. The big questions remain–how to leverage it, anticipate what’s next and uncover the financial opportunities for profit. To optimize gen AI in a responsible and secure way, firms should take a holistic approach to work orchestration. Gen AI’s value is diminished if it’s siloed or hindered by issues like changing priorities, absent staff or redundant tasks.  

Here is an example of enterprise-level orchestration:

• At the lowest level, gen AI is orchestrating individual tasks as well as the workforce, data and applications involved in completing those tasks. 
• Next, it orchestrates all those connected tasks into joined up, end-to-end processes that deliver the right output. 
• Finally, it connects all these end-to-end processes across the entire business operation to focus on overall business outcomes and exceptional experiences.  

Considerations when planning work orchestration strategies: 

• Orchestrate work across the whole workforce–people and virtual alike–including employees, managers, teams, digital workers, AI assistants, agentic agents and more. 
• Orchestrate every type of work and workflows, from simple, routine, structured, transaction-based work to non-linear, complex, deadline-driven and knowledge-based tasks.
• It is important to ensure all relevant resources–applications, data, documents, AI and more–are orchestrated to support an organization’s operations. 

Working with a unified platform to support the entire customer journey means change can happen swiftly for better business outcomes. 
 

Virtual agents in action  

It’s not enough to simply connect multiple systems; it’s essential to ensure that the right processes are deployed at the right time, by the right person or virtual agent. To do this, organizations need to consider the different "modes" of orchestration.  

1. First, they must consider human-centric orchestration, which will consider human constructs such as teams, business units and availability.  
2. Second, automation-centric orchestration should be addressed when thinking about digital worker availability, technical capabilities and where this feeds into the overall process.  
3. Finally, AI-centric orchestration will help organizations know when to add AI intelligence in the right place, all within the required governance and security standards. This is where the value of orchestration and a single vendor view comes into play.   

For example, a firm in the global banking sector could simplify and optimize the processes of four core operating entities with long-established businesses and international commercial, private, retail banking and market networks. With a single integration point and processing layer for direct custody and clearing processes, the firm is able to increase visibility, control and regulatory adherence. By optimizing core processes, the installation of BPM software could reduce the average cycle time from more than five days to same-day execution. This would dramatically reduce errors for multiple processes and consolidate global operations onto a single platform.    
 

Beyond efficiency

Automation has become a strategic asset across every aspect of business. When it comes to the customer experiences, access to accurate information and increased data visibility across platforms is essential. Human resources teams, for instance, can benefit from improved employee retention gained by deploying an AI-powered virtual workforce which allows for more rewarding and valuable tasks to be undertaken. For those tasked with governance and security, compliance can be ensured with streamlined and unified processes which save costs and time as well as improve transparency and accountability. No matter the industry, the benefits and possibilities are endless. 

Adopting automation should be straightforward and efficient. When done correctly, it empowers businesses to stay agile and competitive, with scalability being a critical factor for success. Standardizing and centralizing process management with a single, unified platform can help businesses to stay focused, realize significant returns on investment, and bring clarity and ease to decision-making.