Enterprise technology leaders face relentless pressure to drive innovation despite constraints like technical debt and manual processes. 61% of IT teams continue wrestling with such challenges, hampering agility and value. [1] However, by orchestrating workflows leveraging automation, organizations can shift this paradigm.
This guide will empower you to:
- Discover how leading IT process automation (ITPA) tools are transforming IT operations
- Leverage insider perspectives cross-analyzing solutions tailored for the enterprise
- Apply proven methodologies powering AIMultiple’s data-driven research
First, let’s level-set definitions clarifying workload automation, robotic process automation (RPA), business process automation (BPA) and their role in pioneering the future of hyperautomation.
Decoding IT Process Automation Solutions
IT process automation utilizes technology to minimize manual interventions in workflows. ITPA tools cover:
Workload Automation focus on coordinating batch jobs for optimal throughput.
RPA allows configurable bots to automate repetitive screen-based tasks.
BPA enables seamless integration spanning systems to optimize processes.
However, only 26% of businesses have achieved meaningful productivity via automation. [2] The disconnect lies in conflating generic tools with solutions purpose-built for the nuances of enterprise IT landscapes.
Let’s dig deeper into these categories with a lens on challenges technology executives face.
Workload Automation Mitigates IT Complexities
Enterprise IT environments constantly grapple with sprawling infrastructure and siloed systems, making workload orchestration complex for 79% of decision makers. [3] Workload automation solutions tackle this by:
Centralizing heterogeneous technologies varying from mainframes to cloud under one platform for simplicity.
Optimizing utilization using in-built analytics and machine learning, ensuring high ROI on IT investments.
Enabling resilience via built-in failover and redundancy to ensure business continuity.
Market leader Stonebranch drives such outcomes across complex global bank deployments, delivering 50% efficiency gains. [4]
RPA Bots Excel Where APIs Fall Short
APIs may connect modern applications, but screen-based legacy systems persist across 81% of enterprises. [5] RPA bots bridge this gap by:
Emulating human actions across UIs to complete repetitive tasks where APIs lack viability.
Integrating seamlessly with complementary solutions ranging from ITSM tools to process miners.
As an example, RPA leader UiPath helped global semiconductor firm AMD automate IT support incidents, achieving 90% faster resolution. [6]
BPA Centralizes End-to-End Workflows
Business process automation delivers solutions spanning people, systems, and data silos to:
Improve productivity by eliminating manual hand-offs between teams involved in process steps.
Ensure compliance by orchestrating standardized workflows aligned with regulations like HIPAA.
Accelerate innovation by freeing up resources from repetitive tasks to focus on creating differentiated value.
BPA leader Nintex enabled financial services major Ameriprise to reduce customer onboarding timelines by 80% while scaling rapidly. [7]
While individual tools have merits, seamlessly interconnecting workload automation, RPA, and BPA delivers an exponentially unified solution. This concept of enabling multifaceted connections across technologies, data, and human experiences characterizes hyperautomation.
Hyperautomation – Connecting Solutions Holistically
Gartner predicts hyperautomation capabilities to dominate in 80% of large organizations by 2025. [8] But this requires tools natively integrating across categories.
For instance, workload automation leader ActiveBatch enhances RPA and data integration projects by interweaving seamless scheduling, dependencies, and notifications.
Such cohesive alignments also allow optimization using technologies like process mining, which applies data science to uncover automation opportunities. Together, hyperautomation, process mining, and machine learning will shape leading-edge ITPA.
The Role of Process Mining and ML in ITPA
Process mining applies algorithms to event log data, illuminating process bottlenecks ripe for automation. ML further bolsters ITPA evolution with:
Predictive analytics providing insights to allocate optimal resources for automated workflows, ensuring ROIs.
Intelligent scheduling using reinforcement learning to optimize job dispatching agnostic of workload fluctuations.
Automating complex tasks like infrastructure provisioning by leveraging computer vision and NLP.
These innovations result in substantial efficiency gains, compelling adoption with projected investments reaching $14 billion by 2027. [9] Now let’s cross-analyze features facilitating secured and scalable enterprise deployment.
Securely Scaling Enterprise IT Process Automation
Forrester predicts 75% of IT leaders will prioritize scaling automation across business units by 2024. [10] But complex integrations, access risks, and lack of governance trip even the savviest adopters. That’s why G2 user reviews rate ITPA tools across 190+ criteria including:
| Category | Critical Capabilities |
| Deployment | On-premise, hybrid and SaaS options |
| Authentication | SSO, MFA |
| Access Controls | LDAP, AD, RBAC |
| Compliance | GDPR, ISO, SOC2 |
| Encryption | AES, PKI, SSL, TLS |
| Audit Trails | Central logging with export options |
| Redundancy | Load balancing, auto-failover |
Arm yourself with such discerning perspective when embarking on enterprise-grade ITPA evaluations.
Comparing Delivery Models, Pricing, and Support
Complex ecosystems also call for tooling flexibility in areas like:
Hybrid deployments: Availability of both cloud and on-premise implementation options to accommodate security preferences.
Pricing predictability: Transparent subscription-based pricing allowing accurate cost analysis and projections.
Local support: Regional support centers that account for language familiarity and geo-compliance.
Workload automation leader Opcon provides on-premise and SaaS options deployed across 100+ countries, serviced through 11 global hubs. [11] Such versatility can prove pivotal in complex enterprise contexts spanning legacy systems and multi-cloud environments.
ITPA in Action: Transforming Enterprise Operations
Beyond features, real-world impact demonstrates efficacy. Here’s how leading financial institution Rabobank leveraged RPA from Automation Anywhere across operations, achieving: [12]
- 90% reduction in ticket resolution timelines
- 20% increase in job satisfaction across teams
- $43 million in estimated savings
With optimized IT process automation lifting productivity and experience ceilings across such deployments, technology executives stand at the cusp of unprecedented value delivery unboxed by relentless innovation.
Key Takeaways: An Actionable Automation Framework
As pressures prompt 61% of IT leaders to accelerate automation, use these best practices as your guide: [13]
Discover: Lean on hyperautomation platforms to analyze processes ripe for improvement using integrated process mining capabilities.
Prioritize: Focus initial automation efforts on repetitive tasks delivered via legacy UIs to maximize ROI.
Start small: Prototype target workflows leveraging RPA first before pursuing long-term workload automation.
Scale seamlessly: Opt for robust ITPA tools that interlink RPA, integration workflows and bots using enterprise-grade security, governance and analytics.
Monitor continuously: Harness ML and advanced analytics to track automation KPIs while allowing bots to self-optimize over time.
While individual technology investments have merit, adaptability stems from forging an interconnected automation mesh poised to propel IT excellence.
Key Takeaway: Overcoming Enterprise Automation Challenges
Fragmented processes, aging infrastructure, regulations, and technical debt constantly impede IT teams despite technological progress. Manual interventions often band-aid operational gaps due to lack of holistic solutions. Hence 61% of IT leaders now battle fatigue alongside trepid automation efforts.
But as discussed through unbiased analysis of 15+ market-leading options, purpose-built IT process automation resolves such scenarios by interlinking complementary capabilities. Core integrations across workload automation, RPA, process mining, analytics and beyond pioneer hyperautomation systems that could unleash 80% productivity gains.
Backed by two decades of insider access to enterprise IT, AIMultiple’s rigorous benchmarks distill thousands of data points into actionable intelligence. This powers our methodology connecting technology leaders with tailor-made solutions via unrivaled network of 550+ vendor partners.
Are you ready to transform legacy IT challenges into catalysts for cutting-edge automation leadership? Industry-leading analysts standby to guide you towards operational excellence. Get started on charting your enterprise automation future today.
References
- The Impact of Automation on IT Operations. Freeform Dynamics Ltd. July 2017.
- Winning With Automation. Deloitte. October 2020.
- IT Process Automation: A Guide to Strategy. Optymyze. 2023.
- Stonebranch Customer Case Study – Tier 1 Global Bank. Stonebranch.
- 2021 State Of IT Report. Spiceworks Ziff Davis. 2021.
- UiPath transform IT for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). UiPath. 2022.
- Accelerating Growth With Digital Transformation. Nintex. 2022.
- Predicts 2023: Reengineering IT for Hyperautomation. Gartner. 2022.
- Process Mining Software Market – Global Forecast Report 2027. Meticulous Research. 2022.
- Predictions 2023 Automation. Forrester. October 2022.
- OpCon Brochure. SMA Technologies. 2023.
- The bots can drive cost optimization in uncertain times. Automation Anywhere. 2022.
- The Impact of Automation on IT Operations. Freeform Dynamics Ltd. July 2017.
