In the last few years, intelligent automation has gained prominence in the process automation technologies portfolio. In the third year of the
SAPinsider benchmark research report, enhancing employee productivity again emerged as a key strategy. Reducing manual touchpoints was the most important strategy requirement highlighted by SAPinsiders, followed by increasing employee productivity and process transformation as seen in figure 1.
Figure 1. Top strategies to address top process automation drivers.
Source: SAPinsider, April 2022
The top two strategies identified further emphasize the theme that SAPinsiders have consistently highlighted in their responses — transform processes to make them more efficient and accurate and focus on empowering those who work “in the process” by equipping them with more advanced skills. Reducing manual touchpoints eliminates the repetitive tasks performed by employees, thereby increasing skills and satisfaction. This strategy correlates closely with the strategy to improve productivity of the workforce and eliminate low-skilled tasks. Process automation not only eliminates manual tasks from the plates of employees but also provides them tools that they can leverage, combined with their knowledge of the process, to generate innovation, one of the key drivers identified by SAPinsiders.
On the technology side, we see that process mining and intelligent automation are key technologies on the radar of SAPinsiders over the next two years.
Figure 2. Process automation technologies five-year roadmap
Source: SAPinsider, April 2022
The increased focus on intelligent automation, as compared to last year, stems from the continued emphasis on increasing employee productivity. In this short video, we explore why the increase in focus on employee productivity ties directly with an increase in focus on intelligent automation.
https://vimeo.com/704614376