Automation has a long history, dating back to the industrial revolution, when automatic processes were introduced to boost factory productivity. Over the decades, advancements like automatic feedback controllers and robotic systems further transformed production across various industries.
In the 2000s, with the rise of new tools and software, process automation established itself as a critical component of modern IT strategy. Today, business process automation (BPA) leverages advanced technologies to automate repetitive tasks, leading to greater efficiency, lower costs, and increased employee and customer satisfaction.
BPA is an umbrella term; it encompasses several other forms of automation designed to meet more-specific business needs. These include:
Workflow automation targets a series of interconnected tasks within a business process, ensuring they occur in a specific sequence. This form of automation can fully automate certain workflows or complement human involvement where decision-making or specialized skills are needed. By streamlining the flow of tasks, workflow automation enhances consistency, reduces bottlenecks, and speeds up the overall process.
Process automation takes a broader approach, focusing on automating entire end-to-end processes rather than just individual tasks or workflows. It involves integrating multiple tasks and workflows across various systems to ensure the entire process operates smoothly with minimal human intervention. This type of automation is particularly useful for complex business functions like order fulfillment, supply chain management, and customer service operations.
Robotic process automation (RPA) uses software robots, or ‘bots,’ to replicate human interactions with digital systems. RPA is particularly effective for automating high-volume, repetitive tasks that follow a structured pattern, such as data entry, report generation, or data transfer between systems. These tasks typically don’t require decision-making and are ideal candidates for RPA, freeing up human workers for more complex activities.
Intelligent automation extends the capabilities of RPA by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into the automation process. This advanced form of automation can handle more complex tasks that involve unstructured data, learning from past actions to improve over time. Intelligent automation is well-suited for functions that require data analysis, decision-making, and adapting to new or unexpected situations, such as customer service chatbots, predictive maintenance, and fraud detection.
Read this ebook to learn more about including Robotic Process Automation in your toolbox, including:
- Why automation is more than just a niche business tool
- How to keep people at the center of hyperautomation
- The benefits of upgrading the production line with RPA
Given the widespread availability of automation solutions and the increasing number of processes used throughout modern businesses, the term business process automation may feel vague. This is because process automation’s applications are limited only by the capabilities of your chosen tools. Here, we highlight several process automation use cases:
Creating purchase order requests is both time consuming and repetitive. At the same time, it often involves multiple approval levels, and relies upon highly accurate information. Business process automation helps eliminate errors in order requests and streamlines the authorization process for faster approval and more reliable results.
The employee onboarding process is different for every organization, but almost all of them include a variety of essential tasks and information. Process automation helps those involved move quickly from one task to the next, ensuring that everyone has access to the right information and clear visibility into the status of the onboarding process.
As new employees join and current employee responsibilities grow and adapt, ensuring that everyone has access to the right systems and resources can become a strenuous undertaking. Automating account-provisioning processes secures the right privileges for the right employees, keeping relevant individuals updated at all times.
Automated reporting solutions interact with monitoring and analytics tools to automatically compile and deliver vital reports. This not only frees up employees’ time for other tasks, but also cuts down on report creation time and human errors. Reports can be created and distributed within minutes, rather than the hours the same task might demand from a human worker.
As with creating reports, manually entering data into spreadsheets can be a laborious, tedious process. BPA can handle the time-consuming formatting, copy and pasting, and more, so that your spreadsheets are accurate and ready when you need them.
You can implement automation to help keep a more watchful eye on your event logs. Automation can alert the relevant parties when issues are encountered and can even be used to automatically resolve certain problems or errors.
Business process automation makes things easier for workers—it frees up staff for other, non-automatable tasks while also allowing them to accomplish and produce more. It creates effective, efficient processes while also significantly reducing the possibility of errors. Altogether, this will help your businesses save money and allow you to put greater focus on providing exceptional customer service.
A general rule of thumb for automation in business is that if a process can be automated, then it should be automated. That said, certain types of business processes stand out as particularly well-suited candidates for automation. Below are the key categories of processes that are worth prioritizing as part of your BPA strategy:
Core processes are the essential activities that drive your business's revenue and align directly with your primary business objectives. These include processes related to sales, marketing, customer service, production, and distribution. Automating core processes through tools like enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer service management (CSM), and other solutions helps ensure these critical functions run efficiently and consistently.
Long-tail processes fill the gaps between your core and support functions, addressing unique needs that are not fully covered by existing systems. These processes often require some customization to match an organization’s needs, and they may evolve over time. Automating long-tail processes with low-code, no-code, or custom automation tools can help ensure that even the most nuanced tasks are automated correctly.
When determining which business processes to automate, it is also worth considering the following factors:
Volume of tasks
How complex is the sequence of tasks required? Processes that include a high number of manual tasks can benefit from automation, by taking responsibility for those tasks out of human hands.
Number of people involved
If a process requires collaboration from employees across multiple teams, at various levels of the organization, or in different departments, then BPA can help keep everything flowing. Automation improves cross-enterprise functions by helping eliminate bottlenecks while standardizing workflows.
Time sensitivity
Business automation’s ability to streamline tasks can make a big difference when dealing with impending deadlines. Automating key steps leads to faster turnaround times.
Impact on other processes
When a process is interconnected with other processes or systems, there is a lot riding on its accuracy. Automation can help ensure that the right data is being passed along, so that dependent processes have the information they need to function optimally.
Impact on other processes
Need for visibility
Demand for compliance
When a process is interconnected with other processes or systems, there is a lot riding on its accuracy. Automation can help ensure that the right data is being passed along, so that dependent processes have the information they need to function optimally.
Processes may slow to a crawl when they include manual reporting. By automating these processes, you can promote faster, more accurate reporting, without impeding the overall operation.
Laws and regulations should always be taken seriously. Process automation can help your business keep pace with regulatory change, so that you do not face penalties down the line.
Business process automation is not something that you are going to have to build from the ground up; process-automation tools exist to help you make the transition to effective automation. However, to get the most out of your process-automation solution, you will need to be deliberate and thorough in your approach. The following are several best practices for business process automation:
- Before you begin implementing automation, take a detailed look at the processes you are considering. Chart the tasks that are involved, any deadlines or time constraints, and make note of who is responsible for the completion of these tasks.
Clearly establish the goals you have for your automated processes. These goals may include reduced person hours, improved consistency, reduced costs or overhead, improved operational stability, etc. The important thing here is to be clear in the goals and incorporate quantifiable metrics. This will help you better direct your automation efforts and allow you to accurately evaluate their effectiveness.
Measure your results but be aware that sometimes the benefits of BPA take time to manifest. An accelerated and agile approach will allow you to make course corrections when necessary, and a long-term outlook will give your automation solution time to pay back your investment.
Don’t reinvent the wheel; ready-made tools can help you get the most out of business process automation. Where pre-built tools may be lacking, consider looking for solutions on user forums. Using available tools will help keep your investment down.
Train your employees on how to get the most out of your process-automation solution. Remember that full adoption may be difficult, particularly if your teams are used to a different way of working. Make sure to educate your people on how process automation will benefit them, and then give them time to adjust. Provide structured training sessions that cover system navigation, workflow adjustments, and troubleshooting, and if the automation tools in question require more specialized knowledge, offer role-specific training to address varying levels of technical expertise.
When it comes time to implement business process automation for your organization, you have three basic options:
- Build a custom process automation solution from scratch
- Use point-to-point integrations to automate only specific parts of your business processes
- Use ready-made business process automation platforms
A custom solution designed in house will give you greater freedom in determining the functionality of your automations, but it may also end up costing you significantly more in terms of IT hours—both to build and to maintain. Fully custom process-automation solutions are usually used by organizations with complex legacy systems that are incapable of connecting to modern systems through APIs.
Point-to-point integrations cost less than custom process automation and allow you to select specific areas for automation, but often result in disorganized solutions that are difficult to understand, maintain, or repair. Additionally, this kind of BPA comes with no user-guide; should the person responsible for setting it up decide to leave your organization, you may have no way to keep it functioning in the long term.
Investing in process-automation tools offers a reliable, cost-effective solution that still allows for customization. And, with tutorials, training, and support from the tool provider, implementing your automation solution is often an easy, painless process.
The right business process automation solution can bring many advantages to your organization. These include the following:
- Improved productivity
- Increased process transparency
- Effective, real-time monitoring
- Better turn-around time
- Reduced costs associated with manual tasks
- Better use of employee resources
While business process automation offers clear advantages, it also comes with its own set of challenges. Successfully implementing BPA requires more than just adopting the right tools; it demands careful planning and ongoing management. Below are some of the key challenges associated with BPA:
As you consider different BPA-tool options, recognize that not every solution provides the same functionality. Here are some criteria to help you choose an effective BPA tool:
Ease of use
BPA tools should not demand expert users. Be sure that the tool you choose is easy enough that your employees will be able to use it with some minor training.
Analytics and reporting
Built-in analytics and reporting options will allow you to track important KPIs, so that you can identify where business process problems are occurring, identify and prioritize automation candidates, and evaluate how effective your automation solutions are.
Integration
Automating processes often means working closely with a range of software and applications. Choose a tool that can integrate effectively without any major workarounds.
Mobile functionality
As more and more users are incorporating mobile devices into their regular business technologies, your BPA should follow suit by offering reliable mobile functionality. If the tool is only accessible on desktop computers, then full adoption may be difficult.
Up-front pricing
BPA solutions are designed to provide a positive return on your investment, but you will still need to be able to accurately budget for them. Research your options to make sure that there are no hidden costs that might throw off that budget. Review different licensing options to make sure that you are selecting the right one for your needs.
Scalability
A tool that works for your business right now might not be capable of handling the increased complexity and workload of your business five years from now. Choose a BPA that has the capacity to scale and grow with your business.
Visual-process modeling
If your process-automation tool requires an in-depth knowledge of coding and software design, then there is a good chance that your developers will be the only ones using it. Low-code options that rely on visual-process modeling take some of the burden off your IT department, using graphical interfaces to allow non-coders to create working automations. Learn more about using a low-code approach to business process automation on the Now Platform App Engine.
Business process automation and business process management (BPM) may seem similar. Both are crucial for improving organizational efficiency, and both focus on optimizing processes. They are now, however, the same.
- BPA focuses on automating individual tasks or entire processes to streamline operations, reduce manual intervention, and increase efficiency. It generally uses low-code tools to allow users to automate processes without extensive coding knowledge.
- BPM is a broader discipline that involves modeling, monitoring, and optimizing business processes to ensure they align with the organization’s goals. BPM encompasses the orchestration of various processes, ensuring they work together effectively within the business environment.
While BPA automates specific processes to improve efficiency, BPM is a comprehensive strategy focused on managing and optimizing all business processes to ensure they contribute to the organization’s overall objectives. BPA is often a component within a larger BPM strategy.
Business process automation and robotic process automation are related, but they serve distinct functions within an organization’s automation strategy.
- RPA focuses on automating individual, repetitive tasks at the keystroke level by using bots that mimic human actions. These bots are designed to perform specific tasks (such as data entry, system logins, or form-filling), without requiring human intervention. RPA is ideal for tasks that are repetitive, structured, and rule based.
- BPA automates entire business processes, integrating various tasks and systems to create a seamless workflow. While RPA can be a part of BPA—used to automate specific tasks within a larger process—BPA encompasses the overall strategy of optimizing and automating multiple steps or entire processes within an organization.
In essence, RPA is a tool that can be used within a BPA framework, but BPA addresses the full end-to-end process automation, making it more comprehensive and strategic in nature.
BPA provides significant benefits to organizations by simplifying systems and workflows, resulting in reduced costs, improved accuracy, increased visibility, and better allocation of employee resources. But these benefits don’t just happen; they depend on the right BPA solutions.
ServiceNow Workflow Data Fabric brings together the capabilities needed to scale business process automation across your entire organization. Built on the ServiceNow AI Platform, this fully integrated solution connects structured, unstructured, and streaming data, allowing teams to automate complex workflows using real-time, context-rich information. You can orchestrate bots through RPA Hub, automate integrations using over 200 prebuilt spokes in Integration Hub, deploy AI Agents to support teams and enhance productivity, and so much more. By bringing together automation and centralized data, Workflow Data Fabric eliminates fragmentation—creating a more coordinated foundation for ongoing process improvement .
To experience the full capabilities of the ServiceNow Workflow Data Fabric, schedule a demo today!