Seemingly overnight, the economic recovery from the pandemic has begun. But with it comes increased pressure on companies to develop and implement a successful automation strategy. Companies need to move forward with their plans for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and its AI-driven sister Intelligent Automation (IA). But how can organizations harness this momentum quickly and efficiently?
Until now, IT leaders have often had to accept that RPA solutions could not scale. Valuable resources were too often spent on creating disparate ‘proofs of concepts’ without coordinating projects with each other. There was also a lot of uncertainty in choosing the right platform.
Microsoft’s recent entry into the enterprise automation market is changing that. With its continuously evolving Power Platform, which includes Power Automate, Microsoft offers a comprehensive solution for intelligent automation. It is scalable, enables consistent governance across the enterprise and allows disparate automations to migrate to a single cohesive platform.
The power of the right platform: three key elements
Forrester recently found that scalable automation requires a new operating model. To be successful with this, three elements are considered necessary: The right technology ecosystem, the right domain expertise, and the right automation governance. It is precisely these three core elements that Microsoft and Avanade, with the help of partners such as Blueprint Software Systems, have brought together in one solution.
1. The right technology
The right IA technology ecosystem combines artificial intelligence, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Digital Process Automation (DPA). This includes not only functional software, but also infrastructure, integration, security, and service options to scale effectively. If you want true enterprise-level scalability for as many people as possible, stick with the leader in scalable solutions: Microsoft.
Intelligent Automation from Microsoft is a blend of artificial intelligence, workflow integration, API automation and RPA. All these components converge on the Power Platform. At the same time, IA also designs and orchestrates disparate work processes and promotes intelligent automation that runs from a single end-to-end platform across multiple interfaces. Microsoft’s Power Platform is built on Azure and provides automation, intelligence, and orchestration.
In addition, Microsoft is keen to ensure that moving from another automation platform is not a costly endeavor – especially for companies already using Microsoft solutions. Avanade, Blueprint Software Systems and Microsoft have therefore worked together on a migration tool for automations. With it, existing automations that are based on Automation Anywhere, for example, can be converted to Power Automate. And this at 50-70% of the cost of a manual migration. Blueprint’s migration tool, together with Avanade’s global Power Platform migration services, is an easy way to transport legacy automations to Microsoft’s new IA platform for scalable automation.
2. The right domain expertise
As Forrester points out, the success of automation projects depends largely on having the right support. Avanade’s expertise is an excellent complement to any in-house IA domain knowledge. Avanade’s team consists of more than 4200 automation experts, 1000 data engineers, 400 AI experts, and another 300 cognitive service experts. We also have more certified Azure Professionals than any other Microsoft partner. We have already implemented over 6000 automations for over 350 companies. Our domain specialists are technically skilled. They also have a wide range of experience in process control, design, testing, maintenance, compliance and change management.
3. The right governance
Citizen development and the growing number of automation apps require a carefully considered governance approach. This should include strategy, planning and architecture as well as project support across the enterprise. Microsoft’s Power Platform Center of Excellence Starter Kit provides a basic set of automation tools to monitor, govern, coordinate, and evolve Power Platform deployment. Avanade has in-depth experience in customizing this starter kit to address specific business needs, adding strategy, structure, standards, and success metrics.
Leverage the benefits of automation
The market for automation is currently in a state of flux and offers companies the prospect of many positive effects. Automation that supports people and augments their labor, rather than demotivating or replacing it, increases organizational flexibility in a world where on-the-ground working is fundamentally changing. Use the evolution of these platforms to advance your own use of AI and Citizen Development. Scale your capabilities to bring together enterprise processes and drive automation. Microsoft has certainly turned the automation market on its head. And now is the time to ask yourself if you’re already getting the maximum benefit from your previous investments in this space. Refresh your automation approach and let us show you how our Automation Migration Starter Kit can lower your total cost of ownership and enable you to achieve ROI with Intelligent Automation in just a few months.
Would you like to get more information artificial intelligent supported automation systems? Contact us today.
