Hyper Automation vs Automation: The Difference, Explained
Automation has been a linchpin for businesses for decades. The tools pave the way for greater efficiency, enhanced productivity, improved customer experience, and many other benefits. Yet, in some cases, businesses have only seen small gains from their an efforts. When this happens, it could be because organizations were focused only on rather than the wider concept of hyper automation. While the distinctions between them can help organizations truly improve their business operations.
Automation vs Hyper automation: A matter of scope
Refers to use of technology to automate routine, repetitive tasks without human intervention. Traditional, in simple can come in the form of software that automates a single task or a handful of tasks based on underlying rules and logic.
A physical device like a robot on the manufacturing shop floor, or custom-written scripts for tasks like updating patches across an IT environment. It is refers to the use of multiple advanced technologies to automate complex processes from end to end.
These is the tools can include robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), business workflow rules, and more.
There is a newer concept and focuses more on the complex interplay between the technologies working together to streamline full business processes. The difference between the two terms is their scope. If we used a music analogy, we might say that is a solo performance while hyper is a full orchestra. The diagram below shows how Gartner represents the movement from smaller-scale simple automation to wider hyper automation.
Hyper Automation benefits vs. automation benefits
- There are benefits to both approaches. Focusing on applying basic the solutions to individual tasks can score an organization some quick wins.
- For example, AI document processing uses optical character recognition to read and classify documents, then extract data and enter it automatically into a software system.
- This cuts down on manual data entry and reduces the potential for error.
- However, this technology can only be applied to single tasks, like processing invoices or reading medical forms.
- Instead of only focusing on processing billing documents, for example, hyper means applying a range of tools to the full billing and revenue cycle.
- For example, you could use AI to classify and extract data from documents, then use business rules to route tasks to humans or bots via RPA to accomplish other back-office tasks.
- One important point to note here: It is requires an orchestration layer between tasks.
- This layer ensures the different components work together efficiently, passing off tasks between human and digital workers (like RPA bots) seamlessly.
- A process of platform delivers that, coordinating between tools, including robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and business rules.
- A platform should also deliver low-code design to simplify implementation, process mining to find areas for improvement and further automation opportunities, a data fabric to connect the various systems involved, and total experience features that help you improve customer and employee experience.
The right fit for your organization
It ultimately depends on your business goals. But if you want to truly see outsized benefits, hyper automation is almost always the way to go. See if these benefits resonate.
Increased efficiency
- Automate one process, and you’ll see some gains.
- But if you can automate an end-to-end process, you can significantly increase productivity across an entire department.
Improved accuracy
- The more manual your processes, the more likely it is there will be human error.
- Every single task handoff increases the chance of mistakes.
- End-to-end process to ensures the entire process goes more smoothly with fewer errors.
Scalability
- Hyper also scales beautifully across larger organizations.
- If your company handles a large amount of work, hyper automation ensures you can handle increased volume without the process breaking down.
Transforming your business
Has undoubtedly played a significant role in driving efficiency and productivity for organizations. But as the world Businesses should choose a strong process in the platform that allows them to embrace and create a harmonious symphony of automation technologies that work together to achieve unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness.