TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
May 17, 2017

Automating Business Processes Is Finally Within Reach

Technology has a way of lowering barriers and democratizing tools. Business process management may just be the ideal candidate for technical disruption.

Processes and communications within an organization tend to fall apart under their own weight as the business grows. Sales and marketing departments may not be communicating with the service or design teams. Along the way, specifications get muddled and the process of delivering value for customers is diminished.



The bigger the organization gets, the more unwieldy these processes become. In a competitive market, any inherent inefficiencies are likely to hold your business back. The most effective solution is process automation.

Automating the business

Automating any process has innumerable benefits. Not only does it allow you to cut costs, but it could also free your workforce from monotonous boring tasks and help them focus on adding true value to the organization.

Automating gets rid of the sticky notes and streamlines communications so that the whole team is on the same page while executing a project. It can help with accountability, so that delegation is quicker and processes are smoother.

With effective automation, you can keep tabs on the process, weed out human error, and provide the team a clear hierarchy.

 While all these benefits are obvious, most small and medium sized businesses have no access to process automation. Large organizations could easily hire business analysts and commission expensive software to automate their operations, while smaller businesses have been priced out. That seems to be changing now.

A Level Playing Field

As with most other technologies, automation seems to be getting cheaper and more accessible.

Startups and Internet companies now let smaller businesses automate much of their processes from the get-go. Slack is a good example of a platform that’s allowed millions of businesses to streamline communications. MailChimp, HubSpot, Hootsuite, IFTTT, and Salesforce.com are just some of the others.

Altogether, it’s cheaper and easier now to automate than ever before. All these cost savings and easier processes may also allow you to hire a professional business analyst to take your management to the next level. An experienced BA can help you automate with more customized and sophisticated tools.

Automation is now so pervasive that even departments like IT are getting downsized and replaced with machines. A recent survey by Tech Pro Research found that nearly 60 percent of organizations had already automated some or all of their low-level IT processes. Another 11 percent planned to apply some level of automation to the department in the near future.

With IT, marketing, sales, and customer care getting automated on all levels of the economy, it’s safe to assume businesses will be far more efficient and competitive in the near future. Failure to invest in better technology and operational efficiency could soon be detrimental.

Final Thoughts

Most technical innovations start off in the realm of science fiction before they’re adopted by large institutions. Eventually, as the price drops and the technology improves, small businesses and individuals gain access to these tools.

Such a shift is playing out in business process automation. The tools and platforms for automation are getting cheaper and more accessible, creating a level playing field and boosting productivity for businesses of all sizes.

About the Author

Gareth Mooreland is a full-time writer and a content marketing expert and has previously worked for technology companies in the U.S.,UK and Australia. He is the go-to expert to write about technology and business. When not writing, Gareth enjoys taking landscape photos around the world. His lifetime ambition is to visit every country in the world. Only 128 to go!




Edited by Alicia Young
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles