Increasing Corporate Valuations with AI, RPA and Automation IN ASSOCIATION WITH
DANILO MCGARRY
DIGITAL REPORT 2021
02
Increasing Corporate Valuations with AI AI,, RPA and Automation
03
www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
DANILO MCGARRY / UIPATH / ISG AUTOMATION
Danilo McGarry, Chris Duddridge, UiPath and Wayne Butterfield, ISG Automation discuss how automation technologies can impact a company’s valuation
T
he benefits of automation can sometimes be communicated nebulously. In fact, automation technologies such as RPA
can sometimes positive impact a company’s valuation, as three industry experts describe. Danilo McGarry is an automation industry 04
thought leader, with extensive experience in the industry. “I’ve been doing this for about 15 years before it was called automation,” he says. “I worked in many different industries - banking, oil and gas, healthcare - and I used to have my own consultancy firm as well. So I’ve been a client, a consultant, and I’ve also been an advisor to most of the automation companies out there today. So I understand the market well.“ That experience has convinced McGarry of the noticeable positive impact it can have on company valuations that stems from introducing automation technologies. “One way a company is valued is by taking the revenue of the company and times it by a valuation multiple that can be acquired from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) tables,” says McGarry.
05
www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
“The other way is by taking the EBITDA,
a P/E ratio too. Either way most valuation
the earnings of a company before inter-
methods take revenues or bottom line
est, tax, depreciation and amortization,
earnings as the starting point to reach a
and then times that by a valuation mul-
company valuation value”.
tiple as well. That multiple is basically
Automation can have a noticeable
determined by the price other similar
impact on such valuation calculations,
companies have been sold for in the
as McGarry explains. “If you have a
past.” McGarry adds that “Without get-
successful client-facing automation
ting too technical valuation methods
programme helping you generate reve-
can include discounted cash flows
nue, then that increases your revenue
(DCF) or earnings after tax multiplied by
number, if you have a higher revenue to
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE : T:3000 mm
Danilo McGarry
07
Title: Globally recognised automation industry thought leader and practitioner Industry: AI & Automation Previously one of the Heads of Artificial intelligence & Machine Learning at CitiGroup (3rd largest US bank, 17th largest Financial institution globally). Also previously senior management of Automation (RPA/Ai) in UnitedHealth Group (#5 on the Fortune 500). Advisor to the European Union Commission Ai Alliance. Published in The Times Newspaper, Bloomberg InfoMoney and other leading publications. Danilo is an experienced international keynote speaker and recognised as a global thought leader in the realms of Automation, RPA, Ai and Innovation. Ranked as top 10 people in the world for Automation by Thinkers 360. Previous companies worked for include Motorola, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada, UnitedHealth Group & CitiGroup. www.c www.da o mpa ni ny l o mc we ga bsit r r e. y . com
DANILO MCGARRY / UIPATH / ISG AUTOMATION
08
“ A s automation can help a company save or make money, and because of the way valuation calculation methods work – that then means that a successful automation programme has a direct impact on the valuation of a company” — Danilo McGarry, Globally recognised automation industry thought leader and practitioner
multiple by the same valuation multiple then that gives you a higher valuation end of the day. Also, if you’re looking at making savings in the company internally through automation, then your EBITDA will be healthier than it was before - both because you’re helping the company save money and also getting more clients because of higher capacity.” The twin impact of savings and revenue generation make automation a no-brainer if it is done by a team that knows what they are doing. “No matter which way you slice it, if the
Danilo McGarry | Automation and Valuation CLICK TO WATCH
|
2:00
09
automation programme is successful,
positive impact of automation is far
if it’s global, if it’s there to help the com-
greater than what can be tracked or
pany and it’s run successfully, it can
measured on paper.”
have an impact on the bottom or the
Wayne Butterfield concurs, empha-
top line – making potential impact on
sising that automation can cut costs in
valuation. The only tricky element to
other ways. “Reducing the number of
this is tracking this positive impact
errors that your organisation makes is
back to automation itself. Many of
another way you can cut costs. We offer
automation’s benefits are tangible but
many brilliant things in the workforce as
hard to measure given how involving
human beings, but one of the things we
such programmes can be, because
don’t offer is robotic consistency.”
of this it is often nearly impossible for a
Butterfield started in the automa-
large corporation to track all the bene-
tion space in 2010, while working at one
fits it brings effectively. Often the
of the UK’s largest telco firms, using www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
DANILO MCGARRY / UIPATH / ISG AUTOMATION
“We offer many brilliant things in the workforce as human beings, but one of the things we don’t offer is robotic consistency” — Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions, ISG-One
10 the technology to create operational
process side too. Hyper automation
efficiencies and reducing external
technologies allow companies to scale
spend on Outsourcing. “Being an early
in size, while keeping their people costs
adopter of any technology comes with
under control, as Butterfield explains.
its challenges, but also provides an
“With automation, you’re looking to
opportunity to tread new ground, and
reduce costs, increase throughput
innovate in the Enterprise. Butterfield is
and grow revenue, this trifecta is why
Global Head of Intelligent Automation
Automation is valued so highly. Back in
Solutions at pure play automation firm
the day, RPA was called operational
ISG Automation. “We assist clients big
agility software - but now RPA is a
and small on their automation journeys,
globally accepted term,” he says.
usually starting with RPA, but not stop-
Such technologies also allow
ping there. Differentiated performance
companies to scale in size, while keep-
does need more than just technology,
ing the same number of people, as
so we specialise in the people and
Butterfield explains. “With automation,
FP ISG FEB 2021 CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:52
11
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Wayne Butterfield Title: Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions Company: ISG Automation Wayne is an automation pioneer, thought leader and practitioner based in the UK. He heads up the AI & Cognitive Automation Practice for ISG Automation globally and is responsible for assisting ISG Automation clients on their journey towards AI, as well as hosting the weekly Bots & Beyond Podcast. He pioneered the use of RPA and chat bots while at Telefonica O2 & BT, and has helped hundreds of Clients on their own automation journeys since joining ISG Automation. www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
DANILO MCGARRY / UIPATH / ISG AUTOMATION
“ Removing repetitive, timeconsuming tasks that doesn’t add to the value of what an organisation is delivering [...] frees up time” — Chris Duddridge, VP Sales, UK & Ireland, UiPath
12
you’re actually keeping your costs the same, but you’re increasing the amount of revenue that you can generate.” That sense of unlocking productivity is reiterated by Chris Duddridge, who adds that “By removing repetitive, time-consuming tasks that doesn’t add to the value of what an organisation is delivering, it actually frees up time to drive far more into product design, or spending time with customers, for instance. Duddridge is VP Sales for UiPath in the UK and Ireland. The company started with screen scraping and has developed into a leading end-to-end automation platform vendor. Our products are designed to support every organisation and employee within that by essentially unlocking all of the manual, repetitive, unnecessary tasks that we all do on a daily basis.” The more that the concrete financial sense of automation is realised, McGarry believes, the more senior executives will buy in to introducing automation technologies. “Once people and companies realise the direct link of automation to the bottom line and thus to a company’s valuation, that should then reinforce the level of sponsorship from senior level management. It’s important, therefore, to www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
13
DANILO MCGARRY / UIPATH / ISG AUTOMATION
UiPath “Together”: Automation in a Fast-Changing World CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:52
14 emphasise education so that people get
behind the automation programme.
on board, because the more people
So you do it again, it goes pretty well
know about automation in the company,
and you think: this is interesting, let’s
the quicker transformation will happen –
scale it. Then it goes to the third round
it’s a journey.”
where it really ramps up and starts
Having that knowledge in mind
paying for itself. That’s the three-hit
inevitably helps overcome the often
automation wonder or automation
bumpy early adoption stages, what
cycle most companies go through as
McGarry refers to as the automation
they mature in their automation journey.”
three-hit wonder. “You normally start
Getting to that stage requires belief
the first time and fail because you
in the technology, as Duddridge reiter-
haven’t taken it seriously enough.
ates. “I can’t think of a single technology
Either you haven’t put enough money
project that can deliver a return on
behind it or enough seasoned pro-
investment from day one. Realistically
fessionals who have done it before
there is an investment period involving
“Companies that already had automation before COVID started had a significant competitor advantage” — Danilo McGarry, Globally recognised automation industry thought leader and practitioner
15 E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Chris Duddridge Title: VP Sales Company: UiPath Location: UK & Ireland Chris Duddridge is VP Sales, UK & Ireland, for UiPath. He leads the UK and Irish teams in their mission to drive automation adoption in the region, helping customers achieve their automation goals using UiPath’s best-in-its-class hyperautomation platform. With more than 20 years in sales and technology, he is an experienced sales leader with a track record of helping small teams rise to market leader status. Passionate about technology, Chris is inspired by the potential of automation to transform the future of work. Highly motivated by teamwork, his key areas of interest are incentivising collaboration, creativity, and customer focus.
www.da ni l o mc ga r r y . com
uncover your automation potential
Let ISG Automation show you how to scale your intelligent automation operations.
It’s not easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Our expertise will guide you on your automation journey and beyond.
Learn More at ISG Automation
“ Even with the right team and tech partnerships it takes time for an Automation programme to mature and bear fruit” — Danilo McGarry, Globally recognised automation industry thought leader and practitioner
the companies who had already gotten on board who were able to thrive. “Companies that already had automation before COVID started had a significant competitor advantage,” says McGarry. ”Once COVID happened and everybody was scrambling to log in from home and get all that working smoothly, meanwhile, robots were functioning fine in the background keeping some vital processes alive. Companies that had
building capability, training people and
mature automation capabilities definitely
managing the change.” Butterfield adds
had an edge during COVID, and will
that a clear plan needs to be in place
again in any future pandemic or crisis’s.”
from day one. “You don’t want to stop,
Danilo emphasises that time must be
reevaluate your needs and end up doing
taken into consideration, however. “It’s
something different. Trying to do it on
important to note that even with the right
the cheap and not thinking strategically
team and tech partnerships it takes time
enough will mean the investment doesn’t
for an Automation programme to mature
provide what is expected. There are a lot
and bear fruit so that top and bottom line
of things that you need to be thinking
benefits can reap rewards. For such a
about, but getting the strategy correct
transformative programme such as
is vital.”
Automation and AI, it takes an all-inclu-
The benefits of automation have
sive environment to make it really work.
been demonstrated by company
Also, with any such transformative pro-
resilience in the face of the ongoing
grammes, it is a journey that can often
COVID-19 pandemic. With a number
take one to two years before it starts to
of reports highlighting automation as
bear fruit and potentially make any
the sector seeing the highest cash
impact on the company’s valuation”.
injection during the pandemic, it was www.c www.da o mpa ni ny l o mc we ga bsit r r e. y . com
17
WWW.DANILOMCGARRY.COM
P0WERED BY