FEATURE
HOW TO WIN WITH AUTOMATION BUSINESS PROCESS AUTOMATION HAS BECOME A BOON FOR COMPANIES LOOKING TO ADAPT AND RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES INDUCED BY THE PANDEMIC.
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he automation revolution is sweeping across enterprises in the Middle East, fueled by new technologies such as AI, ML, and robotic process automation. Business process automation might be nothing new, but the Covid-19 crisis has forced many companies to eye automation with renewed vigour to streamline operations. As a result of the massive economic disruption caused by the pandemic, many companies are looking to reduce labor costs, which has triggered a huge demand for automation technologies. Industry experts say the business process automation market is going to witness a huge upswing in demand in the coming years, and a recent MarketsandMarkets report states the global BPA market size is expected to grow from $9.8 billion in 2020 to $19.6 billion by 2026. “Organisations in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) are increasingly focusing on various automation strategies by leveraging technologies such as RPA, AI, and ML to improve efficiency and achieve better business and operational
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CXO INSIGHT ME
SEPTEMBER 2021
results. According to latest IDC CIO survey at an overall META level, RPA is ranked fourth among the emerging technologies where organisations across the region are planning to invest in significantly over the next 12 months,” says Manish Ranjan, Senior Program Manager for Software & Cloud at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa. Reducing time and effort spent on repetitive, low-value tasks will free employees to focus on more strategic work. With AI/ML being the top investment area, META organisations are clearly aiming to implement more business and process automation to improve efficiency and outcomes. As deployments of AI and cognitive solutions based on machine learning increase, demand for intelligent solutions capable of self-learning and self-healing will rise from organisations looking to enable true digital transformation. Government, banking and finance, resource industries including mining, oil and gas, and utilities, and manufacturing are the leading industry verticals which are embracing business automation, he adds.
Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of Research at ManageEngine, says modern-day technologies like AI have helped achieve new milestones in process automation. In fact, we’re moving beyond process automation and heading towards automation augmented with decisionmaking capabilities. “The world has seen tremendous digital adoption during the pandemic, including an uptick in the number of digital-native or digital-first brands across segments. At this juncture, it only makes sense for digital organisations to use data to their competitive advantage. We are also at a stage where there is increased awareness of what data an individual or business generates, who has access to it, and how it is put to use,” he says. Vaidy Panchabikesan, Regional Sales Director at Kissflow, comments: “Business process automation has been significantly growing and continues to empower employees, especially those who work remotely. As a result, this trend was accelerated by the pandemic and today, BPA technologies and automation strategies have been evolving
