What is enterprise automation, and how can it help your company?
On a broader scale, the enterprise automation concept builds on continuously reviewing an organization’s processes and searching for processes that can be automated. This way, a company can achieve optimal performance, unlocking productivity gains and reducing operational expenses.
There are three types of enterprise automation based on complexity level:
Business process automation (BPA) automates entire workflows across multiple departments, streamlining end-to-end processes such as procurement or employee onboarding.
Example: A retail company could automate its order-to-delivery process, ensuring seamless coordination between inventory, payment, and shipping departments.
This enterprise automation type includes:Rule-based automation follows predefined logic to automate processes that require simple decision-making. It’s ideal for tasks that involve conditional “if-then” scenarios.
Example: A finance department could rely on rule-based automation to flag overdue invoices. When an invoice surpasses its due date, the system would notify the accounts payable team and even apply penalties or interest charges as per company policies.
Integration automation connects different applications and systems to create a seamless flow of data across platforms, reducing manual data entry and siloed information.
Example: A logistics company could integrate its order management system with inventory software to update stock levels in real time.
Robotic process automation (RPA) streamlines repetitive tasks by mimicking human actions, such as data entry, form processing, or transferring information between systems.
Example: A bank could use RPA to automatically extract and validate customer data from loan application forms.
Intelligent automation integrates AI and its subtypes into the automation process to manage complex tasks, such as customer sentiment analysis or fraud detection. It enables companies to handle unstructured data and make real-time decisions. This particular type of automation is becoming increasingly popular. For instance, recent research shows that 71% of banking executives are considering deploying AI agents as a means of intelligent automation.
Example: A healthcare provider could use intelligent automation to analyze patient symptoms and suggest personalized treatment plans based on historical data.
Enterprise workflow automation benefits
In one of our enterprise process automation projects, ITRex helped a digital networking and booking services company build a healthcare RPA solution. This product synchronizes patient appointment data between the company’s booking service and the electronic medical record systems (EMRs) of the company’s clients. Before deploying enterprise automation solutions, doctors wasted valuable time entering their availability data into various EMRs to give patients an accurate overview. This approach caused errors and frustration. To resolve the issue, the client hired ITRex to develop an automation healthcare system that would synchronize the client’s booking service with eClinicalWorks (eCW), one of the most popular EMR solutions in the US.
Even though this automation effort was limited in scope, it already helped eliminate human error, free up doctors’ time to connect with patients, and achieve consistency with the eCW without hiring specialized, expensive developers to modify the eCW’s internal code.
Regardless of the chosen approach and technology, an enterprise automation solution would allow your company to:
Accelerate processes and workflows. Thanks to automation, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia reduced lab waiting time by 52%.
Improve employee productivity. According to the Salesforce automation survey, 74% of employees who use automation report that it helps them work more efficiently.
Increase employee satisfaction. The same survey shows that 89% of the respondents feel more satisfied with their job after fully or partially automating their workflows.
Free up employees’ time for more meaningful work. Research shows that financial departments expect to save 500 working hours per year by integrating automation features into payment systems.
Transform the customer experience. Capgemini states that companies that use automation in customer-facing tasks witness a 6.7% improvement in customer satisfaction.
Off-the-shelf enterprise automation software vs. custom enterprise automation: what should you choose?
Off-the-shelf (also known as ready-made, packaged, or readily available) enterprise automation solutions are commercially offered and licensed digital products that you can deploy at your company for a monthly or annual fee. In contrast, custom solutions are designed and built to cater to the requirements of a specific client.
Some ready-made solution vendors are open to working with clients and customizing their offerings to fit into the client’s system.
Below are the main differences between the two options.
Disclaimer: This comparison is applicable in many cases. However, there can be exceptions, especially when speaking of customizing off-the-shelf solutions.
| Off-the-shelf enterprise automation software | Custom enterprise automation software | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to deploy | Faster. You only need to train your employees to use it | Slower. Can take up to several months. However, you can roll it out gradually, starting with the core set of features and adding more on the go |
| Incorporating updates | You wait for the vendor to release updates at their convenience | You can incorporate the necessary updates whenever needed as you own the code |
| Fitting in with your internal processes | These solutions are rigid, and you will have to adapt your internal processes to interact with the packaged solutions | It is designed to fit into your internal processes |
| Fitting in with your existing applications | Most off-the-shelf software is open source, making it challenging to customize and integrate with your existing features, such as reporting. Most likely, its look-and-feel will be different from your other applications, compromising on user experience | Custom enterprise automation software is designed originally in a way that fits well with all your applications |
| Scalability | You might need to purchase add-ons or additional license | Easier to scale. You can ask your vendor to build it with scalability in mind and take into account your company’s specifics |
| Feature set compatibility | Ready-made enterprise automation solutions are likely to have more features than you need. So, you will end up paying for options that you will never use | Customized set of features. Only includes what you ask for |
| Competitive advantage | Limited. You are using a solution that is available for your competitors also. Though you can develop your own algorithms to distinguish yourself | Gives you a competitive advantage as your software is unique |
| Security | In off-the-shelf software, vulnerability is higher due to its standardization and widespread usage | Here the vulnerability is lower because a custom enterprise automation solution is unique to one organization |
| Costs | Lower initial investment, but it can catch up with its custom counterpart due to licensing fees as you expand and register more users | Higher initial investment but better support along the way |
| Maintenance and support | It is likely to be limited. Vendors may decide to stop supporting this version of their product altogether. However, you can arrange for support as an individual service for a fee | Custom software vendors are likely to allocate full-time outsourced dedicated teams for client support |
To summarize, ready-made enterprise automation solutions are:
Best suited for large enterprises, heavily regulated industries, and businesses with standard processes
Cost-effective, quick and easy to deploy, and come with regular updates from the vendor
With limited customization possibilities and present potential integration issues
Turning to an RPA consultant to build custom enterprise automation software is worth considering if you are looking for solutions that are:
Best suited for businesses with unique or complex workflows, rigid processes that can’t be adapted, and where legacy systems are involved
Tailored to specific business needs and easier to integrate into your workflows
Demanding higher upfront costs and longer development timelines
Quick Tip—use a hybrid approach.
Many vendors offer semi-custom solutions—off-the-shelf software with customization options—that can bridge the gap between speed to market and personalization.
Getting started with enterprise workflow automation: tips from ITRex
Vitali, CEO and co-founder of ITRex, advises companies considering enterprise automation to prepare for the process by focusing on three key pillars: governance, data and technology, and human resources. For each pillar, our CEO gives a set of actions that you can take to address it successfully.
The governance pillar
Define the problem you want to solve. For example, if clients withdraw from a loan process due to long wait times, the automation goal could be speeding up approvals.
Outline and prioritize use cases based on business impact
Optimize processes before automating them
Set clear KPIs. For the loan example above, one of your KPIs can be reducing loan processing time to just one day.
Secure executive support to encourage all employees to cooperate
The data and technology pillar
Choose the right technology for your business size and needs. If your company is small, the automation scope is modest, and the use cases are standard, then opt for a small-scale enterprise automation system that covers your needs. Nothing more.
Ensure integration with existing applications to avoid disruptions. Don’t trap yourself with a novel technology that doesn’t fit with your existing tech stack.
Prioritize data quality to ensure automation efforts are reliable. Make sure the data you input and generate with this new enterprise automation solution is compliant with your overall enterprise data strategy.
The human-centric change management pillar
Communicate the benefits of automation clearly to employees
Focus on workforce transformation, not replacement. Automation should free up employees for more meaningful work.
Invest in training and support for smoother adoption and develop an HR strategy to retain employees with key skills.
5 enterprise automation challenges to consider and ways to address them
Vitali highlights five key challenges that can cause setbacks in enterprise workload automation initiatives.
Challenge 1: Struggling to scale
Despite heavy investments in process discovery tools and automation software, companies often find it difficult to extend automation beyond individual departments. This challenge often stems from a lack of an enterprise-wide automation strategy and employee resistance to new technologies, which can create bottlenecks and hinder scaling efforts.
To overcome this challenge, enlist C-suite support from the start of your enterprise automation journey. Establish a center of excellence to help set clear standards for scaling and ensure consistent automation practices across departments.
Challenge 2: Regulations and enterprise-related constraints
Automation solutions must comply with current laws. Frequent changes in regulations can render automated processes obsolete or non-compliant. Furthermore, some workflows are inherently difficult to automate, such as tasks that need manual approval.
Collaborate with an enterprise automation vendor that is experienced in hybrid automation, a method that blends manual and automated processes to manage tasks that require human validation. This approach to enterprise automation ensures that your business remains compliant and agile in response to changing regulatory landscapes.
Challenge 3: Lack of alignment between IT and business functions
This challenge occurs when the IT team has their own goals that are not compatible with those of the business department. They can even be contradictory at times, since businesses want everything to work without appreciating the technical complexity. Such an attitude creates friction between teams and delays the process.
To ensure that everyone is on the same page, you can encourage open and consistent communication, constructive feedback, and collaboration between departments and remind employees that they are working toward a common goal.
Challenge 4: Cultural adoption
While technology-related concerns can be resolved given sufficient time and finances, it is difficult to make people adopt a tool when they aren’t motivated. People’s fears may be allayed if you present enterprise automation as a means of enhancing, not replacing, your human capital.
You may need to prepare and implement a cultural shift. Explain to your workforce which of their responsibilities will be automated and how the change will impact their job. Organize training and support people during the learning process. Note that some enterprise automation tools are not user-friendly, which makes them harder to operate and prolongs learning time.
Challenge 5: Security risks
When you automate tasks, you introduce a new IT system, which can potentially contain vulnerabilities and open entrance points for criminals to explore. Additionally, integration with third-party systems will form loopholes for potential security breaches.
To minimize these risks, perform security evaluations and risk management and consider the results as an important factor when making the final decision.
For a more elaborate list of RPA pitfalls, you can refer to our article on the top 13 RPA challenges.
Ready to take the next step?
If, after reading this article, you find yourself a perfect candidate for off-the-shelf enterprise automation tools, then go ahead and purchase one. It will be cheaper and faster than building a custom application.
But if you want something unique and tailored to your processes and operations, then we recommend you start searching for a vendor providing custom enterprise automation services. Make sure your vendor is familiar with your industry’s regulations and willing to offer continuous support, help you scale, and introduce new features.
The ITRex team will not only cover the points mentioned above but also look beyond the traditional RPA into intelligent enterprise automation thanks to our expertise in AI and other innovative technologies. Contact us today to explore how we can transform your business.
