Smart Automation as Enabler of Digitalization? A Review of RPA/AI Potential and Barriers to Its Realization

Abstract

Smart automation is a term that summarizes the entire field of trends such as robotic process automation (RPA), virtual assistants, chat bots, natural language processing (NLP), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). Detecon currently perceives in intense interest and many intense discussions about these topics with our customers. This article covers important and hot topics for smart automation. It starts with the potential of the robotic process automation market and includes some useful organizational considerations for “RPA in an Enterprise”. Change Management is typically underestimated and in practice, it is exposed as one of the key success factors. Today Software Robots are enablers for almost all kind of business processes and you will find an overview of possible diversified rule based technologies. If companies want to succeed with AI/ML, a vital requirement is to invest in data analytics. AI/ML skills are essential in order to work out special use cases based on supervised learning or natural language processing. This is the best way to start your journey for smart process automation and to identify the best potential for your business.