Business Process Automation Software
Business Process Automation Is About More Than Just Efficiency
Business Process Automation (BPA)
Business Process Automation software uses business rules and automated tasks to perform processes that accomplish a specific business goal. The goal could be as simple as allowing an employee to request vacation time or as complex as developing a new product. All activities around these processes are tracked and analyzed for efficiency.
Why is this important? To put it simply, humans make mistakes, and yet are also the key drivers of innovation in any business, because software can’t think for itself. This means that when your employees are spending time on repetitive processes instead of thinking of ways to grow your business, you’re risking manual error (that must be corrected with further time spent) for not much benefit. Hence the need for business process automation, which reduces errors and frees up your employees’ time and energy.
Why Is Business Process Automation Software Used?
By automating business processes, especially those that are traditionally handled manually, significant benefits can be realized:
- Greater Productivity
- Improved Job Satisfaction
- Increased Efficiency
- Full Audibility and Tracking
- Improved Accuracy
Automation is often part of a business process management suite that includes other tools to help define, model, test, and manage a portfolio of business processes.
There are a number of business process automation applications available in the automation ecosystem today, and which you use will heavily depend on your business, your industry, and the various challenges you’re experiencing. However, the benefits of business process automation through software, applications, and other tools are universal and should be a goal of any company looking to grow and cut costs without sacrificing quality of work.
On this page, we’ll walk through the value of business process automation software, and how your business can ultimately put these various automation applications and tools to great use.
How to Build an Automated Process
Using a drag and drop user interface, automated processes are designed to follow existing processes or improve on them. In most cases, the process is documented using a process modeling tool and then reviewed by all stakeholders for accuracy. Once the static design is approved, work begins by designing the actual process including forms, tasks, recipients, alerts/notifications, etc. This is done using business process solutions that include pre-built tasks (complete form, submit approval, hand-off to another person, etc.) that can be arranged sequentially or in parallel.
Between tasks, process builders are able to insert business rules that make decisions about the path to take. For instance, you may set up a business rule that automatically routes a capital budget request to the CFO if it's more than $50,000. Or you might route a form back to the submitter if the reviewer needs more information. These rules are critical to managing the flow of tasks in a non-linear workflow. Whatever your organization’s choice of business process automation applications, you should be able to set up workflows that follow this simple path-based architecture.
Rolling Out the New Process With Process Automation Tools
Once processes are built and tested it's time to roll them out to the relevant users. In some cases this could be the entire employee population, in other cases, it could be a single department, outside vendors or customers. In most business process automation applications, access to processes is provided through a Web portal where users can submit requests, check statuses, or complete tasks depending on their role. This self-service portal houses all processes and forms but many employees will also interact through email alerts.
For instance, a manager may receive an email alert indicating approval is needed for a new hire. The manager simply clicks "Approve" in the email and the business process automation system updates the task and moves forward with the next step.
Business Process Automation Software Examples
Broadly, BPA is used for Task Management, Employee/Customer Service, Operations Management, and Process Compliance across all departments. This means that any department in your business, from sales and marketing to IT, can benefit greatly from adopting the right business process automation software and using the proper tools.
Here are some specific examples of processes that can benefit from business process automation solutions:
| IT/IS
Security Access Requests New Project Requests IS Service Requests Finance Expense Approvals Salary/Wage Changes Marketing Campaign Approvals Brand Management |
Facilities
Resource Scheduling Office Relocations Move Requests Facility Access Sales Quote Approvals Proposal Approvals Product Discounts Legal Legal Holds |
HR
Benefits Changes Timesheets Vacation Requests Purchasing Capital Approvals Product Pricing |
Video: Business Process Automation Software from Integrify
Why Automated vs. Manual Processing?
- Reduced manual handling
- Reduced errors
- Reduced approval cycles
- Policy compliance adherence
- Improved visibility
- Improved employee satisfaction
- Continual process improvement
- Better workload management
How About RPA (Robotic Process Automation)?
Business process automation software like Integrify can be integrated with RPA software to manage workflow and simulate human-centric tasks like entering data, moving between applications, analyzing documents and more.To learn more about how Integrify can integrate with RPA, see our Robotic Process Automation overview.
RPA integration can be a powerful boost to any business process automation application suite, because it further reduces the necessary work you need to rely on your human team members for. This not only reduces chances of human error, it also frees up your employees and managers to do other work rather than spending time on processes.
Looking for the ROI on Technology-Enabled Automation for Business?
We've produced a number of materials that show the return on investment you'll gain when switching from manual to automated workflow across the enterprise. We hope that you’ll be convinced not only of the need for business process automation in general, but the need to use reliable, powerful business process automation software and tools to make the process streamlined and effective.
Check out our ROI Calculator and download our Workflow ROI Guide. If you'd like to see Integrify's automation platform in action, please request a demonstration. We’ll be happy to show off what Integrify’s business process automation software can do for you and your business.
Interested in Automating Business Processes?
We have a variety of resources to help you on your journey to an automated workflow. For further information on how you can automate your business and streamline your processes, also check out the Integrify blog, where we write about productivity, automation, and the various tips and tricks you need to combine the two.
Automate Any Business Process
To see how quickly you can begin automating your business processes, request a demonstration or trial of Integrify.
