Daily Archives: August 8, 2022

August 8, 2022Alan Hamm and Chris Koppe

The irony of many IT departments is that they have spent many decades automating aspects of the business, literally encoding business processes and interactions with customers, partners, and suppliers to make those processes consistent and fast, but many of the processes used in the IT department itself are done manually and rely on the tribal knowledge of the system and application experts.

This is not only not necessary in many cases today, thanks to a myriad of automation tools that can be brought to bear on IT operations, but it is also dangerous and extremely risky. The systems that run your company are very likely both unique and complex, and finding a way to preserve that tribal knowledge to move it from the heads of the system and application elders into some form that is sharable and malleable is of paramount importance. This is one aspect of automation.

The other aspect of automation is to use tools that can radically speed up tasks that are being done manually, which gives the IT department itself more throughput and greater odds of success as they do projects. Such tools automate business process and workflows and thereby remove the risk of human error, cut the costs of operations and development, and ensure best practices in the systems, databases, and applications.

Both kinds of automation are necessary to help IBM i shops better adapt applications and databases to future business conditions, which is, in fact, the job of the IT department. It is not enough to just encapsulate the present business processes, but to find a way to allow new business processes, and new technologies, to be woven into the mix and in a way that does not compromise security.

So where are companies seeing the best return with automation? There are four key areas:

If the past several years have taught IT shops anything, it is that security has to come first, not last and not as an afterthought. And that is why we are talking about security automation first, not last. There are several ways that security can be automated in the IBM i system, and they are all interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

Tools like Fresches security software TGAudit can show that user profiles and resources in the system are properly locked down and then automatically schedule and generate reports that are necessary for both internal and external audits. This automation gives everyone a better chance to review whats going on and to catch things before it is time to present it to an auditor. But the TGAudit tool goes beyond this. It knows what best practices are in the industry as a whole and what regulatory requirements there are in specific industries, all of which are encoded into policy controls for system resources. That means reports can be generated to show where the system is out of compliance, and a specific policy can be enforced at configuration or compile or runtime (depending on the situation) to prevent the system from ever going out of compliance in the first place. TG Audit has over 500 reports that encompass all of the various industry regulations in the world that IBM i customers have to deal with, and those reports can be used to adjust policy templates that in turn lock down the system.

And if something is found that is out of compliance, TGAudit can automatically remediate the situation based on best practices encoded in policies in the tool.

The mindset that we need to get to as administrators is this: Instead of just going to the operating system or the database or the application making changes, we need to actually make the changes within a policy and then enforce that policy.

Of course, we also need to automate the monitoring of the system, the alerting of critical situations to the appropriate people, and possibly the automated response to alerts. There are simply too many logs and too much data in a modern system for a human being to sift through it. Automation is not just convenient here. For proper security, automation is necessary.

This is another area where tools really shine. First, lets consider the database.

Many IBM shops are still using old DDS databases instead of the more modern DDL databases, which have full-on relational capabilities as well as data integrity protocols embedded into the database. With DDS databases, foreign key constraints are between database tables and therefore the integrity of the data is managed at the program level, not within the database itself. This means it is very difficult to have a consistent means of data integrity. It is far better to simply let the Db2 for i database embedded in the IBM i platform do this itself. These old DDS databases also have short cryptic names and no relational information to connect the database tables together. This means you cannot simply use a report generation tool or dashboard to cull information from various databases to run the business as you can do thanks to the long names employed in the modern DDL database structure. The modern DDL database also has row column access control (RCAC), which enhances security.

There are tools like X-DB Transform that can automatically convert IBM i databases from DDS to DDL formats, and the upside is that the resulting relational databases will look more familiar to programmers who might be used to Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, or various open source databases. You dont have to do this database conversion all at once, either. You can do it piecemeal. Depending on the size of the databases, it takes weeks to months a database with thousands of tables probably takes a few months.

Now, lets talk about application development automation, which is another aspect of modernization. There are tools that can convert from old fixed format RPG to the more modern free format RPG, which makes the syntax similar to that of other modern programming languages and therefore makes RPG more accessible to programmers more familiar with Java, PHP, and so on. There are also development tools that can automatically generate the architecture of a modular, object-oriented, API and microservices architecture and then all programmers have to do is create business logic modules and design their user interface. Once again, this brings speed and consistency to application development, and this is precisely how the hyperscalers have been coding for decades now. The point is, you dont have to refactor applications by hand, you can use automation to make it easier. The X-Elevate tool predefines the API layers, the connectivity, and data access patterns, so you dont have to code all of this. You just focus on the business logic and the interface.

Once code is created, it needs to be tested, and there is no reason in the 21st century that this business logic, user interface, and data verification testing should be done manually.

What is the one thing that most IBM i shops skimp on? Documentation. You all know its true. But what if big chunks of this never-ending documentation task were automated and not just in a one-off fashion, giving a static view of the system and application at one point in time, but actually updated itself as the system and applications change?

That would be automagical, right?

The X-Analysis tool can not only do impact analysis on changes to the system, but it can fully document the entire system, and it can even document older applications that you have retired so you have an understanding of how they work, how they were interconnected, and why they were architected the way they were.

Thats one aspect of documentation automation, at the developer level. But if you really want to document a system so others can understand it in the future, you need to document the business requirements that drove the development in the first place. This is where tools like Confluence (and SharePoint to a lesser degree) come in. These tools allow everybody to contribute knowledge about a system, business processes, and workflows and the knowledge is organized by business function, not by program as developers think about things. So, you can have that complementary business level knowledge and augment it with the tribal elder knowledge, so you know not only where things happened, but why both from a technical perspective as well as a business perspective.

The final piece of data that can feed into the automated documentation of the system is all of the information culled from a modern ticketing system such as Jira, which incidentally works very well with Confluence. When a ticket is issued to make a fix or change to the system, lots of information is generated and there is a trail of testing that is done, too, so you can document what worked and what didnt. This is all valuable information that needs to be preserved for future reference.

Here is another area where developers need to use automation tools every day: Impact analysis. And a classic example of impact analysis that a lot of IBM i shops are facing is resizing fields in their databases and applications. This sounds simple enough, but it is not at all trivial.

In the IBM i RPG and COBOL world, for good reasons like forward compatibility and making sure people dont corrupt the database, developers cannot just expand the database field and have that field change cascade across that field in every database table. Every program that touches that field has to be changed or at least recompiled. If you change your account number, for instance, it is like doing open heart surgery on an application.

We went into an IBM i shop recently that was expanding a field and their search showed it appeared in 192 different places in their application stack. When we looked with X-Analysis, we found it in 384 places. And if they had changed the field and almost certainly would have corrupted their databases because it was not found everywhere and they would not have known it until it was too late. Field resizing is a place where automation must be used, and we would argue that impact analysis should be done for all changes to the applications.

Being a modern enterprise means having modern applications with Web and mobile interfaces that are more familiar to the public these days, after 25 years of the commercial Internet, than the native greenscreens of the OS/400 and IBM i platform. To get to these modern interfaces does not require learning everything there is about Java, PHP, or JavaScript and trying to secure it all. You dont have to start from scratch.

With products like Presto, we can take existing greenscreen applications, or even particular interfaces in RPG programs, and expose them to be consumed by a browser on a PC, tablet, or smartphone. We can only take certain elements of the greenscreens for the new Web and mobile interfaces, or we can consolidate multiple screens into something that looks native to these graphical devices. And because Presto makes use of existing RPG code, you know they are already locked down you are coming in through the front door of the system, not a new side door off the kitchen.

If you want to go a bit more modern in creating applications, you create APIs that access system resources and you stitch these together to create that application. And that is where tools like WebSmart and X-Elevate come in. WebSmart lets you rapidly create RPG or PHP responsive web and mobile applications and APIs using templates and powerful IDE effectively new digital solutions and better integration. X-Elevate takes the business logic already inherent in your applications and exposes it as RESTful APIs. The great thing about X-Elevate is that if you no longer had your own source code, or that of a third-party application provider, then you can still create these RESTful APIs out of the blocks of business logic in the application. No source code required.

This integration of applications at the API level is how you integrate with cloud-based applications like Salesforce or how you hook applications from disparate systems together, say after a merger or acquisition. Creating those APIs consistently and automatically and securely is the only way to go.

One last thought. The recurring theme we see in the IBM i developer community, which we have always found to be strange in contrast to other platforms, is that IBM i developers associate their value to the organization with their knowledge of code, as opposed to their knowledge of the business processes. The latter is what the organization really values, and the former is just one particular implementation of it at one particular time. That means, with the right attitude, modernization is not scary but natural and can be well governed and documented. And, in fact, the more developers automate, the more time they get to do more interesting things for the business and actually demonstrate their value.

For decades, Fresches IT and IBM i experts have been helping companies implement automation and deliver better value to the business. If you have a project in the works, one in mind or simply want to explore more, talking to a strategist can help uncover new ideas and get you started. You can set up a meeting and learn more by sending an email to: Info@Freschesolutions.com.

Alan Hamm is senior Security Services Engineer and Chris Koppe is senior vice president of Transformation & Modernization Services at Fresche Solutions.

This content is sponsored by Fresche Solutions.

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The healthcare industry experienced a monumental shift in conversations surrounding mental health, which led to healthcare authorities in Singapore placing heavier emphasis on mental health advocacy in providing support for junior healthcare staff.

As more primary and secondary healthcare workers experience burnout in the fight against the pandemic, the pressure on Singapores healthcare system continues. Before 2020, the ratio of doctors and nurses per 1,000 patients stood at 2.6 and 7.4 respectively. However, just a few months ago, the system faced the risk of being overwhelmed in terms of resources and healthcare staff. The peak of the pandemic in Singapore over the last few months, as well as the challenges of an ageing population and rising costs of living are testaments to why our healthcare system need to deliver healthcare services in a smarter and more efficient manner one that will alleviate current issues, such as long working hours and the large number of A&E patients.

As the government digitalises healthcare systems in the country, technology can be used improve employees and patients experiences. In April last year, the Centre for Healthcare Assistive and Robotics Technologies (CHART) spearheaded by Changi General Hospital, Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Economic Development Board stated automation as one of their key focus areas to boost employee productivity, as well as improve health and clinical outcomes by extending human capabilities and delivering higher precision in treatment.

As implied in the strategic plan, digital solutions underlying CHARTs initiatives will be powered, in part with automation to further develop and improve digital services are already in play across healthcare systems in the country.

Helping healthcare services keep up intelligently

Intelligent automation (IA) has been utilised by hospitals to resolve their common problems for a long time. It enables hospitals and clinics to bring in digital workers AI-fuelled software designed to model human roles to execute rules-based tasks such as appointment bookings and referrals, which go a long way toward improving operational excellence and the patient experience in healthcare institutions.

At the height of the pandemic in April 2020, the health authorities had to set up testing efforts, particularly at foreign worker dormitories, where more than 1,000 COVID-19 tests were administered each day. With the coronavirus spreading fast, hospitals were under great pressure to register, test, and share the results quickly across the network. They needed to speed up this process.

To improve the efficiency of this laborious process, National University Health System (NUHS) leveraged SS&C Blue Prisms IA in the form of digital workers. The results were immediate as test registration time was reduced from two minutes to 30 seconds per test, saving NUHS 18 hours each day. Lab results also arrived more quickly, enabling NUHS to process more than 27,000 patients daily. In addition, as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 and relieve the load on the stretched healthcare workforce, NUHS leveraged on IA to build a digital patient portal where patients can take charge of their own health through a self-service smart portal and remote consultation. NUHSs implementation of IA is a great example of how the technology can automate processes and improve overall operations.

This wasnt the first time that NUHS improved operational efficiency with IA with SS&C Blue Prism. In 2018, NUHS started to automate their back-office functions, including claims processing and billing. With automation, the organisation was able to process bill adjustment requests with an immediate turnaround a process that once took three to four days. The use of automation helped NUHS process 75 percent of its 40,000 annual bill adjustment requests, which improved the organisations cashflow, contributing to an estimated US$350,000 savings across three years. Patients seeking reimbursement from their insurers and employers also enjoyed better experience.

Empowering healthcare professionals to do more with more

The global pandemic has opened avenues and accelerated new ways of working and operating in the healthcare sector. In a Blue Prism survey of more than 400 senior level healthcare professionals across the globe, 93 percent said that automation of processes accelerated because of COVID-19, with 58 percent of respondents replacing paper documents with electronic equivalents, and 57 percent taking the opportunity to build new, automated processes that improved the way they interact with patients and other departments. Almost half (45 percent) said they have replaced in-person consultations with video conferencing, a practice that is likely to continue in the years ahead.

In particular, COVID-19 saw a spike in telemedicine and teleconsulting services due to convenience, and the demand for these services will continue to surge over the next few years for the same reason. According to RedSeer Consulting, the online health sector in Southeast Asia is expected to expand 10 times by 2025, and both Indonesia and Singapore alone will account for 50 to 60 percent of the growth.

Clearly, the future is bright for the adoption of IA and digital solutions, with the healthcare sector a fertile ground for further deployments to drive greater sustainable healthcare for all. More than ever, healthcare organisations are challenged to do more for patients with the same resources or less. By leveraging IA to power laborious processes while improving existing solutions like telehealth, it is possible for Singapore's healthcare systems to not only achieve financial sustainability but directly address issues around service availability, so that doctors and nurses can finally be freed up to focus and care for patients with urgent medical needs.

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Automation can help services keep pace with pressing needs of Singapore's healthcare - Healthcare IT News

This just in: there is no such thing as a Boredom Bonus. Human beings get bored easily when doing monotonous, repetitive tasks its in our nature to seek creativity, difference, and excitement. When humans are bored, mistakes are made, and rarely caught or rectified. That means employing people to do boring, menial jobs and paying them extra to do them correctly and enthusiastically is not only uneconomical, it simply doesnt work. That in turn means its increasingly difficult to find people who are willing to do those jobs for the money theyre actually worth. That worker shortage has led to a significant push towards workplace automation.

Lets back up a moment. Workplace automation tends to lead people to think of huge factories full of elegant robots putting enormous machines together, or filling an endless conveyor belt of doughnuts with exactly the right amount of filling without ever being touched by human hand.

And yes, those are forms of workplace automation repetitive work thats been broken down into mechanical processes and done by machines instead of human beings, freeing the humans to do less repetitive, more rewarding, and crucially more human-centric work elsewhere, rather than being an organic cog in a giant production wheel.

But in the 21st century, the process has stepped across from the factory floor to the boardroom and the office, because wherever human beings go, we somehow manage to find or create boring, repetitive work that clogs up our day and gives us nothing but regrets to look back on. To paraphrase some social media wisdom, no-one looks back on their death bed and thinks If only Id sent more emails.

Modern workplace automation works just like the automatic doughnut-filler, but stripping out the tedious elements of any modern workday. If you use Microsoft Office 365, youll be familiar with the concept of macros tiny programs you record that can turn even quite complex but tedious pieces of repetitive work into the stuff of one button-click, so you can replicate the work time and time again, as you need to in a job where the parameters and responsibilities dont change on a regular basis.

Workplace automation is the equivalent of a macro for whole sections of work and tech companies are stepping into the breach to provide these automations that free up staff in a whole range of business areas to get on with the more human-centric elements of their job role.

Marketing is a big area for workplace automation, because it frequently involves sending the same information through lots of channels to different interest-groups emailing opted-in customers with newsletter content, posting similar but non-repetitive stories across at least two or three social media platforms, even (although its frowned on in this day and age) sending out paper marketing materials as and when necessary.

The whole business of hosting recipient databases, creating mailing groups, doing ye olde-fashioned mail merges, and laboriously adding stories one at a time to different social media platforms is a modern version of Intensive, repetitive grunt-work that just clogs up a marketing day.

Theres an app for that.

Or at least, there are plenty of tech companies with software that can take the grunt-work out of your marketing, freeing marketers up to try and be witty, devious and clever things that, at least so far, only humans, and only humans with a particular marketing skillset, can bring to the business.

Customer service is another area where workplace automation is already in place. While plenty of people prefer to have a conversation with a real person, chatbots have been a reality for years as a kind of first line of information provision, and workplace automation is also in place whenever you ring up a company and they put you through an automated system to gather your specific details before you get to speak to a human, who then (at least in theory) has had all those account details automatically passed to them so they dont spend time getting them from you directly, perhaps mishearing or mistyping them in the process. Its a streamlining of the process, so that, if you can avoid the general rage at being interrogated by a machine, your call will actually go much more swiftly and smoothly once you get to a live operator.

And were also evolving away from traditional, limited chatbot models. For organizations with a big enough communication burden largely event, venue or sporting organizations who have to deal with regular and massive ticketing or venue inquiries AI assistants are now taking over from standard chatbots. Though theyre still managed by human operators, who can oversee conversations and join in as and when human interaction is necessary, AI assistants with access to precise knowledge banks about venues (or any other siloed information-set) can now handle around 95% of customer queries, due to a much enhanced granularity of information and new conversational AI models.

Sales is an area almost entirely predicated on the human-to-human relationships between salespeople and clients, but, like marketing, it exists on top of several bedrock layers of what used to be called paperwork. Invoicing, order processing, lead chasing, shipment tracking, and several other elements can now all be relatively simply automated, leaving salespeople to get on with the business of building relationships, crafting the right product package and the right narrative to help both clients and their companies. In fact, its estimated that almost a third of sales tasks can by automated in a modern office. That would free up salespeople to spend a third more of their time doing what they do best selling.

Recruitment has been using workplace automation for some time, with AI algorithms doing initial candidate-sifting, so recruitment managers only take over the process once those who dont match the required criteria have been weeded out of the application pile.

Theres a note of caution to sound on using AI for this process, though. Companies including Amazon have discovered that AIs that have been taught using industry-standard data and criteria have a tendency to disregard otherwise perfectly suitable candidates on the grounds that they dont match people who have previously been appointed rather than strictly on the job role requirements. That led Amazons AI to discriminate against women and de-select them before they could be seen by human eyes. AIs have been the study of the University of Boston, and now the UKs Information Commissioners Office is investigating allegations that recruitment AIs also discriminate against black people and the neurodivergent.

So maybe workplace automation is not yet the panacea it could be especially when judgment calls have to be made. But for a great number of modern office disciplines, there are ways in which workplace automation can make an impressive difference.

There is of course an argument that by replacing the mundane and menial jobs with automation, companies are effectively eradicating the lowest rung on the ladder, the entry point for those who have no experience, but are keen to learn. There may be specific cases where this is initially true, but the system will ultimately self-adjust, and junior staff, when they join a department, will not be stuck learning nothing but the menial jobs of that department. By rights, the adjusted system should see them join a department and immediately get stuck into some levels of the actual human-centric work of the department, getting more valid and valuable experience from day 1.

Workplace automation does not exist to eliminate roles or opportunities. It exists to eliminate tedium, wasted time, and focus-pulling administration, so that businesses can function more smoothly, and people can get on with the parts of the job that get them up in the morning.

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Workplace Automation as a Solution To a Worker Shortage - TechHQ

A PwC study found that AI will potentially contribute about $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Another survey by Accenture reported that 84 percent of C-suite executives admitted that leveraging AI is key to achieving their objectives.

These reports show how companies are embracing AI automation to transform how they do business. AI has also impacted many aspects of our lives, from resume building to employee monitoring and more. It has driven significant change and continues to boost living quality.

Time tracking is another area where AI is making a significant impact. AI-driven time trackers are improving employee satisfaction and performance and saving costs for employers, especially in remote workplaces.

But there are other time trackers with powerful automation features focused on improving productivity and accountability in the workplace.

Even businesses that prefer using a time tracking spreadsheet are now giving automation a chance.

This article covers the best time trackers to help you automate your remote workspace.

Timely is known to be pricey, which makes it ideal for well-funded businesses looking for advanced features.

Like every time tracker, Timely primarily tracks billable hours. However, it comes with many advanced features, some of which are considered over-the-top.

The AI-powered tool automatically begins to track time once it notices that youve started working. It also monitors your work behaviors and patterns and provides suggestions on how best to use your time and increase productivity.

It also offers AI-powered data entry mistake detection and task assignments.

It sports an aesthetic and intuitive user interface that makes the learning curve as short as possible, and is packed with fun emoticons.

The Memory AI machine tool pre-populates new timesheets using recorded billable hours. This way, you get to save valuable time. The AI also ensures you avoid errors like forgetting to stop time tracking and double billing.

Another added advantage are its basic project management features.

Traqq time tracker is an employee time tracking tool that automatically records billable hours and monitors how much time employees spend on apps and websites.

Its a simple time tracker that produces in-depth analysis on time usage. Once you click the Start button to activate the tracker, it works in the background to collect relevant information without disrupting workflow.

Traqq automates reports, invoicing, and timesheets.

Youll get to know your workers productivity levels to identify whos best for what and discover areas for improvement.

The app is also designed to respect employee privacy. Since it collects screenshots and screen recordings to foster accountability, it blurs the contents of the employees screen to avoid leaking sensitive information.

TimeCamp is a leading web-based time tracker with more than 140,000 users. The platform is popular among marketing companies and IT businesses, especially software-as-a-service organizations.

It is available for mobile, desktop and web, and supports integration with popular time management and accounting applications.

TimeCamp helps individuals and large organizations to track time spent on tasks. It also monitors how you spend time on social media and the Internet.

Its primary functions include recording billable hours, creating timesheets, and generating invoices.

One of TimeCamps standout features is its ability to label certain activities as unproductive and others as productive, based on your work pattern.

While clockify is a web-based platform that requires you to create an account, it allows users to track time offline. This way, you wont lose records of your billable hours if you venture into areas without Internet signals.

The offline time tracking feature makes it one of the best time trackers for remote workers.

The tool offers free time tracking to unlimited users. You can also use the free version on mobile, desktop, and web.

That said, youll have to pay a fee to get extra features like administrative controls, invoicing, project templates, and timesheet approvals.

Other features that make Clockify standout are budget comparisons against labor costs and invoicing, Pomodor timer, and an intuitive interface.

Timesheet Killer focuses on automating monthly or weekly timesheets, removing the hassle of manual timesheet creation.

It monitors activities in documents, programs, and URLs, and uses its AI to group them into projects and tasks.

While it automatically prepares your timesheets, you can adjust everything how you see fit. You can also block websites and programs from being tracked and define how the app logs your time.

We believe that AI is just starting with the time tracking space and we expect to see more. Automating your remote workspace does not only help you bill clients accurately, but also boosts your productivity significantly.

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5 Best Time Tracking Apps to Automate Your Remote Workspace - Robotics and Automation News

The five largest economies in the Asia Pacific region are more at risk of physical robot-based automation than both Europe and North America.

That's according to a Future of Jobs Forecast from Forrester which suggests that by 2040, 63 million jobs in India, China, South Korea, Australia and Japan could be lost to automation, with industries such as construction and agriculture set to be hit hardest.

Forrester's Future Of Jobs Forecast, which looks at the state of automation from 2020 to 2040, suggests that the green economy will potentially help to offset some job losses as more governments commit to carbon neutrality. This will include more renewable energy, green buildings and smart cities developed by 2040.

However, even with more green roles, the IT industry, particularly in the Asian Pacific area will see 13.7 million jobs lost to automation.

"To prepare for the changes brought on by automation, the five largest economies in APAC will have to radically rethink their workforce strategies," said Michael O'Grady, principal forecast analyst at Forrester. "While each economy faces its own challenges, common focus areas such as hiring more female workers can help offset working population declines. In addition, investing in STEM education, technology workforce training, and protecting the rights of freelance workers will become of utmost importance."

Automated jobs will impact each country differently, according to the report. For instance, Australia will see a similar situation to the US, with 11% of jobs lost to automation by 2040. China, in contrast, will see 7% of jobs lost to automation, though some 3.8 million additional new jobs will be created within the next two decades.

India, which has a relatively young workforce, according to the report, will add 160 million new workers over the next 20 years. However, 69% of these are under threat of automation, making job creation a main priority for the country.

Japan has the opposite problem as it has an ageing workforce, according to the report. Coupled with its low birth rate, the country's workforce is set to decline by almost one-third. Similarly, South Korea's ageing working population and its dependency on the construction and agriculture industries will be highly susceptible to automation. The report suggests that 23% of South Korean jobs will be automated over the next 20 years.

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APAC region to lose 63 million jobs to automation by 2040 - IT PRO

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Automation and hyperautomation are cut from the same cloth. Each solution gives businesses exactly what they crave: Technology that yields faster and more financially responsible processes that are freer of error.

That said, hyperautomation takes automation one step further. With it comes additional layers of advanced technologies that cultivate end-to-end automation processes, streamlining workflows and enabling teams to remove some tedious day-to-day tasks.

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Still, the debate isnt alwaysabout automation versus hyperautomation. Their unique components allow them to build off one another, and each on its own could be the right call for yourbusiness process optimizationefforts. Its up to you to determine what your organization needs.

At their respective cores, automation and hyperautomation are more advanced offshoots ofrobotic process automation technology. They areequipped with technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, process mining, digital twins andbusiness process management.

Automation is vital for any digital transformation, but companies have long known thatenterprise automation RPA toolshave limitations: Chief among them is the inability toautomate business processesvia unstructured data.

Hyperautomation was developed to solve this problem and aims to tackle the most complicated business processes. By using it, organizations can automate tasks that used to be manual, increasing employee retention and productivity as well as improving the customer experience.

With its advanced technologies, hyperautomation is most effective in the most complex business processes, including those where you might have multiple offices or locations. Some of these include:

Hyperautomation can eliminate risks in areas that would normally depend on manual labor and human knowledge. With its focus on receiving, responding and paying out invoices, accounts payable poses a great risk for inefficiency, errors and out-of-control costs. Order management (i.e., retrieving and extracting customer information) can present some of the same challenges, so both are ripe for hyperautomation.

If you want to know the current state of your organization, youre likely using or thinking of usingprocess miningsoftware to assess it. With hyperautomation, you must have an accurate view of how your processes currently operate. By using process mining, you get a comprehensive view of everything, allowing you to automate to the fullest potential.

You can eliminate the manual work of live agents and introduce bots with hyperautomation. The implementation process discovers your business processes and creates bots to automate them. These bots will then become the first points of communication for some customers, helping users navigate support articles and knowledge bases, order products or services, and manage accounts.

Of course, you might have areas in your organization that fall right on the line between needing automation and hyperautomation, and it can be challenging to figure out which is best. But finding the optimal approach for your business enables you to tailor each to your companys individual automation needs.

These days, some level of automation is key to a successful digital transformation. The biggest risks of a transformation project are being over budget and behind schedule, so your company might choose to consider software that not only visualizes your current to-be states, but also provides modernizedbusiness process automation technologyto mine these processes.

Hyperautomation builds on automation. Although it does not exist independently, it can enhance and expedite your digital transformation by further automating already automated processes and making them less complicated and more efficient.

So, is automation, hyperautomation or both right for you? Heres how to tell:

Hyperautomation improves your business processes by speeding up and bettering your operations. But first, its important to identify automation opportunities in your business that could also benefit from hyperautomation.

Before you implement automation of any kind, you must understand where you need it most and how to get the best out of it. Align preferred outcomes with what either automation or hyperautomation brings to the table, then use those findings to inform your decision. The closer either gets you to your business goals, the better and more impactful the investment will be.

Research the available automation tools that meet your goals. Theres no point in using hyperautomation where it isnt needed or doesnt work for your business, so one of your tasks is to find relevant tools for you and your organization.

Look into low-code development tools. These solutions can help define the hyperautomation and connect to workflows, and then learn how they differ from other more traditional automation approaches.

Once youve researched and selected the best automation platform for you, make sure its scalable. Pick sustainable, future-conscious tools that introduceautomation in digital transformationtoday but can continue to grow with your business tomorrow.

Choosing a tool without the ability to grow as the company does equates to flushing your time and money down the drain. Although a tool might not have all the bells and whistles, you should invest in it if it shows the ability to work for the long haul.

For your business process transformation, youll need to learn the differencebetween automation and hyperautomation,both of which can play critical roles. For the most complex processes, hyperautomation is a must-have because it builds on what automation can already do. To identify which one is right for you, though, youll need to determine which tasks are mission-critical right now for yourbusiness process automationstrategy. Then, choose wisely for a cost-effective, efficient and successful transformation.

Caroline Bromsis the global content marketing manager atMavim. She is responsible for creating and managing the product marketing content initiatives and campaigns specializing in business process management, DTO and technology-driven, cost-driven, compliance-driven transformations. She is based out of Mavims Boston office.

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Automation vs hyperautomation: Which one is right for your business? - TechRepublic

America is a nation of the disposable. We treat women as a disposable means of creating children who, if they aren't victims of mass shootings, become disposable workerswho work most of their lives to create the disposable commodities that are destroying the planet. Those who are disabled, run afoul of the law for even minor transgressionsor are unable to work due to old age or illnessmay be ostracized, punished harshly or simply left to fend for themselves. As a group, the wealthy and powerful need us to make their money for them and to cater to their whims and to do this they must show us how anyone can be replaced at a moment's notice.

But humans are necessarily imperfect workers. We have needs and can get sick or injured. Moreimportant, we can fight back. Some, like Elon Musk, are seeking to transcend these limitations by transcending workers themselves. As automation displaces increasing numbers of workers, it may come to replace disposability as a threat with disposability as a permanent state rendering large swaths of the population economically useless, socially rootless and politically powerless, and thus unable to defend against our own disposal.

Musk is not the only business leader working to spread the idea that automation is beneficial, but his company, Tesla, is pushing hard to innovate in the field. Its humanoid robot, Optimus, is set to be unveiled in September. Musk claims that Optimus is meant to solve the "labor shortage" and to relieve people from doing jobs that are "unsafe, repetitive or boring." On the surface, these sound like laudable goals, and there are certainly some jobs that are so dangerous and unpleasant that automating them is desirable. But the reason automation is attractive to people like Musk is because it circumvents the human issues that workers face without paying them more, treating them better or conceding any power. Workers in the service industry those most likely to be replaced by the Optimus robot aren't burned out because their jobs are boring and repetitive so much as because they are poorly compensated, highly pressured and often treated rudely by both customers and managers. Amazon isn't having trouble finding workers because nobody wants to work, but because they are burning through those who do.

Though Musk and others like him, may frame their desire for automation as benevolent, when we consider how they treat their workers, their genuine motivations become clear. Musk and his companies have a rich history of deplorable labor relations: overworking employees, tolerating racist work environments, firing dissenting voices and whistleblowers, union bustingand putting lives at risk by defying public health orders during the pandemic. As with the deindustrialization that preceded it, however, automation threatens to further remove the ground beneath workers' feet, making not just individual employees or businesses but entire industries, and potentially work itself, obsolete and making people like Musk harder to hold to account.

Many people, perhaps understandably, would rather be in a well-defined adversarial relationship with an employer than to feel utterly cast adrift by society. But that choice may be rapidly disappearing and, in the process, driving people into the arms of the political right. Several studies show that those most under threat by automation disproportionately support right-wing populist parties. When looking at the voting behavior of workers from different countries, regions and industries, and controlling for confounding factors, automation has been shown to increase support for the radical right.

While the threat of automation may push workers toward more progressive economic policies, it also shifts them rightward on culture-war issues and voting behavior.

In the U.S., those most vulnerable to automation are more likely to support progressive economic policies, but they are nonethelessshifting rightward on cultural issues and in their voting behavior. The idea that the growing sense of precarity and meaninglessness stems from an erosion of tradition or from excessive tolerance for diversity, rather from an acceleration of economic exploitation, can be attractive to owners because it obscures their role in the crisis and redirects anger at scapegoats, and to workers because it appears to restore a sense of clarity and reorients their place in the world. The result, however, is that the real problem remains unaddressed and other marginalized groups are made more vulnerable.

How much risk automation poses to workers, which jobs are most likely to be replaced and whether new jobs will fill that void are all disputed questions. Some researchers have found that robotization negatively impacts both jobs and wages. Others argue that, over time, automation has created at least as many jobs as it has eliminated, but that these new jobs diverge significantly in terms of the training and specialization they require and how well they pay, increasing both productivity and inequality. Techno-optimists insist that everyone will benefit from this increased productivity, to one degree or another, because any job that can be automated will inevitably be replaced by a new one, perhaps yet to be imagined.

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Historian Yuval Noah Hararipoints out, however, that the longstanding pattern by which technological disruption creates new opportunities is not some inexorable law of nature. Paradoxically, while the optimists rely on the unimaginable to assure us that new kinds of jobs will be developed, they cannot seem to imagine that this pattern could be broken. Harari argues that there is no obvious reason why we cannot automate any conceivable task that a human can perform, that the optimists are overestimating people's ability to ceaselessly reinvent themselves, and that we running the risk of creating an entire class of the unemployable. According to Harari, not only would that leave many people conceivably, even most people with nothing more than idle entertainment or consumption to occupy their lives, it would centralize virtually all economic and political power. That could lead, alongside other emerging technologies, to tyranny.

Whether this worst-case scenario will come about is impossible to know at this point, but large-scale disruptions to the economy, and a growing backlash against them, are not just inevitable but are already here. Musk recognizes the potential of automation to cause impoverishment and social unrest, which is why he has endorsed a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to ensure that every adult citizen, regardless of employment status, would receive taxpayer-funded income adequate to meet their needs.

Remove workers from the political and economic equation in large numbers, and they lose virtually all leverage to reverse the concentration of wealth and power in our society.

While UBI may be necessary, it has various drawbacks. First, while the idea has appeal across the political spectrum, having been endorsed in different ways at different times bysuch figuresas Martin Luther King Jr., Milton Friedman, Robert Reich and Jeff Bezos, achieving social consensus on a sufficient payment would be difficult. A 2020 pollby the Pew Research Center found that only 45% of those surveyed supported a payment of $1,000 a month, an amount below the federal poverty line. Even beyond that question, UBI would do little or nothing to address the increasing concentration of economic and political power that have made it a necessary measure in the first place. Workers got political and economic clout in the past because they had the power to disrupt production. Take workers out of the process altogether and then, even if the government provides for their basic needs, they have lost virtually all leverage to reverse the concentration of wealth and power so that everyone can have an equitable say in our politics.

Disposability is endemic to our society as it is currently organized. While the attitudes, practices and structures that underpin it have existed since before the founding of our country and continue to the present, trickling down from the most powerful to everyone else, they can be resisted. The acceleration of automation is one more aspect of this well-established pattern, but one that threatens to accelerate it to a degree that we have never experienced. There is the potential for catastrophe, but also the potential for all of humanity to benefit from this transformation. Major capitalist leaders like Elon Musk, though, have a clear vested interest in certain outcomes. They may not intentionally seek social and political catastrophe, but in seeking more power for themselves at the expense of average people, they may well bring such a catastrophe about. Technological advancement is inevitable but how it plays out, what it's used for and whether its benefits are distributed equitably is up to us to decide.

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on Elon Musk, Tesla, Twitter and the human future

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Will Elon's robots bring utopia or tyranny? Why humans must control the future of automation - Salon

A recent study of senior Marketo managers reveals their marketing automation teams are small, highly productive and focus predominantly on executing campaigns.

Nearly 75% of respondents said they execute more than 30 campaigns in a year, and 74% said they manage a team of 0-3 employees.

The focus on executing campaigns means strategic priorities, like having and measuring impact, are at risk of being neglected, according to the study.

Execution-oriented tasks that get daily attention are:

The focus on execution leaves little time for strategic priorities. Respondents said these were undertaken less than quarterly:

Its unclear whether marketing operations (managers) are conscious of this bandwidth issue since most report being satisfied with the time required to build basic email programs (75% were satisfied or extremely satisfied) and nurture programs (52% were satisfied or extremely satisfied). Perhaps we are all blind to the time that eats up when scaled up over the course of a year and how that eats into bandwidth needed to look at big picture issues like measuring impact, the report concludes.

Measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and resourcing talent are the top operational challenges for Marketo managers, according to the study.

More than half said measuring the impact of campaigns was their top challenge, but only one-in-three respondents said theyve invested in an attribution platform. Only 32% of those who dont have an attribution platform plan to add one.

Read next: 16 marketing automation platforms your organization should consider

The report concludes: Despite impact measurement being an issue, only a minority of respondents have an attribution tool. Of course, thats just part of the picture, since tools need to be leveraged properly to get the desired outcome. And looking at some of the other top challenges, alignment to goals and strategies and lack of communication and collaboration, it stands to reason that adoption of a tool alone is not the solution.

Hiring and training are also areas of concern, but not equal focus, for Marketo managers.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents anticipate they will hire in the next 12 months, but only 21% of respondents considered maintaining talent audits and capacity needs a primary responsibility.

Three-in-four respondents said that their teams lack the appropriate level of training.

Download the full report, Marketo Experts: Their Goals, Challenges, and Strategies. (Free to download. No personal information required.)

In January and February of 2022, 207 Marketo users responded to the survey.

The margin of error is 5.2%, according to Survey Monkeys Sample Size Calculator.

The study was conducted by marketing operations agency Perkuto. Adobe solicited responses from Marketo users through its community channels.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

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Study: Marketing automation teams mired in execution, neglecting strategic priorities - MarTech