Category Archives: Automation

BOSTON, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The new IDTechEx report, "Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles 2023-2043: Trucks, Buses & Roboshuttles", has found significant activity in the autonomous heavy-duty and commercial vehicle space. Today there are hundreds of vehicles around the globe in various stages of trialing, piloting, and even some companies teetering on the precipice of fully unmanned commercial deployment. Each industry has unique strengths and challenges, here are some key findings from the report.

Roboshuttles

Roboshuttles are a new and exciting form of transport that are rapidly becoming less new. Leaders in the field, EasyMile and Navya have been in the game since 2014 and have accumulated around two-thirds of all roboshuttle sales between them. But their sales in recent years have been dwindling. IDTechEx has observed many small trials of roboshuttles with less than five vehicles being tested by the public on very restricted routes. There have been some bigger deployments, but it seems that the industry is getting stuck at converting these larger pilots to commercial trials. Despite this, there have been recent pushes from China, with Yutong deploying a large fleet of vehicles for trials this year (2022). "Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles 2023-2043: Trucks, Buses & Roboshuttles" considers some of the biggest stumbling blocks for roboshuttles and evaluates when these may be overcome and how the market will grow afterward.

Autonomous Buses

Perhaps buses sound a little more mundane than roboshuttles since they are not promising to revolutionize public transport, but their more evolutionary approach is more achievable and more deployable in the short term. The advantage that buses have over roboshuttles is that the driver and conventional controls can remain in the vehicle while technologies are trialed. Both roboshuttles and buses will be forced to operate near pedestrians, a non-trivial challenge for an autonomous system and requiring human supervision for many years to come. Despite this, level 4 autonomy can bring benefits to buses today. The autonomy level will improve bus safety, and deployments in special-use scenarios such as in bus depots, airside airport buses, and minibuses operating on controlled access campuses could be accomplished in the next few years.

The big challenge for autonomous buses is simply the size of the industry now. Of the three heavy-duty sectors covered in "Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles 2023-2043: Trucks, Buses & Roboshuttles", autonomous buses have the fewest vehicles on the road, with a total fleet size in the low tens, compared to the mid-hundreds for both roboshuttles and autonomous trucks.

Autonomous Trucks

Out of roboshuttles, autonomous buses, and autonomous trucks, IDTechEx thinks that trucks make the most compelling case for automation, here is why. There is a measurable need for truckers, with shortages in China, the US, and Europe. This once popular profession is starting to sour, younger generations are finding the long hours on the road and separation from family less preferable and are opting for work closer to home. The average age of truck drivers is increasing, and the industry is heading toward crisis as demand for haulage soars and driver populations plummet. But, this is irrelevant if the task of automating is unachievable. Thankfully, autonomous trucks also have a realistic operational design domain that can be accomplished with today's technology. Companies like TuSimple, Waymo, and Inceptio are already demonstrating high levels of readiness and getting tantalizingly close to commercial 'driver-out' missions.

So, the demand for autonomous trucks already exists, the technical challenge is more achievable than other autonomous environments, and the technology is almost ready. This is what makes autonomous trucks such an exciting prospect and why it won't be long before they start delivering the goods. More industry analysis and forecasts can be found within the full report at http://www.IDTechEx.com/HeavyDutyAV.

IDTechEx Mobility Research

This research forms part of the broader mobility research portfolio from IDTechEx, who track the adoption of autonomy, electric vehicles, battery trends, and demand across land, sea and air, helping you navigate whatever may be ahead. Find out more at http://www.IDTechEx.com/Mobility.

About IDTechEx

IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact [emailprotected]or visit http://www.IDTechEx.com.

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IDTechEx Says Autonomous Trucks Make the Most Compelling Case for Automation in Heavy-Duty Vehicles - PR Newswire

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The tedious task of loading and unloading parts into machines has long been a bread-and-butter application for cobots gaining significant traction in the industry. With its 1,750 mm (68.9 in) reach and 20kg payload (44.1 lbs.), the new UR20 from Universal Robots greatly expands automation opportunities such as the ability to reach further into machines, tend several machines in the same cycle, and handle 25% heavier parts. Despite being URs heaviest robot, the UR20 is the lightest cobot in its class, weighing only 64kg (141.1 lbs.) making it both a versatile technical tool and a manual laborer.

More than half of all U.S. manufacturing tasks are automatable, a fact that businesses start to realize as they simply cannot fill open positions, says Universal Robots senior manager of applications development and strategic marketing, Joe Campbell. We are launching a redefined cobot that has been completely re-engineered from the ground up, focused on freeing up more manpower within a wide range of human-scale automation tasks.

At Universal Robots IMTS booth 236949, attendees will experience first-hand what that looks like as the UR20 loads and unloads heavy workpieces into a machine fixture requiring a long reach. We have completely re-engineered the cobots field-serviceable joints, that deliver 30% more speed and torque within a closed capsule, says Universal Robots VP of innovation and strategy, Anders Beck, explaining how the UR20s base joint produces 700 Newton-meters of torque. This is more than a performance model Tesla produces on all of its wheels. Even with the increase in reach and torque, weve managed to retain the cobots 50 microns repeatability, while still using standard single-phase power.

Universal Robots also kept the intuitive user interface, pioneered by the company, while incorporating advanced software enhancements, giving users unprecedented motion control capabilities. The rapidly expanding UR+ ecosystem of third-party components and application kits, certified to be plug-and-play with UR cobots, also supports the UR20. At IMTS, UR+ partner SCHUNK, will launch the EGU universal parallel electric gripper with the ability to handle varying part dimensions. The new gripper integrates seamlessly with the new UR20through a URCap (software handshake between the peripheral and the robot arm).

Growing number of UR cobot-powered OEM solutions showcased

Universal Robots recently posted a robust 30% growth across the first two quarters of 2022 compared to the first half of 2021. A significant contributor to URs growth is OEMs that now increasingly incorporate UR cobots into full solutions, a sales channel that grew 39% year-over-year. At IMTS, UR has invited several OEM and UR+ partners to its booth, including Vectis Automation, Hirebotics, VersaBuilt Robotics, Robotiq, Kane Robotics, PCC Robotics, and Mid Atlantic Machinery.

New applications for fabricating, machine tending and finishing tasks

For fabricators, Vectis Automation will demo the water-cooled version of its Cobot Welding Tool, delivering heavy duty welds along with the Vectis Cobot Plasma Cutting Tool that enables complex cuts on high-mix 3D parts and tubes for a fraction of the cost of existing 3D shape cutting automation. Hirebotics will showcase its Cobot Welder with a rotary positioner to demonstrate how the system can communicate with positioners to weld parts that aren't possible with just the cobot. The Press Brake Operator Package from Mid Atlantic Machinery showcases a UR10e on a modular parts cart with a machine tool interface and a zone safety scanner that ensures shop safety.

New innovative ways for cobots to interact with CNCs will be highlighted by Robotiqs new Machine Tending Solution that emulates the machine operator with no need to modify or alter the machine controls. Since it is non-intrusive, the new Robotiq solution will work with any brand of CNC. VersaBuilts UR+ certified Mill Automation System with a MultiGrip automation work-holding will allow machinists to easily add any new CNC parts that can be held with a vise. PCC Robotics will demonstrate an efficient machine cell setup as a UR10e equipped with OnRobots dual 3FG15 gripper mounted on EasyRobotics ProFeeder feeds parts to an air vise.

For a finishing touch, Kane Robotics will show the GRIT XL-X robotic system that is ideal for sanding, grinding and finishing, including customized programming and robust data solutions.

Free cobot training sessions at the show

Attendees looking to use cobots for automation tasks but unsure where to begin or how to program, are invited to attend free hands-on training sessions inside McCormick Place at IMTS, each session tailored a specific application taught by certified UR product trainers. Our cobots will be in more than 20 other booths at the show as well, each showcasing different ways to incorporate cobots into machining applications, says URs Joe Campbell. Were looking forward to meet every IMTS attendee no matter where theyre at in their automation journey.

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About Universal Robots

Universal Robots aims to empower change in the way work is done using its leading-edge robotics platform. Since introducing the worlds first commercially viable collaborative robot (cobot) in 2008, UR has developed a product portfolio including the UR3e, UR5e, UR10e, UR16e, and UR20 reflecting a range of reaches and payloads. Each model is supported by a wide selection of end-effectors, software, accessories and application kits in the UR+ ecosystem. This allows the cobots to be used across a wide range of industries and means that they can be redeployed across diverse tasks. The company, which is part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, and has offices in the USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Mexico. Universal Robots has installed over 50,000 cobots worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.universal-robots.com or read our blog at blog.universal-robots.com.

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Universal Robots' New UR20 Collaborative Robot Makes U.S. Debut at IMTS 2022, Expanding Cobot Automation in Machining Industry - Business Wire

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Vectorworks 2023 to focus on process automation - AEC Magazine

Picnic Works,Seattle-based innovator of food automation technology, announced a partnership withMOTOto support the pizzeria's expansion. With orders selling out months in advance, deploying the Picnic Pizza Station (named Otis) will allow MOTO to produce a higher volume of the popular artisan craft pizza.

"The Picnic Pizza Station isn't a vending machine that just makes one kind of pizza. We work with chefs to optimize for their recipes so they get the exact result they want with each and every pizza," Scott Erickson, CMO of Picnic, said in the announcement. "We're intrigued by the vision of MOTO and how they are using technology to enhance an already incredible customer experience. We can't wait to grow together and help bring this mouth-watering pizza to diners inSeattleand beyond."

The Picnic Pizza Station can assemble up to 100 pizzas per hour, is autonomous and is completely customizable for each order. After loading the crust, the station takes care of applying all the toppings sauce, cheese, fresh-cut pepperoni or others. The finished pizzas are then put in the kitchen's ovens for baking.

MOTO is an eclectic, pan style pizzeria that combines art and science to bring unconventional pizza concepts to foodies inSeattle with toppings ranging from classic cheese and pepperoni to Filipino pork belly, fresh Dungeness crab and more. MOTO prioritizes cooking with fresh, nutritious and local ingredients, some of which are sourced fromNW Farms, a vertical hydroponic farming company in the Pacific Northwest.

As demand continues to rise, the pizzeria plans to open three additional locations over the next six months. MOTO will place the Picnic Pizza Station it nicknamed Otis in the new downtown location to ease and enhance production.

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Seattle pizzeria partners with Picnic Works to deploy food automation technology - Vending Market Watch

Rockwell Automation, Inc., the worlds largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has announced that Barrett Steel has chosen the Fiix computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) to manage its ongoing maintenance programmes and reduce downtime.

The deployment of the CMMS from Fiix is part of a digital transformation of Barrett Steels maintenance activities, with the aim of streamlining, simplifying and mobilising the entire programme.

The UKs largest independent steel stockholder had already deployed an OEE system developed and installed by CHG, a trusted supplier of Barrett Steel and a Rockwell Automation recognised system integrator.

CHG recognised that the Fiix CMMS would be ideal to develop and scale the system further and partnered with Rockwell Automation to create a tailored solution, based around a five-year ROI project.

Fiixs cloud-native CMMS creates workflows for the scheduling, organising, and tracking of equipment maintenance, connecting seamlessly to business systems to drive data-driven decisions. As one of the worlds most widely used CMMS solutions, Fiix has more than 2 million assets under management and creates more than 6 million work orders per year.

Another essential element of the maintenance-operations transformation is the ThingWorx SaaS-based SCP (smart connected products) package from PTC, which connects all the business systems together, displaying the correct information to the correct people.

ThingWorx provides the functionality, flexibility, and scalability that businesses need to drive industrial innovation, including the ability to source, contextualise and synthesize data, while orchestrating processes and delivering powerful web, mobile and AR experiences.

Malte Dieckelmann, regional vice president, software sales EMEA at Rockwell Automation, commented: We put forward a digital transformation plan that focused around ThingWorx coupled to a powerful but easy-to-use CMMS solution that would allow them to simply raise work-order tickets, identify outstanding health and safety jobs, and digitise paper-based processes. The resulting package reduces risk to both day-to-day operations and personnel.

Peter Clarke, director at CHG, explained: We set up a trial of Fiix and incorporated some value-added demonstration data, based on an installed-base evaluation. Using this information, we then created some preventative maintenance schedules that Barrett Steel was able to simulate and test using mobile phones and tablets a major part of the initial brief.

We have been at the forefront of the UK steel industry for more than 150 years and place our customers at the core of everything we do, said Paul Burke, operations director at Barrett Steel.

Downtime at any of our 26 UK sites could lead to delivery delays, which are simply unacceptable. Therefore, we always look to deploy the best possible contemporary solutions to help ensure maximumuptime. Due to the mobile nature of our operations, remote access was essential as was the ease of use, and the Fiix/ThingWorx package is perfect for our needs.

The installation of a CMMS solution is one of the first steps in the companys ambitious digital transformation plans, which will eventually encompass a wider spread of applications and technologies, all of which can be developed, tailored, deployed and supported by CHG Electrical and Rockwell Automation.

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Rockwell Automation digitally transforms maintenance activities at the UKs leading steel stockholder - The Manufacturer

The Market

Research firm Global Industry Analysts (GIA) valued the worldwide marketing automation market at $3.9 billion in 2020 and expects it to reach $6.3 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 percent.

Of those totals, GIA expects cloud-based software to grow at a 9.6 percent CAGR to reach $4.6 billion by 2026, while the on-premises segment will see a 6.8 percent CAGR for the next seven years. On-premises deployments currently account for a 37.3 percent share of the total marketing automation market, the research finds.

GIA says the growth of the overall market is being driven by the rise of digital advertising, sharp increases in e-commerce, and the surging popularity of social media. Other advanced technologies impacting market growth include voice-based marketing, artificial intelligence, and mobile platform integration, the firm says.

And while still a few years away now, the inevitable phase-out of third-party cookiesalong with a de-emphasis on third-party data in general and growing legislative and industry standards around data privacywill completely upend the market in the next few years. Marketers will need to prepare far in advance to meet these challenges before they are forced to do so.

BothAdobeand Marketo by themselves would be powerful forces in the marketing technology space, but together since 2018, they are among the industrys best for sure. Either name deserves notice, but they synergize even better, says independent CRM analyst Marshall Lager, who notes that Adobe today offers some of the best creative web analytics technology available. Ray Wang, founder and chairman of Constellation Research, agrees, calling Adobe one of the top players in the market. Add to that the Adobe Digital Experience Platformwhich Paul Greenberg, president of the 56 Group, calls a bit of a diminution of what it really doesand its hard to deny that Adobe has the most diverse and comprehensive portfolio in the market, analysts argue.

HubSpotis fast becoming an analyst favorite in marketing automation, but it is also gaining traction among end users, particularly in the midmarket segment. There, customers continue to rate it highly for its full-suite approach, Wang says.

And HubSpot continues to get stronger, constantly rolling out more integrations and connectors, still with the ease of setup and use, Lager says. HubSpot has identified its core value proposition and is pushing it for all its worth.

Microsofthas always found strength in its ability to integrate the marketing capabilities within its Microsoft Dynamics 365 product with its own wide selection of business applications, but Microsoft now has been pushing out its product to external sources as well. The company has also shown a unique ability to steadily improve the product internally as new market forces emerge. The product has improved over the years and is really starting to gain traction, Wang observes.

Whether through acquisitions or internal product development,Salesforces Marketing Cloud and related products have a long history of dominance in the space, but its recent work, particularly in analytics, has really garnered attention. But thats not all: Salesforce continues to invest in marketing automation and ancillary areas, such as loyalty management, that enable customers to provide more targeted personalization, says Rebecca Wettemann, founder and CEO of Valoir. Lager agrees: Between Pardot and the Salesforce Marketing Cloud itself, businesses will find what they need to keep the leads flowing, the campaigns running, and the messages resonating.

AlthoughZohois a relatively new entrant in the marketing space, analysts argue that it cannot be ignored. The companys Marketing Plus should be especially attractive for midmarket customers looking for core marketing automation functionality and value-adds, such as content and digital asset management, events management, collaboration, and project management, Wettemann says. Marketing Plus, she adds, ticks the boxes for marketing automation, customer journeys, and omnichannel engagement. It brings together many products in the Zoho technology stack, including Campaigns, Social, Webinar, Analytics, Marketing Automation, WorkDrive, PageSense, Survey, and Backstage. Greenberg also appreciates how Zoho includes sophisticated capabilities in a package ideal for smaller firms.

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The Best Marketing Automation Software and Solutions: The 2022 CRM Industry Leader Awards - Destination CRM

LONDON European spending on AI systems is forecast to jump from $25.4 billion in 2022 (up 27.8% from 2021) to more than $72.9 billion in 2026, according to the new Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC). The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 20212026 will be 29.6%. Germany, Spain, and the U.K. the fastest-growing markets in Europe will drive growth in 20212022.

The AI market is more resilient to the current macroeconomic events than other technologies. AI technologies and software are helping companies to build efficiency through automation and contribute to a safer operational environment.

"AI is a strategic investment for European companies that are focusing on productivity and automation solutions and looking for new ways to deliver business value," said Carla La Croce, research manager, IDC Italy. "In addition, the European Union is playing a key role in boosting research and industrial capacity around AI, with the Commission and member states working together on policy and investments that will leverage the Recovery and Resilience Facility."

Software technologies are driving spending on AI in Europe, with AI applications accounting for the highest share until 2023, which are focused more on longer-term innovation and product/service creation use cases. AI platforms will gain share from 2023; this is the fastest-growing category and includes AI life-cycle software, AI software services, and intelligent knowledge discovery software.

Banking, manufacturing, and retail will spend the most on AI solutions over the five-year forecast period, accounting for almost half of total spending. Professional services, healthcare, and insurance will have fastest growth in the long term.

Banking will invest in fraud analysis and investigation, along with augmented threat intelligence and prevention system, given the increasing cybersecurity risks. Manufacturing will focus on maintenance by investing in automated preventative maintenance and quality management investigation and recommendation systems. Retail will focus on customer and automation, investing in augmented customer service agents as well as sales process recommendation and augmentation and smart business innovation and automation.

TheWorldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guidesizes spending for technologies that analyze, organize, access, and provide advisory services based on a range of unstructured information. The Spending Guide quantifies the AI opportunity by providing data for 27 use cases across 19 industries in nine regions and 32 countries. Data is also available for the related hardware, software, and services categories.

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Need for Greater Efficiency and Automation, Combined with EU Efforts to Foster Excellence in AI, Will Maintain Strong European Growth in AI, Says IDC...

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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Thoroughly Modern: Latest IT Trends Bring Security, Speed, And Consistency To IT With Automation - IT Jungle

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

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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