There’s a lot of hype about hyperautomation. But it’s clear that as new automation technologies emerge, organizations that take a strategic, holistic approach to embedding them into business processes will come out ahead.
So, what exactly is hyperautomation? It’s an approach to process automation that uses a combination of technologies to optimize complex business processes and augment human capabilities. Because hyperautomation revolves around the use of more than one technology, it helps organizations automate entire business processes end to end rather than just individual tasks.
Key hyperautomation trends.
Take a look at these seven trends to watch for ideas on how to step up or shape your automation strategy.
[ Want to learn more about how to succeed with hyperautomation? Get the Gartner report: Gartner® Emerging Technologies and Trends Impact Radar: Hyperautomation Report ]
1. Enhanced automation with AI and ML.
Improved algorithms, increased processing power, and access to more data are driving the rapid development of AI and ML, enabling smarter decision making and greater automation capabilities.
AI and ML can also speed up development, freeing developers to focus more on uncovering and delivering on stakeholder needs rather than hand-coding solutions all day. And, with smarter chatbots—which are also seeing a boost thanks to advancements in AL and ML—more customer inquiries can be solved without human intervention. This faster, anytime availability for customer service is becoming table stakes for businesses looking to deliver superior experiences.
[ Learn how to successfully implement end-to-end process automation strategies. Get the Process Automation Guide. ]
2. Integrated, scaleable RPA.
RPA adoption will continue to grow as more organizations look to streamline repetitive tasks, increase operational efficiency, and reduce human error. As organizations prioritize automation platforms that can provide end-to-end process automation rather than siloed, one-off automation solutions, RPA technology that easily integrates with other automation solutions and flexibly scales with use will become more prevalent.
3. Workflow orchestration as a “must-have.”
Integrating AI and analytics with traditional business process management will lead to more efficient processes, real-time decision-making, and better customer experiences. What Gartner once referred to as intelligent business process management (iBPM), they now simply refer to as business process automation (BPA). This is synonymous with the term process automation. This reflects a change in the way we think about automation’s role in process management. Today, it’s assumed that automation will play at least some part in your business processes. But many organizations still struggle to determine the true return on investment of their automation solutions.
Organizations that have achieved measurable success typically have one thing in common: workflow orchestration. Workflow orchestration is a method for simplifying and streamlining digital processes with automation. Orchestration solutions are continuing to see increased demand globally as organizations strive to realize the benefits of siloed process automation efforts.
[ Read about 5 Best Practices for Workflow Orchestration. Download the eBook. ]
4. AI ethics get more attention.
As hyperautomation technologies become more prevalent, ethical considerations and governance frameworks will be essential to ensure responsible implementation and use. That’s where the concept of responsible AI comes into play.
Responsible AI is an emerging term for using AI in an ethical and socially responsible way, often through a governance framework or defined set of principles. As organizations begin to scale automation, responsible AI frameworks can provide the guidance needed to ensure that compliance is met and that AI is employed in a way that’s fair to customers and employees.
As hyperautomation expands, expect to see more about AI ethics.
5. Using sensors from IoT devices.
The integration of IoT devices with hyperautomation technologies will enable more data-driven insights and allow for real-time monitoring and adjustments. While IoT has been widely adopted in manufacturing, energy, and supply chain, it’s yet to be as widely adopted in other industries. The complexity of integrating IoT and managing millions of devices at scale could be a reason why they aren’t being used much outside of mission-critical situations. This is where hyperautomation can help.
For example, in manufacturing, predictive machine maintenance can indicate signs of wear and tear before industrial equipment breaks down. Hyperautomation allows for greater communication between these devices and departments, leading to better maintenance practices, longer machine lifespans, and less disruption to production cycles. Another example is smart devices used to monitor energy usage within corporate facilities, which can help companies hit their emissions goals to comply with regulations and meet board standards for ESG initiatives. Even insurance companies are starting to incorporate more IoT—like auto insurance policy discounts for safe driving or health insurance discounts for wearing activity trackers like smartwatches and Fitbits.
As IoT adoption continues to grow, automation can help organizations connect and track data from all sorts of devices.
6. Low-code adoption continues.
Low-code will continue to be critical for hyperautomation initiatives. Hand-coding often takes too long and requires too much technical expertise, leaving many organizations to abandon process improvement projects before seeing the ROI.
A process automation platform with low-code capabilities can help. Low-code makes it possible for both IT and citizen developers to build business rules that handle complex processes with speed—making decisions faster and more accurately than a human could. Without low-code, it can take hundreds of lines of traditional code to achieve the same results.
Leading low-code tools also let you merge and extend enterprise data across workflows without the need to migrate data. This gives you more actionable, timely insights into your organization so you can make data-backed decisions that increase ROI.
7. More end-to-end processes will be connected.
Up until recently, automation had often been restricted to limited and localized applications. But with the increased adoption of low-code and more advanced automation tools, more end-to-end processes are being connected.
With platforms that leverage low-code alongside multiple automation solutions, hyperautomation isn’t just hypothetical—it’s actually within reach. This means automation can be applied more broadly to actually deliver on the promise of faster, more efficient processes.
Read more about hyperautomation trends. Get the Gartner® report: Beyond RPA: Build Your Hyperautomation Portfolio.
