Enhancing End-to-End Processes: 6 Essential Capabilities of BPA

At the heart of BPA is automation, which drives efficiency and reduces manual effort. Key elements to look for include: 

• Process modeling. A framework for organizing end-to-end processes, including design and execution, human interaction, and workflow management. Look for features like scheduling, error handling, routing, and data transformation. 

• Business rules and management. Guides automation using business logic for decisions like document routing, price calculations, and service request handling. 

• Task management with robotic process automation (RPA). Integrates RPA with human tasks to automate repetitive activities and delegate tasks requiring human oversight. 

• Document processing. Employs artificial intelligence (AI) for intelligent document processing (IDP) to categorize content and extract data swifty, avoiding bottlenecks.

• Case management. Manages both structured and ad hoc processes in one location for visibility and adaptability, supporting dynamic workflows and business rule management.

Effective data management is crucial for informed decision-making and operational efficiency. The right platform will offer a strong data fabric architecture to make this possible. A data fabric combines data management, integration, automation, and low-code development tools to build impactful and data-rich digital solutions. A data fabric helps democratize access to data and accelerates application development. 

When looking at BPA platforms, find one that includes a data fabric architecture offering:

• Data discovery. Utilizes codeless data modeling for quick connection to existing data sources or creation of new data models, enhanced by custom calculations and intelligence. 

• Unified data. Creates a single, virtualized layer for cohesive data management. 

• Data security. Centralized security control to manage access permissions easily and create secure application frameworks. 

• Optimized data. Automatically detects data patterns and reshapes data for optimal performance, minimizing manual tuning and enhancing application efficiency.

AI can significantly improve BPA platforms by automating tasks and improving decision-making. Key features include: 

• AI-assisted development. Combines generative AI and automation for rapid conversion of structured forms into digital interfaces, speeding up user interface creation. Additionally, these platforms will continue making smart investments to help enhance development practices, such as generating unit test cases and creating test data.

• Content processing with AI. Uses AI to classify emails and documents and extract data, improving workflow efficiency and decreasing manual effort. 

• Self-service analytics. Leverages natural language processing for quick data queries and report building, providing insights for process improvement through low-code development.

Low-code platforms enable faster application development and allow collaboration between technical and non-technical teams. Consider these factors:

• Reusable components. Utilizes graphical interfaces and prebuilt components for simplified app design and rapid prototyping, ultimately allowing collaboration with ease. 
• Secure data and applications. Incorporates built-in security measures to protect applications from threats. Look for platforms that have passed rigorous security certifications like PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC II, SOC III, and FedRAMP.
• Simplified system integration. Uses visual tools and prebuilt templates for easy integration of databases, cloud services, RPA, AI, and APIs, reducing complexity and development time.

Improving user experiences across all digital areas helps drive engagement and satisfaction. Important parts are:

• Strong, built-in UI/UX capabilities. Provides robust UI/UX to streamline experiences for both employees and customers, ensuring user-friendly interfaces and increasing application adoption.
• Seamless mobile application deployment. Designs for cross-platform functionality in mobile apps, avoiding the overhead of separate development and maintenance. 
• External portals. Creates user-friendly frontend interfaces without requiring logins, securely connecting internal workflows and data.
• Internal sites. Enables the creation of secure, interactive dashboards and experiences for authenticated users.

Ongoing optimization of business processes helps maintain competitiveness and operational efficiency. Key features include:

• Operational data preparation. Automates the connection and modeling of process data from various systems to make information accessible for analysis. 

• Automated analysis and insights. Visualizes enterprise process data to improve understanding and optimization, using dashboards for data aggregation and intelligent recommendations. 

• Process automation for action. Use built-in automation tools to transform insights into actionable improvements.

Selecting a BPA platform with these core capabilities ensures extensive process automation, robust data management, smart AI integration, and user-friendly experiences. Together, these features contribute to better business outcomes, empowering your organization to stay ahead in a competitive market.