From accounting to business processes, the growing unanimity among industry executives is that blockchain is likely to influence every significant area of work – and the change is already starting. In fact, some estimates found that blockchain could add $1.77 trillion to the international economy by 2030.

How it works
Blockchain automatically follows transactions from beginning to finish without conferring a major authority tasked with maintaining the transaction or encrypting the data without the necessity for human intervention. Rather, by categorising them, blockchain or NFT equips transparency around what’s happened in the history of the transactions. Moreover, because blockchain is immutable, this data is secure.

This ‘digital ledger’ permits developers and disruptors of NFT to flip the writing on typical organisational processes in different stimulating ways.

Intrinsically transparent, unchangeable, and decentralised, the technology presents more significant transactional security. Blockchains store data employ worldly math and software rules that are nearly incomprehensible for attackers to exploit. Each block added onto the chain holds a hard, cryptographic reference to the previous block. This reference is a complex mathematical problem that must be translated to get the following block into the network and chain. The technique constructs a uniquely encrypted digital fingerprint

Experts working in banking, agreements, settlements, or any enterprise process that implicates being a third party to marketing may be influenced by the increasing adoption of blockchain. Blockchain cryptology substitutes third-party mediators as the protector of the trust.

Blockchain can help lessen overhead expenses and hassles for enterprises or individuals when dealing with assets by mathematics instead of mediators. If you perform in this field, it would be smart to associate yourself with an in-depth knowledge of cryptocurrency or NFT assets created, transferred, stored, and confirmed on the blockchain to harness the possibility they suggest.

How blockchain is employed in the enterprise
Now that you understand the abilities of blockchain to transform the way businesses operate, it is necessary to recall on enterprises impacted by blockchain. Many individuals are keen to understand ‘how blockchain is employed in the enterprise?’ and a precise impression of blockchain applications in various industries can find the answer. Blockchain has been adopted across different enterprises with favorable outcomes over a period. Here is an overview of the additional blockchain business concepts which have been transforming unique enterprises.

The possibilities for blockchain-based businesses in the Â鶹ԭ´´ services sector are particularly promising. and have been reaching hand in hand for quite a lengthy time. Blockchain could deliver the exact function of banks by offering secure, digital, and inflexible ledgers.

Blockchain enhances accuracy and flexibility for data sharing in the financial services ecosystem as an evolution. Blockchain can disrupt the banking enterprise esteemed at over $4.8 trillion through disintermediation of key services delivered by banks, varying from authorisation and payment systems to expenditures.

The most prominent example of the leverage of blockchain in the banking sector is clear in Credit Suisse. It cooperated with New York-based startup Paxos to recompense US stock trades utilizing blockchain technology. In expansion, recognised names in the financial services ecosystem have demonstrated favorable examples of executing blockchain in business. For illustration, JPMorgan Chase launched into the blockchain domain with an NFT named JPM Coin to confirm transactions among institutional accounts.

Conventional banks and lending organisations typically provide underwriting for loans founded on credit reporting. The centralised system of credit reporting can depend hostile for clients. Therefore, different systems leveraging blockchain for the origination of cost-effective, safe, and efficient lending and borrowing can considerably facilitate the procedure. The cryptographic protection and decentralised database for prior payments could encourage clients to use loans according to a single international recognition score.

One of the prominent examples of blockchain applications in lending and borrowing employing cases is Dharma Labs. It is a protocol for allowing developers to design online debt marketplaces with the instruments and measures needed.

Another model of a blockchain-based technology impacting lending and borrowing refers to Bloom. It is a task focused on instructing credit scoring in the blockchain, emphasising the evolution of a protocol for governing risk, originality, and distinction scoring by leveraging blockchain technology.

The effect of blockchain trends, alongside the possibility of blockchain providing value in use cases across various enterprises, could enable any person to start their blockchain-based experience. However, it is essential to look for information on adjusting effectively to the wave of ‘blockchain evolution.’ With many enterprises encountering disturbance with blockchain business, administrators must meditate on the following pointers.

New enterprise setups established on the blockchain should capitalize on the uniqueness of social purpose as an effective agent of change. The current generation of clients is changing how businesses create and offer value. Therefore, blockchain business ideas should accentuate sustainability and other market parties selected by modern clients.

Stay tuned to learn more about how blockchain can improve business processes and find out some use cases you can leverage easily with this open source tech.

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Like many countries worldwide, the Australian government has embarked on massive critical infrastructure reform, allocating upwards of to a range of projects. Make no mistake, this spend on the likes of renewable energy, advanced transportation and communications networks, that help keep people fed, connected, and safe represents the future of this country’s sustainable economy and society.

Digitalisation reduces project risk, increases cost-savings

This could be the next golden age for the engineering and construction industry, but only if public and private sector innovators also usher in the next phase of digitalisation. Enter digitised infrastructure, a vision that promises to foster groundbreaking collaboration across the lifetime of a project, from design and construction through operations, maintenance and beyond. It can help the entire infrastructure ecosystem – government agencies, private contractors, logistics and engineering firms, and other partners – sustainably complete major projects on time and within budget.

“This is much more than automating manual processes. A digitalised infrastructure platform fundamentally changes how people collaborate on large infrastructure projects,â€� said Chris Peck, executive general manager of public services at Â鶹ԭ´´ ANZ. “Uniting individuals, teams, and organisations on a single platform with a common data environment that captures real-time data will support accurate decision-making across the full lifespan of the asset.â€�

Advanced digital twins see around corners

Digital twins are foundational to the digitised infrastructure vision. A digital twin centralises all the data involved in a project, allowing the asset owner, prime contractor and subcontractors, architects, engineers, council, regulatory bodies, and any other designated partner to effortlessly share information and move the project along in a timely manner. The digital twin integrates, and analyses information from all types of applications, including engineering and architecture CAD, spatial, SCADA, asset management, and ERP systems.

However, according to Greg Stone, head of corporate development at Arup, a 75-year old global design and engineering consultancy, these aren’t your typical digital twins.

“We’ve been working with three-dimensional representations for quite some time, but with digitisation, we can up-level to an industrial, enterprise-wide scale,� he said. “Now we can innovate to stress test an asset structurally against numerous real-world criteria to make modifications before something is built or retrofit an existing structure.�

Stone said that Arup is working with transport authorities in to create powerful agent-based models (ABM) for ‘what if’ planning purposes. Whether it’s a new transport system, existing building redesign, or other community infrastructure project, the model can analyse the potential impact of proposed changes, factoring in a wide range of issues, such as what planners should consider given the impact on the environment and society at-large.

Digital thread of information takes the long view

Connected data is particularly important when companies such as cloud services providers are designated as “critical asset owners� by the Australian government. As managers of information that’s required to operate infrastructure like renewable electricity plants, new hospitals and transportation hubs, these providers need to comply with certain regulations so they can deliver a trusted essential service.

“Organisations typically use different software programs, making approval processes unnecessarily cumbersome and often error-prone,� said Johnny Clemmons, global vice president and head of engineering, construction and operations. “Digitising the process breaks down silos between the construction, handover and maintenance phases, helping partners work more efficiently and accurately with full transparency into progress against expected milestones. For example, the foundation of end-to-end digitisation is the connected to the digital twin and intelligent networks.�

Large infrastructure projects are expensive and have decades-long lifespans. With data and visualisation connected in a digital twin, organisations can improve cost savings, better manage safety and risk, and develop services to meet evolving community and citizen needs.

“Digital engineering harnesses data to get better outcomes for the built environment,� said Stone. “Bringing together data from the business domain, technical engineering specialists, and enterprise-grade business process platforms unites every stage of a project in a much more streamlined and impactful way. This is especially important to help meet net zero targets.�

Arup created a that helps offshore wind farms more reliably monitor irreplaceable foundations, cost-effectively extending the structure’s operating life. By combining monitoring data with the wind farm’s asset management system, operators have greater insights into performance for risk-based inspection and maintenance.

Future-proofing digitalisation

Digitised infrastructure is much more than the next transient, shiny thing. It’s the thread that weaves together vast amounts of data to tell the full story of an asset to every partner working on a project. It can deliver much more than short-term efficiencies and cost-savings across major industries like public services, utilities, transportation, oil and gas, mining and healthcare. If we start now, community planners in 2051 will have the data to know exactly what went into a project completed in 2021, meaning fewer costly surprises and better long term results for the community. That’s the kind of innovation future generations are counting on from us.

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Registration just kicked off for this entirely free virtual event, being held November 16-18, revealing a thoughtfully curated agenda where Â鶹ԭ´´ and industry experts, along with an unprecedented number of customers and partners, will share strategic insights, the latest innovations, and best practices. Above all, this year’s event puts customers and partners in the spotlight.

“More than ever, this year’s Â鶹ԭ´´ TechEd reflects our commitment to deliver a continuous, personalised learning journey that inspires and engages our 2.8 million strong,â€� said Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and member of the Executive Board of Â鶹ԭ´´ SE. “We designed the complete agenda around greater opportunities to network with like-minded innovators in real-world, fun experiences. Half of our hands-on workshop sessions have unlimited seating, so that any number of attendees can join live and watch experts perform and explain exercises, which can then be done by anyone at their own pace. You’ll also learn directly from customers and partners on how to apply the latest Â鶹ԭ´´ technologies to innovate for your professional career development and help your organization become an intelligent enterprise.â€�

Innovate with Â鶹ԭ´´ Where It Matters for You
The entire Â鶹ԭ´´ TechEd line-up of expert sessions, dynamic hands-on workshops, and live Channel 1 broadcasts is structured around :

• Database and Data Management
• Analytics
• Application Development and Integration
• Intelligent Technologies
• Intelligent Suite Solutions and Processes
• Integrated Intelligent Suite
• Digital Transformation with Intelligent ERP
• Partner Innovation with Â鶹ԭ´´

Select the learning experience most valuable for you, given your career and company objectives and specific technology interests. Join expert sessions for a strategic view of how developers and other technologists are using the Â鶹ԭ´´ platform to help their organisations become intelligent enterprises. Jump into hands-on workshops to watch solution demos and try out creating extensions on (Â鶹ԭ´´ BTP) of innovations extending the Â鶹ԭ´´ intelligent suite of applications – no pre-booking required.

Tune in anytime to Channel 1 for live, quick takes with world-class guests who will share their unique perspectives on game-changing topics.

Immerse Yourself in Real-World Innovations with Customers and Â鶹ԭ´´ Experts
This year, customers and partners will be front and center, directly sharing how they are using Â鶹ԭ´´ BTP to solve their biggest business challenges. They’re bringing what we call their “use case factory,â€� so you can learn from their experiences, by industry and Â鶹ԭ´´ solution. You can get answers to your burning questions in live Q&As or watch the replays at your convenience. They’ll be backed up by sessions with Â鶹ԭ´´ experts sharing the latest product road maps and best practices curated from across the Â鶹ԭ´´ community.

Build Your Community to Win Together
Â鶹ԭ´´ TechEd is much more than two days of nonstop education. It’s part of a continuous learning experience that brings together the entire Â鶹ԭ´´ ecosystem during this signature event, as well as enablement opportunities throughout the year.

Sessions and workshops will feature recommended resources to expand your knowledge such as accessing code on and exploring proven use cases on . Expand your learning, productivity, and performance with tailored learning from Â鶹ԭ´´, including certification opportunities in the .

Â鶹ԭ´´ TechEd registration is open now. Visit the for full details about the agenda and sign-up details.

With Business Transformation on the agenda of all organisations as we rebound and rebuild in a post pandemic world, customers are looking for Resilience, Intelligence, Sustainability and Experience across their operations and RISE with Â鶹ԭ´´ combined with the Business Technology Platform makes this possible.

Join us at from November 16-18 to hear how our customers are achieving the promise of the Intelligent Enterprise with Â鶹ԭ´´ Business Technology Platform.

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This approach has often been tied to capital expenditure, rather than capital growth and our customers are proving that doesn’t have to be the case. We need to reimagine sustainability through the lens of a growth mindset as a business principle and as an opportunity for organisations to run faster, better, stronger, and with the customer central to every strategic driver.

A Digital Intelligence Unit, called , highlighted the findings from leading industry researchers such as BCG, Gartner, Juniper and Forrester. A key takeaway from this comprehensive report is an anticipated move to deeper consideration for strategy and cost structure in managing larger, more complex digital markets.

With the evolution of e-commerce and intelligent technologies, supply chains have shifted towards digital supply networks that are interconnected, data-rich, and readily accessible, which allows brands to adapt and respond rapidly to volatile market changes, customer demands, and industry disruptions – thereby building supply-chain flexibility and resilience.

COVID-19 demonstrated to consumers and business first-hand how our old ways of supply and demand, hyper-capitalism, and the endless pursuit for exponentially improved returns aren’t always sustainable. According to the ,

“87 percent of people born between 1990 and 2015 believe that the success of a business should be measured in terms that go further than its financial results�.

Consumers are growing more aware of how businesses operate, how supply and demand are impacting their lives in tangible ways. They also have more awareness of their power than before to vote with their wallets, source their goods from anywhere, and boycott/cancel brands that don’t operate ethically. According to the Harvard Business Review, nearly 66% of consumers believing they have a responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment and society.

Consequently, brands are realising that purpose and profit aren’t mutually exclusive. However, consumers’ shifting priorities towards sustainability and its broad spectrum of social consequences have demonstrated the business results of being purpose-driven first, bottom line second. Organisations understand that operating sustainably makes better business sense than short-sighted financial successes. Most of which, the impact to our sole, collective marketplace (Earth) would have on business continuity and profitability, a recent report from the New York times puts this number at $US970 billion being wiped off the value of 215 of the worlds largest companies due to the climate crisis.

In thinking more broadly about sustainability, businesses must understand the intelligent technologies and practices that provide greater convenience, efficiency, and safety for employees, end-users, and customers. As our communications, consumption, and business functions become increasingly digitalised, the drive for scalable sustainability will lead to further innovation in the technology space with processes such as automation, digital supply chain twins, and continuous intelligence providing businesses with further versatility while mitigating risk.

According to Christian Titze, Vice President Analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain Practice,

“The vast majority of organisations have a cautious approach to adopting supply chain applications and technologies. Only 21 percent are willing to consider, and often adopt, early-stage technologies. However, even cautious supply chain leaders must keep an open mind and embrace long-term perpetual change.�

Creating a sustainable supply chain means utilising the latest technologies and trends while aligning business models with changing consumer expectations. With consumers demanding more transparency and accountability from brands; innovative businesses are responding by embedding sustainable processes within their intelligent enterprise.

By investing in technology to achieve this, companies can focus on reducing environmental impact, supporting local suppliers, co-innovation and stepping away from the legacy of zero-sum game win-lose business practices, and focusing on collective win-win practices. Often this investment pays off not only in a return on investment, but by enabling exponential growth and positive customer outcomes in a more sustainable, scalable, and ethical way.

Supply chains are at the forefront of this wider business transformation, particularly since COVID-19 showed us how the supply chain function is ground zero for impact and the most vulnerable for disruption. The most resilient businesses adopted more sustainable practices to help remain competitive, agile and customer-focused. Sustainability needs to be a more accessible and holistic concept for businesses looking to drive purpose and profit together.

Â鶹ԭ´´ remains committed to empowering people through technology, providing scalable digital solutions while broadening their understanding of sustainable business. As part of fostering this mindset shift, Â鶹ԭ´´ is broadcasting our live from Sydney on 24th March.

This forum event will bring together research analysts from Harvard Business Review and local executives to share their insights on what we can expect in 2021 and beyond, understanding how the future of work, sustainability, and data-driven technologies will fundamentally change the way businesses grow.

Another development for pushing positive and sustainable outcomes is our Â鶹ԭ´´ Climate 21 Initiative, which reaches beyond corporate practices of emissions reporting and other sustainability issues to help both businesses and consumers make more responsible purchasing decisions.

A key advocate for this all-encompassing approach to sustainability is Michael McComb, VP of Communications and Sustainability for Â鶹ԭ´´ APJ & China. His role combines the technical expertise, marketing insights, and communications knowledge required to change people’s thinking about sustainable supply chains, making sustainability a priority for businesses moving forward. I personally am looking forward to the discussion I expect to see with my colleagues and customers in this space and the innovation this drives for the wider community.

Digital technology and intelligent solutions will play a critical role in building more sustainable, equitable, ethical, and efficient business practices. Last year tested our ability to adapt while 2021 will be the vital first step in our global response to the lessons learned.

Creating sustainable supply chains will have far-reaching benefits across industries and geographies, so be sure to attend the upcoming to learn more about the solutions, initiatives, and technologies that are helping ANZ businesses rethink the role of their supply chains in taking the next step towards a sustainable future.

The post Reimagining Sustainable Supply Chains with Business Intelligence appeared first on Â鶹ԭ´´ Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Using intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA Cloud solution for upstream oil and gas helps customers to further increase visibility into operations and cash flow. Additionally, the solution includes contributions from leading global oil and gas companies such as ConocoPhillips and Shell.

“Working together with Accenture and a consortium of industry leaders, we have delivered an industry-defined intelligent solution that has the capabilities upstream oil and gas companies need to reduce complexity by using market standards,â€� said Benjamin Beberness, Â鶹ԭ´´ global vice president of the Oil and Gas Business Unit. “Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA Cloud for upstream oil and gas is a flexible and agile solution that can provide customers a 360-degree view of the intelligent enterprise — from operations to the boardroom, enabling operational excellence.â€�

Now generally available globally, Â鶹ԭ´´ S/4HANA Cloud for upstream oil and gas is a scalable solution that can help oil and gas companies reduce total cost of ownership and operational costs, as well as create new revenue opportunities. Tools for preconfigured, integrated and user-friendly business processes are included so that companies can shrink implementation time while working to reduce risk of business disruption. The solution delivers new industry standards that help simplify operations and free up resources to drive more business value.

To define market-standard end-to-end processes that are preconfigured within the solution, Â鶹ԭ´´ and Accenture are working with a consortium comprised of leading exploration and production companies including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor and Shell.

“ConocoPhillips collaborated with Â鶹ԭ´´ and Accenture for more than two years to launch this solution, based on a flexible cloud architecture that can scale and deliver real-time insights into oil and gas upstream processes,â€� said Mike Pfister, CIO, ConocoPhillips.

“This release represents an important milestone demonstrating the impact of our ongoing collaboration,� said Scott Wahl, CIO Upstream, Shell. “We look forward to continuing to work together to deliver a mature solution that creates business value for the upstream oil and gas industry.�

“Â鶹ԭ´´ and Accenture are delivering a solution that brings in innovative technologies like AI to deliver real-time insights, greater visibility and better decision-making,â€� said Jan van den Bremen, a senior managing director and lead for Accenture Intelligent Platform Services in Europe. “We are proud to be the only Â鶹ԭ´´ co-development partner working side by side to deliver leading oil and gas industry solutions. We’ve worked with Â鶹ԭ´´ and leaders in the oil and gas industry to co-develop a solution that helps enable faster adoption of new technologies to better manage changing market conditions.â€�

This article first appeared on the Global Â鶹ԭ´´ News Centre.

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In our , I was fortunate to speak with Â鶹ԭ´´ Vice-President and Global Innovation Evangelist, . We discussed the ever-shifting world in the light of COVID-19 and the technology solutions that are helping business adjust, adapt, and evolve.

Due to the rapidly developing situations across international governments and businesses, Timo acknowledged that change is not optional for most organisations right now. “Around the globe, people are being forced into more digital transformation in a tighter timeframe than they had ever imagined,� he explained.

“Everybody is facing the same issues: how to embrace the changes with as much confidence as possible. How can companies minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities, to stay resilient now and reinvent themselves in the future.”

“What is important are the same things they’ve always been – how do companies define and focus on their core competency, how can they drive deeper customer relationships, the advantage of new business models, how can they streamline operations, and ultimately emerge stronger than ever before?�

Timo noted that the most critical element at times like this is transparency, which stems from good data. “To make decisions we need to take the data we have available and turn it into reliable insights,� he explained.

“We’ve been talking about the data value equation, in general, ‘amount times quality times usage equals value’. The more data you have, the better the quality, and the more people get to access and use it, the more value you’ll get. I think that’s a good basis for thinking about how organisations can move forward in this environment.�

According to Timo, cloud-based data orchestration allows business to connect that data to create a holistic view of business networks without physically moving it. “These data pipelines connect to business applications, or a data warehouse, or your suppliers’ data, a data lake, or some spreadsheets someone’s pooled together, and you can bring that information together to get a single view.�

At the heart of all this is the breakthrough technology of machine learning, Timo expressed. “Predictive analytics, advanced statistics, machine learning – these technologies have been around for decades, but really in the last few years they’ve made a breakthrough in terms of the computing power available and the quality of the algorithms and the amount of data available.”

“Machine learning technologies are more powerful when you’ve got lots of data to build the models. It’s basically sophisticated pattern matching – it’s not magic or anything like human intelligence. It really is automating complex and repetitive decisions in new ways. This is a huge opportunity for any kind of data leverage. It means, firstly, that we can automate applications.�

Timo noted that automation is not about eliminating roles rather freeing people from repetitive tasks and instead focus on core competencies. “People are the technology you should be maximising right now in your organisation,� he added. “There is nothing more intelligent than people, they’re the only ones that can understand what’s going on – the full context of the environment – and what needs to be fixed to move forward with solutions.�

For times of uncertainty, Timo said, the keys to success are agility and flexibility. “This is an era of constant change, so fast adaption and innovation has to become core competencies for all organisations. Technology is a huge advantage; the organisations that embrace the cloud are undoubtedly better off right now than the companies that still have to have people working on their on-premises data system.�

According to Timo, the biggest area of benefit is taking the power of cloud and integrating it with business processes. “The idea is that you can rapidly adapt and change your business processes without having to wait for new functionality in your core systems. Running your systems in the cloud, you just want to spin up a quick application where you can add new functionality on top of your core foundation quickly and easily.�

Timo said, “For example, you may need a lot of visibility in your supply chain, so you quickly create a mobile application that takes sensor data from your manufacturers, combines it with some core business master data, maybe some location data, and gives you visibility in the end-to-end supply chain.

“Using cloud platforms makes it easier to adopt agile development. Using things like Design Thinking, you can quickly create programs and tests and iterate, so you can learn as you go, based on the feedback of users.�

You can join Timo with other industry experts for a virtual event for businesses looking to build resilience and reinvent during this turbulent time.

“We’re trying to be as helpful, optimistic and forward thinking as possible, Timo explained. “We’re absolutely going to be talking about technology and how it’ll be helping them to the extent that’s possible. We’ll be investigating how the technologies can help people do their jobs better. And then we’re trying to be helpful, look forward to the future.�

To learn more about how this unlock the power of Business Technology Platform and data-driven insights – check out this , visit the , or today. Listen to the .

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The key here is that to realise any benefit, the task has to be repetitive to realise value in automating, and simple enough for the technology to perform reliably. What is considered simple is changing as time moves on with the technology becoming more capable and incorporating AI technologies.

Tasks like , , payroll are excellent candidates for RPA as they typically include tasks that are relatively easy to capture as a workflow, with high repetition rates which increases the value of the automation.

Who are the big players?
Although the industry is relatively new, there are a number of major players in the market including Blue Prism, UiPath and Automation Anywhere. , enabling built in automation for Â鶹ԭ´´ systems. By incorporating RPA technology into the Â鶹ԭ´´ applications and databases, the automation will become easier to implement and more tightly integrated with the applications.

Pros and Cons?
Simply put, RPA will enable businesses to reduce costs by freeing up employees from drudge work into tasks better suited to humans – tasks requiring creative thought, initiative and the ability to deal with variation.

By the end of 2020, Gartner is predicting RPA and AI technologies will free up 65% of employees in business shared services centres and the RPA market itself will grow to be worth over $1B.

There is a potential dark side to this bonanza though – jobs losses and stifling of application innovation are some of the issues. Magical success for a deployment is by no means guaranteed. Careful use case evaluation and selection is very much required. Project oversight, change management and governance is essential.

Who is using it?
I thought I’d talk to an actual RPA developer to get some insight to real world application. My son happens to be employed by an Australian government agency where he has worked on automating their systems.

What sort of systems have you automated with RPA tools?
The systems I have experience applying automations to are; Â鶹ԭ´´ payroll and HR systems, Â鶹ԭ´´ Child systems, and Outlook.

Where do you think RPA technologies help the most?
The best candidates for RPA software in government typically are HR systems and financial reports. The generation of invoice management reports and budget reports is one of the biggest time-consuming requests the agency handles on a regular basis. The implementation of automation in these areas is massively beneficial as the returned massive resources to the business unit and added improved perception from clients.

RPA in government is most successful when implemented on processes that are already defined and not undergoing other development.

Where do you think RPA technologies don’t help?
RPA implementation struggles in areas that are already undergoing change, such as departments effected by the recent Machinery of Government (MOG) change that has huge process and policy changes.

In my experience automations are quickly scrapped where the system is still undergoing development and in-system changes adversely affect surface based automations.

What is the hardest thing about developing RPA systems?
The biggest hurdle when developing in-system automation is process definition and managing stakeholder expectations.

If the process has other changes ongoing it is always best to define the process after the changes are implemented. Any developer knows the pains of creating something that can’t be included as part of an update due to compatibility issues. In short, develop completed systems – there is no point working with a beta as the entire platform may not work with the finished automation.

This can be hard to do in government as the push to roll out updates in-parallel means managing stakeholder expectations on delivery timeframes. I would advise all developers to stay in the loop with all system development meetings and engage with local subject matter experts at every available opportunity.

Are there any downsides to using RPA technologies?
The only real downside to RPA is the perception that staff have of the new technology potentially “doing them out of a Job�. This is never the case however, in every successful case of in-system automation staff are able to get new training and new experience to further their careers. Although the perception can make implementation of the change hard, once it’s done the perception is quickly turned around.

What was the hardest thing to get right?
One of the most important and most critical aspects of RPA is performance capability mapping – you need to know how well the process currently performs and how the automation is expected to perform.

As with every system it needs to be capable of handling increased workload with no effect on reliability. So, when undertaking the development plan for new automations, make sure to investigate the systems limitations and issues with current functionality.

It’s always best practice to improve on reliability when implementing automations – an intelligent automation with the ability to self-diagnose issues and recover from errors is more valuable than an automation that requires constant intervention.

Finally, where do think RPA technology is going?
RPA technologies are being implemented in almost every modern business or government around the world.

It is quite literally the way of the future.

I expect that by 2025 we’ll see RPA established in every government department and as the technology is implemented, we’ll see the perception totally change.

The Future
As my son mentioned, RPA is going to become pervasive in modern organisations. AI technologies are increasingly being included in RPA, enabling an easier, less proscriptive way of designing the workflows.

Â鶹ԭ´´ is investing in this future with an intent to bake intelligence in to create an integrated automation platform.

Of course, with less human direction comes more risk of the wheels falling off, so even more time needs to be spent in the oversight of the project. And of course, the potential negatives mentioned above are amplified.

The end state of this is replacement of the human oriented applications altogether, allowing the machines to exchange data directly. Perhaps we’ll call that system Skynet 😊

Like it or not RPA is here to stay (until it is superseded or made irrelevant). I think when that happens I’ll go get a beer – I wonder if I can automate that process?

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