Business automation is often costly in the moment, but it helps it save and earn more in the future. If employees do fewer routine tasks with their hands, the business as a whole is more focused on the main activity that brings money.
What is business process automation and what is it for?
Automation of business processes is the introduction of information technologies into the work of business - robots, artificial intelligence, information collection systems and its analytics. Automation can be applied in almost any business, the only difference will be in the tools.
For example, a beauty salon administrator used to send holiday greetings and great offers to customers. Then this function was automated, and now the administrator does not waste time on this, and the human factor is also eliminated - not a single client will be forgotten.
What processes can be automated
Almost all business processes can be automated, for example:
- personnel management: with the help of automation, it is easier to control the work of employees, search for candidates and train them;
- financial accounting: automation gives the owner more information for management, reduces the number of errors in calculations;
- Manufacturing: Robots get the job done more accurately, faster, and use fewer resources.
Often, a stable business develops only because managers are constantly looking for weaknesses, automating or optimizing everything they can.
What systems are used for automation
One of the most popular automation tools is CRM systems. These are programs in which you can maintain a contact database, set up a sales funnel, respond to customer requests from any source, and set tasks for staff.
Another similar tool is ERP systems. This is a tool of a wider range of action, which allows you to manage not only sales, but all business processes: finances, accounting and management reporting, production and inventory.
Both of these systems help to robotize part of business processes. But in addition to robotization, there are also other ways of automation. Let's take a closer look at five trends on how businesses will optimize their work in 2024.
Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation, or RPA, is services and programs that perform routine business tasks instead of employees, imitating their actions. Programs can be assigned any work for which instructions can be prescribed: for example, processing incoming documents, extracting data, recognizing text and comparing it.
There are universal programs that are suitable for most companies, such as OkoCRM, amoCRM, or Bitrix24. There are also programs that are suitable, say, only for fitness clubs, but in this niche they cover all business needs.
Who is useful. RPAs do a simple, monotonous, but important job for employees. If your employees spend a lot of time on routine tasks for which you can create an algorithm, you can delegate this work to robots.
Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks
Artificial intelligence is a program that has been taught the rules of self-analysis or creation of content — texts, images, video, or audio.
The possibilities of using AI are limited only by the imagination of the manager. For example, with the help of neural networks, you can write advertising texts, analyze the audience, and search for potential customers. Or you can embed AI in the search bar on the site to make the search more accurate and focus on product recommendations.
With the advent of AI, RPA also made a breakthrough in development. Robotic systems have always had a limitation: they had to be programmed to do work according to an algorithm. For example, a chatbot for communicating with customers could respond with ready-made blocks only to specific phrases. Now, AI chatbots can analyze customer responses and respond to their words.
Another advantage of neural networks is that they do not have a period of adaptation to work. For example, if a combine manufacturer hires a young marketer, he will have to understand the features of these machines for a long time and get to know the market. AI does not need to figure it out, it can immediately produce a good text for advertising combines.
The disadvantage of artificial intelligence: it reproduces only what is on the Internet. The neural network does not know how to distinguish what content is garbage and what is not, so the bot's response will be 70% stupid.
Who is useful. Neural networks will help your employees create content, analyze the market and individual documents — and it's almost free. AI can be embedded in your website or chatbot to take some of the work off the support team.
Cloud Systems
Cloud systems are virtual IT infrastructure. Using the cloud, businesses can store data, analyze it, and do calculations without installing servers and developing their own software.
Cloud systems are used for project management, financial accounting, and customer service. The first clouds, such as Google Drive or Yandex Disk, appeared more than 10 years ago. Since then, they have transformed and expanded their functionality.
Forecasts based on analytics and BI system
BI systems — Business Intelligence — are tools that collect and analyze data, which helps businesses make informed decisions.
BI systems are used to analyze sales, marketing, finance, and production. They can help determine the most effective strategies for promoting products or services, optimize production processes and resource management.
Large businesses usually already have all analytics systems set up. For small businesses, such services often seem to be something expensive and redundant. However, as a rule, high-quality analytics is the most important condition for the growth of a company.
Information Security
Information security is the protection of business data from unauthorized access, destruction, modification or blocking. This work includes protecting data from leaks and countering cyberattacks.
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