Global Business Services & Smart Automation – Key Findings From Our Round Tables

The Hackett Group Principal Vin Kumar talks with Senior Director Vanessa Keating about key findings from regular round table discussions with business leaders, discussing how they are making the most of RPA and other smart automation technology, and how the use of this technology is evolving.

Show Notes

Today’s episode of the Business Excelleration Podcast is hosted by Vin Kumar Managing Partner at the Hackett Group. Vin welcomes Vanessa Keating Senior Director of the Global Digital Advisory Practice of the Hackett Group where she leads digital strategy.

The episode begins with Vanessa explaining the concept of Smart Automation Roundtables. They first began in 2016 and by 2017 they were happening on a quarterly basis. The conversation evolved from “what is RPA and how do I use it?”, to opportunities to optimize automation. In 2019 they added an additional roundtable per quarter to continue the conversation with clients. As organizations expand they try to identify ways to move faster by increasing technology with low code or no code software that enables beyond a COE model into a citizen developer model.

Vanessa then explains that while there are some tangible benefits, like cost reduction to the automated solutions, teams are more moved by the intangible benefits. These benefits include process improvement, error reduction and freeing up resources. While they’re still working on how to measure those factors, organizations are beginning to consider those intangible values upfront. Vin thinks one of the biggest things to come in automation will be how its success is measured.

As the episode ends, Vanessa encourages teams to stay on top of the types of tools available to them and how they can streamline their workflow and offer those tangible and intangible benefits.

Timestamps:

• :59 – Vin introduces himself and her guest, Vanessa Keating
• 1:36 – Vanessa explains Smart Automation Round Tables
• 6:15 – Automation tools for the citizen developer
• 12:10 – Other tools customers are using
• 16:48 – Vanessa discusses the value of automated solutions
• 20:19 – Trends in automation