The HR function faces challenges on multiple fronts, caused by talent-related issues, the need to improve the employee experience, and the high cost of operations
Zomato may be preparing for a future with drone deliveries, but for some of its immediate problems, the food-delivery app’s solution is old-world: bicycles.
The firm is introducing mechanical and electric bikes into its last-mile delivery fleet, it said in a press release yesterday (Feb. 11). Those using e-cycles will make short-distance deliveries of 2.5 kilometres on average.
Bicycles are also way cheaper than motorbikes, which means more job seekers may be able to afford joining the Zomato delivery team (Food-delivery startups in India typically expect executives to bring their own vehicles).
Then there is fuel cost. Food delivery startups can save up to 20% by reducing dependence on fuel, said Yugal Joshi, vice-president at Texas-based consulting firm Everest Group.
When CIO Jason James decided to automate his company’s software deployment process, he tasked his DevOps team with learning everything it could about the process itself.
He says he wanted his DevOps engineers to act like anthropologists, watching how the developers deployed software to the company’s clients, how they scheduled and loaded software updates, and how they used existing tools to get their jobs done.
The goal, James explains, was to have the DevOps engineers understand each step in the workflow so they could first streamline it and then automate it, thereby creating a more efficient process all around.
Sarah Burnett shares her thoughts on automation with CIO (registration required to read the full article)
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Many enterprises that have used Robotic Process Automation (RPA) have seen the power of digital transformation, even if only in a small way through a few automated processes. The transformational value they experience is often a tipping point that whets their appetite for even more automation and deeper levels of application integration. But, this creates a quandary about how to maintain the array of automations. Ultimately, their success depends on the scope of the centers of excellence (COEs) that maintain their automations. Let’s explore further.
I believe that RPA has helped companies that previously held back from adopting newer technology solutions see the value of a digital mindset. These converts are now finding more opportunities for automation, and greater conviction in moving to digital-first operating models.
In short, something comparatively simple like RPA helps inspire confidence and vision.
Once this passion is unleashed, organizations come to fully appreciate that RPA is only one tool for automating operations. Many desire to transform their high volume, fast processes, and must confront the reality that surface-level RPA integrations are often not sufficient. The next steps towards more powerful automations often include integration via connectors and APIs.
The following exhibit reflects the diversity of systems which may now need to be integrated in a digital-first operating model world. (Spoiler alert: we’ll be writing a lot more about the Digital Capability Platform in the upcoming months.) And there are many ways to go about creating the needed integrations.
Some enterprises have cast aside the promise of surface-level RPAs, and now use their RPAs more through APIs. This is a bit ironic and worthy of a discussion by itself, but let’s get back to what happens as the types of automations proliferate.
One thing that all integrations – surface, APIs, or connectors – have in common is that they need maintenance. With surface-level RPA, you need to do a lot of robot maintenance when application layouts change. But all integrations, RPA included, require maintenance for other reasons as well. The biggest is the need to resolve data ambiguities, e.g., common customer names (think Jane Smith) with similar account types requesting a temporary address change. Which record should be updated? How can this correctly propagate across all the relevant systems and processes?
This is why a COE should be responsible for all types of automations, whether through surface or other integration methods. By looking across all automations, a COE can not only more accurately maintain the automations, but also identify anomalies and conceive new ways to structure interdependent automations. Of course, adding AI-based tools into the mix adds even more API connections to manage. But AI connections are far from the only ones that will need to be managed; the landscape will become more complicated before it simplifies (yes, I’m trying to be optimistic here.)
I can hear some of you saying that the COE should be an overall digital center of excellence. My answer is a big “no.” Digital is a far broader field that often involves major legacy transformation projects. Automation is clearly a part of digital, but it is operationally focused on the practical realities that come from modernizing processes that still primarily run on legacy systems.
This is a different mindset and a different set of competencies. As a result, it is best to keep a separate automation COE focused on the details of operational processes, while separately working towards the corporate digital objectives in a broader digital office. And that automation COE’s remit should be bigger than just RPA – it must deal with the combination of all types of automations that are enabling the operating processes.
Major digital services delivered from tier-2/3 Indian cities: social & interactive, cloud, analytics, automation, mobility, cyber security
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As IT organizations become more strategic, so too do their partnerships with IT outsourcing providers. Digital transformation, automation, cognitive capabilities, and the data revolution are not just shaking up how IT operates, they are greatly impacting the kind — and quality — of services under contract with IT outsourcing firms.
Here is a look at the technologies, strategies and shifting customer demands shaking up IT outsourcing right now and the once-hot developments that are beginning to cool. If you’re looking to leverage an IT outsourcing partnership, or want to make good on the market for IT outsourcing as a provider yourself, the following heat index of IT outsourcing trends should be your guide.
Read Yugal Joshi’s thoughts on these trends in CIO
Companies are on the horns of a dilemma. They signed long-term, managed service contracts for IT or business processes, which took advantage of the savings from labor arbitrage. But now they find that there is significant potential to leverage the new suite of digital technologies that promise improved performance and lower cost. The problem is that that their incumbent service providers often actively resist implementing these technologies, using delaying and obviation tactics, refusing to pass on the savings and/or demanding additional work or other concessions in return for complying. Now that I’ve identified this major issue that many companies face today, let’s look at how they handle this non-alignment situation.
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