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Digital transformation of front- and back-office operations using a next-generation workforce
Top tips for both enterprises and service providers
Service Delivery Automation (SDA) adoption can see positive results as quickly as 9-15 months for RDA and RPA and 18-24 months for chatbots
Thursday, December 14, 2017 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET
Register for the Virtual Roundtable
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offers great potential for efficiency and yet many organizations fail to move beyond a simple Proof of Concept (POC). Everest Group research shows that many POCs do not represent the full complexities of deploying RPA in real operational environments, leading to difficulties in scaling up. And yet, it is only by scaling up RPA that organizations can maximize its benefits. How do organizations address this problem and get the most value from their RPA investment?
Following introductions, we will offer a very brief, context-setting best practice session on how we have seen organizations accelerate RPA benefits. The bulk of the time will be dedicated to group discussion, with participants sharing how they are approaching their automation programs, including the role of POCs, deployment approaches, and other relevant topics as they arise.
Enterprise global services and outsourcing executives who want to share and discuss practical hints and tips to move beyond the POC stage to make the most of their RPA deployments.
Learn about the typical challenges peer organizations have faced in deploying RPA and how they have overcome them
Share thoughts on best practices for deploying RPA
Sarah Burnett, RPA Research Lead, Everest Group
BPS spending impacted by SDA can skyrocket to $10B by 2019 but will require a few kinks to be addressed.
The promise of next-generation benefits is powering explosive growth in the adoption of Business Process Service Delivery Automation (BPSDA), according to Everest Group, which reports that the number of BPS clients with SDA deployments rose by more than 80 percent year-on-year. SDA includes both Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This growth in SDA is being driven not only by traditional drivers, such as efficiency and accuracy, but also by new-age drivers such as the need for enhanced customer experience.
“Increasingly, SDA is being used to enhance customer experience through much shorter response times for handling requests, round-the-clock availability, embedded intelligence, and reduced need to manually bridge gaps in technology,” said Rajesh Ranjan, partner at Everest Group.
However, although many more enterprises are adopting SDA, it is still rather nascent in the Business Process Services market today, says Ranjan. “Contrary to general belief, our data shows that the penetration and scale per BPSDA deployment is still quite low. One of the challenges is the mismatch between buyers’ expectations and reality, partly due to some inaccurate communication from service providers and automation vendors. However, the intrinsic benefits of SDA solutions, especially when combined with other digital components, the rising maturity of adopters and increasing sophistication of providers, suggest these issues will be addressed soon.”
As evidence of this low maturity of SDA, Everest Group points to the relatively meager amount of BPS spending on business processes where RPA has been applied. This amount is estimated to be US$700-800 million in 2016, or 2 percent of the addressable market, but it is expected to skyrocket in the future, reaching US$10 billion by 2019.
Another indicator that enterprises are barely scratching the surface of BPSDA’s potential is that a majority of current deployments (85 percent) involve Robotic Process Automation (RPA) only. Automation based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is far away from widespread adoption.
These findings and more are discussed in Everest Group’s newly published report, “Business Process Services Delivery Automation (BPSDA)—State of the Market Report— 2017.” This report provides an in-depth view of the state of the BPSDA industry, offering a market overview, solution characteristics, an analysis of the service provider landscape, and recommendations for buyers and service providers on how to prepare for the future.
Other key findings:
***A complimentary 13-page abstract of the report is available for download here.*** (Registration required.)
Use of Service Delivery Automation (SDA) – which refers to various types of technologies that can automate inputs to a process, the process itself, or the outputs from a process – is surging in the global services industry. When scaling beyond proof of concept, organizations are finding it’s important to bring together the SDA skills and knowledge into an automation Center of Excellence (CoE). Doing so enables the business to develop its SDA capabilities and competencies in a controlled and centralized manner, in turn helping ensure maximum success from the SDA initiative.
Through our research into automation Centers of Excellence, we’ve identified several areas in which organizations struggle.
While there are numerous possible structures for a SDA CoE, we’ve found that a pyramid structure is ideal, as it helps bring the CoE governance in-line with its customers. The pyramid should have three distinct layers, each with its unique set of responsibilities and clearly defined line of communication with the client organization. Clarity around roles and responsibilities across different layers in the pyramid is critical, not only to avoid miscommunications and missteps, but also to help maximize operational efficiency.
Demand for SDA skills has far outpaced the talent supply. Some are filling the gap by locating the Center of Excellence in locations with mature, trainable talent. Others are partnering with specialist firms, e.g., technology vendors and service providers, to leverage their domain experience and access to skilled talent, collaborating with startups, and seeking talent from technology groups and professional communities.
Multiple leading global companies are also training their existing employees on SDA. They typically engage technology vendors and/or external consultants to conduct extensive training programs for three to six months. Further, they encourage employees to join and participate in professional networks /communities and other events to learn from other SDA professionals’ experiences. This approach not only helps build internal skills for automation and reduces dependency on hiring from external sources, but also provides FTEs impacted by automation with alternative career paths.
The traditional offshore-centric sourcing model based on labour arbitrage has limited relevance for SDA. Because of SDA’s unique requirements, organizations are investing in a diversified location portfolio for SDA in order to leverage the best propositions of each. For example, mature talent markets such as India offer a relatively larger talent pool, are suitable for a large-scale centre, and can deliver quick ramp-up pace. Onshore and nearshore locations offer greater depth and breadth of skills, enable greater interaction with business stakeholders, and provide accelerated time-to-market. And co-locating the SDA CoE with existing global services/digital technology centres can help the organization benefit from greater collaboration and economies of scale.
To learn more about various aspects of the talent model, delivery landscape, and global location hotspots for SDA CoEs, please read our recently published report, “Talent Model and Location Hotspots for Service Delivery Automation (SDA) Center of Excellence (CoE),” which we developed based on deep-dive discussions with leading GICs, service providers, and automation technology vendors. And if you’ve established an automation Center of Excellence, we’d love to hear your story. Please contact us directly at [email protected] or [email protected].
Leaders, Major Contenders, and Aspirant locations for Service Delivery Automation (SDA).
The employed talent pool availability for SDA technology and project management teams is low across locations; competition for this talent is intense given both demand and the size of the experienced talent pool.
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