Intelligent Automation Consulting: Top 5 Benefits in 2024

Since the onset of the pandemic, companies have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives to increase productivity and streamline business processes in the face of global uncertainty:

• 76% of organizations have embraced automation and will continue the shift to automation post-covid.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, AI adoption increased by 37% in finance, 27% in retail, and 20% in IT.

However, according to Forrester, without proper orchestration across the enterprise, these efforts can lead to automation solutions that work in silos and result in redundant uses of AI technologies with inconsistent governance. Forrester argues that intelligent automation can optimize human and automation activity across the enterprise by building digital workers powered by AI and RPA.

An intelligent automation consultant can help you implement automation solutions with proper orchestration and a holistic approach. In this research we aim to explain in more detail the ways through which intelligent automation consultants can bring value to your enterprise.

1. Strategy formulation

Automation projects can fail for numerous reasons, and they can be avoided with solid strategic planning. Consultants can formulate an implementation strategy by assessing your:

• Current business strategy,
• Digital maturity, and
• Specific challenges and opportunities.

Then, they can determine intelligent automation objectives that align with your overall business vision and plan an organizational design by factoring in the  stakeholders and their respective roles.

2. Identification of processes to automate

Intelligent automation consultants can assess your business activities and identify where you can leverage an intelligent automation solution. Common processes include customer support, document processing such as invoices or travel and expense reports, onboarding, and other back-office tasks. You can check our article on examples of intelligent automation for other common processes.

Consultants can also use process discovery and process mining tools to highlight processes that you might be overlooking. It can also help you to figure out how you can get these processes ready to be automated.

3. Helping you choose the suitable intelligent automation tool 

There are several automation solutions on the market and making a decision without expert opinion may lead you to adopt an incompatible tool. Choosing the right tool depends on your industry and the specific aspects of your business. Consultants provide their expertise from working with companies on similar projects which can significantly reduce deployment time.

Feel free to explore our data-driven list of intelligent automation tools.

4. Training

Employee involvement is important for the long-term success of automation projects. Consultants can provide training to employees to ensure that your teams are capable and knowledgeable about new technologies they will be working with. Consultants can use their own resources or use the resources provided by the vendor of the tool you choose.

Check our article on RPA training to explore training options and their benefits. 

5. Establishing leadership

Consultants can help you establish an internal Center of Excellence (CoE). A CoE team can identify new use cases for intelligent automation and guide and oversee future intelligent automation projects. This can help businesses:

• Coordinate all intelligent automation efforts across the organization,
• Create a unified vision and standardized practices,
• Acquire and develop talent within the organization.

A CoE ensures the scalability and long-term success of automation projects and reduces the need to rely on external sources.

Ensure consultants have relevant expertise

Consultants add value to your business with their expertise, so it is important to make sure that they have relevant expertise. You should check your consultant’s:

• Intelligent automation experience
• Industry-specific experience
• Process-specific experience

You can check our section on how to choose an RPA consultant for a more detailed discussion. RPA is not the same as intelligent automation, but the criteria for selecting consultants for both are similar. Also, feel free to check our article on the difference between RPA and intelligent automation.

If you have other questions on how to choose a consultant, we can help: