Digital Transformation & Intelligent Automation

January 31, 2018 / G C Network / Comments Off on Digital Transformation & Intelligent Automation

CloudCamp Federal 2008 – Don’t miss out !!!

By G C Network | November 7, 2008

Tickets are going fast for CloudCamp Federal 2008 on November 12th in Chantilly, Virginia !! Representatives from the following organizations are already registered to attend. 3TERAAmazon Web Services (AWS)AOLAppistryApptisBooz Allen…

Private Clouds

By G C Network | November 5, 2008

Yesterday in eWeek, Chris Preimesberger, provided a very good read in “Why Private Cloud Computing is Beginning to Get Traction“. “Private cloud computing is a different take on the mainstream…

Important Cloud Computing Events

By G C Network | November 4, 2008

Mark your calendar for the following cloud computing events. These are specifically targeted to organizations looking to leverage cloud computing technologies and techniques in support of national security requirements. CloudCamp…

Forrester: Embrace Cloud Computing to Cut Costs

By G C Network | November 3, 2008

“Forrester Research advises CFOs to take a close look at cloud computing for messaging and collaboration and enterprise applications. The payoffs could be noticeable during the current economic downturn.” In…

Government still wary of cloud computing

By G C Network | October 31, 2008

Federal News Radio interviewed Ron Markezich, a corporate vice president of Microsoft, Mike Bradshaw, president of Google federal, and Michael Farber, a partner with Booz Allen on the government’s approach…

Microsoft Azure

By G C Network | October 30, 2008

With the announcement of Azure, Microsoft has finally made it’s cloud computing plans public. Maybe Larry Ellison is now ready to revise his opinion, huh? While this announcement is definitely…

Federal Grants from the Cloud

By G C Network | October 29, 2008

In case you mised it, the Department of Interior has announced that it plans to build a cloud computing platform to manage the processing and distributing of government grants. “Grants.gov…

Economist.com : Let it rise

By G C Network | October 28, 2008

This week, The Economist provides an insightful special report on cloud computing. From “Clouds and Judgement“: “Computing is fast becoming a “cloud”—a collection of disembodied services accessible from anywhere and…

Some More Cloud Computing Survey Results

By G C Network | October 27, 2008

As promised, here are some more results from the MIT/”Cloud Musings” on-line survey! Please remember, THIS IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC SURVEY !! The purpose is only to get a sense of…

Steve Ballmer comments on Microsoft’s cloud plans

By G C Network | October 24, 2008

On October 17th in the “Redmond Channel Partner Online”, a Microsoft Partner community publication, Kurt Mackie reported on Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer’s comments on the company’s vision for syncing up…

 
By Kevin Jackson & Dez Blanchfield
 
Digital Transformation often needs Intelligent Automation. This type of change is the focus of a recent “Pioneers of Possible” podcast.  In discussion with Elli Hurst – Vice President, Global Automation – IBM Global Business Services (GBS), Dez Blanchfield finds out how her life’s journey inspires her in helping IBM clients use Intelligent Automation to enable globally integrated capabilities.
 
With six years at Price Waterhouse and 24 years at IBM, Elli seems to have moved a long way from her family’s restaurant business. The service industry passion that she learned from her father, however, is still deep in her heart. That care and passion areevident in how she focuses on understanding her client’s desired business outcomes. By using these targeted outcomes as a beacon for every engagement, her team helps clients align and execute on priorities in a manner that delivers a returnon investment in months.
 
Her being a technology company executive, it is surprising to hear her describe technology as only “table stakes.” While recognizing the critical and fundamental role that technology plays, Ms. Hurst prioritizes the need for process and people elements to work together with the technology.  While automation typically starts with a focus on reducing cost, it moves quickly to the delivery of value. Cost efficiencies exist, but value gained by the speed at which an enterprise can perform a business process with high quality is more important than to cost savings. According to her, attaining these types of business outcomes and values stem from a strategy that addresses:
  • Impact onthe business and to the people that are performing work;
  • How people interact with the technology and automation;
  • How people can help enable automation; and
  • What new skill setsare needed.
The answers to these points are the basis for a successful Digital Workforce Strategy.
Organizations often err by trying to automate what people do.  Ms. Hurst’s insight is in knowing that automation should be designed to assist people in what they do which represents the real secret to bringing automation forward into the enterprise. Automation always impacts a workforce and jobs always change. Business value is released, however, when this change frees up innovation and unveils more exciting projects and tasks for that workforce.
 
The impact of automation on the workforce is not a bad thing; it is a good thing. Elli recommends “Taking it to the Positive” by getting buy-in and engaging the workforce teams impacted by automation. Experience has taught her that while point solutions may deliver 40% increases in efficiency, used in tandem with a Digital Workforce Strategy, they can simultaneously deliver a 95% increase in employee satisfaction. Establishing and executing that strategy is the key to any transformation that uses automation.
 
Another one of her telling observations is that automation drives the most significant disruptions to back-office repetitive tasks. By looking at the end-to-end business model through an industry lens, her teams have helped clients to impact the external world beyond the back office and through to the client’s customers. Described as enabling digital experience “concentric circles,” this process enables enrichment of a client’s entire business ecosystem.
 
The automation conversations usually start in a specific area, like robotic process automation, which has been spurred by a back-office disruption. Addressing any disruption like this requires a strategy because global automation is a journey that aligns business process with rapidly changing technology. The organizational strategy must be able to flex and continuously adapt its strategy. The typical 3-5 year strategy is no longer viable. Intelligent automation demands a “fail fast” strategic approach.
 
Ms. Hurst ended this fascinating conversation by describing the future of automation as the convergence of all technologies at the enterprise level. In her view, the enablement of self-healing, lights-out, information technology platforms will give business executives the ability to couple an integrated view of all business processes with an ability to take immediate and effective action through mobile devices.
 

This post was brought to you by IBM Global Technology Services. For more content like this, visit IT Biz Advisor.

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS – © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2016)

Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson
Posted in

G C Network

Cloud Computing

Cybersecurity