1st Edition
Intelligent Automation Bridging the Gap between Business and Academia
Since prehistoric times, humans have invented ways to simplify daily activities to improve productivity. The most recent milestone in this journey is robotic process automation (RPA), helping to build software robots that can be leveraged to automate mundane and repetitive tasks that can be labor-intensive and prone to errors. In recent years, RPA has been integrated with emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to create what is referred to as intelligent automation (IA), emulating human actions and decision-making abilities. This book addresses the critical questions about the rise, usage, and future of IA practices.
This book is structured by general personas considered as its primary target audience, ranging from:
- Early-stage practitioners seeking to learn effective management of IA programs
- Established IA practitioners seeking to drive maturity and scale
- Business leaders seeking to understand how to drive business value using IA
- Practitioners or academicians seeking to collaborate
This book is strongly recommended for practitioners seeking to plan, implement, and scale IA practices in their organization and for researchers and students who intend to study strategy, implementation, and management of IA practice to accelerate the digital transformation agenda.
Author Testimonials
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Editors
Contributors
Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction: The RPA Big Bang
Shail Khiyara
Chapter 2 The Value of Business Process Discovery
Bobby Jutley
Chapter 3 Future of Work: Automation and Implications for Academia and Business
Carol Brace, Lila Carden, Kriti Kapoor, and Tiffany Maldonado
Chapter 4 Intelligent Automation Accessibility and Applicability
Aftab Ahmed
Chapter 5 Technology Only Does Not Yield Success: Humble Culture Drives Success in IA
Tiffany Maldonado
Chapter 6 Intelligent Automation Implementation in Business
Partha Baral and Lila Carden
Chapter 7 Challenges Scaling IA – The Race to IA Takes Off
Neeraj Mathur
Chapter 8 Intelligent Automation Unleashes Diversity and New Ways of Learning
Aftab Ahmed
Chapter 9 Automation Is Here to Stay
Marie Myers
Chapter 10 Periscope into the Future
Shail Khiyara
ACRONYMS
REFERENCES
INDEX
Abbreviations
Biography
Marie Myers is the Chief Financial Officer at HP. She is a visionary finance leader with a proven track record in driving innovation and global business development and spearheading transformational changes to deliver critical business results for HP. Marie is passionate about intelligent automation and disruptive technologies that revolutionize the way we operate and impact the future of work.
Carol Brace brings 20-plus years of corporate experience to academia. She is certified in Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, Supply Chain, and International Logistics. She possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to quickly determine how a process or system works, recognize improvements, and envision any new procedures required.
Lila Carden has held positions in academia and industry. These positions have allowed her to use theoretical and practical applications of project management and technology techniques to promote collaborations that support outcomes that contribute to the success of students, academia, and industry.
Testimonials
"Intelligent Automation has emerged as a critical discipline for businesses seeking to improve operational efficiency and reduce toil. Co-authored by industry and academic experts, this book promises to offer practical guidance and valuable insights rooted in real-world experience and cutting-edge research. It covers topics such as citizen-led development initiatives, the strategic use of automation platforms, and the role of AI and ML, including the latest Generative AI technologies. Additionally, it provides actionable advice on aligning automation initiatives with organizational culture and business objectives. This book is a valuable resource for anyone aspiring to become a leader in the field of Intelligent Automation."
Rama Akkiraju, VP, Enterprise Automation and AI, NVIDIA
"With a profound historical understanding and unparalleled insight into AI and intelligent automation, Shail Khiyara is a true thought leader. The chapters contributed by Shail in this book offer a masterful blend of in-depth knowledge, historical context, and forward-thinking insight. As a speaker, Shail is engaging and enlightening, transforming complex concepts into relatable narratives."
Darren Atkins, CIO, The Royal Free London NHS (UK National Health Service)
"With automation being such a critical and transformative component of the future of business, this book could not have come at a better time. There's a fundamental shortage of talent of those who deeply understand automation capabilities and how to appropriately apply them to business solutions. This book is a tremendous resource for anyone who is looking to upskill, reskill, or simply learn more about intelligent automation."
Wendy Batchelder, SVP & Chief Data Officer, Salesforce
"I’ve been in the intelligent automation space for almost 6 years and have had the opportunity to work with many of the Fortune 500. We’ve partnered with them to operationalize large scale intelligent automation programs that deliver hard dollars back to their balance sheet and transformed their business processes for the future of work.
The release of this book is very timely, many organizations struggle with successfully scaling their IA programs. With the acceleration of AI, this will only become more complex and organizations who have an automation first mindset will set themselves apart from their competition. This is why bridging the gap between business and academia is crucial in ensuring the future talent of work supports this demand."
Emmanuel R. Galan, Regional Vice President – MEU West, UiPath
"This book is a must-read for EDUCATORS AND EXECUTIVES ALIKE who have an interest in learning more about Automation and how it will affect businesses and the global economy. There is no doubt that RPA and Intelligent Automation have gathered pace and steam over the last few years, and this book captures the opportunity from a practical perspective. The contributors to this book have real firsthand experience at implementation and have shared their candid journeys and experiences. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did."
Ray Grady, former CEO Conexiom
"Companies today all know they have to automate. They have to improve cost measurement, speed, productivity, and go-to-market strategies – while freeing employees from mundane, repetitive tasks. It’s all about combining the best of human creativity and the power of digital technology. Embrace it… as it’s going to happen, and no better book to tell you how!"
Adrian Jones, CEO and Co-Founder, personar.ai
"The subject matter, Robotic Process Automation, and Intelligent Automation, of this book is very timely. The authors provide a very readable book for both practitioners and academicians. The chapters are broken down such that one could choose a specific chapter that is more applicable to one’s area of interest. The authors present numerous topics that organizations can implement to remain competitive. This book has something to offer for everyone."
Dr. Gerald Kohers, Department Chair - Management, Marketing, and Information Systems, Sam Houston State University
"In my Celonis experience working with Bobby Jutley on Process Mining opportunities at HP, I have observed that Bobby is a highly effective change agent in digital transformation and Automation for the Company. He is quick to identify and promote opportunities, and his strong ability to collaborate across IT and the business sets him apart from most people in the business process automation space. His attention to detail and sense of urgency is key to transforming insights to value for HP."
Susan Lucero, Global Account Manager, Celonis
"With our IA journey, we learned it is important to integrate process discovery, mining, and automation to solve the right problem. Technology is becoming more simpler (with little or no coding), which is so important to have robust planning: from business drivers to governance strategy, in order to achieve the organization’s digital transformation outcomes. This book bridges theory with real examples to help practitioners plan their organization’s IA strategy."
Emilie Ly, Senior Director, BPM & RPA, VMware
"Intelligent automation, and especially Robotic Process Automation, requires building a bridge between business needs and the application of technology and academic thinking to solve tom
orrow's challenges today. This book provides a clear and concise view of how to learn and adopt Intelligent Automation and expands our vision of how this new industrial revolution is already impacting our schools and businesses. The success of any company is always marked by creating competitive advantages. Intelligent automation provides a gateway to create value within our community, customer base, and future workforce."
Antonio Marin - CIO, USMed-Equip, LLC.
"Gigaforce clients were skeptical about implementing RPA in their Subrogation and Recovery department, but it has exceeded their expectations. Implementing intelligent automation for business processes has been a game-changer. We have saved time, reduced errors and costs, and improved our client’s overall efficiency. Our client team members can now focus on more strategic tasks requiring human expertise in recovery and subrogation. This book presents how to establish, scale, and manage intelligent automation practices. "
Rajeev Rawat, Co-Founder and CPO, Gigaforce Inc.
"The authors do an awesome job of describing in this book how Intelligent Automation is the next evolutionary step for achieving sustainable competitive advantage! Intelligent Automation integrates Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) by automating business workflows to advance business processes. This book is a fantastic reference for academics, students, and researchers, but it provides an even stronger guide for the practitioner trying to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage in today’s global automated business world."
Dr. Gary L Stading, Professor of Supply Chain Management, Texas A&M University - Texarkana
"Bobby Jutley brings his expertise and real-world experience to light as he succinctly summarizes the technological and organizational aspects of Process Discovery while highlighting the fact that Process Discovery excellence has rapidly become a strategic weapon and critical success factor in prioritizing digital transformation opportunities and creating competitive advantage by driving quality, speed, and agility into every aspect of the business."
Ramey Stevens, Global Account Executive, UiPath
"RPA has been one of the most critical capabilities in his technology toolbox. Paul says that without RPA, "most CIOs and business leaders simply would not have been able to advance digital transformation at the pace necessitated. Digital transformation requires a comprehensive suite of tools and capabilities, and RPA fits in perfectly."
Paul Walsh, SVP of Digital Technology and Operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment
