{"id":6046,"date":"2019-12-26T15:50:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-26T20:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=6046"},"modified":"2022-01-14T11:04:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T16:04:52","slug":"by-now-we-all-know-of-rpa-but-what-is-ipa-intelligent-process-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/by-now-we-all-know-of-rpa-but-what-is-ipa-intelligent-process-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"By Now, We All Know of RPA. But, What Is IPA (Intelligent Process Automation)?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-6048\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-595804-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-595804-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-595804.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>We&#8217;ve all heard of Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA is the emerging form of business process automation technology based on metaphorical software robots (bots) or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. When an organization undertakes <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/stream\/digital-transformation\">Digital Transformation<\/a>, RPA is typically the lowest hanging fruit driving most immediate impact.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/intelligent-process-automation-ipa-2770\"><em>But, what is Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In short, IPA essentially augments RPA technology with additional emerging Digital Transformation technologies. In its full extent, IPA is comprised of 5 core technologies:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Robotic Process Automation (RPA)<\/li>\n<li>Smart Workflow<\/li>\n<li>Machine Learning (ML) &amp; Advanced Analytics<\/li>\n<li>Natural Language Generation (NLG)<\/li>\n<li>Cognitive Agents<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/stream\/digital-transformation\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6047\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IPA_tech.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IPA_tech.png 1440w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IPA_tech-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IPA_tech-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IPA_tech-1024x768.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>IPA replicates activities traditionally performed by humans (via RPA) and, over time, learns to do them even better (via Machine Learning).<\/p>\n<p>The disruptive power of IPA is that it supplements traditional rule-based automation with decision making capabilities driven by emerging Deep Learning and Cognitive Technologies. Through this, IPA creates the following primary benefits:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Enhanced Efficiencies<\/li>\n<li>Increased Employee Productivity and Performance<\/li>\n<li>Reduction of Operational Risks<\/li>\n<li>Improved Response Times<\/li>\n<li>Improved Customer Journey Experiences<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s go into a bit more depth into the 5 component technologies of IPA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)<\/strong><br \/>\nRPA automates routine tasks, such as data extraction and cleansing, through existing user interfaces. The RPA &#8220;robot&#8221; has a user ID just like a normal employee. It can perform rules-based tasks, such as accessing emails and systems, performing calculations, creating documents and reports, checking files, customer complaint processing, etc. End-to-end processes can be fully automated and executed by the robot. The employee will only handle exceptions<\/p>\n<div class=\"aside\">For more information on RPA, take a look at our <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/robotic-process-automation-rpa-2746\">RPA Primer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/impact-of-robotic-process-automation-rpa-3980\">Impact of RPA<\/a> frameworks. Both of these are part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/stream\/digital-transformation\">Digital Transformation Stream<\/a>.<\/div>\n<p><strong>2. Machine Learning (ML) &amp; Advanced Analytics<\/strong><br \/>\nThese are algorithms that identify patterns in structured data, e.g. daily performance data. This is done through &#8220;supervised&#8221; and &#8220;unsupervised&#8221; learning algorithms. Supervised algorithms learn from structured data sets of inputs and outputs before beginning to make predictions (based on new inputs) on their own. Unsupervised algorithms observe structured data and begin to immediately provide insights on recognized patterns.<\/p>\n<p>Advanced Analytics has already been implemented extensively within HR organizations to determine and assess key behavioral attributes in leaders and managers, so as to better predict behaviors, develop career paths, ad plan leadership successions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Smart Workflows<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Smart Workflow process management software integrates tasks performed by groups of humans and machines. It can do this by sitting on top of RPA to help manage the full process. This allows employees to initiate and track the status of an end-to-end process in real time. The Smart Workflow software will manage handoffs between various groups, including between robots and human employees, and provide statistical reporting on process bottlenecks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Natural Language Generation (NLG)<\/strong><br \/>\nThese are software engines that create seamless interactions between the human employees and technology by following rules to translate observations from into natural language. Structure performance data can be imported into an NLG engine to write internal and external management reports automatically.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Cognitive Agents<\/strong><br \/>\nThese are technologies that combine ML and NLG to build a completely virtual agent that is capable of execution tasks, communicating, learning from data sets, and even making decisions based on &#8220;emotion detection.&#8221; Cognitive Agents are being utilized to support employees and customers over the phone or via live chat.<\/p>\n<p>As IPA handles more mundane business processes, human employees can focus on delighting customers and intellectually challenging work.<\/p>\n<p>With all the benefits IPA, the business case for IPA Transformation as part of the overarching Digital Transformation Strategy should almost be self-evident. To undertake a IPA Transformation initiative, we can follow a 6-phase approach:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Operating Model Alignment<\/li>\n<li>IPA Portfolio Buildout<\/li>\n<li>Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Development<\/li>\n<li>Value Creation<\/li>\n<li>Capabilities Development<\/li>\n<li>Change Management<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Want to learn more about this approach to <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/intelligent-process-automation-ipa-2770\">IPA Transformation<\/a>? Take a look at our framework presentation on the topic, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/intelligent-process-automation-ipa-2770\">Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This framework is part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/stream\/digital-transformation\">Digital Transformation Stream<\/a>.\u00a0 The Digital Transformation Stream also includes frameworks on the adjacent Digital technologies&#8211;e.g. RPA, ML, Analytics, etc.<\/p>\n<h2>Do You Find Value in This Framework?<\/h2>\n<p>You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\">FlevyPro Library<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\">FlevyPro<\/a>\u00a0is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here\u2019s what some have to say:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMy FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today\u2019s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAs a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAs a small business owner, the resource material available from FlevyPro has proven to be invaluable. The ability to search for material on demand based our project events and client requirements was great for me and proved very beneficial to my clients. Importantly, being able to easily edit and tailor the material for specific purposes helped us to make presentations, knowledge sharing, and toolkit development, which formed part of the overall program collateral. While FlevyPro contains resource material that any consultancy, project or delivery firm must have, it is an essential part of a small firm or independent consultant\u2019s toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Michael Duff, Managing Director at Change Strategy (UK)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cFlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight \u2013 it\u2019s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSeveral times a month, I browse FlevyPro for presentations relevant to the job challenge I have (I am a consultant). When the subject requires it, I explore further and buy from the Flevy Marketplace. On all occasions, I read them, analyze them. I take the most relevant and applicable ideas for my work; and, of course, all this translates to my and my clients\u2019 benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Omar Hern\u00e1n Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;ve all heard of Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA is the emerging form of business process automation technology based on metaphorical software robots (bots) or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. When an organization undertakes Digital Transformation, RPA is typically the lowest hanging fruit driving most immediate impact. But, what is Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)? In short,&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/by-now-we-all-know-of-rpa-but-what-is-ipa-intelligent-process-automation\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">By Now, We All Know of RPA. But, What Is IPA (Intelligent Process Automation)?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[84,82],"tags":[670,1104,1872,1801,1798],"class_list":["post-6046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-information-technology","category-operations","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-digital-transformation-strategy","tag-intelligent-process-automation","tag-machine-learning","tag-robotic-process-automation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6046"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10314,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions\/10314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}