Intelligent Process Automation & Workforce 4.0

“New technologies will dramatically change the nature of work across all industries and occupations.” – Klaus Schwab, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 2016

As revealed in the statement above by Klaus Schwab, President of the World Economic Forum, the very nature of work itself is and will continue to change due to the ongoing emergence of advanced scientific, medical, and information management technologies.  The reality is that human economic and social activity has entered a new phase, a fourth economic age of digital convergence where we see a continuous fusing and application of the aforementioned technologies across new and ever-expanding use cases in business and government.  These changes were well underway even before the advent of COVID-19, which has certainly accelerated these trends, e.g. “work from home”.

Workforce 4.0, as it is sometimes called, is a new type of workforce composed of “machines” and human beings moving well beyond, in both scope and nature, its Agrarian, Industrial, and Information Age predecessors.  Underpinning this new workforce, most notably, are Intelligent Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence solutions enabled by Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Business Process Management (BPM) technologies.  These technologies and solutions are top-of-mind for many organizations as they look to optimize their business processes, mitigate operational, financial, and reputational risk, and deliver enhanced customer experiences.

So, why do organizations pursue Intelligent Process Automation, specifically RPA?  What process our use case characteristics should you look for to start your Intelligent Process Automation journey?  Are “robots” and human workers natural enemies or can they be partners to deliver improved business performance?

Why Intelligent Process Automation?[1]

[1] Source: EY, Intelligent Automation, reshaping the future of work with robots

Intelligent Process Automation Candidates?

There are several dimensions that need to be taken into account when developing and executing an Intelligent Process Automation Strategy.  Here are some key questions to consider as you attempt to identify use case targets for your organization:

Human Workers & Robots – Friends or Foes?

As with past economic and societal transitions, there are major impacts that need to be considered.  Perhaps, none so profound as the one before us when addressing the human worker or “digital” worker question, which is a subject so broad and deep that it cannot be adequately attended to here.  However, Paul R. Daugherty, Accenture’s Group Executive – Technology and Chief Technology Officer responds to this, perhaps false choice, when he states in his book Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI, (2018):

“The simple truth is that companies can achieve the largest boosts in performance when humans and machines work together as allies, not adversaries, in order to take advantage of each other’s complementary strengths.”

Final Thoughts – The Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) Moment

Intelligent Process Automation can create and deliver significant business value for organizations and their customers.  However, to take full advantage of the “IPA Moment”, organizations are going to have to move beyond the traditional view of automation focused on efficiency, cutting costs, and the technology itself.  Innovative transformation first focuses on customer desires and related outcomes, not on technology.  Organizations that focus exclusively on cutting costs (efficiency) and not on the transformative power of Intelligent Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence related technologies to fundamentally change their business operating models will fall short in the service of their customers and government program constituents.

Press Releases:

Events

• InfoCap participates in the Kofax Global Kickoff Meeting – Jan 2021
• InfoCap launches Lessons Learned Intelligent Process Automation Blog Series for Public Sector Eligibility Determination – Aug 2020
• Kofax recognizes InfoCap as Platinum Certified Partner – Jul 2020
• Covered California extends InfoCap’s Document Imaging and Verification System Contract – Jun 2020
• Ken Zink joins InfoCap Team to drive market adoption of InfoCap CBPA Solution – May 2020
• Hellmann World Logistics streamlines customs paperwork with Cognitive Document Processing delivered by InfoCap – Apr 2020
• Priyanka Arun joins InfoCap Team as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Engineer – Mar 2020
• InfoCap completes delivery of Logistics Archive Document Scanning System (LADSS) to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) – Feb 2020
• InfoCap delivers version 2.x of Covered California Document Imaging and Verification System (DIVS) – Jan 2020
• InfoCap attends 2020 Kofax Global Kick Off Event in Las Vegas – Jan 2020
• InfoCap a named partner of Leidos Team on Veterans Intake, Conversion, and Communication Services (VICCS) IDIQ Contract Award – Sep 2019
• Army Human Resource Command awards services contract to InfoCap to streamline Kofax system – Sep 2019
• InfoCap part of IT-Strat team on NIH CIO-SP3’s Small Business 8a IDIQ Contract Award – Jul 2019
• Federal Dept of Health and Human (DHHS) Services awards InfoCap Intelligent Automation/Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) Prime contract – May 2019
• California Dept of General Services awards 5 year renewal of InfoCap CMAS contract (3-14-70-3032A) – Nov 2018
• InfoCap receives 5 year extension for GSA IT Schedule 70 contract (GS35F509AA) – Aug 2018
• InfoCap delivers version 1.x of Covered California Document Imaging and Verification System (DIVS) – Jul 2018
• CalSTRS extends InfoCap contract to support deployment of Cognitive Document Processing enhancements to back office systems – Jun 2018
• California Dept of Public Health awards InfoCap 18 month contract to support Digital Transformation Initiative – Mar 2017
• InfoCap attends 2015 Kofax Transform and AIIM conferences – Mar 2015
• InfoCap achieves technical certification on Kofax Mobile Capture version 2.0 – Mar 2015
• Kofax introduces Accelerate to KTA Program for existing customers – Jan 2015
• Kofax Total Agility deployed in InfoCap AWS Cloud environment – Jan 2015
• Wash DC workshop on Presidential Federal Records Directive announced – Dec 2014
• InfoCap achieves technical certification on Kofax Total Agility version 7.0 – Nov 2014
• InfoCap to support DLA Document Services smart scanning system – Sep 2014
• InfoCap to support Navy Web-based document capture initiative – Sep 2014
• InfoCap named Kofax Platinum Partner – Aug 2014
• InfoCap announces Cloud-based Military Service Record scan demo – May 2014