Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025

      Chief sub-editor wanted – help shape South African tech media

      13 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market

      12 June 2025

      South African law is failing gig-economy workers

      12 June 2025
    • World

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025

      Mark Zuckerberg has finally found a use for his metaverse

      30 May 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Company News » Automation: First, choose what not to do

    Automation: First, choose what not to do

    By Liz Allen2 September 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    A mere 71 years ago, Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a simple method of determining whether a machine can demonstrate human intelligence. According to Investopedia.com, “if a machine can engage in a conversation with a human without being detected as a machine, it has demonstrated human intelligence”, thus passing the test.

    How many chatbots have you seen lately on your favourite websites that have passed this test? And how would you feel dealing with a chatbot that passed the test? Maybe, more importantly, would you know?

    Even during a pandemic, we still have some things to be grateful for. Artificial intelligence has not taken over the world just yet.

    Until autonomous automation is more mature, don’t adopt automation for automation’s sake

    AI has come in and out of popular discussion since 1950, when Turing published his test. As technology has made strides, so it has resurfaced in popular discourse and application. Most recently were developments in big data and deep-learning algorithms that put AI applications on the map in terms of feasibility and profitability.

    Next frontier

    Now we can read about terms like “hyperautomation”, “digital process automation” and “intelligent process automation”. Some believe all three terms mean the same thing, others believe they mean something different but are interrelated. What they all agree on is that the next automation frontier is composed of multi-faceted automation capabilities:

    • Automating repetitive tasks across the enterprise with robotic process automation (RPA).
    • Automating tasks with unstructured data can be achieved with AI capabilities, from image and speech recognition to natural language processing and generation. Overall, these are data-driven and outcome-focused. Some RPA vendors are starting to include these capabilities in their offerings but not all.
    • Business process management and workflow tools can link tasks composed of these different capabilities with your people as well as with bots to create customer journeys and process outcomes that deliver value for your customers.
    • Machine-learning capabilities will learn and improve their capabilities with experience – also one that you might find in new RPA releases.
    • The process mining market is one of the fastest growing in the automation space. It’s a family of techniques that relates the fields of data science to process management.

    Watch this space – the latest is autonomous automation, which will automate the process of automation. At Ovations, we like the term “intelligent process automation”.

    Whatever automation you invest in or implement this year or next, keep it intelligent.

    The possibilities are endless and can be confusing. So, where does one start? In the words of strategy guru Michel Porter: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” Until autonomous automation is more mature, don’t adopt automation for automation’s sake. The pandemic has shown us that people are still at the centre of everything we do. Technology is the enabler that makes working while locked down at home possible.
    An overall automation framework can help you think about:

    • How you are automating and how you can automate better.
    • Where your automation technologies can better enable your people.

    Get out the strategy textbooks, dust off the lean 6-sigma tools and spend some time understanding your business processes and which automation tools would make the biggest impact next.

    • The author, Liz Allen, is capability architect at Ovations
    • For more, visit ovationsgroup.com, or find the company on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
    • This promoted content was paid for by the party concerned


    Alan Turing Liz Allen Ovations Ovations Group
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleTurn your ordinary print work into extraordinary works of art
    Next Article Apple makes further App Store concessions amid growing criticism

    Related Posts

    Scaling enterprise productivity with AI – a must-attend event for business leaders

    21 May 2025

    Brunch & Learn: unleash the power of IBM AI – watsonx and IBM OpenPages

    4 October 2024

    Unlock the power of hyper automation with this Ovations survey

    8 August 2024
    Company News

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025

    Building a cyber-resilient culture from the boardroom to the front lines

    12 June 2025

    How South Africa’s municipalities are finally getting smart

    12 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.