A person purchases a product on the online site of a major retail chain. Before arriving at the store to pick it up, a notification on their cell phone alerts them that the purchase they made pairs well with another item, and if they place an order right then, they get a 30% discount.
While this situation seems futuristic, we are heading toward making it a reality, thanks to the sheer volume of data being generated.
Capturing and capitalizing on this volume of information to add real value to the business is the objective companies pursue in the current competitive environment and amid the need to improve business processes. Faced with this scenario, new techniques in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cognitive Computing emerge as allies to turn simple raw data into concrete actions for enterprises. The examples are varied and all seek the same result: boosting sales—especially in digital channels—and reducing operational costs through continuous learning from data.
According to specialized consulting firm IDC, in Latin America, 30% of business transformation initiatives will use some form of AI service by 2019, and it projects that by 2021, at least 40% of the region's GDP will be digitized. Despite the benefits they offer, currently, few companies locally take advantage of these tools to transform their products and services. In fact, these types of initiatives are, in many cases, postponed or delayed due to a lack of the necessary budget for execution.
Because of this, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) functions as the gateway to discovering cost-reduction benefits and seeing a functional state of AI in operation. RPA replicates the actions of a human interacting with the user interface of a computer system, clicking and browsing the web just as a person would. For example, to send information to clients, an employee has to enter the AFIP (tax agency) website, log in, access the corresponding service, search until finding the desired information, download the forms one by one, edit them manually, and finally send them. Thanks to RPA, this entire process is carried out automatically, with the person watching the mouse move and data being typed on screen automatically while enjoying a cup of coffee. In other words, it is a great alternative for reducing or eliminating workload in high-volume back-office processes and integrates in a non-invasive way with virtually any existing application in corporate IT environments.
This technology opens up massive opportunities for companies. The report "Global Robotic Process Automation (Tools, RPA Services) Market 2017-2022" states that demand for RPA will increase by 60% annually through 2020, positioning it above other tech trends such as Cloud, IoT, and Blockchain, and making it the focus of corporate investment in pursuit of operational efficiency.
To mention some concrete cases, in the country, a major retail chain adopted RPA and currently has an entire department dedicated to the topic. By automating hundreds of internal processes in parallel, they freed up resources to perform higher-value-added tasks for their business. Likewise, a telecommunications company reduced an 80-hour monthly process down to two hours using a single automated process. Both cases show how this technology, being industry-agnostic, can be replicated in any sector to achieve significant benefits.
The opportunities are limitless, and it remains up to corporate decision-makers to be prepared to embark on Cognitive Computing and AI, deriving a competitive advantage from the vast amount of data generated daily that currently sleeps on a server.