Artificial Technology and Digital Transformation – Why is it Important for Irish SMEs?

This article was written by Dr. Waseem Akhtar and edited by Jonathan Finlay

New technologies are emerging and we are constantly hearing buzzwords such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. But what does this mean for the typical Irish SME? Head of Computing Faculty at Griffith College, Dr Waseem Akhtar, gives us his insights on what organisations should be doing to keep up to date on these emerging technologies, their benefits, and how the majority of businesses may already be using some of these technologies – but not to their full potential capability.

At a fundamental level, a business or organisation, regardless of industry is a collection of several processes. To illustrate, consider a simple business life-cycle: a new customer visits your online marketplace; they place an order; they hand over details like contact information and delivery address; a payment is processed; and the order is packaged and shipped. Every single part of that business transaction is one step in the business process.

There are ample opportunities available to Irish SMEs to look into streamlining and
automating these processes and it begins with a proactive, robust digital transformation strategy. With the move to a more online economy, it is vital that each business has a robust digital transformation strategy.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital Transformation is not a new concept. It is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business and fundamentally changes how a company operates and delivers value to its customers. The digital transformation strategy typically will outline how the firm will continually evolve with in response to market demands. However, some strategies have remained stagnant since their initial development.

To capitalise on the benefits of having a digital transformation strategy, it is essential that the strategy is fluid and constantly evolving. This is achieved by a proactive IT department or external technology consultant who are constantly monitoring emerging trends in the technological industry.

Technology and innovation have become key drivers in modern-day business success. The core business focus is not only to maintain a strong web-presence, for example, but it now should uncover emerging technologies that will assist in streamlining business processes and ultimately improve the customer journey.

Where Does Artificial Intelligence Come Into This?

As an emerging technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword around the digital transformation space. AI refers to the development of a computer system which is designed to perform tasks that would typically require a level of human intelligence, i.e. decision making, problem solving, etc. There are a number of AI processes that businesses can take advantage of, many of which are potentially being used in businesses already.

As an example, consider email, a tool that has been used on a daily basis for a long time. It is something we now do not give a second thought to. However, when this tool was developed, it was revolutionary. It streamlined a business process and, essentially, has made conducting business far easier.

This tool has been progressively evolving over time and each email service now offers advanced elements like automation of emails, automatic responses, and elements that trigger an automatic chain of processes. These are examples of robotic process automation (RPA) in action, where a tool as simple as email can trigger a complex chain of automatic processes.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a computing science technology that allows anyone to define a set of instructions for a system (or a bot) to perform that will be done at double the speed and will eradicate issues that arise due to human error. RPA is ultimately about automating some of the most mundane and repetitive computer-based tasks and processes in the workplace. For example, copy-paste tasks and moving files from one location to another.

To implement RPA into your business processes, it is important to engage with your IT department or a third party vendor. Particularly if you are engaging in conversations with a third party vendor, ensure that you know exactly what you are signing up for, research it thoroughly, and ask for case studies from businesses in similar industries. Do not get swept away by technical jargon and buzzwords.

If you already have a vendor involved with a third party software package, be sure to continually ask about updates, new features, and to highlight processes that could be an ideal candidate for robotic automation in your own business.

Benefits of RPA

Robotic process automation streamlines workflows, which will inevitably make
organisations more profitable, flexible, and responsive. It is ideal for any sized business as it also increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity by removing mundane tasks from their workdays. The RPA system is non-invasive and can be rapidly implemented to accelerate digital transformation.

RPA is ideal for tasks that involve a high level of repetitive human data processing. It can be implemented at all levels of an organisation and can be tailored to suit the needs of each department. Consider an accounts department, which would traditionally require a lot of manual, repetitive effort.

By utilising RPA, it frees up workforce resources by allowing employees to focus on more thoughtful, meaningful work while also eliminating errors that would have the potential to damage processing times and the overall customer experience.

The pandemic has led to an acceleration in the online economy. Artificial intelligent
technology and digital transformation will be the key to survival for any modern company. SMEs must get on board with and invest now. Failing to do so will be to the detriment of their business.

Dr Waseem Akhtar is Head of the Computing Science faculty at Griffith College. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from University College Dublin and an MBA in Higher Education Management from University College London.

Dr Akhtar’s current research focuses on multidisciplinary topics such as Business Intelligence Systems, Evidence Based Management and other applications of Big Data and Machine Learning for the strategic management of large scale organisations. His research interests also include software development for large and complex systems, from technical perspective as well as form the point of view of project management.