Automation: A Catalyst for Digital Transformation

Business leaders have spoken and automation could well be coming to a company near you. The thought of improving the efficiency, productivity and quality of processes makes heads turn, and for good reason. If armed with a strategy that clearly defines the “how” and if the technology is applied to the correct operation, enterprises, large and small, could begin to reap the benefits of automation.

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency”.

– Bill Gates –

In the age of the customer, however, businesses need to look beyond the initial benefits of automation if they want to adapt and thrive. Implementing automation technology in industry and the workplace as part of a wider strategic push for digital transformation could revolutionize the way in which companies operate and deliver value to the end user, but how?

Adopting digital technologies for data-driven insights

Digital transformation is the process of evolving and adapting business models through the integration of digital technologies, and data plays a key role. The mention of the word might have your eyes glazing over, but leverage data correctly and you’ll gain insights that are a gold mine for strategic decision-making, helping you on the path to successful digital transformation. 

But where does automation fit in? Given the importance of data-driven insights in the age of the customer, data accuracy is fundamental and manual data management solutions often give rise to human error. Automated data collection, however, removes this factor from the equation, while simultaneously improving the efficiency, consistency, and quality of the process.

Nevertheless, being data rich does not mean being information rich. Data often exists in silos and with the bigger picture obscured from view, enterprises are unable to make informed business decisions. Having a reliable connectivity solution, however, enables the data gathered through automation to be transmitted back to a cloud-based platform, which can be deployed as platform-as-a-service (PaaS), where integrated analytics software can then be used to aggregate and analyze data from various relevant sources. By combining data streams, enterprises can generate valuable, quality-related insights to optimize how they deliver key business services and create recurring revenue.

Navigating the technology on the path to digital transformation

Reliable network connectivity which caters to both static and mobile assets, agnostic PaaS services and robust security solutions are all key technology components of digitalization. Download our white paper to find out more about how automation can be leveraged to achieve digital transformation and how Pod Group, as an expert in IoT connectivity, can assist in the integration of digital technologies in industry and the workplace.