Leading IBM Automation Anywhere Business Partner

What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA enables companies to easily automate repetitive, redundant and mundane tasks in order to free up employees to perform higher value work. RPA is a rapidly growing form of business process automation (BPM) technology based on the notion of software robots or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. These workers can also be referred to as digital labor. These tools automate interactions with the GUI, and often do so by repeating a set of demonstration actions performed by a user.

How RPA Works?

RPA bots replicate the actions of humans interacting with user interfaces, without making changes to existing interfaces or making manual errors. This significantly increases efficiency of the system to perform high volume work with zero margin for errors.

Software Robots are similar to physical robots

Physical Robots

Software Robots

Perform repetitive physical tasks
Example:

► Pick eight chocolates from the assembly line
► Assemble a finished box of chocolates

Perform repetitive software tasks
Example:

► Log in to four different systems
Navigate legacy screens to retrieve data
► Use data to open a new account in the system of record

Benefits of RPA

Accelerate Time to Value

Create, test and deliver new automation in days or weeks

Reduce Human Error

Eliminate copy/paste mistakes introduced by swivel chair integration

Increase Throughput

Fulfill automated tasks in seconds or minutes, round the clock

Decrease Development Costs

Develop automation quickly with simple record/playback functions

About IBM Automation Anywhere

As the digital economy continues to grow and evolve, some companies face the challenge of managing increasingly complex business processes that involve massive amounts of data. The growth of the digital economy connects people and organizations in new ways. But it has also generated repetitive tasks like requiring employees to manually enter data. Companies need a way to more efficiently process and manage data so that employees can spend more time on truly value-added parts of their job.

IBM has teamed up with Automation Anywhere, the market leader in robotic process automation, to help companies digitize their operations and drive new efficiencies across business processes. Solutions work through Automation Anywhere tools that automate and simplify data-intensive tasks within processes managed by IBM’s process management software.

Why should you consider RPA?

Today, knowledge workers spend far too much of their time doing “swivel chair” integration by copying and entering data across disjointed systems. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) automates these repetitive tasks. When RPA is used in conjunction with IBM Business Process Manager (BPM) and IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM), we can reduce the level of investment needed to automate a process while maintaining total visibility of the process. What’s more, you can bring software bots into any critical business processes, regardless of the new or heritage systems that are included. Importantly, you can integrate all of the elements—including people, systems, and bots—into one seamless process.

How RPA helps your business

Say you run a bank. Your employees deal with thousands of complicated forms every day to open new accounts. This requires accuracy, time and effort. Our new solution could help in two ways. IBM’s process management software could help manage the broader process of opening accounts, while Automation Anywhere’s bots could pull information from different sources to help fill out the forms more quickly and accurately. Immense opportunity can be created when robots seamlessly help your employees do their work or perform tasks alongside them. This level of collaboration can shorten project lifecycle times, accelerate time-to-value for automation investments and boost ROI.

The IBM Automation Anywhere Advantage

Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Bots that automate repetitive business processes at scale both on-premise and in the cloud.
Cognitive Automation: Bots that leverage AI and machine learning to learn from human behavior and bring structure to unstructured data
Embedded Analytics: Embedded analytics that measure and predict how both bots and the business are performing.
Bot Farm: Automation Anywhere introduces the first and only enterprise-grade platform for Bots On Demand. Scale your workforce capacity by deploying bots anywhere in the world with a single click. Create, deploy and manage thousands of bots in an instant to meet demand spikes. BotFarmTM delivers on-demand RPA with scalability, elasticity, resilience – designed for the enterprise.
Bot Store: The world’s first marketplace of plug-and-play bots.
University: The world’s largest RPA training ecosystem.

IBM Automation Anywhere Features

Rapid Development: Reduce demand on IT with no installations, a self-service admin portal, interactive dashboard, real-time bot performance analytics.
Instant Scalability: Adapt to unforeseen workload spikes instantly with auto-scaling.
Any Environment: Deploy in a public or private cloud in any technology environment – server, desktop, mainframe.
Unparalleled Security: Stay secure and compliant with industry-standard security including NIST 800-53, AES 256-bit encryption and TLS 1.2 for enterprise data.
Cognitive Capability: IQ Bot TM delivers automation using the most advanced cognitive technology, working to make sense of unstructured data while improving its skills and performance. It learns from people at work.

How can Tangentia and IBM Automation Anywhere help You

Tangentia and Automation Anywhere aims to help organizations leverage Robotic Process Automation to Drive Digital Transformation along with IBM’s own Business Automation Workflow (BAW) and Digital Business Automation (DBA). These comprehensive solutions help improve business process by:

Streamlining tasks by automation
Process improvement in total business
Optimizing human resources

Tangentia offers the following services using IBM Automation Anywhere:

Helping you with build Center of Excellence (COE)
Rent, lease or buy bots from our Bot Repository
Software Reselling and provide you with Professional Services
Provide Bot maintenance, monitoring, support and enhancement straight from our Bot Operations Center
Training on how to leverage RPA for your industry sector
Staffing solution to augment your RPA project teams

Industrial Use Cases

Insurance

Claims Processing and Administration
Report Automation
Updating User Info
Prioritize and Assign Claims
Adjudication Process
Audit Management
Enrolment & Eligibility
Data Integration Billing
Medicare Billing & Compliance
Data Transfer claims
Processing Eligibility
Verification Mass Data
P&C Claims
Provider Updates
Insurance Coverage & Policies
Reconciliation
New Premium Processes

F & A

Financial Claim processing
Financial Planning & Analysis
Record to Report
Tax Services
Financial Claim processing
Financial Planning & Analysis
Tax Service

Banking

Verification / Auditing Process
Bank Reconciliation
Compliance Processing
Customer Account Management
New Application Processing – Bank / Credit Cards
Data Migration Between apps
Audit Trail
Statement and Reporting
Loan Processing
Payment Cancellation
Credit Decision

Supply Chain

Order Prioritization
Master data
Invoice verification
Receipt confirmation
Scheduling processes
Reporting
Production Information capture
Inbound processing
Inventory management processes
Pricing management
Billing
Freight costing

HR / Payroll

Maintaining Master Data
Offer Letter Processing
Onboarding and Exit
Appraisal-updating process / Change Payroll Status
Position Management
Reporting Line Change
Superannuation
Payment Summaries
Employment Type Updates
Service Desk Reports
Distribution
Leave Amendments

F & A

Order to Cash / AR
Credit Analysis and Processing
Sales Order Processing
Customer Master Data Management
Order Entry
Reports by segments (performance, geography, Inventory network Integration)
Procure to Pay /AP
3 Way Match
Purchase Order issuance and Invoice Receipt
Vendor Master
Payment Process
Duplicate Payment Tracking

F & A

Record to Report
Monthly close process
Financial Consolidations
Financial Statements
General Ledger functions
Journal entry processing
Inter-company accounting and account reconciliations
Fixed assets and project
Cost and Inventory accounting

How do we select the best candidate for RPA?


High Volume	Repetitive Tasks	Manual Data Entry


Multiple Legacy Systems	Logic & Rules Based Processes	High FTE Required

Our Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Journey

Tangentia RPA PoC Journey

Prepare & Engage

Key Activities

Collaborate with stakeholders to identify and assist in identifying the candidates of RPA PoC.
Engage process owners via discovery workshop to confirm scope of PoC (assuming prior engagement to this point)
Prepare base infrastructure to host the RPA application.
Install the RPA tool in single environment.
Set up system access and credentials

Deliverables

RPA tool installed in your environment
Document containing the list of RPA processes for PoC

Select, Analyze & Build

Key Activities

Select and confirm 1 process for PoC.
Conduct workshop for documenting current state process via existing documentation and job shadowing.
Meet with process owners or stakeholders to explain what will be done in the PoC
Confirm the objectives of the PoC and “success” criteria
Build PoC

Deliverables

Selected process/ Processes
Confirmed objectives and success criteria
Process definition document

Build & Test

Key Activities

Continue Building PoC
Test PoC with test data
Record a “before and after” to communicate the concept to larger audience.

Deliverables

Working proof of concept

Demo, Document & Plan

Key Activities

Demo the PoC to stakeholders
Document key learnings, point of view on key questions and next steps
Document Requirements to move RPA bots into other environment

Deliverables

Workshop demo of PoC
Walkthrough of how RPA solution has worked and interacted with other applications
Document of key learnings

Tangentia RPA PoC to Pilot Journey

Planning & Setup

Key Activities

Preparing the test environment
Preparing the production environment
Migrate the PoC to test environment and testing
Identifying 5 additional processes to be automated for Pilot phase and define priority of each.

Deliverables

Test environment ready
Production environment ready
Additional processes PDD
Test cases results of

4 Weekly Sprints

Key Activities

Adopting Agile Methodology to deliver each process in weekly.
Gather Requirement of each process weekly.
Build Bots in Dev.
Migrating Bots from Dev to Test.

Deliverables

Weekly Bots for each process.
Bots on Dev and Test environment.

Test & UAT

Key Activities

Document Test Cases
Define the Cut-off time and as-is processes defined for Pilot

Deliverables

Test Case document
User Acceptance and Signoff
Cut of dates defined

Go Live

Key Activities

Migrate the bots to production.
Monitor Bots for performance and effectiveness.
Troubleshooting and maintenance.

Deliverables

Bots on Production environment

Post Go Live

Key Activities

Training of Bot Administrator
Post Go Live Support such as maintenance and operations
Lessons Learned documentation
Discuss CoE and Enterprise Scale-up

Deliverables

Training Manual
Support of Bots
Lessons Learnt document

Tangentia RPA Pilot to CoE to Enterprise Scale-up

CoE Planning and Setup

Key Activities

Identify the processes to be automated
Assist in building Internal Automation Team

Deliverables

Identified Processes and their PDD
Identify the key Automation Stakeholders

CoE Initial build

Key Activities

Assist in building your Center of Excellence (CoE)
Assist in training and hiring for your CoE such as Business Analyst, developer and administrators.
Setting up of further environments and conducting knowledge transfer of PoC and Pilot developments.
Embedding best practices to CoE

Deliverables

Developed Bots for each process.
Center of Excellence (CoE) model
Defined designations and responsibilities
Bots test cases and reports

CoE Growth & Enterprise Scale-up

Key Activities

Incorporate process maturity model (PMM)
Assist in ROI and complexity calculator
Gather requirements for each bots
Build and Test Bots using Agile methodology.
Migrate Bots developed in this journey from Devà Testà Prod

About Tangentia

Tangentia is a global boutique IT consulting firm specializing in Automation, AI, EDI, Digital and Enterprise Security. We are proudly Canadian with headquarters in Toronto and have offices in US (NY) and India (Goa). Our associates and ecosystem partners operate in 30+ countries adopting a “Think Global, act Local “approach.