Intelligent automation: Why you need governance over the new digital workforce

Intelligent automation is the future. You can automate routine tasks and then combine data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to replicate cognitive thinking. It promises to amplify – not replace – human effort, creating a hybrid workforce wherein bots and people will work together to improve experiences for employees, customers, and partners.

Most intelligent automation initiatives start with robotic process automation (RPA). RPA uses bots to automate routine, rules-based, manual tasks such as data entry or data matching. But as soon as you achieve your productivity goals, it's time to make operations more intelligent.

• Cognitive RPA automates more complex work such as processing application forms or extracting information from a variety of formats. These solutions can work with semi-structured data and derived rules.
• Business process automation digitizes workflows by replacing manual handoffs and paper-based processes to seamlessly connect people, bots, and other systems.
• AI and machine learning can analyze data and identify patterns through supervised and unsupervised learning. This provides people with machine-generated insights, predictions, and recommendations.

As these intelligent solutions gain more influence in the enterprise, trust becomes essential – among internal stakeholders and external customers alike.

To build trust in intelligent automation, governance is essential. It can help you increase machine reliability, monitor performance effectively, mitigate issues, and boost compliance. It also builds trust in new ways of working. After all, intelligent automation is the first introduction many people have to a digital workforce.

Intelligent automation without governance isn't intelligent

When building an intelligent automation strategy, ask yourself – can you check to see if your digital workforce is performing as expected? You need to explain what they're doing, why they're doing it, and prove that they're working effectively with your most valuable resource – your people. Meanwhile, your customers want confidence that their data is in safe hands and that outputs are in their best interests. And, regulatory bodies want to see that this digital workforce is compliant.

Without proper governance, you may open up your business – and your customers – to risks. For example, if banking automation is not configured and monitored properly, it could malfunction and inadvertently expose sensitive client information. Or, it could make a biased decision on a loan application, which could cause reputational damage. It could even become vulnerable to a cyberattack. This would bring huge financial repercussions as well as a loss of the public's trust in the bank, and the bank's trust in intelligent automation.