Digital Process Automation – Everything You Need to Know

The tech world is full of new advancements and jargon. Often, it is hard to keep track of them. It is also very easy to confuse between two or more terms because they all seem alike.

Digital Process Automation (DPA) has been a victim of this confusion. It is an important aspect of digital transformation and has taken the front seat today. This is why it is imperative for every organization to understand what it is and how it is different from seemingly similar techniques. Our article is dedicated to giving you all the answers related to this.

What is Digital Process Automation (DPA)?

Digital Process automation is the process of automating business processes for the better. When we say better, we mean efficiency-wise and in terms of overall effectiveness. In other words, it helps you optimize processes through digitization. Digital workflow is created, which improves the focus of all team members.

Forrester further subdivides DPA into “Deep” and “Wide” categories.

DPA-deep aims to transform and improve the business process. DPA – deep projects have a small number of highly skilled designers. Narrow, deep, and complex processes are the focus. DPA – Deep helps enterprise architects understand where to innovate and how to standardize a process and provides metrics and tools for continuous improvement.

DPA-wide is designed for the masses. The goal of DPA is to extend process design beyond small, highly skilled development groups to business users. Hundreds of users and applications are the design target. Projects for DPA should be managed by the business and delivered using low-code no-code platforms and agile methods.

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Digital Process Automation (DPA) vs. Business Process Automation (BPA)

When you simply read the definition of DPA, you will find that it sounds similar to BPA. But, there are quite a few differences, which have been highlighted below:

• DPA comes in when you have to start digitizing the processes. BPA comes in once the processes are digitally documented and only automation is left.
• DPA is usually applied not only to processes in business but it has much more scope and is never limited to it. BPA is limited to the business process (as the name suggests).
• DPA’s focus is on the operation and not on the outcome.

Digital Process Automation (DPA) vs. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

As per Forrester, RPA is a subset of DPA. It is the ultimate low-touch approach for process improvement. RPA assumes that the process will stay as-is and builds bots that replace low-value human hours. Populating tables, quality and testing, desktop consolidation, and replacing data entry tasks are typical targets.

Examples of Digital Process Automation – How organizations can use DPA

Organizations can use DPA in multiple areas such as pricing approvals and customer onboarding. Once these processes are digitally automated and improved on a regular basis, organizations immediately have the edge over the rest. Below, we have discussed a few specific examples of how DPA can be enforced in the workplace.

1. Workflow automation

Workflows can be automated from start to end to ensure that the whole sequence occurs seamlessly. The workflow may also include escalations, approvals, reminders, and other sub-processes.

2. Compliance obligations

With DPA, accuracy increases. This eliminates errors and missed steps. Meeting the regulatory obligations is thus easier and has no bottlenecks.

3. Paperless documentation

Once DPA comes into full force, customized digital forms take the place of paper documents. These forms can be edited and updated as per requirement, and connected to various workflows as per the requirement. Capturing data and managing it is thus completely digital, removing the need for paper forms altogether.

4. Fixing outdated processes

Before automating, organizations can refine and update their processes. After this, automation takes care of optimization and increased efficiency. Manual work will be minimal and every step will comply with the company’s regulations henceforth.

5. Governance

Governance is a major part of automation and DPA helps establish it across the organization. If you have an enterprise-grade DPA platform, it will help IT support the process through control and governance. Role-based access can be given, for example, and integration management can be centralized to improve security.

6. Continuous improvement

Managers find it easier to identify problems in processes once DPA is implemented. They can also track performance, monitor (parts of) processes, and integrate third-party solutions to optimize reports.

Please note that DPA is neither AI not software robotics. However, it can be integrated with AI and many technologies. When it comes to legacy systems, though, you may note that older legacy systems will not have the APIs to connect. So DPA may not integrate with all of them.

Digital Process Automation Benefits

By now, we are sure you understand that you can implement DPA across the organization and optimize processes. But, what are the actual benefits that DPA brings with it? Why is it almost mandatory for every organization to implement DPA? Keep reading to find out.

1. It helps save time

Just think about how many manual tasks are done in your organization. Most of them are surely repetitive. If all these were automated, employees would be able to save so much time! Their focus would then be shifted to more important tasks.

2. It ensures accuracy

When things are done manually, there’s always the risk of losing documents or missing steps in a process. DPA eliminates this completely. So, there will never be an instance where a document has been misplaced or a step has been missed. Everything is smooth!

3. It saves money

When you digitize processes and automate them, you will not need additional human resources for these tasks. Employee efficiency will also go up. When these two benefits are combined and translated to finances, you will note that DPA helps save a lot of money!

4. It embraces customization

DPA is quite adaptable. You can scale new solutions without wasting any time depending on what the market wants. This directly impacts customer experience, which is the number one criterion for business success.

How to start Digital Process Automation

We suggest that you start small – taking one step at a time. This will give you the time to understand, fail quickly, and recover. You can adapt as you proceed and learn. This will mitigate risks and give you the security to scale fast.

In order to automate digital processes, you must first start by digitizing them. Document all the processes and digitize one after the other. Start with a data management process and digitize it.

After that, bring in automation. Identify the steps that you can automate – you may need a few tools for this or a platform that handles DPA end-to-end.

Quixy is a leading no-code Digital Process Automation platform for wide deployments that helps you automate processes through no-code app development – quickly and efficiently. For a free trial, please feel free to get in touch with us.