</div> </div> <p>Automation has been a big buzzword in the<span> </span><span class="il">tech</span><span> </span>world lately, and for good reason: Programming a process to run on its own based on various data inputs eliminates the need for a human operator, saving a company time, money and frustration.</p> <p>This can be especially helpful in streamlining workflows within a business. For example, automating things like invoicing and ad buying frees your people up to attend to more important strategic work.</p>
<p> </p> <p>So how are today"s top technology leaders automating their internal processes? Ten members of<span> </span><a href="http://forbestechcouncil.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:http://forbestechcouncil.com/">Forbes Technology Council</a><span> </span>offered a glimpse into their automated operations.</p> <p><b>1. Implement Automation Where It Makes Sense</b><span> </span></p> <p>Not every business process is a good fit for automation, so each business must decide which processes are best suited for it. Processes that are time and resource intensive and subject to human error should be the first processes to be investigated for automation. If these can be accelerated with automated processes, then that permits more focus on other business practices. -<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/alexandropando" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/alexandropando">Alexandro Pando</a>, Xyrupt</p>
<p><b>2. Take Existing Manual Processes And Slowly Insert Tools To Improve Them</b><span> </span></p> <p>Rather than building end-to-end solutions to automate whole parts of your business, an iterative approach can be cheaper and quicker to go live. For example, find a manual process for which simple tools can be inserted to make that process quicker. Over time, as these tools get more and more sophisticated, you may organically evolve to a fully automated process. -<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/davidimurray" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/davidimurray">David Murray</a>,<span> </span><a href="http://www.doctor.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:http://www.doctor.com/">Doctor.com</a></p> <p><b>3. Automate For Internal And External Engagement</b><span> </span></p> <p>Automation is fundamental to scaling marketing for us. Not only is it critical for optimizing our internal workflows, but also to drive revenue, since 60% of the B2B buying process is done online. We use Marketo and Salesforce as our core systems and use additional solutions such as Bizible, Everstring and various ad platforms. We collaborate on Google Drive internally. -<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/leahfriendallen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/leahfriendallen">Leah Allen</a>,<span> </span><a href="https://radius.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://radius.com/">Radius</a></p> <p><b>4. Implement Automation To Handle Repetitive Tasks</b><span> </span></p> <p>We process nearly 300 new hires every year for our mid-sized company. That means uploading names, addresses, dates of birth and other employee information into several systems such as travel and expense, payroll and insurance. We programmed a software program we call Rosie the Robot to take on this cumbersome, manual task off. What took a human 30 minutes per new hire takes Rosie five minutes. -<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/mccartykj" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/mccartykj">Kevin McCarty</a>,<span> </span><a href="http://www.westmonroepartners.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:http://www.westmonroepartners.com/">West Monroe Partners</a></p> <p><b>5. Automate Small Tasks For A Large Impact</b><span> </span></p> <p>We use tools that enable automation of small tasks. One example is automating sending emails at times that are most convenient for our partners. This enables us to stay in touch with partners around the world without having to worry that we might be disturbing them when they are with their families or elsewhere. It took just a few minutes to setup but has saved us weeks in missed connections. -<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/anandsampat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/anandsampat">Anand Sampat</a>,<span> </span><a href="https://datmo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://datmo.com/">Datmo</a></p>" readability="70.4821312541">
Automation has been a big buzzword in the tech world lately, and for good reason: Programming a process to run on its own based on various data inputs eliminates the need for a human operator, saving a company time, money and frustration.
This can be especially helpful in streamlining workflows within a business. For example, automating things like invoicing and ad buying frees your people up to attend to more important strategic work.
So how are today"s top technology leaders automating their internal processes? Ten members of Forbes Technology Council offered a glimpse into their automated operations.
1. Implement Automation Where It Makes Sense
Not every business process is a good fit for automation, so each business must decide which processes are best suited for it. Processes that are time and resource intensive and subject to human error should be the first processes to be investigated for automation. If these can be accelerated with automated processes, then that permits more focus on other business practices. - Alexandro Pando, Xyrupt
2. Take Existing Manual Processes And Slowly Insert Tools To Improve Them
Rather than building end-to-end solutions to automate whole parts of your business, an iterative approach can be cheaper and quicker to go live. For example, find a manual process for which simple tools can be inserted to make that process quicker. Over time, as these tools get more and more sophisticated, you may organically evolve to a fully automated process. - David Murray, Doctor.com
3. Automate For Internal And External Engagement
Automation is fundamental to scaling marketing for us. Not only is it critical for optimizing our internal workflows, but also to drive revenue, since 60% of the B2B buying process is done online. We use Marketo and Salesforce as our core systems and use additional solutions such as Bizible, Everstring and various ad platforms. We collaborate on Google Drive internally. - Leah Allen, Radius
4. Implement Automation To Handle Repetitive Tasks
We process nearly 300 new hires every year for our mid-sized company. That means uploading names, addresses, dates of birth and other employee information into several systems such as travel and expense, payroll and insurance. We programmed a software program we call Rosie the Robot to take on this cumbersome, manual task off. What took a human 30 minutes per new hire takes Rosie five minutes. - Kevin McCarty, West Monroe Partners
5. Automate Small Tasks For A Large Impact
We use tools that enable automation of small tasks. One example is automating sending emails at times that are most convenient for our partners. This enables us to stay in touch with partners around the world without having to worry that we might be disturbing them when they are with their families or elsewhere. It took just a few minutes to setup but has saved us weeks in missed connections. - Anand Sampat, Datmo
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