Category Archives: Automation

Image: VirClia Lotus (Photo courtesy of VIRCLIA)

Vircell is a microbial biotechnology company which develops, manufactures and markets ready-to-use kits for the diagnosis of esoteric infectious diseases. It is specialized in the development and production of ready-to-use reagents for the diagnosis of infectious diseases in humans by different techniques ranging from the traditional cell culture to the most innovating developments in the field of molecular biology.

At MEDICA 2021, Vircell presented VIRCLIA, its powerful automation system with a built-in reader, intelligent racks and intuitive software. The VIRCLIA automation system offers 192 patient sample positions and fully-automated reader options (EIA or CLIA+EIA). It features a probe-mounted camera for real-time process monitoring and remote diagnostics, along with a built-in barcode reader for streamlined loading and lower sample tracking errors.

Among the immunoassay testing kits showcased by Vircell at the event was the Chlamydia ELISA indirect immunoenzyme assay to test antibodies against chlamydia in human serum/plasma which is suitable for automated ELISA systems. Vircell also highlighted Pneumobact IFA, an indirect immunofluorescent assay kit to simultaneously test IgG or IgM antibodies against the main ethiological bacterial agents causing respiratory tract infections: Legionella pneumophila sero group 1, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Chlamydophila psittaci. The kit enables simultaneous detection of the main bacteria causing atypical pneumonia and easy results reading.

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Vircell Showcases Its Powerful Automation System and Immunoassay Testing Kits at MEDICA 2021 - HospiMedica

French electricals and digital building infrastructure major Legrand expects IoT, energy efficiency, connectivity, and user-interface product verticals to drive its business in India, contributing the bulk of its revenue, over the next few years.

Legrand India had closed 2019-20 with a topline of Rs 2,621 crore, while the same contracted almost 9 per cent in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.

While the first quarter of 2021-22 was also a near-washout due to the second wave of the pandemic, July-September was better and from October onwards demand is back to the 2019 level.

"We aren't there yet (2019 sales levels), September was very close to that, maybe only 2-3 per cent down; but in October we touched the 2019 level. So if there is no third wave, we're very confident of reaching at least the 2019 volume levels, if not better it. Going by the current demand trend, I am sure we'll easily make it," Legrand India CEO and MD Tony Berland told PTI.

On the future of India business, he said the Internet of things (IoT), energy efficiency, connectivity, and user interface products will drive the business here, contributing the bulk of its revenue over the next few years.

"Currently, IoT fetches around 19 per cent of the topline and I want to take it to at least 25 per cent over the next few years. When it comes to IoT, I've a very clear roadmap ready and most of the IoT products sold here are also developed locally," Berland said, adding the connectivity vertical is the single largest revenue head now.

What makes him really optimistic about India is the huge scope for IoT and the large energy saving objectives. Berland also said they're investing heavily in digital infra here especially in data centres where they are getting new products to keep pests away, ensure connectivity and better user-interface.

They are also doing their bit in the electric vehicles space with charging stations and have tied up with Tata Motors, Berland said.

"We are very happy to be here and are very confident of making it big here--among the top three, which is our headquarters' target, because India is a very important brick of our global operations.

"We've high confidence in the capabilities of India and in the huge untapped potential here," he said yet admitting that they have a long way to go.

Legrand is investing to make India a key profit centre of the group globally over the years and is making enough profits to make needed investments.

But Berland ruled out capacity addition or capex towards it saying they've ample capacity already built and pointed out the Rs 1,500 crore capex in the past three years to build capacity.

"We aren't increasing manufacturing capacity because we already have excess capacity. Now we're adding more automation and thus investing in products and R&D and not in manufacturing capacity as our focus is more on IoT and automation. We've no issue at all with capacity as we can increase it manifold at any plant because of the way the plants are built."

Berland, who took over India operations in March 2019, says despite India fetching only under 5 per cent of its global revenue, the headquarters is pleased with the success so far and is keen to make it bigger and considers this market to be among the key growth pillars going forward.

"We are also not averse to inorganic growth and are always on the lookout for the same. So far we have made five acquisitions here since our entry in 1996, the biggest being Numeric Power Systems's UPS division for around Rs 829 crore in February 2012."

Legrand India offers a wide range of products in energy distribution, wiring devices, home automation, structured cabling, lighting management solutions, cable management and industrial application products and is an undisputed leader in MCBs, RCDs and DBs. It has a leading position in home automation.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has three plants, seven training centers and two R&D centers in India and employs a little over 1,000 people.

On a visit before the pandemic, Legrand global chief executive Benoit Coquart had said they would digitalise 40 of the 100 product families sold here, such as light switches, circuit breakers, and door-entry systems.

Encouraged by the appetite for technology here with projects like smart cities, the company is also bringing its IoT-based home solutions to the country and has partnered with Google, Amazon and Samsung for its interoperability.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Legrand to focus on IoT, automation; scouting for more acquisitions - Business Standard

In July of 1982, industry pioneer Alan Kay said People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware. In January of 2007, Steve Jobs used this quote to define his vision for Apple and the iPhone in particular. Over the past decade, Tim Cook has reiterated this belief that Apple is at its best when it makes the hardware, software, and now the services. So why dont they apply that philosophy to everything they do anymore? Lets talk about it.

There are currently four key areas of a persons life that tech companies want to take over. The home, the workplace, the car, and the gym. When you take these areas and apply them to Apples product strategy, you can see some obvious connections. The Mac and iPhone rule the workplace. The Apple Watch and AirPods own the gym. Then you get the car and the home, two places where the current situation doesnt quite add up.

Apples strategy for the car and the home is to make a single core piece of hardware and then license some tech to manufacturers in those other fields to write the rest of the story. Thats so impeccably un-Apple that its driven me crazy over the past several years. Now we know that Apple is working on rectifying their car strategy by finally building their own automobile from the ground up. It is still a long ways off, but hopefully when all is said and done well have the first ever car that seamlessly integrates with our digital lives in a way one hasnt before.

But what about in the home? What could Apple do to make home automation simpler than ever? They already make the speaker and the tv box. So which parts of the story are missing? The answer is clear and evident. They should make their own lightbulbs, switches, outlets, locks, cameras, and routers.

I am constantly asked by friends and family what should I get to make my home smart? I never know how to answer. Sure, I can tell them to just buy things that have the HomeKit sticker on them. But I cant vouch for their quality or their reliability. Its a licensing program that any manufacturer can be a part of. Ive recommended multiple times that someone just go try out Amazons Alexa ecosystem, because they make a lot of the products one needs to do things quickly and efficiently. Amazon makes their own thermostat, their own plugs, their own cameras, heck they even make their own soap dispenser. Their ecosystem is better than Apples at the moment, but it wouldnt be difficult for Apple to usurp them with a far stronger array of offerings.

Your average consumer isnt gonna have a clue where to even start if they decide to try and automate their home or apartment. Walking into any gadget retailer, be it Best Buy or the Apple Store isnt going to have a clear and concise answer for someone. Theres no de facto option in any of these categories. The most popular home automation accessories at the moment, Ring cameras, dont even work with HomeKit. They dont work with Google Home either, so Google made their own competitor. They made new nest door cameras aimed at the exact same audience. Of course Google doesnt make all of the necessary accessories, but I wouldnt be surprised if they go down that road soon.

Apple needs to make its own accessories to give HomeKit the boost it needs. To make HomeKit a success, the company needs to give consumers a clear best choice that they know will just work when they get home and plug it in. There need to be accessories made by Apple that integrate with an app made by Apple that can be controlled by speakers made by Apple.

When a customer goes into an Apple Store to buy a HomePod, they should easily be able to understand HomeKit. With Apple-branded accessories theyd be far more likely to walk out of the store with a handful of automation tools in addition to a HomePod. And imagine how much simpler the pairing process could be. With Apples own hardware and custom silicon, the company could build lightbulbs that work just like AirPods. You screw it into a lamp and a modal flies up on your iPhone. With a tap it could be connected to your network and added to your home.

Right now, everything in the Home app is made by a different manufacturer. Nothing ever quite works just right. Devices dont always properly talk to each other and you have to rely on those other manufacturers for software updates and compatibility.

Imagine if these all talked to each other seamlessly. They could all have an Apple-designed micro computer inside with a U1 chip so they all know theyre nearby and an H1 chip to easily talk with your core Apple devices. Sure that would likely drive the prices of these products up, but in your home you should want something reliable and sturdy. You want stuff that can last.

This year Apple introduced the ability for HomeKit device makers to integrate with Siri more closely. That means products like the Ecobee thermostat can actually accept Siri requests and commands using their built in microphones.

Apples current home ecosystem only offers physical controls via the app on your core devices. Theres no option to buy a smart screen that can act as a hub of sorts. So with this new ability to put Siri on virtually any device, why not put a microphone in each of these conceptual Apple-designed HomeKit products?

Siri could become truly ambient in the home and work from just about any corner of your living space. If your light bulbs, plugs, cameras, routers, and more had microphones with Siri support built-in you wouldnt even have to think about the device youre making the request to. This is especially the case if the Apple-designed computers inside each accessory can easily talk to each other. Information could be surfaced via the proper device, even if the request goes to one without a display or speaker.

Just like the HomePod, you could disable the microphones in each of these devices if you would like to via the Home app. Thered have to be some sort of clever privacy-first implementation here, whether thats building Siri to work locally on all of these accessories without needing to constantly go out to the web or some sort of new portal for accessing a history of things Siri has heard.

Apple products these days are, in lots of cases, made out of recycled materials. All of these accessories could be as well. You could know they are safe and good for the environment. And at the end of their lifecycle, Apple could take them back and use those materials to make the next generation of accessories.

Home automation devices are fairly new and we havent fully seen what kind of impact they will have on the environment in the future. Computers eventually die, its just part of their lifecycle. Lots of folks havent fully evaluated the consequences of putting a computer into every single thing around them.

These small pieces of computer hardware that are meant to replace things that need to exist in every home are going to become increasingly important. Theyre one of the next battlegrounds for the tech giants. But Apple could take a unique approach and use its goodwill and convenience to both rule that space and improve on it.

Apple no longer exists in a world where it can afford to make only a handful of products. We know that they have learned that to some degree, having had to expand their core lines and offer products at virtually every price point. But this is different. This is them dipping their toes in a category for too long and failing to take the full plunge.

If it wants to win in these new categories, it needs to follow its own philosophy of making the whole widget. HomePod mini isnt much of a home controller if its accessories are mediocre at best, that is to say if anyone actually buys any.

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Opinion: HomeKit is doomed to fail if Apple doesnt make their own automation hardware - 9to5Mac

Vroozi launched Vroozi Intelligence, a smart accounts payable and invoice automation (APIA) platform that automates and simplifies the scanning, capture and approval of business invoices and payments.

Its 2021, and procurement and finance teams are still relying on tedious, manual accounts payable processes to pay suppliers, says Shaz Khan, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Vroozi. We developed this new technology to empower our customers around the globe to automate PO and non-PO invoice and payments accurately and efficiently so they can spend their time on what really matters -- driving their business forward.

From BusinessWire:

Automation is easy when everything matches and invoices are ingested in a format your system supports. But, as we all know, thats not always the case. Procurement and accounts payable teams are constantly chasing approvals, working with paper documents and dealing with non-PO invoices, says Khan. With Vroozi Intelligence, were saying no PO, no problem. Vroozi makes automation easy for everyone.

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No PO, No Problem with Invoice Capture, Approvals and Payments Automation - Supply and Demand Chain Executive

By Dhrumil Dhakan

Time sensitivity is of utmost importance to the Real-Time Electricity Market (RTM) in the power trading industry since every task of the power trading has a clear completion time with a minute granularity. Any delay or failure caused therefore can have a far-reaching consequences. And that calls for cutting down on manual processes and turning power trading systems highly automated, something IEX, one of the largest power trading company in India has been trying to achieve.

Before RTM, our Day-Ahead market segment had more time to do similar tasks. Now in RTM, we are doing that task within 15 minutes. We used to take 4 hours to perform a similar task earlier. So in essence, automation has been undertaken to concise everything together, packed within a 30-minute window. Automation undertaken includes API-based interaction with national power system operator NLDC (National Load Dispatch Center), Sangh Gautam, Chief Technology Officer at Indian Energy Exchange Limited told ETCIO.

Integrating the API-based bidding system was one of the first innovations that they implemented on their platform. This system was also integrated with all our customers as well in order to pass on bidding information to Exchange. So, all members have the opportunity to integrate RTM bidding APIs with their internal system such that they are also able to automate the bidding process at their end for all their customers. Similarly, the system was integrated with NLDC to pass on the information of the provisional reports or results, received after the matching process, to NLDC quickly.

This entire process was earlier manual, so now using these APIs which NLDC provided us. We were able to automate it within the system itself, so there was no manual intervention. Whatever data we are sending to API, the return value that comes to us. We look at those return values and automatically take a decision within our system. There is no manual intervention that is looking at what needs to be done, Sangh explains the advantages of the API system for the platform.

We also created a fall-back process. So lets say, in case, something happened to our machines or the database or connectivity within our system and were not able to process it, we created another separate pipeline altogether which was not dependent on our current pipeline which means that regardless of what happens to our current system, there is another system parallelly which does exactly the similar kind of work but in a different manner and its not dependent on a similar infrastructure or to the system on which our current system is dependent on, Gautam added on the multi-layered redundant infrastructure of the trading platform.

IEX has also invested in an orchestration platform that enables the trading platform to orchestrate one task after another. When we have one task after another, there needs some kind of system which is orchestrating which task to call after another, how do you pass information from one task to another, so the other task can do its job, Gautam adds on the subject, and the backup process that I talked about was basically creating this orchestration engine and we used Microsoft Azure service fabric, Gautam said.

All of these processes and backup pipelines have numerous innovations and automation with them. There are self-healing mechanisms that have been created by the Exchange, which means in case of failure, the amount of manual intervention remains minimum i.e. the system recognizes the problem and automatically triggers a fall-back process.

What were trying to do is, improve self-healing mechanism, and thats where we are looking at the role of RPA (Robotic Process Automation), wherein any information that needs to be passed on to the team on any communication channels, theyre able to get this information and in case, something fails then the bot is able to take its own decisions based on the information that we have provided and automatically is able to self-heal the system, he added on the role of RPA in the self-healing process.

With the highest market share in the RTM segment at 99%, it is important to see how IEX has automated the trading process on their platform and installed safety measures to make the process more efficient for the market participants.

With members accessing their online trading platform through multiple modes of secured connectivity such as the Multi-Protocol Label Packet Switching (MLPS) that is protected by the SSL (Secure Socket Layer).

What SSL does is inherently it encrypts any communication that happens between the client machine to the server, so any man in the middle attack would fail because its an encryption that is happening right from the client side, Mr. Gautam explained on how they manage to ensure the safety of their systems, That is one advantage that we get, the other is that these SSL also, logins that we do, we whitelist these IPs on which people can log in, so its not like anyone can log in, even if you have the SSL system installed because we have whitelisted the IPs, Gautam said.

Apart from this, they have placed strong monitoring mechanisms and password policies that they follow to ensure safety. Also, internally there are monitoring tools where our team is continuously monitoring of all the folks who are logged in to our system, so we know from the SSL tool itself how many people are logged in, Gautam said.

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IEX attempts to transform power trading industry through automation - ETCIO.com

Emirates Post, the UAEs official postal operator, has expanded its partnership with its cross-border data partner Hurricane Commerce by adopting additional data services.

Emirates Posts initial requirement was to integrate Hurricanes Zephyr solution, its bulk clearance data enhancement tool, to ensure that all inbound and outbound parcels have the requisite shipment data including product descriptions, HS6 codes and import/export codes.

Peter Somers, CEO of Emirates Post, said: Cross-border e-commerce is growing exponentially and the opportunities for Emirates Post are significant.

However, the regulations impacting the way cross-border e-commerce happens have also changed beyond all recognition in 2021 thanks, among other things, to Brexit, the abolition of the EUs VAT exemption on low-value goods, the introduction of the Import One-Stop Shop and the US STOP Act.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the need for complete and accurate data sets, and the successful integration of Hurricanes Zephyr API is already making a huge difference. By ensuring the data sets are complete, we keep our customers shipments moving seamlessly.

Hurricanes data solutions enable partners to add value to their customer relationships, maximising final mile delivery capability and minimising delays at customs.

Somers said: There has never been a greater need for high quality data in cross-border e-commerce and this expectation will only become greater as regulatory change becomes more entrenched.

We have, for example, noticed a significant change since the introduction of the Import One-Stop Shop on July 1 in terms of the requirements for complete and valid data placed on retailers and marketplaces.

Emirates Post sees its role in providing the best-in-class solutions as vital in helping customers to navigate the changes and keep their parcels moving smoothly whatever the destination.

Somers added: As a postal operator, we are committed to our programme of digitisation this is essential for any business wishing to achieve scale in cross-border eCommerce due to the sheer volume of consignments involved. Hurricanes technology provides us with real-time data at lightning speeds. Through automation, we can be fast, flexible and truly customer-centric.

Extending the Hurricane partnership

Emirates Post is now adopting Hurricanes Aura solution which covers the three critical cross-border areas of duty and tax calculation, prohibited and restricted goods screening and denied parties screening.

Somers added: The integration of Zephyr has gone extremely well and results from the API calls have been excellent, giving Emirates Post greater accuracy and increased security controls to ensure the integrity of the network is kept to the highest standard.

We are now working with Hurricane to expand our customer offering further by adding more functionality.

David Spottiswood, Co-Founder of Hurricane Commerce, said: We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with Emirates Post. They are a forward-thinking, ambitious postal operator that understands the vital role complete and accurate cross-border eCommerce data plays in enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency.

The UAE and wider Middle East is one of the most exciting regions in terms of eCommerce growth potential and Emirates Post is positioning itself to be one of the leading players.

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Emirates Post: Through automation, we can be fast, flexible and truly customer-centric - Post and Parcel

News and Commentary.

On Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 10:00am ET, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), the Chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, held a hearing titled Our Changing Economy: The Economic Effects of Technological Innovation, Automation and the Future of Work, to look at the impact that technology like drones, robots, and technology advances in automation and digitization will have on the American economy and workers nationwide. Will automation create jobs, or more unemployment and wage stagnation?

Its not a new problem, and since Part 107 regularized the commercial use of drones, many opponents to the new advancements like drone delivery, warehousing, inspections, and more have cited job losses as a major concern.

Its a fair point.

Will automation create new jobs, or create unemployment?

Professor Daron Acemoglu, MIT Institute Professor, points out that job losses due from automation tend to have an outsized impact on people with lower levels of education, and those already disadvantaged. This is not, however, a new development: Automation is not a recent phenomenon. The beginning of the British Industrial Revolution was marked by rapid advances in automation technologies in the textile industry, and automation played a major role in American industrialization during the 19th century, he says in written testimony.

However, Acemoglu points out that some automation creates jobs and as long as technology is focused on reducing costs and improving productivity, the whole workforce benefits. (He contrasts this type of beneficial automation like precision agriculture with what he calls so-so automation the hated automated customer service line, for example.)

not all automation technologies are created equal. Those that reduce costs and boost productivity generate a set of compensating changes, for example, expanding employment in non-automated tasks, says Acemoglu.

Shawn G. DuBravac, PhD, of theAvrio Institute, is even more positive about the impact of automation on the workforce. Technological innovation both complements and displaces workers, but it creates more opportunity than it destroys, he testifies. DuBravac makes the point that most automation technologies are used in conjunction with workers not instead of them.

We know that technological innovation displaces American workers. But we also see how it complements work. Increasingly, there are few jobs not touched in some way by technology.

It seems every week there are reports of individuals being saved with the help of drones and, behind each one of those, a drone operator. In fact, drones are being used to complement many types of work. In just the last few weeks, drones have been used by animal control officers to count deer in Sioux Falls, to map the composition of debris located in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and to make numerous engineering inspections safer and more efficient.

Is Limiting Automation the Answer?

Limiting the development of automation technologies like drones and robotics is certainly not the answer to concerns about shifts in employment. Not only is it an impossibility akin to conquering the Hydra, these technologies provide significant life-saving benefits to communities that should not be checked.

And, says Brent Orell, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, limiting the use of technology isnt the answer to protecting workers. In light of an increasingly automated economy, the solution is not to attempt to constrain technological change or alter its course, but rather to build up the workforce to be capable of working with technology as well as the flexibility and adaptability required as technological change continues to run its course.

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.For drone industry consulting or writing,Email Miriam.

TWITTER:@spaldingbarker

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Will Automation Create More Jobs than it Eliminates? - DRONELIFE - DroneLife

Automation can be the answer to a whole host of manufacturing and operations questions. But deciding what, how and when to automate is not straightforward, says Liz Salter at IfM Engage.

The benefits to using automation in manufacturing often outweigh the challenges, especially when it can increase efficiency and production and help manufacturers to be more competitive. But if youre a business that thinks you are ready to automate, it is wise to step carefully. Thinking through the process of automation and its impact beforehand, and exploring the potential downsides, means you will be able to make better informed decisions and save yourself a host of issues later down the line. People are often keen to shout about the benefits of automation and hear them describe quick wins or low-hanging fruit but longer-term direction that will have significant impact needs deep consideration.

Yes, there are some classic benefits such as reduced labour costs, increasing consistency of processes and increased production rates but there are also many challenges that should be considered when implementing automation on the factory floor. Some of these concerns include deciding what to automate, finding skilled employees and the impact on your existing processes.

Consider how likely a solution is to succeed. There are many kinds of digital solutions available on the market today, with many solution providers ready to compete for your custom. Making a list of your short- and long-term needs and identifying automation solutions that match them is a sensible first step which will help you ensure youre meeting a need which actually exists. The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project, based at the IfM, is a good place to start if youre a small- to medium-sized company looking for low-cost off-the-shelf solutions. We can help you to identify a process or a part of production to automate that doesnt cost the earth and allows you to try out small-scale digital solutions that wont disrupt your core operations.

Machines may be efficient, but they dont have the versatility or creativity of human beings. It doesnt take much to mean they stop working properly, whereas human workers can apply ingenuity and imagination to get around the problem. Be wary of costly machines that do a highly specific job. If production were to shift, a human worker is more adaptable than a large piece of kit that no longer fits into your plans.

Dont underestimate the implementation challenges that come along with automation. Its crucial to consider the job that workers are currently doing. More often than not, the job includes subtleties such as detailed quality checking which wont be able to be done via automation. Think carefully about what the job involves and the value which is added by a human being. Most people arent lucky enough to work off a green field site but have an existing factory, so its also important to look at existing legacy equipment and kit to work out how well, or not, automation systems can integrate.

Impact on current processes Its important to consider the effect of automation on your current processes. Ask yourself: How will automation impact your product?

And what will your customers think? Automation involves the same task being done on repeat so there is naturally a level of product personalisation that cannot be achieved in the same way.

The reliance on automation creates more demand for skilled maintenance and service technician jobs. For example, when equipment runs into problems, it needs to be back up and running as quickly as possible. Do you have access to these skills, and the resources to fund them?

Automated equipment can involve a high level of cost and can sometimes require a higher level of maintenance than with a manually operated machine. The cost of developing and deploying both the hardware and the software for automation should be considered. Do you have the in-house expertise to understand the products and processes?

Implementing automation successfully It is never too early to consider the potential automation can offer you and your business. But preparing for and considering some of the challenges posed by automaton will require consideration of the entire business processes, as well as the culture of the whole organisation.

At IfM Engage, our tried and tested automation assessment tool, backed by research from the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge and applied by industry experts, is helping manufacturers make confident manufacturing automation decisions. This supports company decision-making and helps firms take the longer-term view of automation.

Liz Salter, Industrial Associate, IfM Engage will be hosting a masterclass at Digital Manufacturing Week on Making the right automation investment decisions on Wednesday 10 November. The session will introduce a systematic approach to decision making and show how this informs good equipment sourcing choices.

Find out more about how IfM Engage can help you consider your automation investment decisions.

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What, how and when to automate - The Manufacturer

The digital imperative is becoming even more urgent as the world emerges from the pandemic. Consumers and employees want their digital experiences to be even faster and more personalized than ever before. Against this backdrop, digital transformation will remain a major priority for organizations in 2022 and beyond and automation will become increasingly critical to their ability to deliver.

About the author

Paul Crerand is Field CTO, EMEA at MuleSoft.

In fact, according our research 96% of IT and business decision makers say automation will significantly benefit their organization in the future. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the most common examples of these capabilities already in use by todays organizations. Deloitte found 93% of business leaders expect to be using RPA by 2023. However, these leaders efforts to automate more processes will have only limited impact if they are not scaled beyond a series of disparate use-cases.

Rather than taking a case-by-case approach to automation projects, organizations should be looking to expand its use across the entire enterprise known as hyperautomation. This can be achieved through the reuse of key processes and the deployment of multiple, integrated technology capabilities such as low-code platforms, machine learning engines, and RPA solutions. The benefits of hyperautomation are far-reaching, from freeing up employee time from manual work and enabling them to create more connected customer experiences, to fueling the rapid launch of new digital products and services.

There are also significant cost savings to be gained. Gartner forecast that, by 2024, hyperautomation will allow organizations to lower operational costs by 30%. All of this is crucial in todays digital world, through enabling organizations to keep pace with competitors and offer valuable experiences and services to their customers. However, organizations chasing these outcomes often underestimate just how difficult it is to lay the necessary foundations for hyperautomation.

The shift to digital-first customer and employee experiences has created an explosion of data from a broader array of disparate systems than ever before. All this needs to be connected to enable the effective analytics and data-driven insights that power hyperautomation.

Unfortunately, much of this data is locked up in silos the result of many organizations continuing to rely on custom code and point-to-point integrations. These integrations result in tight couplings between systems, and are complex and time-consuming to build and manage. This undermines business agility, making it difficult to quickly and easily draw out the data thats needed to drive automated decision-making.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of IT and business decision makers also point to data security and governance concerns as hindering automation. This threatens to put a handbrake on innovation and, if left unresolved, could seriously hinder the rollout of hyperautomation. Its clear that many organizations' current integration strategies are not sustainable. Organizations need a new approach, one which allows greater agility and enables them to implement hyperautomation at scale across the entire enterprise.

One of the most effective ways to build a foundation for hyperautomation is to harness APIs. With APIs, organizations can quickly and easily draw the information they need from disparate systems scattered across the enterprise, and bring it together wherever it is needed. This ensures automation engines can access all of the data thats needed to make the right decision, at the right time, and trigger the appropriate response through the organization's systems.

Using a centralized platform to manage their APIs can make this process much easier, enabling organizations to unlock and integrate data from anywhere whether it resides in an on-premises database, or in the cloud. These platforms also enable IT teams to set effective controls and access policies, so they can manage, monitor, secure, and govern their data at the scale hyperautomation demands. Adding low-code or no-code tools to this mix will also allow self-serve capabilities to be rolled out, so business users can help drive their own automation initiatives. With this approach, organizations will be far better placed to enjoy the benefits of hyperautomation.

Today, automation is a fundamental driving force for the modern digital enterprise. As automation evolves into hyperautomation over the coming years, it will shift from being a nice to have to a prerequisite for success and continued innovation. Those that act now and put in place the API strategies that facilitate enterprise-wide automation will be the future leaders of their industries.

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Using API integration to turn automation into hyperautomation - TechRadar

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Workato, an enterprise software company that offers an automation platform for businesses, has more than tripled its valuation to $5.7 billion after its latest funding round.

The company said on Wednesday it had raised $200 million in a funding round led by technology-focused venture capital firm Battery Ventures. Insight Partners, Altimeter Capital and Tiger Global also participated in the round.

Workato's latest funding, which brings total capital raised so far to over $421 million, comes nearly 10 months after the previous round, which was at a valuation of $1.7 billion.

The pandemic has supercharged the enterprise software industry, as businesses double down on their digital strategies due to remote working and seek to automate core functions.

Mountain View, California-based Workato offers its over 11,000 customers a platform to automate their critical business processes, which it says is more efficient than them having to deploy a variety of tools for the same.

The company said it has nearly doubled its customer base in the last 12 months, with additions like Stitch Fix (SFIX.O) and GitLab Inc (GTLB.O). Chip and software company Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) and restaurant software maker Toast Inc (TOST.N) also use Workato's services.

Workato said it intends to use the latest capital to invest in its products and also to expand further in the United States, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific). The company added it will open additional data centers in APAC and add support for regional languages.

Automation technology startup UiPath Inc (PATH.N) raised $1.34 billion when it went public in April this year. Other companies like ActiveCampaign, a cloud software platform that provides automation tools, also raised funds at a $3 billion valuation earlier this year. read more

(This story corrects number of customers to 11,000, not 7,000, in paragraph 5 after official correction from company)

Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Jane Lee in San Francisco; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Enterprise automation software firm Workato valued at $5.7 bln in latest funding - Reuters