Recent technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, have taken automation to a new level: from individual automation to industrialized automation — and now to intelligent automation.

More than that, the maturity of the buyer and new demands have contributed to the evolution of this technology. While cost savings, efficiency and speed to market have been key themes for automation the past few years, the pandemic has added the need for this tool to address system resiliency, application availability and innovation, and new business priorities.

That is what “The Automation Advantage” book, from Accenture PLC’s automation leaders, features a comprehensive blueprint for using and scaling AI-powered automation to guide enterprises to a competitive advantage through improved speed to market, product quality, efficiency and a heightened customer experience, according to Bhaskar Ghosh (pictured, left), chief strategy officer at Accenture.

“Primarily, we dealt with three things,” Ghosh said. “One is the individual automation, which deals with the human efficiency; second is the industrial automation, which deals with the group efficiency; and third is the intelligent automation, which deals with the business efficiency or business value. We believe that this is what will really change their business and help our client, help the automation IT users to really make an impact in their business.”

Ghosh and Rajendra Prasad (pictured, right), global automation lead for technology at Accenture, spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the AWS re:Invent Executive Summit. They discussed the changes in automation, its growing importance to driving business value and innovation, the problems this technology solves, and how the book wraps up all these topics to guide companies on this journey. (* Disclosure below.)

The critical role of cloud computing

Cloud computing plays a central role in enabling modern automation. As enterprises generate and accumulate more data than ever before, they rely on cloud services to make that data available to users and enable the adoption of automation and AI, according to Ghosh.

“Once you [move to the cloud], building machine learning models on the top of it, leveraging containers, clusters, DevOps techniques to drive the AI principles on the top of it, kind of make it easier to drive that and foster enablement, advancement through cloud technologies,” Prasad explained.

Alternatively, using automation in the migration of systems and applications to the cloud can address the challenging complexity, speed and scale of the cloud transformation journey.

“The book stresses the very importance of fueling the motion of the entire organization through agility, embracing new development … and the importance of all of cloud adoption that builds the foundational elements of making sure your automation and AI capabilities are established in a way that it is scalable and sustainable within the organizations as they move forward,” Prasad said.

Although there is a need for automation in every modern business, its implementation must be a well-planned, structured process supported by the entire management body, according to Ghosh. “The Automation Advantage” book lays out five key phases organizations will typically go through to maximize the benefits from intelligent automation: foundation, which is tools driven; optimize — process-driven; efficient — RPA-driven; predictive — data-driven; and intelligent — AI-driven.

“The fastest step in your automation journey and cloud adoption journey is to start simple and start right,” Prasad stated. “A company needs to know where they are on a map today, identify the right focus areas, create a clear roadmap, and then move forward with a structured approach for successful adoption.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS re:Invent Executive Summit. (* Disclosure: This segment was sponsored by Accenture PLC. Neither Accenture nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE