General – Business Automation

As you probably know if you are reading this, I currently work at IBM in the Automation group with software including RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and Digital Labor, Workflow (BPM and Case Management), Decision Management (Business Rules), Content Management (ECM) and Cognitive Capture (Data Capture and OCR).

Sometimes, IBM offerings takes a bit longer to understand and consume given our heritage in enterprise software and our emphasis on strong runtimes. In recent years, an IBM Design shift with a new Design Language vastly improved not only user interfaces but overall offering consumability (ease of use and time to market).

With this in mind, check out what my team is delivering in digital, self-service videos, demos and hands-on labs! Learn, experience and try IBM Automation in 5-15 minutes and let me know your feedback!

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with Automation Anywhere: https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-robotic-process-automation
IBM Blueworks Live (Modeling): https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-blueworks-live
IBM Operational Decision Manager (Business Rules): https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-operational-decision-manager
NEW! – IBM Content Services (ECM): https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-content-services
NEW! – IBM Business Automation Workflow (BPM and Case): https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-business-automation-workflow
NEW! – IBM Datacap Insight Edition: https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/ibm-datacap-insight-edition
More of IBM Hybrid Cloud: https://ibm-dte.mybluemix.net/

We are on a journey, give us feedback and let’s iterate and improve!

Welcome to a new endeavor for me; one that I have thought about starting for years, have contributed to a few others before, and will keep to monthly as best I am able. In my current role at IBM, I evangelize the software platform for digital business worldwide and work with clients and partners from all industries. With this lens and others from past endeavors, I hope to provide a perspective both IBM specific and broad across all enterprises. The commentary and postings on this site are my own (or a partner’s) and do not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

I feel the message of IBM Automation is a turning point in an area of digital business transformation that I have worked around my professional career. First, in systems engineering: requirements elicitation, system and user design, model first, measure always and iterate. Next in software development: iterative and agile platform, nightly build, user experience. Then in software support: process consistency, repeatable virtual images, automated testing. And now in solution architecture where I work with clients to design operational solutions that bridge between IT and business to deliver automation and drive customer value.

Please give me a moment to define the bold terms above in my words (everyone has their own!):

Design: creation of a system that is centered around the users (participants) of that system and uses SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Participants, Outputs and Consumers) to ensure complete and delightful experience
Agile: a combination of user centered design and iterative delivery with a constant and quick feedback loop that involves business sponsors and users (participants)
Consistency: the first step toward automation, delivering the same, personalized experience to internal and external users (participants) throughout operational systems and workflows
Automation: The culmination of consistent and agile design leveraging enterprise capabilities across the following pillars (in alphabetical order): analytics, business modeling, content, decisions, human and system workflow and master data

Stay tuned for more as I cover business automation topics and how they relate to the operations of all enterprises. Keep the dialog coming and thank you for collaborating with me!