The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Markus Zirn and Sridevi Pasumarthi discuss the transformative power of automation on business challenges and the pivotal role of AI in its enhancement. Drawing insights from her experience at prominent companies like Slack, Arlo, Checkr, and Gusto, she illustrates how automation can be a game-changer when positioned aptly. They talk about the evolution from the traditional CIO role to innovation-driven business technology positions, exploring the shifting expectations for modern technology leaders. Sridevi advises on the importance of developing a ‘10X mindset’, urging companies to always consider scalability and envision solutions that effortlessly handle ten times their current scale.Timestamps*(00:00) Episode Start*(01:13) Sridevi's automation philosophy*(03:47) Maximizing efficiency through automation and integration platforms*(07:54) Evolution from traditional IT roles to business technology roles*(12:25) Impacts of merging AI and automation*(17:07) Sridevi’s automation journey with Workato and notable use cases*(24:43) Sridevi's automation advice*(28:22) Today's TakeawayEpisode Key TakeawaysAI’s impactful role in automation: The combination of AI and automation is powerful. Sridevi shares how AI serves as a tool for recognizing patterns, offering insights, and facilitating informed decision-making.CIO's evolution toward business technology roles: The traditional CIO role is changing. CIOs must shift focus from system maintenance to strategic partnership in steering business technology. Embrace a ‘10X mindset’: Always consider scalability—envision your solution handling 10 times its current load. Start big, focusing on future growth. Automation isn't just for now; it's about preparing for the future.Automation's wide-reaching impact on business processes: Drawing from experiences from Slack to Gusto, Sridevi illustrates how automation effectively addresses unique business challenges.

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Ted Shelton and Markus Zirn discuss insights into how businesses can leverage automation and AI to improve processes. They delve into real-world applications, use cases, and challenges in implementing these technologies. Ted explains the necessity of adopting a growth mindset to fully embrace and make the most of AI and automation tools. Ted shares his top 5 strategies for how businesses can foster the acceptance and appropriate use of these new technologies among employees.Timestamps:*(00:00) Episode Start*(03:26) How AI and Automation are connected*(08:00) The new era of disruption and AI transformations*(13:46) Early applications and use cases in operationalizing AI and automation*(20:02) What Generative AI can impact when it comes to customer experience*(28:28) Revolutionizing customer interactions with AI's declarative process shift*(31:28) Challenges in adopting AI and breaking old mindsets*(36:01) Democratizing AI and low-code philosophy*(38:10) Ted's 5 pieces of advice for adopting AI*(41:08) Today's Takeaway*(42:40) Technological transformations and its impact on the workplaceEpisode Key TakeawaysAI and automation are interconnected: As you begin to adopt AI into your business, understanding the intrinsic link with automation is paramount. Automation organizes data for AI models and applies those insights to your processes.The real driver of AI-driven transformation is your competition: the ease of access to AI now means competitors have access to the same technology - which is driving a new type of urgency with executive teams.The winners and losers in AI will be decided in three domains. How quickly and successfully companies can harness AI to improve efficiency, experiences, and innovation will decide whether they come out ahead or fall behind in this new era.Generative AI will make companies more proactive with their customers: Cost economics of interacting with customers and proactive customer support are changing, which will ultimately create more value for customers.The process mindset is key in the AI era: Integrating AI into business processes is key, and keeping a process mindset (systems thinking) is even more important. Although interactions with AI mimic human interactions, there must be a practical approach for effective deployment and utilization, mirroring how we collaborate with human colleagues.‘Dynamic and disposable code’ is the future: Ted highlights the emerging concept of ‘dynamic and disposable code’, which breaks away from traditional coding methods. It relies on machines generating code in real-time based on described outcomes, revolutionizing the way humans and machines work together.

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Markus Zirn sits down with Gabriel Enright to explore the dynamic intersection of automation and AI in the telecom industry. Gabriel shares his philosophy and Vodafone’s strategic approaches, delving into the integration of different systems, the goal of streamlining processes, and the evolving role of AI within the business. He discusses how business complexities can be handled through automation and how an early adoption of AI can be a game-changing strategic advantage. Gabriel advises listeners on the 'shift left' approach, highlighting the pivotal move towards decentralizing automation tools to empower non-technical teams and citizen automators, all while maintaining centralized governance. Timestamps*(00:00) Episode Start*(00:46) Gabe's automation strategy*(02:41) Automation vs. integration*(04:00) Challenges with automation and integration *(06:00) Scaling automation and integration globally*(08:02) Gabe's thoughts on AI*(14:02) Vodafone's automation use cases*(16:29) Automation as a solution to complexity*(18:27) Gabe's automation challenges*(22:40) Vodafone's automation journey*(30:57) Gabe's advice on automation and AI*(35:26) Benefits of decentralizing automation*(38:59) Today’s TakeawayEpisode Key TakeawaysScalability through automation and AI: Embracing automation and AI opens new horizons for business scalability. However, unlocking this potential demands the collective creativity of our employees to redefine how we use automation.AI as a collaborator, not just an application: Considering AI another person within the organization can transform our approach to its use. This can lead to a clearer understanding of the outcomes achievable through automation and integration with AI.Handling complexity with automation: Automation is a powerful tool for managing inherent complexity in business operations. Leveraging automation allows organizations to effectively navigate intricate business processes, ultimately enhancing both employee and customer experiences.The importance of organizations to ‘shift left’: In this rapidly changing landscape, organizations must adapt. This inclusive strategy aims to decentralize automation, allowing individuals beyond the technical team to participate in integration and automation. Top quotes“So in abstracting away the complexity from the user, we can put the complexity into the automation, so that can deal with the different permutations based on the scenarios or circumstances of the sale or the operation of the service. So it's a very, very good tool to abstract away the complexity from the customer. But the nature of the business is complex, so at some tier, you need complexity and the automation tier is a great place to handle that.”“AI is not an application. If you think of it like that, it's going to be very difficult to understand what outcomes you'll get with AI.”“Decentralize the tool and centralize the governance because governance works across everything. Everyone should be on the same playing field. But what we do need to do is decentralize the effort to produce the services and also decentralize the execution.”“The goal is to get the business and the citizen automators more involved in the work and doing the work. Put the accountability and the responsibility out to them.”

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Darryl Maraj and Markus Zirn discuss the evolution and future of AI and automation. They emphasize the critical role the CIO will play as the world enters the new AI era. Darryl shares his experiences in implementing advanced technologies in GA Telesis, elaborating on their path to operational excellence, customer intimacy, product leadership, and security. They explore how IT can become a crucial part of the business strategy, fostering alignment across organizations.Timestamps*(00:00) Episode Start*(01:37) Darryl’s Background*(03:36) Darryl’s innovation with AI and business systems*(09:17) How AI helped with 36,000 emails and enterprise SLAs *(10:58) Why you need to get on board with AI Transformation *(14:45) The impact of democratization and AI*(18:57) How you should be reframing your mindset*(22:26) The endless use cases for AI & Automation*(26:33) Ways the CIO role is evolving*(29:25) Why IT/Business alignment is outdated*(33:25) The future of "fusion teams"*(40:37) Why it's sometimes better to map your processes with sticky notes*(42:32) Today's TakeawayEpisode Key TakeawaysTechnology strategy is business strategy: Technology shouldn't be an afterthought - which is why IT/business alignment is outdated. Technology needs a seat at the strategy table. It should be seen as a partnership. This shift in mindset can lead to better collaboration, innovation, and overall success in achieving goals.AI as a watershed moment for business processes: With the democratization of AI, it is no longer in the hands of the gatekeepers. Everyone has access to it and it should be used as an interpreter to accelerate business processes.The need to rethink business process innovation: Rethink your approach to business processes–they are more than just operations. Treat your business processes as products to continually iterate and improve. The importance of implementing an agile approach to delivery: We all need to adopt an agile mindset, specifically when it comes to delivering advanced technology tools. This can provide significant value to end users, ensuring a sustained competitive edge in an ever-evolving market.

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Rama Akkiraju and Markus Zirn discuss how generative AI is changing business processes, and uncover dozens of use cases. They consider its impact on democratization, organizations, and specific roles. Rama explains why unstructured data is the new gold mine, and they discuss why governance and guardrails are key for containing the superpowers granted by AI. Rama advises listeners to re-evaluate their processes in this new world. In her final advice, she suggests that adaptability is key, and flexible architectures are becoming more important than ever. Timestamps*(00:00) Intro*(02:14) Interview Start*(03:46) The evolution of AI and its impact on Rama's work*(05:53) Democratization & citizen development with AI*(09:49) Impact of AI on business processes*(15:05) Expanding efficiency and accessibility with LLMs*(18:05) The rise of “BigOps” and maximizing data*(19:54) How generative AI will deliver better insights from process data*(25:44) Security and IT operations use cases for generative AI*(29:54) Knowledge management and enterprise search*(32:10) The new importance of governance and guardrails*(36:20) Rama's AI and automation advice*(42:00) Key Takeaway from TodayEpisode Key TakeawaysGenerative AI opens the floodgates for democratization and citizen development: The rapid state of advancement of AI means that citizen development is here to stay, and democratization will move much farther ahead than ever before. Endless use cases are emerging with generative AI: Rama and Markus list dozens of use cases, from IT operations to security, knowledge management, change management, and more. The need for governance and guardrails is more crucial than ever: With great power comes great responsibility. As generative AI has the potential to expose new data that was previously inaccessible, we need to make sure we are disciplined in how we protect our teams and unstructured data.The heightened need for agility and flexibility: In the new rapidly changing environment, the need for flexible systems and organizations is greater than ever. Flexible architectures, nimble teams, and adaptability are paramount. Top quotes“Have an open mind. Go with the idea that everything could potentially be transformed. You have to rethink all the business processes, and everything that's been done before.”“The technology is changing so fast, you have to have flexible architectures that will allow you to adapt and change.”“When you harness them responsibly and strategically with the proper guardrails, AI and automation technologies can empower organizations to achieve their business goals with high levels of efficiency, productivity, and more.”

For the last 30 years, companies have worked to create value with better processes. We've seen all kinds of approaches, from process re-engineering to robotic process automation. But this new era of AI– it's turning 30 years of business process theory on its head. It will change the way we all work forever.In this new podcast, we'll go on a journey behind the scenes with leaders bringing this new era to life. Together, we'll uncover the secrets behind their success, the strategies that propelled them forward, and the challenges they conquered along the way. The New Automation Mindset is your leadership blueprint, your guide to success in a world where change is constant and innovation is everything. The New Automation Mindset, where AI, automation, and integration come together. Hosted by Markus Zirn and brought to you by Workato.