There comes a point in every organization where we need to keep growing and the end result is hiring more staff and larger operating budgets.

Our teams are telling us that they are simply too busy and do not have capacity to take on new initiatives.

Having used K2 extensively for the past 7 years as both a customer and a consultant for customers, I have gained extensive knowledge and insights that I would like to share with you.

Most organizations evolve into a workforce suffering from administration overload and fatigue. I bet you have heard about the story of the frog and the boiling water. We go through our daily routines without noticing the gradual changes, which causes all sorts of problems when it is simply too late to remedy them. By our very nature, humans like routines — they make us feel comfortable and we prefer to operate in our comfort zone for a reason. Never let the “slow boiling water” kill you. 

Business Process Automation has matured immensely and the uptake is increasing at an rapid rate. You don’t have to wait for a perfect moment and neither understand everything only to begin. 

We as business leaders are able to decide on whether it is really additional resources required or whether our employees could be working more efficiently by understanding how they spend their time. 

K2 automation will assist you in eliminating work, reducing workload and increasing productivity. 

Across 4 organizations, I have found that we all faced the same challenges: Siloed applications, difficult-to-use business systems, complicated processes and the lack of skills to fix the problems without inflating our budgets. We often make do with what we have or even repurpose applications and often end up with a “hammer to crack open a walnut”. 

The amount of inefficiency caused by siloed applications outweighs the effort of creating an integrated solution. 

My current customer have a combination of various paper processes and related systems to manage their operating assets on a day-to-day basis. K2 allowed me to create an Operating Asset Management system in 2 weeks (1 developer) that automatically manages the daily maintenance checks via tablet device, request meter readings, reminders for licensing, scheduling automated service requests, report on running cost per hour per operating asset and so much more – all in one application with adequate reviews and a digital audit trail of the respective events. 

Makes more sense? 

Adapting to new technologies and being open to new solutions is simply the best way to improve business processes. 

Another common problem is that organizations are selecting workflow automation software that is either inadequate or just too difficult to use. The major vision of Nintex K2 has always been to produce technology that is easy to use and agile enough to produce a range from of easy to complex solutions. 

I have a personal challenge that I extend to all my customers: Show me something that I cannot create using K2! 

One of the counter arguments from my prospective customers are: We do not have trained programmers. I often suggest a combination of using an outsourced skill and a nominated in-house candidate to be developed for the future. One of my goals with every green field deployment is to vacate the customer and leaving behind, a competent in-house resource to maintain future momentum. Nintex K2 provides an adequate learning environment for newbies and that combined with starter development kits and community forums, we are equipped to face any seemingly daunting challenge that lays ahead. 

Nintex K2 is simply value for money in abundance. I operate across the small to large enterprise market and the cost of the product is rapidly recovered through the first few projects implemented and it simply pays for itself. When you have a toolset as flexible as Nintex K2, you have the right tool for most challenges and integration with other systems is a benefit that is rarely considered when looking at the cost of acquiring automation solutions. 

A few common challenges:

Limited company-wide adoption

• Get executive buy-in.
• Deploy solutions in a round-robin basis across all of your business areas as it creates trust and develops a company-wide culture and willingness to change and future adoption.

What do I tackle first?

• Identify an admin heavy and manual process for every business area and this will produce quick wins and immediate efficiency improvements.

Infrastructure and Systems Integration

• Growing your automation initiatives successfully is impossible without a flexible and scalable toolset.
• Nintex K2 delivers solid architecture with the ability to grow and scale without the fear of performance issues. This covers both on-premises and cloud enabled versions and features are constantly added to improve the speed of solution delivery i.e. Easy created templates to maintain the same look and feel across all of your development.

Do we really understand our own business and associated processes? Starting your automation journey allows you the opportunity to gain the oversight required and pivoting in a rapid fashion. You will be amazed by the speed in which your employees change their thinking and start delivering more matured and value add requests.

Automated business processes in a company means your work is getting done faster, your operating cost is reduced, a model is created for a leaner business and your functions are executed more efficiently for a better overall experience.