Importance of Adoption of Automation For Startups

Automation, which once used to be just a buzzword and an optional commodity for the IT industry, has now become an imperative for industries to adopt. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic gave digital transformation its much needed impetus, automation has moved on from being a talking point to a necessity. When it comes to startups, that sometimes lack in capabilities such as funding and manpower, automation is undoubtedly a boon.

Vikas Bhonsle, CEO of Crayon Software Experts reveals that one of the most important factors of startups is customer experience (CX), and automation plays a large role in enhancing CX: “Automation helps by simplifying and streamlining processes that have a direct impact on how customers interact with and experience a brand. Automation - such as chatbots and contact centers - assists customers with common tasks, sometimes replacing the involvement of humans, to improve customer interactions. This can help provide timely support to customers,” says Vikas.

In the same spirit, Rahul Raj, Co-Founder and CEO, FloBiz says that imbibing automation during the growth phase offers innumerable benefits for startups. “Scaling up may make or break your business. Adoption of automation in initial phases as well as scaling up phases reduces the burden on startups’ fund money, simplifies the processes as well as the operations, and eases the life for founders- so that they can concentrate on constructing new ideas to scale and develop a functional firm.  Startups can outsource in cases where automation is not an option internally and only the majority of functions ought to be kept in-house. Scaling your primary offering should receive the majority of your resources and investments,” says Raj.

On the other hand, Sudhir Prabhu, Co-Founder and CTO, Wolken Software is of the view that automation of business processes is no longer an option due to the advantages that come along with it such as saving of time and cost, low chances of errors and more.  Nevertheless, on the flip side, Prabhu says that startups need to be mindful of the following when it comes to automation: “Moving from manual to automation involves change that affects employees directly. It also adds migration costs.”

That said, he feels that automation would be easier to adopt for startups. “Automation of processes is easier for startups. Startups look for speed over other factors. Automation of processes for Recruitment, HR, Payroll, Lead Generation and Contracts can save immense time for founders and allow them to focus on their core strengths. Automation has added benefit of it being a service that can be subscribed to or unsubscribed at any point. Typically, business services that are automated will be priced on a 'pay-as-you-go basis. This is useful for startups to adopt best practices automation for a fraction of the cost. In summary, automation which can be subscribed to as a service, will help startups get a head start, save costs, be flexible and get going on their core business” adds Prabhu.

Harish Gudi, COO, Tredence, in turn, opines that the economics of scale through automation require startups to rethink their technology strategy and adopt a rounded approach to solving business problems. “Scaling automation is not a technical decision; it is a business decision that involves identifying opportunities, aligning with strategic goals, and mapping them to existing business processes and KPIs. While considering their automation strategy, startups should design for resilience given the frequent disruptions in the current business environment,” states Gudi.

Gudi further goes on to comment: “A well-designed automated strategy can help startups achieve value realization through improved productivity, effortless human-machine collaboration, cost reduction, and operational optimization. Automation can therefore provide startups with a competitive advantage. According to a recent study, 30% of global IT professionals already use artificial intelligence and automation software to save valuable time for their organizations. In contrast, two-thirds of the companies (66%) are still planning to implement artificial intelligence to achieve sustainability goals. However, considering the increasing benefits of automation, startups that embrace automation are well-positioned to succeed in the digital age.”