Are We There Yet?
While this question, “Are we there yet?” is mostly associated with kids tired of sitting in the car during long road trips, it is just as relevant for us adults as we grapple with questions regarding the magic of machine learning applied to automation. We are going on year-three of the automation industry’s infatuation with everything machine learning/deep learning with underlying claims of “unparalleled accuracy”, “no-code”, “revolutionary” and “automation redefined”.
But has anything changed really? The answer is yes and no. First the no.
The Missing Silver Bullet
No, there is no silver bullet when it comes to technology. Organizations cannot just buy a magical fix to their automation needs. Homework is required. Human behavior hasn’t changed. We all are hoping for the “next wave” of technology to finally deliver on every expectation we have. Often, we are so hopeful that we are willing to suspend disbelief when a vendor comes knocking.
What Applied Machine Learning Can Offer
Now the yes. Yes, automation technology has gotten significantly better in the last three years. Application of machine learning, done correctly, can deliver dramatically improved results at lower costs. Yes, the promise of machines doing more of the work is close at-hand and in some applications already here. There are systems that can work on their own without a lot of human intervention (once they are pointed in the right direction).
Yet unlike that proverbial road trip, we often do not have a good map showing us where we are on our journey. We don’t have weather forecasts to help us select the best route. We don’t have directories to help us select the best places to stop and look around. So the age old issue of IT project failure still persists. This is unfortunate because we are almost there.
Automation Journey Road Map
Join me on April 7th at the AIIM Virtual Event: The Users’ Guide to Multi-Channel Intelligent Capture where I will discuss some practical steps on how to develop your roadmap so that you will always know your place in your automation journey.