As the company develops, every head of the company wonders whether the business needs automation, and if it does, what kind of automation? On the one hand, automation is a very useful thing, but on the other hand, without a clear understanding of what it is for, this process can be very expensive and wear out management's nerves.

In terms of approaches to automation, businesses can be conditionally divided into two types: manufacturing company and “design bureau''. We refer to “design bureaus” as companies whose results depend on a creative approach: startups, engineering companies, IT outsourcing companies and many others.

We focus on the types of automation intended for the “design bureau”, because in manufacturing companies processes have learned to more or less automate, and there are difficulties with automating processes in the “design bureau”.

Any automation in business is always very expensive. Often the automation of a business that is ready for it can lead to unpredictable results, but competent automation in a company also yields results.

Let's take the global energy company “Gazprom” as an example. Remember that scandal about Miller in 2013? In fact, the "golden" iPad was a parallel accounting system at “Gazprom”. In fact, its budget was increased by more than a billion rubles, and more than 100 programmers and other employees were involved.

WHY DO WE NEED CONTROL AUTOMATION AT ALL?

  1. Increasing business transparency for management 
    Automation makes sense if the executives are not afraid and are ready to see what is really going on in the company.
  2. Creation of specific business models 
    For example, production "on demand" or the formation of a "logistical wonder of Toyota” ( although “logistical wonder of Toyota” raises questions when the supply chain is disrupted.
  3. Building out individual processes 
    Building out some processes without automation is simply not possible (e.g., QA processes).

It is not easy to be the head of a "design bureau" type company. However, a clear understanding of what is effective to automate when managing a small and medium-sized business allows executives to build processes competently.

Read the following article "What is effective to automate in companies of 5 to 10 people?"