{"id":3703,"date":"2016-09-21T01:37:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T01:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/automation-partner-story_09202016\/"},"modified":"2016-09-21T01:37:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T01:37:00","slug":"automation-partner-story_09202016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/automation-partner-story_09202016\/","title":{"rendered":"Governing a Core Automation Strategy as the Operations Backbone \u2026 And a Catalyst for Change in SEI and NIIT Technologies Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can enterprises make automation core to their operations strategy and not merely a peripheral activity? Let’s be blunt here, many service providers have been automating routine tasks with their clients for years, yet as my HfS colleague, Tom Reuner, has noted, the innovations referenced by the notion of RPA and Intelligent Automation are “often at sub-process levels…not at the heart of a delivery backbone<\/a>.” We are seeing the momentum pick up here, though, particularly when automation is a shared strategy between service providers and their clients. We heard one such case highlighted by Peter Quinn, Managing Director of Automation at SEI Investments<\/a> Co.,<\/u> (NASDAQ: SEIC) a wealth management solutions company, at the recent NIIT Technologies Industry Analyst\/Advisor Day.<\/p>\n

Service buyers want to partner for automation, but where – and how – is it actually working?<\/span><\/p>\n

When we asked 53 service buyer executives what would improve the quality and outcome of their current outsourcing engagement, 45% of them selected “roll out an automation strategy in tandem with our provider.” (see Exhibit) <\/p>\n

Exhibit: Service Buyers Could Improve Quality and Outcomes by Changing the Nature of Their Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Click to Enlarge<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

There are risks to be taken by buyers and providers – but is the greatest risk avoiding core automation?<\/span><\/p>\n

For service buyers, challenges include getting the IT department on board and addressing concerns about data security while selecting and licensing the appropriate software. Service providers also face the investment challenge of taking hits to their existing FTE-based revenues and margins in order to safeguard existing clients and win new ones. So, how can buyers and providers truly get to a shared automation strategy that’s genuinely core to the engagement? It’s simple: both need to be willing to take risks to drive new business outcomes. But you can also look at the risk of not taking the risk – failure to achieve effectiveness through automation could ultimately lead to the buyer enterprise leaders falling on their swords, while those service providers clinging to the legacy FTE model will eventually be displaced by those with a genuine automation capability and offering.<\/p>\n

The SEI and NIIT Technologies Experience with Governing Core Automation<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s one such story: It starts with SEI getting excited about the potential impact of automation on security, quality, speed to results, and employee engagement. <\/p>\n

Peter Quinn, Managing Director of Automation at SEI, set out the expected outcomes for an extensive use of automation:<\/p>\n