Automation can roughly be described as any technological introduction that allows for the completion of tasks without human interference. Automation is pursued by business leaders in order to drive institutional efficiency. The less human interference is needed in the completion of a task, the more cost-effective a company will be. Machines also tend to complete tasks more accurately than human beings, which are fallible. Here are some areas that are being automated in business on an increasingly large scale.
Messaging
Businesses need to send messages for countless reasons: from marketing to customer service. Companies such as Boomerang Messaging provide automation solutions to businesses that want to streamline their messaging operations. Automated messaging allows businesses to reach consumers and collaborators without hiring staff specifically to send and receive texts, emails, and calls.
Cloud Uploads
Businesses are migrating to the cloud in vast numbers. Cloud technology allows computing and storage to be hosted remotely and accessed over the internet. This is a major boost for many business, which no longer need to invest time and money into on-site servers.
Uploading important data to the cloud automatically is now standard practice in many companies that make use of remote server technology. In businesses as diverse as music studios and logistics companies important data is now uploaded and saved as soon as it is created. This not only prevents data loss: it also enables collaborators and colleagues to access and assess data instantly.
Logistics Reporting
In order for a logistics chain operation to work correctly shipments, deliveries, and inventory stock need to be correctly reported. In the past, this was an immensely time-consuming job completed by human checkers. Today, large logistics companies use robots and sensor systems to collect inventory data. Software can use this data to assess patterns in inventory stock and automatically order more deliveries in an extremely efficient manner.
Modern advances in automation often involve the automated analysis of patterns in order to increase efficiency in an exponential fashion. Logistics is one field in which this automation ethos has been extremely successful in reducing costs.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing has always been an area in which automation is pursued. The most cataclysmic automation shift in manufacturing occurred during the Industrial Revolution. In this period, which spanned from the late 17th century to the early 20th century, manufacturers made use of new technologies such as the spinning mule to create efficient production lines. This did not always go down well. Some workers feared exploitation at the hands of factory bosses who no longer needed their skills, and Marxism was born largely thanks to the dreadful conditions afforded to people working in factories in Manchester and Germany at the time. Despite pushback, automation in manufacturing marched on. The pinnacle of automation in the Industrial Revolution was the creation of the Model T production lines by Henry Ford in the early 20th century.
Today, a new digital industrial revolution is pushing automation forwards. Advanced sensors and data analysis software make robotics far more efficient in creating products than humans could ever be.