Outsource Magazine Issue 34 - (Page 90)

outsource xPLoRES Post-Human BPo: automation & oPerational excellence in association witH GenFour You, Robot? Our series looking at 'Post-Human BPO' and the robotic revolution begins with an exploration of the impact automation technology is having - and will have - on end-user organisations and the outsourcing provider community: professionals, transform! Jamie Liddell Jamie Liddell is the editor of Outsource and www. outsourcemagazine.co.uk T he past couple of years have seen a great deal of buzz around "robotics" in business process outsourcing; while the word may conjure up images of large, grinding hunks of manshaped metal the reality may be a lot more prosaic in appearance - but nonetheless x 90 ● remarkable in terms of its potential to shake up outsourcing, and business, forever. The automation of processes is not, of course, new - look at the evolution of the assembly line - but in the back office its application has had a much longer gestation. Once fully adopted, however, robotics could have as great an impact upon back-office processes, corporate structure and the practice of sourcing work as it has had upon manufacturing. The most obvious place in which robotic automation can demonstrate its value is right on the bottom-line - and, as with outsourcing generally, people cost is a critical factor here. Substantially automating an organisation's back office, or the processes provided by an outsourcer, is going to result in a significant reduction in the need for humans to carry out work, at a cost much lower than that of those humans currently on the payroll. Where those offshoring work might look at a people cost of around 30-50 per cent of the onshore equivalent, robotics solution providers might tout savings of the same again - a compelling advantage when competing against low-cost headcountcentric offshore providers or captives, For more can't-miss content on 'Post-Human BPO: Automation & Operational Excellence' see the series index at www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk/posthumanbpo ●● ● www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.genfour.org http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk/posthumanbpo http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Magazine Issue 34

Challenges and Champions
Outsourcing in a Troubled Economic Environment
Richard Jones
High Stakes
In Transition
The Bigger Picture
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere...
NOA Round-Up
Struggling To Get Through?
International Commercial Disputes In Outsourcing Agreements
Is Infrastructure Necessary?
Global Freelance Platforms Grow Up
Trumping Price – Only with Best value
Kerry Hallard
Technology Investment in 2014
Water Will Always Find A Way
The Right Time Is Now
You, Robot?
The Legal View
Top Ten
NelsonHall Round-Up
Online Round-Up
The Deal Doctor
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Magazine Issue 34