As we transition from the information age and through to the digital age of enterprise, the real value of AI, machine learning, and even the Industrial Internet of Things (or IIoT) technology is still being realised – both here in Australia, as well as in global economies. With every passing day, more businesses are opting to harness the power of these technologies and the opportunities for automation that they can provide. From using ChatGPT to generate professional emails, to using Bing AI to answer and all questions that come to mind during your workday, there’s no denying that AI tools can provide a range of benefits at a micro or individual level.
But how are Australian businesses using AI tools and the IIoT to automate their company’s operational processes at a macro level?
That’s precisely the question we’ll be answering today, namely by looking at how Australia’s biggest industries leverage the power of business automation to improve their output, cut down costs, greenify their operations, streamline supplier and partner relationships, and bolster their customer engagement.
Running AI diagnostics for machinery and equipment
Believe it or not, but many Australian industries are taking advantage of tailored IoT platforms for managing machinery and equipment of all functions and sizes. These IoT platforms are designed to act as centralised hubs for remotely surveying and managing technologies in the workplace. Virtually any professional environment that uses specialised equipment (i.e. mining sites, healthcare facilities, and fabrication and manufacturing plants) can use IoT platforms to not only monitor the operation and resource consumption of machinery, but to also ensure that machines are running as safely and efficiently as possible.
And what if a machine does experience a fault or a diagnostics issue? Well there are some digital machines and integrated IoT platforms that are actually capable of running remote, AI-powered diagnostics processes. This means that machines are now capable of detecting and resolving their own faults.
Not only do AI diagnostics features help free up manpower in professional settings, but it can also provide greater job flexibility for industry technicians or engineers, and other on-site workers. If machinery technicians are able to diagnose and correct faults in machines remotely by using AI-powered diagnostics features, then they can start working off-site. This is particularly useful for mining industry workers who typically have to physically travel regionally for days at a time to work on-site.
Using chatbots for customer service
Providing professionals with the opportunity to work from home isn’t the only way that AI automation tools have revolutionised Australian workforces. For another great example, simply think back to the last time you needed to make an inquiry with your bank, or with any other service provider. Chances are, you were either on hold with a robot over the phone, or you were inputting information into a chatbot. Which process did you prefer?
Although chatbots are certainly far from perfect, they have allowed thousands of organisations across the world to reduce their hold times in their customer service department. This doesn’t just boost the efficiency of their customer service departments, but also improves the experience for customers, who no longer have to deal with being on hold, and can easily just request a call once a human customer service representative has reviewed their inputs with their system chatbot.
And speaking of reviewing chat inputs, chatbots can also be valuable for businesses looking to streamline lead generation for their business. With a customer onboarding chatbot in place, businesses can ensure that the services or solutions they’re looking to offer to prospective clients actually align with that client’s unique needs. But truly, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of developing chatbots for business automation purposes. Chances are that Aussie businesses will be able to find their own unique benefits in the process of setting up their own chatbot helpers as well.
Streamlining administration and daily operations
Do you have employees (or are you an employee) whose primary workload is largely managing administrative processes? Chances are this employee’s full potential isn’t being utilised. That’s the mindset that has inspired thousands of Australian businesses to utilise business automation tools to handle rote administrative processes and the more mundane tasks that make up their daily operational practices. With well-automated processes handling these administrative tasks, your administration team members can actually help focus on big picture initiatives, ensuring that your business will be more likely to have the resources it needs to allocate towards going after growth opportunities.
Yes, this means the workload of your admin teams will evolve – but employees who are keen to make a difference and leave their mark will jump at this opportunity. So this shift from administration being powered by human resources to it being powered by AI, will likely result in your employees being able to invest more time in their own upskilling and workload diversification. Forward-thinking employers may even opt to take this opportunity for development one step further by supporting their employees in studying remotely in 2024.
Automation tools in marketing and communications
Marketing is one of the most important yet still somehow dispensable elements of managing any business. For many Australian small and medium-sized enterprises, being able to invest time and money into developing marketing campaigns and initiatives can feel like a luxury at times. But what if it doesn’t have to be?
With innovative digital marketing technologies like social media management software and even email marketing tools, Australian businesses can level the playing field of the digital space in a major way by automating their marketing and communications processes. This means that you no longer have to manually post to your company’s social media feeds, or even manually monitor engagement (i.e. waste hours in every workday just compulsively checking your likes and comments). Instead, you can auto-queue social media posts to align with sales periods or calendar events, ensuring that your social media materials stay relevant and up-to-date without having to invest hours every day, but rather 1-2 hours a week – if even that.
Marketing automation tools can also be valuable for developing tailored ad campaigns and advertising messaging that appeal to customers depending on which stage of the buying journey they may be on. These tailored ad development features help small businesses compete with larger corporations that are more likely to have the human resources required to develop these highly effective micro marketing campaigns.
Automating data analytics processes
The last opportunity for business automation is by no means a new concept. In fact, we’ve spoken about how business owners can use AI and automation for the purpose of streamlining their data analytics processes before. And to be fair, it makes a lot of sense, as data has become a fixture in the digital age.
But with the sheer amount of business data that’s generated on a daily basis, it can be all too easy for smaller businesses to feel locked out of the data analytics game. Historically, far too many resources are squandered in simply identifying what business data is worth collecting and interpreting.
Cut to today, and that barrier has largely been mitigated because of data automation software. Now, more Australian businesses are utilising SaaS (or ‘software as a service’) solutions that provide established data analytics capabilities that provide a range of benefits. These data analytics features include performance analytics methods for determining the efficiency of company processes or even products and services, and even predictive analytics systems (that help companies foresee and respond to evolving market trends). Once again, having access to these data analytics tools allow Aussie small businesses to compete on national and even international scales, ensuring that future generations of entrepreneurs have a world full of opportunities to explore.
The examples for application of business automation tools that we’ve outlined above can be observed in a wide range of Australian industries, and spanning across both the public and private sector as well. How we continue to use automation to optimise our workplaces is a pathway for innovation that business owners can choose to take for themselves. So communicate with your staff and see just how your enterprise can leverage these automation tools for yourselves.
