Business process automation (BPA) refers to the use of technology to automate repetitive tasks, streamline complex workflows and improve the productivity of a business. When businesses automate their processes, they gain a competitive edge, increase efficiency, and can better focus on their customers’ needs.
By eliminating manual processes, tasks can be completed more quickly while reducing the likelihood of human error. However, with so many different tools available, it can be overwhelming to decide which one is best. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at 10 of the most popular business process automation tools and discuss how they can be utilized effectively.
Top Business Process Automation Tools
If you’re looking for ways to improve efficiency and streamline your business processes, implementing the right automation tools can make a world of difference. With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 business process automation tools. From robotic process automation to workflow automation, we’ll cover the main features, who each tool is made for, and how to best utilize it to enhance your business operations. So let’s dive in!
Jetdocs
Jetdocs is the best internal workflow automation software out there. With it’s zero code interface anyone can create internal workflows for their organization in a matter of clicks. Jetdocs is customizable to various departments across the organization making its flexibility like no other platform out there.
Need to automate your accounting department so expense approvals get processed automatically? Jetdocs does that. Need to ensure the contracts get to right people for signings in the legal department? Jetdocs does that too! Think of an internal workflow you need to automate, from sales workflows, marketing workflows, accounting workflows, procurement workflow, legal workflow, Jetdocs can help streamline workflows for every department in an organization and reduce manual work.
Jetdocs comes with features that every business process optimization platform should have. Features such as advanced analytics where you can see everything that is happening in the organization, SLAs, priority levels, external ticketing, approval workflows, 80+ templates, audit trails and so much more Jetdocs comes with features that every business needs to get a good insight and to automate their business processes.
Oh and did we mention direct integration with Teams & Slack? Yes, your team can use Jetdocs without ever having to leave Microsoft Teams or Slack interface. No need to hire consultants to teach teams new application interface, hold sessions providing technical help etc. With interface your employees already know, 24/7 live chat, well thought of documentation and series of training videos, anyone can use Jetdocs without any friction.
If your goal is to manage processes for a business with over 10 employees, spread across many departments while making sure the internal communication in the organization goes smooth then Jetdocs is the best business process optimization tool you will be able to find in the market.
Don’t just take our word for it, book a demo today to learn how Jetdocs can help automate your business processes.
ProcessMaker
ProcessMaker is an intelligent low-code BPM tool that offers customizable charts and reports, a scripting engine for custom scripts, BPMN syntax checking, process error validation, and end-to-end orchestration of automated processes.
What sets ProcessMaker apart from its competitors is its user-friendly interface that allows non-technical users to easily design and re-design automated processes. A big part of UX is a great design which you can do with square monoline brushes for procreate. Whether you’re an experienced developer or a newbie, ProcessMaker has got you covered. It’s designed for business users who want to streamline their complex business processes without requiring extensive programming knowledge.
ProcessMaker’s scripting engine supports popular programming languages like JavaScript, Java, and C#, making it easy for developers to customize their automated processes. Its customizable charts and reports enable users to analyze data and make data-driven decisions, while BPMN syntax checking and process error validation ensure that your workflows are correctly formatted and error-free.
Not only that, but ProcessMaker’s end-to-end orchestration means that you can efficiently automate your entire business operation, from procurement processes to employee onboarding. Its low-code platform allows unlimited users to collaborate on the same process simultaneously, increasing productivity and minimizing human error.
ActiveBatch
ActiveBatch is a low-code platform with an event-driven architecture that is perfect for those looking for flexible task scheduling and automated workflows. This platform is designed to simplify your business process automation by providing easy-to-use tools that make it simple for anyone to automate workflows and manage tasks which makes it one of the best business process automation tools out there/
One of the standout features of ActiveBatch is its bi-directional integrations with System Center Service Manager and ServiceNow. These integrations make it easy to connect your automation workflows with other important systems and tools that you use in your business. In addition, ActiveBatch has API capabilities that allow you to connect to any service, app, or server, giving you the power to control your entire automation process from one place.
ActiveBatch also offers powerful modeling and in-depth monitoring features that enable users to easily track progress and identify bottlenecks. This makes it easy to quickly identify any issues and optimize your automation workflows for the best possible performance.
Businesses that utilize ActiveBatch are able to reduce expenses, improve productivity, and enhance the end-user experience. Its low-code platform means that even non-technical users can design and implement automation workflows, saving time and resources. The event-driven architecture also allows for easy scaling and customization, ensuring that the platform grows and evolves with your business.
Overall, ActiveBatch is an excellent business process automation tool with a low-code platform, event-driven architecture, automated workflows, flexible task scheduling, bi-directional integrations, API capabilities, modeling, monitoring, and numerous benefits for businesses seeking to streamline their operations.
KissFlow
Kissflow process management feature allows you to design, automate, and optimize your workflows from one place. Every action in the process can be tracked and monitored, so you can easily identify bottlenecks and make necessary adjustments.
The platform also includes case management capabilities, making it easy to manage complex cases and ticketing systems. You can create custom forms to collect all the necessary information, define service level agreements, and assign tasks to team members.
In addition, Kissflow has project management features that are perfect for agile teams. You can create and manage projects, define milestones, assign tasks, and collaborate with team members in real-time.
Speaking of collaboration, Kissflow’s collaboration tools are also top-notch. You can chat, share files, and work together on documents and spreadsheets. And with their analytics feature, you can track performance, KPIs, and SLAs with ease. Kissflow also offers integrations with a wide range of third-party tools, including Google Drive, Slack, and Zapier, among others. Plus, their Digital Workplace feature gives you an intranet solution that makes it easy to manage internal communication, training, and knowledge sharing.
Overall, Kissflow is an excellent tool for workflow and process management. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use BPA platform with all the features you need in one place, Kissflow is definitely worth checking out.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the social media management automation tool that simplifies your social media tasks and saves you time. With its user-friendly interface, Hootsuite allows you to easily manage and monitor all your social media accounts in one place. You can connect multiple accounts and track interactions with your brand across over 150 social network integrations.
One of the advantages of Hootsuite is its robust customization options using the Hootsuite API. This allows you to tailor your social media automation to fit your unique business needs. Plus, the enhanced interoperability means you can easily connect Hootsuite with other applications and tools you may be using.
Hootsuite is ideal for businesses and individuals who are actively using social media to connect with their audience. Whether you’re a small business owner managing multiple social media accounts or a social media marketer working with clients, Hootsuite simplifies the process and saves you time.
In terms of pricing, Hootsuite has a variety of plans to fit your business needs, starting at $19 per month. Upgrade to their higher-tier plans for additional features and team collaboration tools.
In summary, Hootsuite streamlines the social media management process with its user-friendly interface, multiple account connections, and extensive social network integrations. Its customization options and enhanced interoperability make it a top choice for businesses and individuals looking to automate their social media tasks and save time.
Asana
Asana is an excellent project management tool for small to medium-sized businesses that require proper organization and efficient communication platforms.
Asana provides a simple user interface that is very easy to navigate. It offers premade templates that cover a range of business processes, including product launches, marketing campaigns, and HR onboarding. This feature makes Asana versatile and adaptable to various industries and business needs.
Another great feature of Asana is its task scheduler that makes it easy to assign tasks to each team member and set specific deadlines. This allows everyone involved to know what’s expected of them, ensuring that your project is completed on time.
With Asana’s security features, you can rest assured that your business’s data is well protected. Asana supports Single Sign-On (SSO) and 2FA, making it very difficult for unauthorized persons to gain access to your account.
Asana also offers repetitive task automation that enables you to automate tasks that happen repeatedly, freeing up your time so that you can focus on more pressing issues.
Basecamp
Basecamp is an all-in-one project management and team communication software that makes collaboration a breeze.
One of the key benefits of Basecamp is its flexibility to work well within remote working environments, making it ideal for teams operating outside of traditional office spaces. It’s also compatible with a wide variety of integrations, allowing you to easily connect other software and tools to create an end-to-end automation process.
When automating your business processes using different software platforms, it’s crucial to have connectors and data exchange layers in place. You’ll also need to have a clear map of the end-to-end process workflow in order to build an integration between your individual platforms using a process-driven messaging platform.
Basecamp comes loaded with an array of helpful features, including deadline tracking, file management, task tracking, announcement management, and discussion tracking. These features work together cohesively to help you manage your projects more easily and efficiently.
As part of a digital transformation strategy, businesses frequently adopt business process automation (BPA) to streamline their workflows and improve organizational efficiency. Basecamp offers an effective solution for businesses of any size that are looking to enhance workflow automation by combining project management, collaboration, and automation capabilities.
All in all, with its robust features for project management and team collaboration, Basecamp is an excellent tool to consider if you’re looking to embrace the advantages of remote working and digital transformation while streamlining your business processes.
Laserfiche
Laserfiche is an exceptional business process automation (BPA) software that provides organizations with a seamless platform to manage their critical workflows. This tool offers an impressive suite of features, including workflow automation, mapping, real-time updates, and robotic process automation to ensure that all business tasks are complete
Laserfiche is an all-in-one BPA tool that helps organizations manage and streamline their critical workflows with ease. Its configurable, easy-to-use reports, workflow automation, RPA, real-time updates, and recurring email notification features make it a game-changer in the BPA industry.
TrackVia
TrackVia is perfect for teams looking to automate their workflows with low code approach. Its intuitive interface and low-code approach make it easy for end-users to create customized applications and workflows without requiring extensive coding knowledge.
One of TrackVia’s most significant features is its ability to integrate with third-party apps like Salesforce, QuickBooks, and Zapier. This integration enables businesses to streamline data across multiple applications, leading to significant time savings.
However, TrackVia has default layouts and limited customization options with its forms and dashboards. This drawback may not work for some companies looking to create a completely personalized user interface.
TrackVia is overall a good tool for businesses looking to improve their everyday operations, such as tracking inventory or managing customer information. It’s user-friendly and designed for teams looking to automate processes without breaking the bank.
To fully utilize TrackVia, start by identifying areas of your business process that require automation and create workflows that reflect those processes. You can also set up notifications and alerts to ensure that tasks are completed on time and accurately. With TrackVia, businesses can reduce human error and improve the overall efficiency of their operations.
Comindware Tracker
Comindware Tracker is a highly-rated business process automation tool that is perfect for businesses of all sizes. It is designed to help companies streamline their workflows, improve their business operations performance, and increase their productivity. One of the tool’s standout features is the customizable Graphical Workflow Builder, which makes it easy to create and automate complex business processes.
With Comindware Tracker, you can design Electronic Forms that give you complete control over the data input and output of your processes. You can capture information from a variety of sources such as emails, shared folders, and databases.
Workflow Automation is another key aspect of Comindware Tracker. The tool allows you to automate repetitive tasks such as data entry and document approvals, freeing up your employees to focus on more important tasks.
Best of all, Comindware Tracker combines process and task management, giving you the ability to manage them side-by-side in one place. This feature ensures that processes move forward according to plan while also keeping track of any pending tasks, allowing you to monitor every step of your workflow seamlessly.
In summary, Comindware Tracker is the ideal tool for businesses seeking to improve their business operations performance while automating their workflows, making it easier to manage processes and tasks. With its Graphical Workflow Builder, Electronic Forms Design, Workflow Automation, team collaboration tools, and workflow tracking and reporting capabilities, it’s hard to go wrong with this process automation tool.
Benefits of Business Process Automation
As a business process automation expert, I have seen firsthand the benefits of automating tasks and processes. Business process automation (BPA) is a critical part of achieving simplicity, digital transformation, and improved service delivery while containing costs. Integrating applications, restructuring labor resources, and using software applications throughout the organization are essential moves towards realizing these benefits.
BPA makes it possible to automate a wide range of tasks and processes, including repetitive, menial, and complicated tasks. This means that industries across the board, from human resources to customer service, can benefit from business process automation. For example, an automated employee onboarding process can streamline a previously cumbersome tasks for professionals.
Increased Efficiency
Automation helps to streamline processes and reduce the risk of errors, allowing businesses to increase their efficiency and productivity.
Reduced Cost
Business process optimization saves a lot in human resources and budgeting process, which can help businesses reduce costs, as well as ongoing maintenance and support expenses.
Improved Scalability
Automation allows businesses to scale quickly and react to changes in the market, helping them remain competitive.
Faster Time-to-Market
Process automation means less dependency on slow humans, platforms provide pre-built components and templates, which can help businesses accelerate their time-to-market.
Reduced Risk
Automation helps to remove manual errors from processes, reducing the risk of costly mistakes and improving data security.
By optimizing business processes through automation, organizations can achieve a lot, including increased efficiency, cost savings, and better customer experiences. By implementing BPA, businesses can reduce human error and improve their digital transformation efforts.
Types of Business Process Automation Tools
There are several types of Business Process Automation (BPA) tools available in the market. Here are five popular categories of BPA tools, their defining features, and examples of popular tools within each category.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an automation tool that can revolutionize any business. It can handle highly repetitive and mundane tasks, reducing human error and freeing up employees to focus on more critical aspects of the business.
RPA utilizes a user-friendly interface that allows non-technical users to implement it with ease, making it ideal for businesses looking to automate complex and time-consuming processes. In this article, we’ll explore RPA’s capabilities, who it’s made for, and the best applications where it can bring significant value.
How RPA Works
RPA uses software robots to automate repetitive and manual tasks. RPA is not just a buzzword; it is a powerful tool that can be applied across various industries and processes, including finance, customer service, human resources, and procurement. With RPA, you can quickly streamline your workflows and accelerate your digital transformation efforts.
One of the biggest benefits of using RPA is that it can significantly increase employee productivity and efficiency. By automating mundane tasks, employees can focus on more strategic and high-value work that requires human intelligence and decision-making. This not only improves employee morale but also contributes to better business outcomes.
So, how exactly does RPA work? RPA follows a set of predefined rules and instructions that allow it to mimic human actions. RPA software robots can read, interpret, and manipulate data across different applications, just as humans do. These robots can seamlessly integrate with existing systems and can even learn from previous tasks to improve their performance over time.
The only issue with RPA is they might be costly and difficult to setup at the very beginning.
Benefits of RPA for Businesses
By leveraging RPA, businesses can achieve a wide range of benefits, including cost savings, higher accuracy, improved compliance, and increased productivity.
Streamlining Workflows with RPA
One of the most significant benefits of RPA is its ability to streamline workflows and reduce the amount of time spent on manual tasks. RPA software robots can handle repetitive tasks at higher speeds and accuracy levels compared to humans. As such, employees can focus on critical work that requires human intelligence and decision-making. This increased efficiency leads to faster processing times, improved cycle times, and quicker turnaround times for projects and tasks.
Increasing Employee Satisfaction and Productivity
Through RPA implementation, organizations can improve employee satisfaction and productivity by removing mundane and repetitive tasks from their workload. This provides employees with opportunities to develop new skills and work on more strategic projects that enhance their professional development. As a result, organizations can foster a dynamic and innovative company culture.
Driving Cost Savings and Higher Accuracy
By automating manual tasks, RPA helps to drive down operational costs, improve reliability, and reduce human errors. RPA software robots can work around the clock, ensuring that processes run smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, RPA tools allow businesses to achieve cost savings by requiring less manual labor, reducing operational costs, and increasing the accuracy of tasks.
Greater Resilience and Improved Compliance
RPA provides businesses with greater resilience and improved compliance by reducing the risk of human error. This feature is particularly essential for regulated businesses that must follow strict guidelines to ensure compliance with regulations and standards.
Allowing Employees to Focus on More Strategic Work
With RPA, employees can focus on more strategic work, allowing them to develop new skills and focus on tasks that require human intelligence and decision-making. RPA software robots automate repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing up employees to explore new and innovative ideas that will benefit the company in the long run.
Low-Code Platforms & Workflow Automation Solutions
Low code platforms simplify and accelerate software development by allowing users to create custom solutions with minimal coding required, making them an ideal choice for businesses looking to automate their processes.
One of the main benefits of low-code platforms is increased productivity. With the ability to create custom solutions quickly and easily, businesses can get more done in less time. Additionally, low-code platforms often come with pre-built components and templates, which can further reduce development time and accelerate time-to-market.
Another major benefit of low-code platforms is reduced costs. By requiring less coding and development work, these platforms can help businesses save on development costs, as well as ongoing maintenance and support expenses. With low-code platforms, businesses can get the solutions they need without breaking the bank.
One bad thing is, you still need to code, you still need to maintain the code, it’s just as the name suggests, low. Technical skill set is usually required regardless of the claims made by different platform providers.
Benefits of Low-Code Platforms & Workflow Automation Solutions for Businesses
As businesses grow, they often face the challenge of managing increasing amounts of work, including repetitive tasks that take up valuable time and resources. However, with the advent of low-code platforms and workflow automation solutions, businesses can easily automate their processes, saving time and enhancing efficiency.
No Code Workflow Automation tools
No Code Workflow Automation tools provide businesses with a great alternative for automating processes without requiring extensive coding. These tools feature intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, allowing users to quickly and easily create custom workflows and automate tasks without any coding experience. No code workflow automation tools are easy to use, require minimal setup, and enable businesses to achieve faster time-to-market with reduced costs
Jetdocs for example, is a low code business process automation tool that allows you to create internal processes and process them without ever having to write a line of code, basically clicking on few options to se things up. usually that’s how no code work, they aren’t swiss knifes that can do everything but the function they aim for, they nail it.
Low code platforms are very low maintenance, easy to deploy and train the employees in and required significantly lower capital & labor commitment from the organization.
Want to create no code business processes? Use Jetdocs for internal approval workflows, HR workflows, legal workflows and more! You can browse our use case page to explore all the possibilities.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Business Process Automation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly important factor in business process automation. With an AI-driven approach, businesses can automate tasks that previously required manual intervention, thereby streamlining operations and increasing efficiency. AI-powered tools can assist businesses in virtually every aspect of their operations, from customer service to human resources, and can be optimized to meet the unique needs of individual organizations. I
AI and Machine Learning in Business Process Automation
As the world becomes increasingly digitized, business process automation (BPA) has become a critical tool for organizations to optimize their operations and reduce costs. One of the biggest drivers of BPA is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which uses machine learning algorithms to analyze data and identify patterns. AI-powered BPA solutions provide businesses with the ability to automate complex workflows, reduce manual tasks, and minimize human error.
AI and machine learning algorithms enable BPA tools to learn from data to make predictions and decisions. For example, AI-based tools can analyze customer data to determine which customers are most likely to buy a particular product, allowing businesses to tailor their marketing campaigns to those customers. Similarly, AI-powered chatbots can analyze customer conversations to learn how to communicate with customers more effectively and resolve issues more efficiently.
AI also improves the accuracy and efficiency of automated processes by eliminating manual intervention. Once a machine learning model is trained, it can process data much faster and with greater accuracy than a human. Furthermore, because AI models do not suffer from fatigue or bias, they can work around the clock without any adverse effects on productivity or quality.
BPA tools can also be enhanced by integrating natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. NLP enables AI-powered bots to understand and respond to human language, making communication more natural and intuitive. For instance, chatbots can use NLP to understand customer inquiries and provide more targeted and accurate responses, improving customer satisfaction and reducing the workload on customer support teams.
Understanding Natural Language Processing (NLP) in AI-Powered BPA
As you delve into the world of business process automation (BPA), you’ll likely come across the term natural language processing (NLP) quite frequently. NLP is a type of technology that enables machines to understand and process human language input. When used in AI-powered BPA, NLP tools can unlock a whole world of new possibilities for automating complex business processes.
By integrating NLP technology into BPA tools, machines can interpret human language inputs and carry out tasks accordingly. For example, NLP can be used to automate document management and contract review by scanning through text fields to extract relevant data. It can also be used for text and image recognition, such as identifying key data points in PDFs or recognizing images to automate specific tasks.
Besides just text and image recognition, NLP-based BPA applications are pretty much endless. NLP can be used in chatbots to understand customer inquiries and complaints, leading to efficient and more effective customer service. It can also be used to automate translation services for businesses that operate in multiple languages.
The benefits of implementing NLP into BPA tools are numerous. For one, it increases the efficiency and accuracy of automated tasks. Incorporating NLP-based BPA can lead to a significant reduction in human error and an increase in process automation capabilities.
Conclusion
Business process automation tools are an absolute game-changer in the world of business operations, providing a solution for teams looking to streamline routine and time-consuming tasks while saving costs and reducing human error.
There are multiple tools available in the market, each designed for catering to customized business needs. However, choosing the right tool depends on the organization’s needs and budget.
Types of BPA software like Business Process Management (BPM), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Low-code Platforms (LCP) are among the most commonly used tools available in the market that are designed to manage and automate business operations, improving efficiency and productivity.
BPM software provides a complete solution for managing complex business processes and integrating diverse systems. RPA streamlines repetitive tasks and can automate processes requiring high accuracy levels. LCP tools are best for businesses looking to customize applications as per their requirements.
When selecting the appropriate business process automation tool, businesses should consider factors like scalability, integration with other software, and the number of business applications required. Each tool has its benefits and limitations, so a thorough analysis should be done before choosing the best one.
