Where SMEs Can Start With Automation

If you’re running a small business, then you might be excited about the potential benefits that automation might bring about. But automating in the right way means considering the costs and benefits, and moving forward only when we’re certain that the latter justify the former.

Start with the problem, not the technology

The worst kinds of technological investments are those that amount to solutions in search of a problem. New and shiny gadgets might appeal to our need to feel that we’re making progress, but when they’re poorly suited to the work they’re supposed to be doing, the benefits can be non-existent.

For this reason, it’s worth proceeding from a survey of your existing processes. When is manual labor being performed, and to what extent is it inconsistent and resource-hungry? Once you have these processes in your sights, you can start to form a rational, business case for an improvement. It’s this assessment-led approach that’s recommended by the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Choose a small, measurable first project

When you first start automating, it’s best to limit your scope. That way, you’ll be able to wrap things up quickly, assess your results, and apply the lessons you learn to the next improvement. Think about a single workflow or operational challenge, where success or failure are clearly measurable, and your criteria for both can be defined in advance.

Look beyond software to the physical processes you can automate

In the age of artificial intelligence, it’s easy to fixate on the potential for automation to change the way you use software. You might think of an algorithm or LLM that composes or beautifies text on your behalf, for example.

At the same time, however, some of the more significant benefits of automation are to be found in the physical world. If your business is involved with the manufacturing, packaging, or monitoring of physical products, then the chances are that there’s scope for automation. With the help of the right sensors, the machines you use might be able to act independently of human oversight, freeing up resources to be used elsewhere.

Build security and scalability into the plan

It’s important that your automation efforts don’t impede you in the long term. They might do this by locking you into processes that make it difficult to scale up your operation later on, or by introducing vulnerabilities that an outsider might use to compromise your systems.

Don’t think of cybersecurity as an afterthought. Doing it right means planning for it in advance, rather than dealing with it retrospectively.