Over the past few years, shared service centers, or SSOs, have transitioned from merely cost-cutting mechanisms to influential agents of business innovation. They're no longer isolated back-office operations, but core components driving business agility and responsiveness in a rapidly changing marketplace. However, they face several challenges - from fragmented automation to limited process visibility.
Shared service centers and their evolution
SSOs were initially introduced as a method to achieve cost savings by consolidating similar business functions, such as IT, HR, and Finance, across departments. Today, they've become an instrumental part of modern businesses, offering a wide range of services while facilitating operational excellence and effectiveness. Technological advancements like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and business process automation software are changing the way shared services function. However, the real game-changer has been Process Intelligence (PI)—an AI-driven technology that provides a comprehensive view of business operations, helping create a tailored automation roadmap. Despite evolving significantly, shared service centers face various challenges, primarily rooted in process complexity and siloed automation. Many shared services centers have adopted automation but have not realized its full potential due to these hurdles.
