We are so busy in our day-to-day lives that most of us never stop to think about or appreciate the technology that makes our jobs possible. When we do, we generally view modern technology like digital process automation to be a relatively recent development. Yet the foundation of automation dates back thousands of years. Ancient Greek engineers developed automated systems propelled by compressed air, steam, and hydraulics. In the 1800s a mathematician named Charles Babbage developed a large steam-powered calculator. And throughout the 20th century, scientists and engineers made major strides towards automation and process improvement. The most significant of these innovations generally fall into three phases. The first came in the 1980s with the development of enterprise systems and effective manufacturing process methodologies like Lean and Six Sigma.The second came about at the conclusion of the 20th century with the widespread adoption of business process management systems. These tools served to improve operational efficiency while overcoming the integration challenges of earlier enterprise systems. The third phase, digital process automation, has come about in the last decade and has allowed organizations to provide superior customer experiences, as well as automate complex business processes.
Enterprise Applications (1980's to Current)
Enterprise systems are software solutions used for specific functions of business management. These include things like marketing, accounting, human resource management, project management, and manufacturing. These legacy systems became popular during the 1960s. Much like the technology of the time, these programs offered limited functionality and had no ability to integrate with other solutions.In the 1970s,material requirements planning (MRP) systems were created to increase productivity by ensuring that adequate materials were on hand while also estimating inventory levels to meet consumer demand. In the 1980s, manufacturing resources planning (MRP II) systems were designed to optimize manufacturing processes. Both MRP and MRP II systems served as the precursor to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, a term coined by analyst firmGartner in 1990. could handle a variety of like human resources and accounting, as well as front office processes. Yet with ERP solutions organizations could not focus on improving the efficiency of their business processes. For that, more sophisticated integration and planning tools were needed.
