At the Application Innovation & Business Solutions Summit, Gartner introduced BOAT (Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies). VP Analyst Saikat Ray explained that BOAT isn’t a new market but highlights the ongoing convergence of automation tools.

Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (BOAT) are like the skilled crew and advanced rigging on a sailing boat.

Just as a well-coordinated crew works in harmony to adjust the sails, navigate, and steer the boat efficiently through changing winds and waters, orchestration ensures that all business processes and systems work together seamlessly.
Automation, like advanced rigging that adjusts sails automatically, takes care of routine tasks, allowing the crew (employees) to focus on the more strategic aspects of the journey.
With these technologies, a business sails faster, more smoothly, and with fewer course corrections, ensuring it reaches its destination efficiently and effectively.

Robust business orchestration relies on a solid foundation of technologies like RPA, microservices, strong infrastructure, API management, task management, and data management. BOAT platforms seamlessly integrate these components into a single, unified solution, offering businesses a comprehensive toolkit to automate and optimise processes from start to finish.

As new technologies evolve rapidly and business demands grow at an unprecedented pace, staying competitive and successful requires more than just internal process optimisation. The real challenge is to create an environment that is adaptive and forward-thinking.

In this article we dive into how BOAT enables innovation and agile adaptation to constantly changing market requirements.

1. How BOAT platforms uses resources more efficiently?

BOAT platforms, like a well-prepared sailing vessel, use resources more efficiently by ensuring that every element on board is optimised for the journey. These platforms allocate resources — whether it’s manpower, data or machinery — where they are needed most, minimising waste and maximising output.

Automation handles repetitive tasks, like the autopilot steering the boat on a set course, freeing up the crew to focus on navigation and strategy. This ensures that the business, moves forward with minimal friction, conserving energy and resources while maintaining speed and direction.
The result is a smoother, faster voyage with fewer resources spent on unnecessary adjustments or corrections.

2. Faster application development

Gartner’s latest research highlights that Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (BOAT) represent the next evolution in automation tools, integrating the strengths of technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Business Process Automation (BPA), and Low-Code Application Platforms (LCAP).

Low-code platforms facilitate modular and flexible workflow automation with minimal coding effort. These technologies enable rapid development by providing the tools and conditions necessary for swift progress.

Imagine a sailor with advanced navigation instruments and automated rigging systems—what once took hours of manual adjustment now happens in moments, allowing the sailor to focus on charting new courses.

Similarly, BOAT platforms offer pre-built components, automated workflows, and intuitive interfaces that allow developers to assemble applications with the ease of setting sails on a calm day.

With much of the heavy lifting automated, developers can move quickly from concept to creation, navigating the development process with the speed and precision of a well built sailing boat in favorable winds.

The result is that applications are built faster, with fewer obstacles, enabling the business to reach its goals more swiftly.

3. Accelerated processes

Gartner’s industry analysts see BOAT as the natural progression of business process management, much like upgrading a traditional sailing boat with modern navigation systems.

The journey begins with streamlining and automating processes, akin to trimming the sails for optimal speed. The next step is to coordinate the various elements of a business process through changing conditions. This involves integrating familiar technologies  —  such as RPA, AI and IoT —  into a unified system, enabling precise control and orchestration, much like using advanced instruments to chart the best course.

For instance, consider a procurement process as the boat’s voyage. A BOAT platform acts as the captain, orchestrating each step from requisition to payment, ensuring everything happens in the correct sequence. It integrates with the company’s ERP system, checking inventory, initiating purchase orders, managing approvals, and processing payments.

This orchestration not only quickens the journey but also reduces the risk of errors and delays, ensuring the business sails smoothly towards its goal.

4. Enhanced flexibility, agility, and responsiveness

In order not to sink, continuous adaptation and improvement must be at the core of every business. So let’s talk about the 4th benefit of BOAT platforms.

As the captain of your sailing boat you must be able to adapt swiftly to changing winds and weather conditions otherwise you can get quickly in trouble.

In essence, BOAT platforms empower businesses to sail confidently through uncertain conditions, adjusting their course as needed while maintaining momentum and direction.  These platforms act like an advanced rigging system, allowing a business to adjust its sails quickly and efficiently in response to new challenges and opportunities.

With BOAT platforms, a business can pivot its processes, reallocate resources, and tweak workflows to catch the best wind. This agility ensures that the organisation can respond to market shifts, customer demands, or unexpected obstacles with speed and precision.

This enhanced flexibility and agility ensure that the business remains responsive and competitive, ready to capitalise on new opportunities as they arise, just as a well-managed boat is always prepared to harness the wind and surge ahead.

5. Reduced error probability

Enterprise application leaders need a unified architecture to implement process automation without stumbling over overlapping technologies. When RPA, BPA, and other platforms operate independently, the constant shifting between them — like repeatedly transferring cargo between different ships — introduces the risk of errors at every step.

BOAT platforms, much like a well-built ship with integrated systems, reduce the probability of errors by bringing all these technologies together under one unified platform.

By centralising orchestration, connectivity, and AI, BOAT platforms eliminate the need for multiple data transfers and disjointed workflows.

This streamlined approach ensures that processes flow smoothly, reducing the chances of errors and ensuring that the business sails steadily forward, even through complex automation tasks.

6. Increased data quality

Many digital transformation initiatives concentrate on automating processes without first addressing existing inefficiencies, which restricts the full potential of process automation. This lack of process transparency often arises from the overwhelming amount of data and systems that IT departments are required to manage.

BOAT platforms enhance data quality by ensuring that every piece of information flows seamlessly through a unified system. In the same way that a ship’s crew relies on accurate charts and precise navigation tools, businesses depend on clean, reliable data to make informed decisions.

By integrating multiple technologies into a single, cohesive platform, BOAT reduces the fragmentation that often leads to inconsistent or corrupted data. With centralised orchestration and AI-driven processes, data is handled with care at every stage, ensuring that it remains accurate, consistent, and up-to-date.

This approach not only enhances data quality but also ensures that businesses can trust the information they rely on, much like a sailor trusts their compass and charts to guide them safely to their destination.

And now, as we arrived to the end of this 6 chapter-long journey, let me summarise the key takeaways:

To navigate successfully in today’s dynamic business environment, companies need to move away from traditional, rigid structures and manual processes, adopting a smart, digital approach to their operations. Implementing BOAT platforms, such as the Olympe Orchestration Platform, strategically and comprehensively, is a crucial step in this transformation. By doing so, businesses can fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by digital transformation and thrive in a rapidly evolving world.

Are you ready to take the steering wheel of your BOAT in your hand?

 

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