Technology stacks are mushrooming in every modern workplace. For any and every business need, you’ll likely have a handy point solution in place to solve the problem.
But unfortunately, mounting up point solution after point solution creates an inevitable (and unmanageable) jumble. Like continuously using disposable plastic bags, you’re solving an immediate problem quickly – but you’re also creating an environmental problem.
We spoke to Howard Williams, Commercial Director at ThinkAutomation, on the point solution problem – and how to solve it with headless automation.
What do you mean when you talk about the point solution problem?
The list of technologies we use to handle the daily workload is endless. Considering cloud services alone, in fact, the average enterprise now uses 1295 solutions. And for the most part, these solutions are what we can label ‘point’ solutions.
These ‘point’ solutions sit as individual applications within your wider IT environment. Typically, they will be able to integrate into another few key services. (Albeit with a bit of tuning.) But they’re not designed for that. They’re designed to address their own specific niche.
And what this creates is a many-headed hydra of a tech stack. One that, over time, leads to data disconnection. One that leads to unmanageable administration efforts and lost productivity. And one that, unfortunately, can lose you money.
You say that point solutions lose money. Can you qualify that?
A recent study by SnapLogic found that organizations in the US and UK are losing $140 billion each year due to disconnected data. And disconnected data is a natural by-product of the point solution problem.
That’s because an expanding tech stack expands also means more data silos, and more required resources to maintain cohesion. For example:
- Getting data from App 1 into App 2 requires manual copy-pasting – which is several hours of somebody’s day.
- App 3 integrates with App 4, but you also need to loop in App 5. App 5 doesn’t have an API, which then requires dev resources or more manual efforts.
- App 6 has a SQL backend. Meanwhile, App 7 uses a non-relational database. So, merging data is a headache for the IT team.
- App 8 is a legacy program that still underpins core company operations. But it doesn’t integrate into any of your modern systems. (Not, that is, without custom programming).
- App 9 can’t export data as a JSON file, which you need for your reporting in App 10.
- App 11 is no longer actively developed, so you need to pull all your data from there and into App 12 instead – which is a vast project.
- And so on, and so on – with ever-more apps and ever-more problems.
When you’re adding point solution after point solution, you’re building an IT suite that’s quickly becoming tangled. It’s all too easy to end up with a disorganized mishmash. Data is here, there, and everywhere. So, sharing and syncing that data becomes a sprawling (or even impossible) challenge -and one that affects multiple teams.
And you think the answer to this point solution problem is automation?
Automation software is the clear answer to solve data silos and uncooperative systems. But you don’t want yet another point solution, only designed to handle rudimentary data pushes between App A and App B.
‘Headless’ automation is the answer.
What is headless automation, exactly?
When we talk about headless architecture in general, we’re talking about using specialized back-ends to wrap up all the business logic / functionalities in a set of APIs. Any front-end channel can then hook into those APIs and interact with them in bespoke ways. So, you can easily create custom data flows, presentations, and customer experiences for each channel.
Headless automation, then, is an automation solution that supports this streamlining strategy. As part of a sophisticated automation approach, it functions as a central API hub and data distribution center. It acts as an enterprise-wide business framework that connects systems, people, and processes. And, importantly, it does so in a single solution.
So, you solve your point solution problem by linking, automating, and managing your entire organizational tech stack from one place.
Which is where our solution, ThinkAutomation, comes in.
Can you tell us more about how ThinkAutomation solves data challenges?
ThinkAutomation is a powerful, end-to-end business process automation system that eliminates the need for multiple service providers. With ThinkAutomation, headless architecture meets open-ended workflow orchestration.
The solution comprises:
- A powerful automation studio, for drag-and-drop workflow orchestration
- An integrated development environment, to script custom actions and connectors
- A hybrid automation gateway, to connect into any API – web or local
- A web builder, to view data in a custom front-end
- A remote desktop connector, for non-tech employees to run automations on the fly
The scale of this setup is truly open-ended. Not only can you process data across any number of endpoints, you can also visualize that data and automate it in endless ways. In short, you can:
- Automate any process or project end-to-end via a single, cross-organisational solution
- Build flows across on-premises and/or cloud applications, across unlimited data sources, and across any number of IoT devices across your network
- Create a common language for handling operational processes across departments, systems, external partners, and suppliers
- Design tailored experiences for different devices and platforms
- Run endless automations to process and respond to data conditionally
- Enable the quick, continuous movement of data around your technology ecosystem – no matter how many disparate point solutions it may comprise
And how much would an end-to-end solution like this cost?
Our mission is to disrupt the market with low-cost but high-power automation. With that in mind, we don’t charge customers per license, ‘bot’, or process. We charge one fixed fee that covers unlimited processing / workflow builds – starting from as little as $995 per year.
Final words?
As organizations scale, point solutions stack up, creating silo after silo. Data is abundant, but also abundantly scattered. And this costs business in time and resources, duplication of effort, and missed opportunities.
ThinkAutomation can solve this problem. It can keep your systems integrated and in continuous communication. It can enable you to deliver your IT visions with speed, ease, and endless scalability. It can eliminate the need for multiple service providers. And it can do so for less than $3 per day.
Download for free and see for yourself.
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