What do you mean we do process automation?

I frequently get the question "What Does Zenphi Do?" from friends, family, the guy at the bar, or someone at a conference, etc. Of course, my default answer used to be "Oh, we do business process automation." The people who are close to the industry understand it immediately. However, for others, this answer often led to a few minutes of explanation, as I could read from their expressions that they didn't quite grasp the concept of process automation.

Over time, I tried to shorten and optimize the explanation bit as much as possible, but it still was not short enough. Fast forward, the below is what I have been using to describe zenphi to “everyday people” for a while which has been resonating well with.

"Zenphi gives you the tools to automate manual tasks among people, systems, and equipment simply by drawing the flowchart of the steps involved."

Now, let me share the backstory:

In our view, everything you do in your business is a process, a series of steps performed by people, systems, or equipment to achieve specific goals. For instance, applying for leave, expense reimbursement, generating sales contracts, onboarding students, processing supplier invoices, handling insurance claims, and celebrating every sales success – these are all processes. Zenphi empowers both technical and non-technical users to automate them, without writing a single line of code, often within hours.

Going through a bit of user research, we figured many people do not connect with the word “process” without giving examples and explanations. Now, mind you, these were not technical users or users familiar with processes.

The other thing to note is that realistically, zenphi does not automate processes (yet). It gives you the tools required to automate your processes with just a few drag and drop. Of course, zenphi provides you with many out-of-the-box templates to get started with; however, you will need to customize them to match your needs where required.

These led us to come up with the simple answer which I mentioned earlier for everyday users.

On the flip side, for those well-versed in the industry, we define zenphi as the process automation platform that offers everything necessary to automate, execute, gain insights, and optimize business processes. All these capabilities work seamlessly to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your business operations.

Providing the tools to automate processes is not something new. It’s been there for a long time. Tools like MS Visual Studio, Eclipse, Xcode, Oracle, SQL Server, etc. have been enabling developers to write code to automate processes, among other things.

Then came along low-code platforms like ServiceNow, Appian, Bizagi, Outsystems, etc. which enable developers to automate processes faster than with writing code. The issue here is that no matter how much they market it otherwise, these platforms are too technical and too expensive to be used for the majority of the operational processes and are out of reach for pretty much all SMBs.

In the (not so) recent years, we've seen several companies addressing process automation challenges, but they usually focus on only one aspect, while comprehensive process automation demands diverse capabilities across the entire lifecycle.

You see, to automate a business process end to end you need multiple capabilities across the process automation lifecycle. Using other technologies you usually need to stitch together multiple systems to automate a business process end to end.

For example, to automate an invoice processing process, you need:

1. An integration platform like Zapier to be able to monitor your inbox for incoming invoice emails
2. An IDP platform like Rossum to extract information from the invoice files
3. Something like Airtable to store important process data
4. A document generation platform like Conga to generate pay order documents
5. A workflow automation tool like Power Automate to orchestrate the whole process, create logics, and bring in humans into the loop for review and approval
6. Something like Tableau to be able to get insight into the operation of this process
7. Depending on the process, you may need to use a form platform like Formstack or Typeform.

In contrast, zenphi provides all these capabilities and more on a single platform.

As a side note, I haven't forgotten about RPA (Robotic Process Automation). While I believe RPA serves as a short-term fix for companies using outdated legacy systems, I don't foresee it fading away anytime soon. However, as systems continue to upgrade, companies will eventually address automation challenges more comprehensively. So, I believe RPA will play a less prominent role in the future of process automation.

Apart from the above, below are some of the common questions I get:

What’s the difference between zenphi and an off-the-shelf product?

Simple, we believe your process, i.e., the way you work, is your IP and you should not have to change it to adapt to an off-the-shelf product. Zenphi enables you to easily adapt the automated solution to your business needs, and updating them, because of legislation changes, etc., would be as easy as a few drag and drops and pressing publish. Don’t get me wrong there are processes for which one is better off with an off-the-shelf product. However, for the majority of the operational processes, you want something which gives you flexibility.

Why did you go with the flowchart view?

Normally people who ask this question often find their own answer after some contemplation. In summary, we opted for flowchart like view because they are a visual and self-explanatory way that the majority of people understand.

What if I want to use my own systems like Airtable?

We understand both Bring Your Own (BYO) and Greenfield scenarios. We value your existing investments in the tools you use. So, if you're already using platforms like Airtable, Google Forms, etc., you can seamlessly integrate them into your zenphi automation.

How can you operate so efficiently?

This question is one I always look forward to answering, and it fills me with pride. In summary, our lean operation is a result of leveraging our domain expertise, adopting new technologies, and not carrying any legacy baggage. We don't need a large support team because we've proactively addressed most scenarios that could generate support cases. We don't require a hefty sales team because users can quickly see the platform's value. Our cost of goods (COGs) is highly efficient because the platform was born in the cloud, using cutting-edge technologies. All these factors enable us to operate in a lean fashion, and we're very proud of it.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about zenphi and what we do. If you have any more questions feel free to reach out.

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