Generating Value with Intelligent Automation in Times of Change

From retail to healthcare and logistics, the potential applications for Intelligent Automation (IA) are wide-ranging. It can be as simple as taking on mundane, repetitive tasks, freeing up staff to take on more creative work elements, or integrating end-to-end custom-built automation to solve complex business challenges. 

Since 2015, Laiye has been at the forefront of this digital revolution, helping a multitude of clients to embark on their IA journey by using Artificial Intelligence-powered software robots.

We check in with Arvid Wang Guanchun, Chairman and CEO, on his view of the industry and outlook for 2022. 

What are the most profound changes you have seen in 2021?

ARVID: 

Before the pandemic, there was already a significant change and evolution in business and work — from the type of technologies available such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or Digital Workplace to the way people engaged within the digital ecosystem and how they use Big Data. We saw almost a decade of normal digital growth and adoption compressed into less than two years. This had a tremendous impact on consumer interaction, behavioral change, and learning. 

We also see massive changes in operations. The adoption of hybrid work models has changed the way teams collaborate and how organizations manage people. Many companies had to look at business continuity quickly and work out how the pandemic and work from home impacted their operations, models, and systems. 

This is a once-in-a-generation inflection point, and the acceleration of change presents both an opportunity and a potential threat to businesses. As businesses cope with the pandemic, it’s become more critical for companies to have technological resilience. Over the past year, we have seen more companies willing to embrace the disruption and adopt IA processes.  

What is the biggest challenge of Intelligent Automation?

ARVID:

Technology isn’t the biggest challenge but culture and mindset. Most companies face a ‘legacy mindset’ when capitalizing on IA. They deploy a piecemeal approach to modernize and automate specific processes but fail to see how a holistic approach could significantly impact the entire business ecosystem and create more value. 

AI, Business Process Management, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) combine to bring IA to life. Our goal is to help companies see this. Today, technologies that enable IA, such as vast processing power and data storage, are advancing rapidly and becoming more affordable. The way forward is to break down cultural and mindset barriers that stand in AI’s way. 

But as the saying goes, ‘Never Waste an Opportunity.’ We see many opportunities ripe for new efficiencies that can transform companies to achieve renewed competitiveness. 

For Laiye, where do you see these opportunities? 

ARVID:

Laiye’s major development this year was our international expansion to help extend our geographical coverage and reach new and larger markets globally.

In November, we launched our operations in Europe with plans to scale out across EMEA in 2022. Our European operations are now led by Neil Parker, a veteran in the tech industry, who previously built out SaaS Sales teams at Veritas and Computacenter. We aim to rapidly scale up Laiye’s revenues and increase our UK-based team to 40 in the next six months to bring a new and disruptive wave of IA to European customers.

Besides Europe, we have also set up offices in Latin America with local teams in two key markets, Brazil and Mexico. Petter Dalén leads our expansion into LATAM, where we aim to drive sustainable growth and improved productivity for businesses through the adoption of AI and RPA. 

In addition to these two regions, there is Southeast Asia, where we already have Singapore serving as the headquarters. We hope to expand into the more diverse markets in the region, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. 

What are your goals for Laiye in 2022? 

ARVID:

Laiye’s strengths are combining RPA with native AI capabilities and increasing global outreach with a vibrant ecosystem of developers and partners. We continue to be strongly committed to helping our customers solve their toughest digital transformation challenges related to RPA and AI by bringing them the most innovative IA solutions and products.  

The combination of our strengths and commitment has enabled us to grow our customer ecosystem ranging from small companies to mid-market and enterprise customers in the insurance, communications, electric power, finance, retail, healthcare industries, and government agencies. 

We envision a world where businesses and people are transformed by the power of intelligent automation, by AI-powered software robots. Our mission is to help them do better and be better.