FEATURE: SAAS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“We are also in the process of building a
Robotic Operation Centre (ROC), which will
be the vehicle for providing SaaS. We have
our own platform of virtual workers and we integrate cogitative technologies to provide
a fully integrated ‘out of the box’ solution.
It provides you the capabilities to provide a
virtual workforce and it really opens up use
THE VIRTUAL WORKERS HAVE
RELEASED SIGNIFICANT HOURS
OF FTE IN THAT SOME COMPANIES
ARE REDUCING OVERTIME AND THE
NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS.
use our vehicle for delivering virtual workers.
We can run remote implementations, which
is useful when you’re working in somewhere
like Nigeria where it can be difficult to get to.
“We’ll still send people into the country
and they will do the consulting side, but
we will do the development stuff in the
ROC and when those automations are
deployed, we will provide those out of the
ROC as a service. We are also looking to
provide processes as a service which we
can provide internationally.
“We seem to be really on the cusp of being
on the leading edge of the deployment
of virtual workers to such an extent that
we’re almost ahead of the UK. It’s quite
encouraging that we’re here at the bottom
of the world but are taking world-leading
capabilities to the rest of the world.”
Burke went into more detail about the SaaS
market when speaking to Intelligent CIO.
Can you give an overview of
the SaaS market, with specific
focus on how it is being
implemented in Africa?
We provide digital or virtual workers as
a service and at scale. The technology is
software, but the software we’re using as a
service is actually software that is mimicking
workers and provides capacity to perform
functions, so you’re buying workers that are
doing what would otherwise be human jobs.
We use integrated application solutions,
but the core of it is RPA. Thoughtonomy
54
INTELLIGENTCIO
cases right from the customer’s first touch all
the way to the fulfilment of RPA.
We find that in some African countries, IT
departments are not the most sophisticated
or the largest so don’t have the expertise
or the number of people required to create
the enabled environment to run digital
workforces. It requires a lot of infrastructure,
but we can circumvent the issues by
providing the services over the cloud.
The other big thing about Africa is that
we’re able to leapfrog legacy by providing
SaaS. We can work with whatever legacies
are there but take that company into
the Fourth Industrial Revolution through
cognitive and robotic technology.
There’s no need for system replacements or
expensive builds of new technologies; they
can access it immediately.
What industries predominately
use SaaS?
Our biggest traction initially is in financial
services and especially within insurers, which
is weird because they’re normally more
conservative and not renowned for their
technology innovation. The banks still have
reservations around security though and
have a desire to keep the software in-house.
But in QI 2019, TymeBank launches in
South Africa as the first digital cloud-
enabled bank and I think that will establish
the precedent for the greater adoption of
cloud by removing a barrier of entry for
providing virtual workers as a service, or
processes as a service.
How big do you think the SaaS
market could become?
I see it being the equivalent to ERP.
Companies will be looking at investments
in digital workforces, just as much that
they were previously investing in SAP and
core systems.
www.intelligentcio.com