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Summary – Coherent and scalable workflow automation is now a key lever to break down silos, reduce integration costs, and eliminate manual errors while freeing up business resources. The Automation First approach mandates API-first, data-driven design, prioritized task mapping, documented and iterative processes, and the combination of RPA, AI, and low-code within a modular open-source architecture to ensure reliability, traceability, and scalability.
Solution: launch high-impact targeted pilots, establish cross-functional governance, and standardize data, interfaces, and testing to industrialize automation from the start.
The competitiveness of Swiss companies today rests on their ability to automate business processes in a coherent and scalable manner. Rather than implementing ad-hoc fixes, the Automation First approach proposes designing each workflow with the objective of being automated from the outset.
From the initial analysis, data is structured and interfaces specified to ensure smooth integration between systems. This proactive vision reduces the buildup of silos, lowers integration costs, and limits failures linked to manual sequences. By reframing automation as a cornerstone of operational design, organizations regain time to focus on high-value tasks and more rapidly drive innovation.
Plan for Automation from the Process Design Phase
Designing workflows with the intent to automate maximizes consistency and robustness. A process conceived for automation from the start reduces integration costs and error risks.
Key Principles of the Automation First Approach
The Automation First approach begins with a comprehensive mapping of manual tasks to identify the most strategic automation opportunities. This step allows workflows to be prioritized based on business impact and execution frequency.
Expected gains are defined in parallel with business and IT stakeholders, ensuring each automation addresses clear performance and reliability objectives. This avoids ad-hoc developments without visible return on investment.
Each process is documented through functional diagrams and detailed technical specifications, including triggers, business rules, and control points. This formalization then facilitates automated deployment and traceability.
Finally, early collaboration between business teams, architects, and IT specialists ensures ongoing alignment. Feedback is integrated from the first tests to iterate quickly and adjust automation scenarios.
Prioritize Structured Data and Defined Interfaces
The quality of data is crucial for any sustainable automation. Standardized formats and clear data schemas prevent recurring cleansing operations and enable reuse of the same data sets across multiple processes.
By defining documented APIs and interfaces during the design phase, each automated module integrates without disrupting the flow. This approach reduces hidden dependencies and facilitates scalable maintenance.
Data structuring also supports the industrialization of automated testing. Test data can be generated or anonymized quickly, ensuring reproducibility of scenarios and the quality of deliverables.
Finally, governance of interface versions and data formats allows changes to be managed without breaking existing automations. Updates are planned and controlled to ensure backward compatibility.
Use Case Illustration: A Swiss Logistics Scenario
A Swiss logistics company chose to redesign its order processing by applying Automation First principles. From the analysis stage, the validation, billing, and planning steps were mapped using standardized order data.
Customer and product data were consolidated in a single repository, feeding both RPA robots and the warehouse management system’s APIs. This consistency eliminated manual reentry and reduced stock matching errors.
The initial pilot demonstrated a 40% reduction in inventory discrepancies and a 30% faster order processing time. The example shows that automation-oriented design yields tangible gains without multiplying fixes.
Thanks to this approach, the company generalized the model to other business flows and established a culture of rigorous documentation, a pillar of every Automation First strategy.
Aligning Technologies with Business Context for Greater Agility
Selecting appropriate technologies makes automated processes truly effective. RPA, AI, and low-code platforms should be combined according to business scenarios.
Automate Repetitive Tasks with RPA
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) excels at executing structured, high-volume tasks such as data entry, report distribution, or reconciliation checks. It simulates human actions on existing interfaces without altering the source system.
To be effective, RPA must rely on stabilized and well-defined processes. Initial pilots help identify the most time-consuming routines and refine scenarios before scaling them up.
When robots operate in a structured data environment, the risk of malfunctions decreases and maintenance operations are simplified. Native logs from RPA platforms provide full traceability of transactions, especially when integrated with centralized orchestrators.
Finally, RPA can integrate with centralized orchestrators to manage peak loads and automatically distribute tasks among multiple robots, ensuring controlled scalability.
Support Decision-Making with Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence adds a layer of judgment to automated processes, for example by categorizing requests, detecting anomalies, or automatically adjusting parameters. Models trained on historical data bring agility.
In a fraud detection scenario, AI can analyze thousands of transactions in real time, flag high-risk cases, and trigger manual or automated verification workflows. This combination boosts responsiveness and accuracy.
To achieve the expected reliability, models must be trained on relevant, up-to-date data. A governance framework for the model lifecycle—including testing, validation, and recalibration—is essential.
By combining RPA and AI, organizations gain robust, adaptive automations capable of evolving with data volume and business requirements.
Accelerate Team Autonomy with Low-Code/No-Code
Low-code and no-code platforms empower business teams to create and deploy simple automations without heavy development. This reduces IT backlogs and enhances agility.
In just a few clicks, an analyst can model a process, define business rules, and publish an automated flow in the secure production environment. Updates are fast and low-risk.
However, to prevent uncontrolled proliferation, a governance framework must define scopes of intervention, documentation standards, and quality controls.
This synergy between business and IT teams creates a virtuous cycle: initial prototypes become the foundation for more complex solutions while ensuring stability and traceability.
Edana: strategic digital partner in Switzerland
We support companies and organizations in their digital transformation
Building a Modular and Open Architecture
A modular architecture ensures long-term flexibility and maintainability. Integrating open source components with specialized modules prevents vendor lock-in.
Leverage Open Source Components to Accelerate Integrations
Using proven open source components saves development time and benefits from a large community for updates and security. These modules serve as a stable foundation.
Each component is isolated in a microservice or container, facilitating independent deployments and targeted scaling. Integration via REST APIs or event buses structures the system.
Teams retain full transparency over the code and can adapt it to specific needs without licensing constraints. This flexibility is an asset in a context of continuous transformation.
Prevent Vendor Lock-In and Ensure Sustainability
To avoid vendor lock-in, each proprietary solution is selected after a thorough analysis of costs, dependencies, and open source alternatives. The goal is to balance performance and independence.
When paid solutions are chosen, they are isolated behind standardized interfaces so they can be replaced easily if needed. This strategy ensures future flexibility.
Documentation of contracts, architecture diagrams, and fallback scenarios completes the preparation for any potential migration. The system’s resilience is thus strengthened.
Illustration: Modernizing a Swiss Financial System
A mid-sized financial institution modernized its core platform by migrating from a historical monolith to a modular architecture. Each business service, front-end, authentication, and reporting function was broken down into microservices.
The teams gradually replaced proprietary modules with open source alternatives while retaining the option to reintegrate commercial solutions if necessary. This flexibility was validated through load and continuity tests.
At the project’s conclusion, the time to deliver new features dropped from several months to a few days. This example demonstrates that an open architecture reduces complexity and accelerates innovation.
Maintainability and governance are now ensured by CI/CD pipelines and cross-functional code reviews between IT and business teams, guaranteeing system quality and compliance.
Providing Strategic Support for the Long Term
Continuous management and adapted governance ensure the robustness and scalability of automations. Evaluating feedback and regular updates are essential.
Identify and Prioritize Pilot Cases
Launching an Automation First project with targeted pilot cases quickly demonstrates added value and refines the methodology before large-scale deployment. These initial cases serve as references.
Selection is based on business impact, technical maturity, and feasibility. High-volume or error-prone processes are often prioritized to generate visible gains.
Each pilot undergoes quantitative performance monitoring and formalized feedback, enriching the best practice repository for subsequent phases.
Establish Governance Focused on Security and Compliance
Setting up a cross-functional governance committee brings together IT, business, and cybersecurity experts to validate use cases, access policies, and privacy frameworks. This vigilance is indispensable in Switzerland.
Regulatory requirements regarding data protection, archiving, and traceability are integrated from the workflow definition stage. Periodic audits validate compliance and anticipate legal changes.
A security framework, including identity and access management, governs each automated component. Regular updates of open source and proprietary modules are scheduled to address vulnerabilities.
Finally, centralized dashboards monitor solution availability and key performance indicators, enabling proactive corrective actions.
Illustration: Digitizing a Swiss Public Service
A local government in Switzerland launched a pilot project to automate administrative requests. Citizens could now track their application status through an online portal interconnected with internal processes.
The project team defined satisfaction and processing time indicators, measured automatically at each stage. Adjustments were made in real time thanks to dynamic reports.
This pilot reduced the average processing time by 50% and highlighted the need for precise documentation governance. The example shows that strategic support and continuous oversight strengthen user trust.
The solution was then extended to other services, demonstrating the scalability of the Automation First approach in a public and secure context.
Automation First: Free Up Time and Spark Innovation
Designing processes to be automated from the outset, choosing technologies aligned with business needs, building a modular architecture, and ensuring strategic governance are the pillars of sustainable automation. These principles free teams from repetitive tasks and allow them to focus their expertise on innovation.
By adopting this approach, Swiss organizations optimize operational efficiency, reduce system fragmentation, and ensure compliance and security of their automated workflows. Positive feedback reflects significant time savings and continuous process improvement.
Our experts are available to support these transitions, from identifying pilot cases to long-term governance. Benefit from tailored guidance that combines open source, modularity, and business agility, giving your organization the means to fulfill its ambitions.
