Driving strategic value

Peripheral Automation goes beyond being a technical framework; it’s a strategic approach that bridges the reliability of core systems with the need for innovation at the edge. PA enables businesses to introduce new ideas and optimize processes without disrupting their foundational operations. By allowing organizations to innovate at the periphery, PA ensures stability while unlocking new opportunities. This approach empowers companies to remain agile and resilient, achieving a balance between continuity and adaptability, positioning them to lead in their industries and evolve seamlessly without sacrificing reliability.

For instance, a logistics company looking to optimize its delivery routes can use Peripheral Automation to implement AI-driven route optimization tools. These tools operate at the edge, analyzing real-time traffic data and adjusting delivery schedules dynamically, ensuring faster and more efficient routes. Meanwhile, the company’s core systems for managing inventory and fleet operations remain stable and unchanged. This approach allows the business to innovate and improve its service offering without compromising the performance or reliability of its core infrastructure, driving both operational efficiency and strategic value.

Unifying architectures

The “one-size-fits-all” approach to architectures no longer meets the needs of today’s complex business environment. Organizations now require flexible, dynamic systems that allow for differentiation and agility across multiple levels. Peripheral Automation provides a unified yet adaptable architectural framework, connecting various systems and fostering innovation. This approach respects the unique needs of each layer of the enterprise, enabling seamless integration.

By incorporating both horizontal and vertical perspectives, PA unifies architectures effectively—connecting systems across functions and integrating operations from strategy to execution, creating a cohesive and interconnected structure.

Just as performing arithmetic without a common notation for numbers would be cumbersome and bringing together disparate systems without a common layered resolution can be difficult and limiting. Peripheral Automation simplifies this by providing a unified architectural approach that standardizes data representations and connects systems, allowing for smoother communication and collaboration. By transforming complex interactions into a common language, organizations can drive innovation while maintaining clarity and coherence in their operations.

Achieving a unified omnichannel experience through peripheral automation

A typical fast fashion retail business faces the challenge of creating a cohesive in-store and online experience. Implementing a brand-new system would require significant time and resources, potentially disrupting ongoing operations. Instead, the business can build systems at the edge of its existing robust systems to innovate quickly. Focusing on automating around its existing customer databases and enhancing interoperability between systems through automation at the periphery of the core systems, the business can ensure that both in-store and online experiences remain seamless. This is achieved in a short period, offering customers a consistent and personalized journey across all touchpoints, without overhauling the core systems. This approach allows for fast innovation, minimizing disruption and maximizing efficiency.

“The future of business architecture lies in composability—building with agility while maintaining a foundation of trust in core systems. Peripheral Automation unlocks this potential by allowing organizations to innovate swiftly without compromising operational continuity.”- Dharmesh Godha, CTO and President of Advaiya Solutions.

Peripheral Automation as a system of execution

Peripheral Automation as an execution framework supports businesses in shaping their digital roadmap in alignment with a dynamic business strategy.

  • Identifying digital initiatives: Translation of strategy dynamics into digital initiatives is effectively done by mapping the strategic imperative to relevant organizational capabilities (say, functions, processes, or programs) and identifying their digital potential. That can be done by envisioning outcomes of visibility, control, performance, and intelligence—further split into the distinct layers of required experience, business process, and core data entities.
  • Leveraging current assets: By aligning current technology capabilities with new initiatives, businesses can avoid redundant implementations and extract maximum value from prior investments. Leveraging existing assets—whether in data systems, applications, or infrastructure—help maintain continuity and stability while selectively expanding capabilities.
  • Building Peripheral Automation components: Composing the envisioned outcomes must be done with components that connect securely and reliably horizontally (across business capabilities) and vertically (that is, across systems layers). With each new component developed, the peripheral automation framework empowers businesses to drive innovation at the edges of core systems, building a scalable architecture that can evolve in line with strategic goals.

Peripheral Automation layers

Experience, process, and data layers form the foundation of peripheral automation. These three layers, each with a distinct role, are what make this approach so versatile and powerful.

  • Core databases and application logic: This layer maintains a more permanent and consistent record of business data entities, say customers, products, assets, transactions, and so on. The need for stability, availability and robustness, here is the highest.
  • Experience layer: It consists of user or application interfaces which are at the outer edge of the enterprise systems. These would include customer experience, partner interactions, employee interfaces, and connections to the outside. This is where businesses most clearly differentiate and innovate.
  • Process layer: This covers the automation of specific business processes. This layer facilitates processes, ensure data flows, and incorporates the business logic. While these are based on specific business models and strategies, this layer still leverages larger industry practices and operational understanding.

Creating a roadmap

Creating a roadmap with Peripheral Automation (PA) starts by aligning business strategy with architectural layers—experiences, business processes, and core systems. This approach isn’t just structural; it sets a forward-looking trajectory to transform the current state into a digitally mature future. Each layer has unique requirements: experience layers often prioritize agility to stay responsive to user needs, while core systems focus on stability to ensure reliability. By categorizing layers according to maturity levels, PA provides a focused way to map each layer’s role in driving digital transformation.

Each maturity level represents a targeted digital initiative, essentially charting out a path to the ideal future state of each layer. Assessing gaps between current and desired maturity helps identify the initiatives needed to bridge these differences, prioritizing those that will have the greatest impact. This layered structure allows each initiative to progress independently, giving each layer the flexibility it needs while still integrating effectively across the horizontal and vertical planes of the enterprise.

This roadmap is more than a list of projects; it’s a coordinated strategy for evolving the organization holistically. PA enables a balanced, stepwise progression, with strategic priorities guiding which initiatives to advance next. By connecting the layers and maturity levels, PA ensures that the architecture remains both flexible and cohesive, setting up an enterprise system that can evolve dynamically while staying grounded in core objectives.

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Peripheral Automation supercharges Al by accelerating the deployment of automated systems and enabling faster innovation cycles.

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Peripheral Automation supercharges Al by accelerating the deployment of automated systems and enabling faster innovation cycles.

FAQs

Peripheral Automation supercharges Al by accelerating the deployment of automated systems and enabling faster innovation cycles.

How can Peripheral Automation enhance our organization’s scalability without compromising existing systems?

Peripheral Automation (PA) provides a structured approach that allows organizations to scale their operations while maintaining the integrity of core systems. By treating core systems and peripheral innovations as separate layers, PA ensures that new processes can be implemented quickly and effectively without disrupting ongoing operations. This allows your organization to expand its capabilities such as entering new markets or adding production lines-while ensuring business continuity and stability.

In what ways can Peripheral Automation drive efficiency as we implement new processes or technologies?

PA enables organizations to integrate new technologies and processes swiftly, enhancing operational efficiency. By allowing for rapid experimentation at the periphery, your teams can test new solutions—like automated procurement or AI-driven analytics—without affecting core functions. This agility not only speeds up implementation but also allows for continual optimization, ensuring that as your organization evolves, your processes remain efficient and effective.

How does the Peripheral Automation framework align with our strategic goals and objectives at the C-suite level?

The PA framework is designed to align with strategic goals by promoting agility, innovation, and operational efficiency. For C-suite executives, this means having a system in place that can quickly adapt to market changes and consumer demands. PA supports these objectives by allowing your organization to leverage existing technology investments while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, thus enhancing your competitive edge in the marketplace.

What specific financial benefits can our organization expect from adopting Peripheral Automation?

By implementing Peripheral Automation, your organization can expect to realize cost savings through increased operational efficiency and reduced time-to-market for new initiatives. PA enables organizations to streamline processes, minimize waste, and optimize resource allocation. For example, as your organization scales and requires new systems or processes—such as those for a new plant—PA ensures that these innovations can be rolled out quickly, leading to better resource utilization and lower operational costs.

How can Peripheral Automation facilitate collaboration between different departments in our organization?

PA provides a common language and framework that encourages collaboration across departments. By unifying various architectural layers, PA allows teams to integrate their systems and processes seamlessly. This fosters communication and collaboration, enabling departments to work together more effectively, share insights, and leverage each other’s expertise to drive innovation and problem-solving across the organization.

How can peripheral automation improve data management?

By leveraging peripheral automation, businesses can automate the flow of data from the periphery into core systems, allowing for real-time data integration and analysis. This improves data-driven decision-making and ensures that core data remains accurate and reliable.

Is peripheral automation expensive to implement?

The cost of implementing peripheral automation varies depending on the scope and scale of the project. However, its modular nature allows businesses to implement it gradually, focusing on high-priority areas without the need for a full system overhaul. This makes it a cost-effective solution for incremental innovation.