By: Chandan Ghosh, Automation Expert and COE Head - Intelligent RPA Practice, LTIMindtree

There is a great deal of confusion about career paths in hyperautomation, especially to do with the growth trends of this industry, the skillsets required, and so on. The hyperautomation industry is at a tipping point; for those willing to take the plunge, it is an ocean of opportunities. To clear the fog, here’s a 360° overview of everything connected to kick-starting a career in hyperautomation.

LTIMindtree has experienced a sharp growth in demand for automation – as soon as clients realize the impact of hyperautomation on profits, they tend to invest more to automate other inefficient processes. This creates more jobs in hyperautomation because deploying automation is just a part of the entire hyperautomation cycle. There is so much more to it. As a result, there are opportunities for more business analysts, developers, testing professionals, and architects.

What’s hyperautomation?

Hyperautomation has taken automation to a great new height. By combining robotic process automation and artificial intelligence, hyperautomation can now perform complex tasks with minimal input.

Hyperautomation combines artificial intelligence with machine learning, RPA, and other intelligent technology to perform critically (often complex) repetitive business tasks with virtually zero human input. Have you noticed how we rarely speak to banking and insurance agents anymore but still have our IDs and signatures verified? How do you think car manufacturers produce thousands of cars a week without breaking a sweat? Have you ever seen those videos of an army of machines working through the day to package and ship orders in mega warehouses? Hyperautomation is behind much of those rule-based, repetitive tasks – and it’s only growing in influence across industries and geographies.

Forrester forecasts that the hyperautomation software market will soon turn into a USD 22 Bn dollar industry, so hyperautomation is here to stay. In the tech world, we are all used to exaggerated numbers, but this one seems to be acceptable because the pandemic has taught businesses of all sizes one big lesson — digitize or perish. Hyperautomation is the key to sustainable digitization, and that is why large businesses like LTIMindtree are focused on offering hyperautomation services.

The market is huge, and be assured that this is not a monstrous technology that will wipe off jobs. Instead, it ensures the dignity of labor because human intelligence would be dedicated to more important tasks and not ones that are redundant and repetitive.

Is hyperautomation for me?

Hyperautomation is for everyone who can master hyperautomation tools and apply logic to make business processes more efficient and seamless. If you are from an application development or software testing background, you know it will not be that difficult. If you understand SQL, Oracle, or ERP solutions, you’ve got an edge over others.

Even if you are an absolute noob, know that there are several no-code hyperautomation tools you can master, but only if you are willing to put in time and effort. If you have made up your mind and are all set, then it’s time to develop the necessary skillset, but before we get to that, here’s a round-up of what you’ll be doing as an hyperautomation developer.

What does an hyperautomation developer do?

The primary job of an hyperautomation developer is to design automation workflows that achieve the desired results for the client. If you are keen on working for a particular employer, go through the job listings to know which tools they use the most.

For example, if you want to be a developer at LTIMindtree, then an effective way to start would be by mastering any one of the leading hyperautomation tools, such as Automation Anywhere/UiPath or Blue Prism, and getting your certification. Besides that, there are other sought-after hyperautomation tools, such as Power Automate and Kofax, that also add value to your skill set.

Apart from the above-mentioned hyperautomation tools, you also need to sharpen your problem-solving and logical reasoning capabilities because hyperautomation development is not a one-off task. As a developer at LTIMindtree, you will have to analyze a client’s problem areas and develop solutions that are going to be profitable.

It does not end there because post-design, the hyperautomation tool is deployed in production. If it fails to achieve the desired results, it’ll get back into the hyperautomation lifecycle, and the development will take place all over again. However, if you can think logically and apply the hyperautomation tools to achieve the desired results in a shorter span, you become valuable to the organization.

The hyperautomation developer’s skillset

To be an hyperautomation developer at LTIMindtree, you need to master any one of the top hyperautomation tools that we have already mentioned — Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, or Ui Path. Your mastery is not the number of years you spend learning these tools because the max it takes is 90 days. By mastery, we simply mean you need to have enough knowledge to understand client requirements, create a flowchart, and bring that to life with whichever hyperautomation tools you learn.

Initially, you might be asked to work on simple automation, but as you gain experience, you’ll be moved to more complex tasks. However, if you can showcase complex automation designing skills from the very beginning, then your chances of faster growth are enhanced. Besides developing automation, debugging skills are also critical. At LTIMindtree, we offer strong after-sales support to our clients, so you must know how to fix bugs once the automation is deployed into production.

Programmers vs. Non-Programmers

For those who are just starting off with a technical career, a course in C# and SQL or Oracle is recommended, although not mandatory. The C# is foundational for programmers, and since hyperautomation tools do require some amount of programming, learning this language is likely to strengthen your fundamentals. On the other hand, SQL and Oracle are RDBMS and will give you more exposure to database management and manipulation.

If you have a programming or development background, pick any hyperautomation tool, it is easier to master. Most hyperautomation tools offer a free edition to download and get started. You’ll see that it is quite simple and takes just a few hours of dedication to get the fundamentals right, but the key here is applicability. Below is a list of LTIMindtree’s partners, and certification from them is the minimum threshold for any job seeker.

Automation Anywhere

This is a no-code hyperautomation tool that’s easy to learn if you have experience in programming or scripting. It should take you less than 20 hours to explore the AARI, IQ Bot, and Discovery Bot. To get started, you can download the free community edition and start building simple automation. When you have learned enough, try getting an Automation Anywhere certification to attest to that, and you can start applying for a developer position with LTIMindtree.

UiPath

This is yet another tool you can learn to start your hyperautomation career but getting the fundamentals right would take some time. Be prepared to spend 30-40 days learning it, and then based on your proficiency, get the Associate or Developer UiPath certifications. This tool also offers a community edition that you can install on one system for practice. Since UiPath uses VB and C#, prior knowledge of these languages is useful, but not knowing it is definitely not a roadblock.

Blue Prism

Blue Prism or Blueprism® is another widely popular and effective enterprise automation tool. Blue Prism helps automate repetitive, manual, rule-based tasks. Blue Prism is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework. It automates any application and supports any platform (mainframe, Windows, WPF, Java, web, etc.) presented in a variety of ways (terminal emulator, thick client, thin client, web browser, Citrix, and web services). Many top-tier organizations already have a Blue Prism architecture, and most software solutions companies are adopting Blue Prism. Consequently, understanding and mastering Blue Prism could be a great stepping stone to a career in hyperautomation. Do you know that Blueprism® offers a free learning edition? That could be a great place to start.

What pre-existing skills are valuable?

Hyperautomation is all about automating business processes to save time and resources. Below are certain skills you might already have or can develop to be an hyperautomation pro.

Programming and Database management

As we have already discussed, having a background in programming is not mandatory, but to develop complex automation, you might need them. If you already know C#, JAVA, .NET, or VB, consider specializing in an hyperautomation tool that uses the relevant programming language. Also, hands-on knowledge of UML will play a pivotal role because hyperautomation is all about turning flowcharts into automation.

If you have prior experience in SQL or Oracle RDBMS, it will be quite valuable in your hyperautomation role because database integration requires this. We know you’ve probably been told you aren’t a programmer if you work on RDBMS, but that’s not entirely true – all the integrations you performed, and the queries you ran will pay off when you kick-start your hyperautomation career.

Knowledge of business processes

Back in the day, process improvement was a big deal, and it still is because it saves costs for the company and optimizes profits. However, how it is done in 2022 is through automation, and to apply this, there is a sheer need for a thorough understanding of business processes. At LTIMindtree, we design automation solutions for a diverse client base, so you might want to highlight your prior knowledge and get placed on relevant projects.

For example, if you have previously interned at a manufacturing unit and have an understanding of how things work there, then your knowledge might be considered valuable for projects involving automation design for that particular sector. Likewise, if you switched from pharma to tech, then your knowledge of that industry’s processes might be considered valuable. The list goes on, so if you don’t have the necessary exposure but want to work on a specific domain, consider spending some time gaining that.

Data analytics background

If you previously interpreted data for businesses as a data analyst, your competency in executing data set operations could be beneficial in designing automation. So, your skills will be of great value when you make the switch.

As a job seeker, you are probably actively looking at switching careers. However, when you follow the correct roadmap and develop the right skill set, things become easier. In the field of hyperautomation, it is all about getting one tool right and applying it to make processes more efficient. If you have the necessary technical and business acumen, this should be a cakewalk. On the contrary, if you don’t, then developing it isn’t impossible. With every iteration of technology, business processes are becoming more complex, and with over 32.5 Mn businesses worldwide, the hyperautomation industry is here to stay.