Automation vs. Hyperautomation: What's the Difference?

Hyperautomation was mentioned by Gartner in their Strategic Technology Trends for 2020 report. Since then, the term has gained a lot of traction, and many businesses have begun to look into how they can start implementing hyperautomation in order to reap its benefits.

However, the difference between automation and hyperautomation is still unclear to many. For this reason, we shed some light on the two terms in this blog post and compare them in order to give you a clear understanding of how they differ.

Remember to download our guide on hyperautomation: Bringing AI and Automation together to gain deeper insight into the topic and to learn how you can get started with hyperautomation quickly and efficiently in your organization.

What is automation?

To define hyperautomation and explain how it differs from ‘regular’ automation it may be useful to define automation first.

Firstly, when we talk about automation in this context, it refers to the automation that goes on within computers, and not the automation that is performed by robots in factories.

Automation performed within a computer can further be segmented into two primary groups: test automation and RPA. These two types of automation serve different purposes but offer the same advantages; to allow processes to be completed faster, more efficiently, and with higher accuracy. On a business level, automation thereby contributes to higher productivity, lower costs and lower risk.

This is why the need for automation has accelerated during the recession that we are currently facing.

What is hyperautomation?

The idea of Hyperautomation is not new as such, but it was coined as a term in Gartner’s Strategic Technology Trends for 2020.

According to Gartner, “hyperautomation deals with the application of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to increasingly automate processes and augment humans. Hyperautomation extends across a range of tools that can be automated, but also refers to the sophistication of the automation (i.e., discover, analyze, design, automate, measure, monitor, reassess.)”

In other words, hyperautomation is an expansion of automation; it adds a layer of advanced technology to automation, which makes it possible to do more with the technology.

Learn more about hyperautomation in our blog post Hyperautomation: What, Why and How?

Automation vs. hyperautomation

Finally, to give a clear overview of the key differences, let’s compare the two terms on 5 key parameters:

To learn more about hyperautomation, download our guide on bringing AI and Automation together below to learn:

• What is AI and automation?
• How is AI used in automation?
• How can you get started with AI-enabled automation?