Part one: What are general automation platforms? WHAT: A General Automation Platform or GAP is a category of software which automates processes that can span multiple applications across an organization. GAPs are referred to as “general” because of three reasons. 1 First, business people use GAPs for a wide 2 Second, GAPs require general skills, rather than specialized 3 Third, GAPS are owned by any variety of processes. They are not limited ones. They minimize the complexity associated with user, rather than owned by a to front-office only workflows. They are not building automatic, inter-application workflows. For particular role or department. limited to IT managed operations. They are example, users of GAPs are not required to write code. They They can be purchased, not limited to use by one industry or use should understand how to use a drag-and-drop interface administered, and used by one department. They are not limited to and understand when to use logical operators which are the by business people in any simple point-to-point automation. They are building blocks for workflow automation. If a user happens department, including IT and not limited IT-driven automation initiatives. to know how to code, then their skills can also be harnessed engineering. They are for general purposes. in GAPs. The critical point is that coding is entirely optional and based on the preference of the user. These general platforms emphasize the word “automation” because GAPs are not focused on merely the challenges of integrating. In fact, the standardization of APIs has made the integration part of automation much more straightforward than in years past. While integration is an essential first step, a significant portion of the value of GAPs comes from automation capabilities. For example, adding math or algorithms to your GAP enables you to create new workflows like custom lead scoring. The value lies in producing the lead score, not just with the ability to integrated various marketing engagement tools like lead capture forms, website analytics, and other tools. Automation is the next frontier of innovation. We use the word “platform” because GAPs offer a broad set of capabilities that are designed for company-wide use rather than solely for a narrow departmental function. We are not talking about a tool that has only a couple of applications. 4