Automate. Elevate.
At Vodacom, innovation is part of our DNA. Ati Ngubevana sheds light on the transformative automation happening behind the scenes that is making a big impact.
System and process enhancements may not necessarily make the headlines, but it is these incremental advancements that propel us towards our TechCo ambitions and ensure all of us are part of this journey.
Enter Digital Process Automation, the team that’s helping us make this happen. They’re responsible for cutting through the red tape and fast-tracking seamless automation.
Traditionally, many companies appoint an external consultant to examine the business from the outside, but our approach keeps the analysis and change internal – and that includes you. As an expert in your own field, you know exactly what needs to change for us to go Further Together.
That’s why you’re invited to join our digital transformation journey by enrolling in the training programme – details below.
Can you invent a bot that will help us automate our processes to achieve our TechCo ambitions?
We caught up with Ati Ngubevana to find out how everyone can play a part in elevating our business through automation.
How has the automation process increased our productivity and efficiency?
“We’ve seen efficiencies being experienced over multiple facets and KPIs across Vodacom South Africa, the DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and Tanzania. This includes our ability to proactively reduce the customer’s reasons to call and proactively prevent revenue leakage.
“Internally, we automate manual hours, so our staff members refrain from working overtime and are able to focus their efforts on higher-value work.”
What can these applications do that saves time compared to doing it manually?
“Time saving is not the endgame, but rather ensuring that employees are more productive due to being reallocated to perform more activities that enable business unit strategies. This has resulted in some markets elevating their levels of compliance on the M-Pesa platform.”
How do you go about developing the robotic processes?
“It has a structured approach that includes several stages, like identification and planning; analysis and design; development; testing; deployment; and monitoring and maintenance.”
Do staff members need to be technically inclined or can the creatives also try their hand at building a bot?
“One of the key advantages of the RPA Citizen Developer Training Programme is that it allows individuals from various backgrounds, including non-technical staff, to participate in the development of automation solutions.
“While some technical understanding may be helpful, many RPA platforms are designed to be user-friendly and accessible to individuals with limited programming knowledge.”
Have any bots been created through out-of-the-box thinking?
“One solution that stands out was built in Lesotho by an employee in the Legal department. It relates to supporting the police department when they subpoena us to provide MSISDN info.
“This used to be a tedious, time-consuming activity with a turnaround time of one week – and four employees assisting to execute on the volumes. Now that the new process is live, the turnaround time is less than a day!”
Citizen Developer Training Programme
Learn how to build your own bot by enrolling in the Citizen Developer Training Programme. Bots enable us to automate high volumes of repetitive, rule-based tasks, improve delivery and free up time, so that we can tackle the tasks that require the human touch. To take control and make a change to your world, sign up to become a Citizen Developer.
