Ian Barkin
Ian Barkin is chief strategy and marketing officer for SYKES. Ian co-founded Symphony Ventures, a managed services firm specializing in intelligent automation (IA) and robotic process automation (RPA) acquired by SYKES in 2018. Ian hosts OneTAKE, a series on emerging technology, the future of work, and more. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a BA in Economics and Psychology from Middlebury College. Along with Pascal Bornet and Jochen Wirtz, Ian is the co-author of the best-selling book, Intelligent Automation: Welcome to the World of Hyperautomation.
From this author
Companies everywhere have come to accept the impacts of the pandemic on the future of work in stages that are eerily similar to the stages of grief: First, there was the wait-and-see phase, in which business leaders cautiously monitored news of the growing COVID-19 threat; then recovery mode, when enterprises were forced to adopt work-at-home functionality to keep their employees safe. Next, there was the survival phase — where most companies are now...
The future of work will be defined by automation. With such transformative change, everyday workers may be skeptical about how it will affect them. However, what many fear-inducing headlines often don’t reveal is that automation creates plenty of opportunities.
These truly intelligent technologies empower us to do more strategic, exciting work because we’re not bogged down in tedious, repetitive tasks. By automating the mundane, we can experience redefined, highly...
In this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape, Dawn Tiura interviews Ian Barkin. Ian Barkin is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Symphony Ventures, a professional services firm that helps enterprises leverage automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative resourcing solutions. When it comes to implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) into workplace culture, Ian is...
When considering Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a lot of adopters have made the strategic call that they want to create their own RPA capability internally. They want a Center of Excellence (CoE). It can be a comprehensive CoE or it could be components that are stitched together with other third parties, for instance. They want analysts that can identify and scout for good processes for automation and change. Or, they have the need for configuration, testing, ongoing monitoring of the...
Technology is meant to make our lives easier, and there are countless options in the world geared towards decreasing the time and effort spent on boring tasks. You might have heard about RPA recently and are wondering why you might want to implement RPA for your company. Even so, you might also be wondering what makes RPA a unique choice for companies looking for ways to increase their efficiency and decrease costs? If you’re wondering how RPA can benefit your organization, or if you...
The SAVO methodology speaks to our origin story as process-focused organization. We set out to emphasize the importance of process as the foundation for any stable and meaningful transformation. What SAVO represents are the following steps to digital transformation:
Simplify
Automate
Virtualize
Orchestrate
Simplifying involves holistically assessing the processes as a critical first step to finding opportunities to make them leaner and more efficient...
“RPA is more complex than you think”, as said by my wise colleague, David Brain. In fact, not only is the technology itself complex, but the successful deployment is also largely dependent upon extensive planning and collaboration among key stakeholders. That’s why it’s critical that champions and executives prepare the organization for RPA implementation as a first step in the process.
It can actually be argued that proper education and planning...
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a critical component of developing a digital operations strategy that can yield impressive results. If you’re early in your discovery journey, you may be wondering what the term actually means. This article will help you understand RPA and the ways it can add value to your enterprise.
A Definition of RPA
Symphony Ventures defines RPA as any capability that allows you to perform processes within any IT application or...