Could Man be replaced by machines? Far from being utopian, this possibility has been one of the key ideas behind innovation in companies for several years now. Gide 255 works with you on the automation of your business units and your commercial offer.

Is automation for your company and its activities?

In a nutshell, a robot is above all a tool the company can draw on, either as owner or as an outsourced service, to carry out assignments that were up until then completed by humans. Tasks given in this way to machines can be part of a company’s internal organisation system, for instance to support and strengthen employees’ performance. They can also directly impact services to clients.

Automation and artificial intelligence often go together, insofar as the latter strongly increases the possibilities of the former. Resorting to algorithms and data enables robots to increase their abilities and the range of tasks they can accomplish.

Just like artificial intelligence, robots are defined today as an economically interesting (in terms of means, timeline, precision, targeting) complement to man’s know-how for the business model at hand.

Again just like AI, automation is being snapped up by a number of industries working in a variety of fields. Insurance, for instance, is using automation to improve the quality of advice provided to clients and related investments in products; banking uses it to increase the rights clients have on their own bank account; distribution and e-commerce automate the organisation management and provisioning of warehouses; medical and pharmaceutical players automate and optimise the granting of certain treatments; legal professions automate searches, storage and the generation of legal documents, etc.

Automation does come with risks, including liability issues, manipulation, pirating, copy, lack of ethics. As immaterial assets of modern companies, robot “cores” (i.e. algorithms) must also be appropriately legally protected so that the added value and economic potential can be used safely and over the long term. Companies resorting to automation must think ahead to protect their activities and reputation.

More generally, players looking to automate all or part of their activities must therefore analyse in detail the activities that they plan to hand over to machines so that they may gain full knowledge and control of strategic stakes, necessary resources and related legal risks.