Process automation is a way to automate your digital processes as part of your overall workflow. This is becoming far more popular in businesses of all sizes, as it helps you scale while keeping expenses balanced. As a result, 74% of business leaders say process automation has helped their enterprises become more efficient, with most reporting coinciding cost reductions.

While those benefits are enough to consider incorporating workflow automation into your business, they don’t stop there. Let’s talk about how processes can help reduce risk in your enterprise.

Define “Risk”

First, let’s understand the risks we’re discussing. In this context, we use the term “risk” to describe your company’s chances of losing sensitive data through a breach, data loss, or any other cyber disaster. This data could be financial, personal, or even pose health or safety risks depending on your industry.

Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t have any serious plans in place for preventing or addressing these risks. The reason that’s unfortunate is that small businesses face the highest risk out of any person or organization.

Small and medium-sized businesses are the favorite targets of cybercriminals, as they have the most advantageous risk-reward ratio. Most attackers don’t have the skills necessary to attack larger enterprises but also don’t want to waste their time attacking individuals.

Not only that but with limited resources, they’re more likely to face other disasters that may cause data loss. In today’s world, your company is only as secure as its data. 

1. Automated Processes Limit Variables

When one system manages the majority of your digital processes, this dramatically limits the number of variables available for potential data loss or theft. Breaches are far easier when there are multiple potential “doors” to leave open. For example, the infamous Colonial Pipeline Breach was due to one employee’s compromised password found off of Colonial’s platform.

Therefore, having a singular (and secure) platform to manage all or most of your digital processes can limit the number of potential entryways for criminals, as well as the potential for losing sensitive data. Finally, the days of hoarding hard drives are over.

2. You Can Securely Back Up Data

With the right process management software, you can securely archive, back up, and access your most sensitive data from anywhere. This includes customer, financial, legal, and all other data that your business depends on to operate.

With the right tools, you won’t have to worry about manually backing up your data once a week or storing it on a physical hard drive. The right process automation will automatically back up your data in a secure, cloud-based platform that you can access from anywhere.

Just ensure that your system is secure. If you can access it from anywhere, so can anyone else. Therefore, it’s important to use a two-factor authentication system so you can securely access your data from anywhere but others can’t.

3. They Offer Enhanced Security

When you rely on manual processes to secure your data, you run the risk of not backing up sensitive materials in time, leaving it vulnerable to theft and errors, and lacking security. Well, that’s why 94% of businesses now use cloud technology to some extent.

Consequently, the right process automation can improve your security in more ways than one. Secure data backup, file-sharing, and more can take place across multiple platforms, tenants, devices, and users. The best part is that this can all operate entirely behind the scenes 24/7, even when managing heavy workloads.

4. Automation Simplifies Data Recovery

Protecting your data is an essential part of securing your business, but you still need a data recovery plan in case of disaster. Without it, your business is doomed for failure in the event of a major data loss.

However, with the right process automation, data recovery is much less complex, as your automated archival and cloud-based storage will allow you to recover anything you need in a matter of minutes.

Limit Your Risks Today

The right process automation can dramatically improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and limit risks within an enterprise. No matter your industry or size, there are always processes that can benefit from some level of automation. For the best results and maximum savings, choose a workflow automation solution that covers all of your digital processes.

Stay up to date with our latest workflow tips, and check out FlowWright’s features to see how they can transform your enterprise!