Your 20-second brief:

• What is agentic automation? Agentic automation refers to systems capable of making autonomous decisions and taking actions, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and adaptability.
   
• Why it matters: Businesses adopting agentic automation can unlock new levels of productivity, agility, and customer satisfaction by leveraging intelligent, self-directed systems.
   
• Key benefits: Enhanced efficiency, proactive decision-making, cost savings, and scalability across diverse industries.

Generative AI was once the buzzword of the day as it ushered rapid advancements in efficient decision-making. Since its inception, the technology itself has undergone exponential development to impact productivity even more.

The years to come will see a new technology extending the capabilities of existing AI models, thereby significantly disrupting the presence of automation in business environments. Agentic automation, once visualized as being in its infant stages, will soon become the norm. The term “agentic” derives from “agency,” meaning the ability to act independently, while “automation” refers to task execution without manual intervention. Together, agentic automation combines these concepts to create systems that can adapt to new situations and make real-time decisions on their own.

This blog explores how agentic automation is transforming industries with intelligent, self-driven processes. We’ll examine its benefits, dive into practical use cases, and explore how it is reshaping human-machine collaboration to drive smarter and agile business operations. However, a one-size-fits all approach to this technology is not viable, and companies should be wary of opaque decision-making and the security of sensitive data when meeting regulatory guidelines.

The evolution of automation

Automation has significantly transformed industries by streamlining repetitive tasks, enhancing efficiency, and reducing costs. The journey began with Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a rule-based approach designed to handle routine, structured processes such as data entry and invoice processing. While RPA excelled in performing predefined tasks with speed and precision, it struggled to adapt to unstructured data or dynamic scenarios, limiting its scope to static workflows.

The next leap came with Machine Learning (ML), which introduced intelligence to automation. Unlike RPA, ML systems could analyze data, detect patterns, and make predictions. This enabled automation to forecast demand based on historical customer behavior or identify fraud in financial transactions. As ML evolved, it marked the transition from rigid, rule-based systems to predictive, data-driven models that refined their output over time. Intelligent Automation (IA) took these capabilities further by combining RPA, AI, and human intelligence to revolutionize processes across sectors. By leveraging ML, IA not only automates repetitive tasks but also improves decision-making through predictive analytics and adaptive workflows.

Combined with technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and entity recognition, intelligent automation systems began tackling more complex workflows. For instance, IA-enabled solutions in finance can process unstructured data to classify texts, detect sentiments, and extract actionable insights, enabling organizations to make faster, data-driven decisions while reducing operational costs.

Agentic automation represents a significant leap in automation, moving beyond predefined rules and static processes to systems capable of autonomous decision-making, learning from past experiences, and adapting to changing conditions in real-time.

By integrating advanced technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs), generative AI, and reinforcement learning, these systems can perceive their environment, identify patterns, and act independently.

For instance, in supply chain management, agentic systems can recalibrate delivery routes or adjust inventory levels in response to disruptions—tasks that traditionally required human intervention. By combining intelligent automation’s data-driven insights with agentic systems’ flexibility and autonomy, businesses can create agile, adaptive operations capable of addressing both immediate and long-term challenges.

Impacts across industries

Agentic automation, when integrated with advanced ERP platforms like Infor M3, creates tailored solutions to address industry-specific challenges. These integrations combine the structured capabilities of ERP systems with the decision-making autonomy of intelligent automation to impact operations across industries.

• Customer support & service
  ERP platforms streamline customer support by integrating real-time data processing with agentic automation. Infor CloudSuite’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module tracks customer interactions, purchase histories and the impacts of marketing campaigns. When paired with agentic automation, this feature prioritizes support tickets based on urgency and customer value, suggesting next-best actions autonomously. AI-enabled chatbots embedded within the ERP system further enhance customer experience by offering personalized and real-time assistance, even for multi-step queries.
   
• Finance & accounting
  Agentic automation within ERP financial modules addresses the complexities of modern finance. Infor M3 integrates predictive analytics and real-time data processing to conduct autonomous audits, flagging anomalies and compliance risks. The ERP system can automate invoice matching and reconciliation processes, reducing manual oversight and improving accuracy. Additionally, ERP-driven dashboards integrated with agentic automation will provide insights into market trends, enabling proactive financial decision-making to mitigate risks in volatile markets.
   
• Supply chain & logistics
  ERP systems like Infor CloudSuite impact supply chain operations by integrating agentic automation to dynamically adjust workflows. The platform’s inventory management module uses real-time data and AI to maintain optimal stock levels, ensuring products are available where and when needed. A retail company might rely on ERP-driven automation to reroute shipments in response to unforeseen delays, while simultaneously adjusting production schedules to meet changing demand patterns.
   
• IT operations
  In IT operations, ERP platforms enhance security and reliability through integrated automation capabilities. CloudSuite’s system monitoring tools detect unusual activity and initiate automated responses, such as applying security patches or reallocating server loads to mitigate system outages. Agentic automation ensures these ERP systems adapt to changing traffic or load patterns, supporting continuous operations for both local and multinational businesses.

The benefits of agentic information extend to the healthcare and manufacturing industries as well. In healthcare, ERP-integrated automation enhances patient care by combining data from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) with real-time analytics.

ERP platforms integrated with IoT sensors in the manufacturing sector guide predictive maintenance. Infor M3 processes machinery data to identify wear-and-tear, triggering maintenance requests before failures occur. This ensures consistent product quality and reduces downtime.

Driving change through power

Microsoft Power Platform integrates agentic automation to enhance business operations with intelligent, real-time solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven insights. Its suite of tools—Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents—redefines workflows by combining low-code development with advanced AI capabilities. By embedding agentic automation, these tools allow organizations to accelerate decision-making, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer experiences. Businesses can unlock smarter, more adaptable and scalable solutions that dynamically respond to real-time conditions and evolving data, enabling them to stay competitive in volatile environments.

• Power Automate
  Agentic automation transforms Power Automate into a dynamic tool capable of adapting workflows in real-time. Through AI Builder, businesses can create workflows powered by Machine Learning and AI models, enabling these workflows to analyze data, make decisions, and predict outcomes with high accuracy. For instance, an agentic automation solution can automate invoice processing by analyzing invoice content, categorizing them autonomously, and reducing the need for manual intervention. Additionally, AI Builder enhances workflow efficiency by predicting process bottlenecks and triggering corrective actions to ensure smoother operations.
  
  Power Automate’s ability to integrate with both Microsoft and third-party services elevates it to an intelligent process automation platform. This integration allows for the creation of end-to-end solutions capable of handling diverse tasks such as customer feedback analysis, inventory management, and contract approvals. By processing unstructured data like emails or documents, Power Automate reduces human error and improves efficiency. Its adaptability to real-time data enables businesses to refine workflows continuously, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives and enhancing overall productivity.
   
• Power Apps
  Power Apps uses automation and AI-driven insights to create applications that dynamically respond to user behavior and live data. AI-powered tools like entity extraction and sentiment analysis personalize app interfaces, making them more intuitive and user-friendly. Features such as object detection enable efficient inventory management and quality control automation, while AI models integrated into Power Apps provide real-time insights, recommendations, and predictions. For example, a sales app can use predictive analytics to forecast opportunities based on market trends and customer behavior, becoming increasingly intelligent and adaptive as it processes more data.
  
  Power Apps also employs AI-driven Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and form processing to intelligently extract data from documents like invoices, contracts, and forms. This reduces manual oversight, speeds up decision-making, and ensures employees have access to accurate, real-time information.
   
• Power Virtual Agents
  Power Virtual Agents transition from scripted interactions to AI-driven, context-aware conversations, leveraging agentic automation to enhance customer engagement. These intelligent bots draw data from sources like CRM systems, databases, and websites to provide accurate, actionable insights and personalized customer experiences. Through real-time decision-making, these agents understand context, analyze customer behavior, and offer tailored responses and recommendations. For instance, a customer service bot can automatically escalate complex issues to a human agent or provide customized solutions based on past interactions, ensuring efficiency and satisfaction.
  
  Microsoft’s advancements, including the Copilot Studio, empower users to build autonomous agents tailored to unique business needs. With self-learning capabilities powered by AI and machine learning, Power Virtual Agents continuously improve by analyzing past interactions and learning from them. This adaptability enables the agents to become more intelligent and efficient over time, reducing human involvement in routine tasks while enhancing service quality.
   
• Power BI
  Power BI leverages advanced AI capabilities, including natural language queries, anomaly detection, and predictive modeling, to uncover even more real-time insights. By integrating data from diverse sources such as ERP systems, cloud services, and social media, Power BI provides businesses with a comprehensive, up-to-the-minute view of their operations.
  
  Agentic automation further enhances this functionality by analyzing incoming data, identifying anomalies, flagging potential risks, and uncovering patterns in historical data. This enables businesses to generate automated reports, respond swiftly to emerging trends, and make informed decisions with greater confidence.

The future is here

With agentic automation poised to drive marked shifts across the corporate world, here are just some reasons as to why businesses should be ready to invest in the technology.

• Make smarter decisions
  By analyzing vast amounts of data in real-time, agentic systems refine predictions and adapt to evolving conditions. For instance, in supply chain management, they dynamically adjust logistics to mitigate disruptions, improving efficiency and reducing delays.
   
• Embrace greater agility
  Agentic systems autonomously respond to shifts in priorities or external challenges. This can reroute workflows and prioritize tasks during unexpected events such as supply chain interruptions to ensure minimal disruptions.
   
• See rapid results
  By automating complex processes, agentic automation accelerates workflows and reduces dependency on manual oversight. For example, companies can automate sales and process orders in bulk to cut processing times to minutes.
   
• Save time and resources
  ERP systems integrated with agentic automation identify inefficiencies, implement corrections autonomously, and minimize operational costs, allowing teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
   
• Be future-ready
  With continuous learning capabilities, agentic automation integrates seamlessly with existing systems, evolving alongside industry advancements and safeguarding long-term investments.

Where consideration is key

Agentic automation represents a leap forward in automation by enabling systems to make decisions, adapt to new inputs, and act autonomously without relying on rigid programming or constant human intervention. Unlike traditional automation, which is limited to repetitive and rule-based tasks, agentic systems can process unstructured data, recognize patterns, and handle complex workflows in real time.

While the potential of this technology is immense, businesses must take a measured approach to its adoption. To embrace the power of agentic automation, organizations should start with pilot programs targeting specific, high-impact areas, such as customer service or supply chains. Collaborating with experts and maintaining human oversight during implementation can mitigate risks and maximize the benefits of agentic systems. By combining the power of agentic automation with robust planning, businesses can unlock new efficiencies, remain agile in uncertain markets, and drive change across industries.

Fortude has helped customers across many industries transform their operations with automation and related technology, talk to us to learn how we can transform yours.