An Information Technology (IT) expert, Mr Andrew Ughonu, on Monday said that business automation could help achieve the social distancing precaution to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Ughonu, Chief Executive Officer, Optisoft Technology, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos

NAN reports that one of the precautions listed by health and safety experts to curb the spread of the virus is social distancing.

Ughonu said that business automation did not necessarily implied lay-off of workers “but promotes accountability’’.

Business automation actually creates different jobs because new skills will be required but ultimately there is efficiency in high output. Technology is an enabler of business .This means any member of the management staff can from his desk get a full report on how the business is fairing. This process manages business flow from end to end, starting from staff clock-in, accounting management, sales and inventory management. It also include vendor management, project management, budget and expense monitoring, files and documents management,’’ he said.

According to him, this also helps business continuity as the current lockdown does not stop business from running functions like secured document signing while approvals can be done remotely which is also secured.

“Meetings can be done online without any physical presence. This also helps in following government rules on social distancing while learning can also be done remotely and online.

Business automation enhances businesses by means of accountability and does not encourage lay-off of workers. No matter the level of automation, you will still need humans to operate those things. The need for business automation is to enhance sales and productivity. It also makes one accountable.

“Business automation also brings convenience and security,’’ Ughonu said.

He explained that every business required a lot of effort to be managed efficiently. He added that several complex processes needed to get assimilated in their functions and integration of those processes led to the development of hitch-free operations.

According to him, business automation refers to new digital functionalities that can complete processes with ease. All you need to do as a business owner is acquire a complete Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution which will be integrated into Web applications or Mobile apps and it will help you in your daily transactions.

“Business Automation (BA), also known as business process automation or digital transformation is the technology-enabled automation of complex business processes,” Ughonu said.

The expert noted that keying into the idea of business automation could help save people from contracting the deadly coronavirus.