July 2020

The concept of process mining has been around for years; it’s only recently become popular as advances in digital technology make it an attractive alternative to traditional process mapping.

What Is Process Mining?

As Gartner defines it, “Process mining is designed to discover, monitor and improve real processes (i.e., not assumed processes) by extracting knowledge from event logs readily available in today’s information systems.”

Simply put, process mining identifies process inefficiencies by following the digital trail of data through a targeted system.

How Is It Different from Traditional Process Mapping?

Process mining is significantly quicker and more accurate than mapping through interviews and flowcharting.

• Process mapping is like asking a lot of people for directions.
• Process mining is like using your GPS.

Here’s a detailed comparison:

1. Process Mapping: Talk… Talk… Talk

Traditional process mapping starts with interviews – lots of them – to understand a process completely.

• It usually begins top-down: senior leaders → department heads → supervisors → staff → internal customers → other stakeholders.
• Interviews are time-consuming and subjective. Facts may differ due to opinions or competing agendas.
• Missing key stakeholders can result in an inaccurate and costly process map.

2. Process Mapping: Might As Well Jump

After interviews, the actual mapping begins:

• Often done manually on whiteboards or using software.
• The team then analyzes the “as-is” map and creates the “model-to-be.”
• Without hard metrics, it’s easy to jump to conclusions about needed fixes.
• Departments may resist changes if no measurable data supports them.

3. Process Mining: Data… Data… Data

In contrast, process mining automatically visualizes processes from transaction data.

• It discovers what is actually happening using event data captured in enterprise systems.
• Employees, customers, and vendors generate digital footprints in ERPs, CRMs, databases, log files, and audit tables.
• Process mining creates visualizations and analysis charts for process improvement faster and more accurately than traditional methods.
• It identifies process variations and exceptions that interviews might miss.

4. Process Mining: Here’s the Issue, Here’s What You Do

Process mining significantly reduces discovery time and effort while improving accuracy.

Key Outcomes of Process Mining

• User Training: Enhance employee efficiency through better training.
• Process Change: Add, change, or remove business activities for improved workflows.
• Process Optimization: Automate tasks for better performance, compliance, customer engagement, or cost reduction.

Because it’s data-driven, process mining delivers measurable impact. Over time, it can evolve into process monitoring, continuously analyzing current performance – something traditional mapping struggles to do.

Why Work With Prolifics

Prolifics brings the experience and expertise to help organizations leverage process mining effectively.

The “New Normal” is here. You have a vision – don’t let technology slow you down. Our solutions and experience will help you achieve it:

• Review and reevaluate your plans
• Start where it makes the most sense
• Deliver measurable results

Vision to Value. Faster. It’s more than a tagline; it’s how we deliver solutions and services.

Email solutions@prolifics.com

Process Mining – isn’t is the same as Process Mapping, or Data Mining? No. And understanding what makes Process Mining different can give you a definite advantage when looking to improve efficiencies in your business. And why should you improve efficiencies? So you can successfully cut costs, improve customer satisfaction, improve employee morale, and increase revenue.

In this video, Process Mining expert and Prolifics’ Global Head of Digital Automation and Cloud Solutions, Anant Gupta, explains process mining and explores the benefits – regardless of your industry. Watch now.

To learn more about process mining, check out this Ultimate Guide to Process Mining we put together.

Three Reasons a Digital Loan Coworker Makes Sense

If you’re a lender, or work in IT for a lending institution, you’ve likely felt the ripple effects of the “New Normal” in very specific ways. Interest rates are at historic lows, but what does that really mean for mortgage demand? The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) arrived like a hurricane—so what’s next? And after so much disruption, what should you be doing to support your employees?

Believe it or not, a digital loan coworker can help with each of these challenges. By integrating digital workers for loan processing into your operations, you can streamline tasks, scale capacity, and improve accuracy without adding unnecessary strain to your team.

1) How a Digital Loan Coworker Helps Manage Mortgage Volume

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) recently reported record-low mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping 72 basis points in a year to just 3.03%. While long-term demand remains uncertain, refinancing activity has surged. Freddie Mac’s research shows single-family first lien refinances reached nearly $400 billion—double the previous year’s volume.

Managing workforce size amid fluctuating demand is challenging.

• Hire too many staff, and you risk layoffs.
• Hire too few, and your team becomes overwhelmed.
• Add remote work, and the complexity multiplies.

Here’s where mortgage automation solutions make a difference. A digital loan coworker can scale up or down instantly based on loan volume—no hiring or training required. This approach supports mortgage scalability, enabling you to handle refinancing surges through automated mortgage processing efficiently.

Key benefits include:

• Quick response to market fluctuations
• Cost-effective scaling without added staff
• Improved speed and accuracy in loan processing

2) The Customer Service Example – PPP Loan Forgiveness

Remember the chaos during the initial PPP loan rush—full lobbies, endless phone calls, and piles of paperwork? Many lenders successfully helped businesses secure funding, but the next challenge—PPP loan forgiveness—brought similar pressure.

The SBA released a simplified, borrower-friendly PPP forgiveness application and a three-page “EZ” version for certain cases. Despite these tools, businesses still needed fast results, creating massive processing demands.

A digital loan coworker can streamline this process by:

• Reading and sorting incoming emails
• Collecting and verifying loan applications
• Performing data consistency checks
• Routing information automatically to the next step

This intelligent process automation for lenders speeds up forgiveness approvals, improves service quality, and prevents the bottlenecks seen during the initial rollout. It’s also the foundation for scalable PPP loan forgiveness automation, freeing your team to focus on meaningful customer interactions.

3) The Free Up Your Employees Example – Across All Loan Types

Every lending operation handles repetitive, manual tasks—matching data, re-keying information, and navigating disconnected systems. These tasks are time-consuming, error-prone, and lower morale, especially in remote settings.

A digital loan coworker never tires of repetitive work. It runs 24/7, maintains near-zero error rates, and bridges data silos across systems. By leveraging robotic process automation (RPA) in banking, you can:

• Reduce human error in loan processing
• Save time on manual data entry
• Boost employee satisfaction through more engaging work

This isn’t about replacing people—it’s about empowering them. With automation handling routine work, employees can focus on tasks that require human judgment and customer empathy.

Top advantages of digital coworkers in lending:

• Improved employee engagement and retention
• Higher accuracy and faster turnaround times
• Lower operational costs

Partner with Experts Who Understand Lending Automation

The “New Normal” demands efficiency, scalability, and agility. You must adapt quickly to changing market conditions while minimizing costs.

Prolifics offers digital workers for loan processing—like Archie, your own digital loan coworker—designed to deliver fast, accurate, and seamless results. Our expertise covers:

• Automation for mortgage refinancing and PPP loans
• Scalable solutions for fluctuating lending demand
• End-to-end digital transformation for financial institutions

Whether you want to explore how a digital coworker improves mortgage processing or implement PPP loan forgiveness automation, we can help you transform operations and prepare for long-term success.

Ready to get started?
Email solutions@prolifics.com to discover how automation can future-proof your lending business.

Within just a few weeks, many lenders faced a hurricane of anxious customers and their paperwork for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. It may feel like we’re now in the calm eye of that hurricane, but it’s not over. The back end of the same hurricane is fast approaching in the form of PPP loan forgiveness. Often where a hurricane goes next is unpredictable, and so it is with PPP forgiveness. For you lenders out there, let’s cover what we know.

How do my customers apply for PPP loan forgiveness?

After the initial May release of a complicated, calculation-rich form, the SBA subsequently issued what they described as a “revised, borrower-friendly Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application.” This was in response to mandates in the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) passed in early June. The revision took the original forgiveness application from 11 pages down to five. You can find the revised SBA form here Lenders – Are You Ready for PPP, Part 2: Forgiveness?.

In addition, the SBA also published a new “EZ version” of the forgiveness application – just three pages – that applies to certain borrowers under specific circumstances. The EZ application requires fewer calculations and less documentation for eligible borrowers – you can find it here Lenders – Are You Ready for PPP, Part 2: Forgiveness?.

According to the SBA, “These changes will result in a more efficient process and make it easier for businesses to realize full forgiveness of their PPP loan.”

What will be forgiven?

To perhaps over-simplify, if business owners spend at least 60 percent of the loan on payroll costs within 24 weeks of receiving the loan, the whole loan will be forgiven. (The owner should spend the remaining percentage on mortgage, rent and/or utilities.) The 24-week period can’t extend beyond Dec. 31, 2020. The PPPFA changed these numbers from 75 percent and eight weeks, with the express purpose of making forgiveness more accessible. If a business owner misses the 60 percent mark, they can still get a portion of the loan forgiven – it’s not an all-or-nothing calculation.

24 is better than eight.

Both new applications give the option of using the original 8-week period (for loans before June 5, 2020) or an extended 24-week period. This should help spread out the forgiveness application crunch. But you should encourage your customers to apply once that 60 percent is reached – and not wait for the 24 weeks. Most businesses would want the debt gone as soon as possible.

Remember – PPP money is still available.

According to the SBA, PPP provided “4.5 million small business loans totaling more than $500 billion to ensure that approximately 50 million hardworking Americans stay connected to their jobs.” There is still about $130 billion available. But hurry – August 8 is now the new deadline for all PPP loan approvals.

Prolifics can help.

Our PPP Digital Loan Officer, Archie, can help you and your customers by processing new PPP loans in two minutes. And, when your customers look to have their loans forgiven, Archie can help you again – he understands the loan forgiveness eligibility rules and process. Visit Archie or email us at solutions@prolifics.com.

AI-driven IT is no longer a future concept — it’s the reality shaping how businesses succeed in 2025. Remember the New Normal? What began in 2020 as a period of unprecedented change has evolved into a fully realized digital age. Remote work isn’t a temporary pivot; it’s now a permanent fixture of our culture.

The conversation has shifted from reacting to a crisis to strategically navigating the future of IT. As we move into 2025 and 2026, the real question for IT leaders is: How do you build a resilient, innovative, and competitive organization? The answer lies in moving beyond adaptation and embracing the next wave of strategic initiatives — built on the four pillars of AI-driven IT success.

Why AI-Driven IT Matters in 2025

Here are four updated strategies for IT success in the AI-driven era.

1. Build a hyper-agile and secure hybrid infrastructure

The future of work is undeniably hybrid, but success depends on more than just providing a laptop and a video conferencing tool. The new focus is on creating a flexible, secure, and seamless digital environment that supports employees wherever they are.

• Invest in a zero-trust architecture: Move beyond perimeter-based security. A zero-trust model verifies every user and device trying to access network resources, securing your distributed workforce against modern threats.
• Optimize employee experience (EX): Focus on a unified digital experience. This means investing in next-gen collaboration and productivity platforms that are intuitive, integrate seamlessly, and ensure employees feel connected and productive from any location.
• Leverage SASE (Secure Access Service Edge): Adopt a SASE framework that converges network and security functions into a single, cloud-native service. This provides secure, low-latency access for all users, regardless of their location, solidifying your IT resilience.

2. Prioritize proactive, AI-powered cybersecurity

The threat landscape has grown increasingly sophisticated. Relying on reactive security measures is no longer sufficient. In 2025, proactive cybersecurity driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is a core business function, not just an IT responsibility.

• Implement AI-driven threat detection: Use AI and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data, detect anomalies, and identify potential threats in real time before they can cause damage.
• Embrace predictive security: Move from simply reacting to threats to anticipating them. AI-powered analytics can help identify vulnerabilities and predict potential attack vectors, allowing your team to reinforce defenses proactively.
• Automate incident response: Automate security workflows and protocols to accelerate threat response times. This allows your security team to focus on higher-level strategy rather than getting bogged down in manual, repetitive tasks.

3. Scale innovation with AI and automation

The strategic value of IT is no longer just about keeping the lights on—it’s about accelerating innovation and driving business value. By leveraging AI and automation, IT can free up resources and enable strategic growth.

• Adopt hyperautomation: Combine intelligent automation (IA) and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate complex business processes across your organization. This frees up talent for more creative and strategic projects that move the business forward.
• Accelerate your targeted cloud strategy: The cloud is the engine of AI. Optimize your existing cloud investments by focusing on strategic initiatives with a clear business purpose, not just a “lift and shift” of legacy applications.
• Democratize AI adoption: Equip business units with low-code/no-code AI tools, allowing them to build custom solutions and drive innovation without deep technical expertise. This fosters a culture of innovation and enables a truly agile organization.

4. Strategically upskill and reskill the IT workforce

Technology evolves faster than ever, and so must your team. The best IT leaders are prioritizing continuous learning to build a resilient and highly skilled workforce for the future of IT.

• Cultivate an AI-fluent workforce: Provide targeted training in AI, machine learning, and data science. This ensures your team can not only implement AI solutions but also identify new opportunities to apply them.
• Prioritize soft skills: As technical tasks become more automated, skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and strategic thinking become paramount. Invest in training that develops these uniquely human capabilities.
• Implement data-driven learning paths: Use internal data and analytics to identify skill gaps and create personalized learning paths. This ensures your IT upskilling initiatives are both efficient and aligned with your long-term digital transformation strategy.

Conclusion

From pandemic response to AI-driven transformation, IT’s role has evolved dramatically in just five years. The 4 Pillars of IT Success in the AI-Driven Era—hyper-agile hybrid infrastructure, AI-powered cybersecurity, scaled AI innovation, and workforce upskilling—provide a framework for sustainable success in 2025 and beyond.

Organizations that invest in these pillars today will be positioned not just to adapt but to lead in a future defined by constant change.