Belong accelerates automation using Appian

Mobile and internet provider Belong has selected the Appian low-code platform to automate key customer service functions, manage fraud identification and rapidly respond to changing demands, including a shifting landscape caused by the current pandemic.

“Just prior to the pandemic we were performing a restack of our technical platform, which enabled us to move all of our interactions online and scale a lot quicker than what we potentially could have without the Appian platform,” said Carly Donnellan, Product Owner, Belong.

“It meant we were in a good position to shift from contact centres and agent interactions to a lot more online, digitally led automations, which helped to reduce the time the workforce was spending doing manual tasks during COVID-19.”

Using Appian, Belong introduced tactical RPA bots during the pandemic to help automate customer interactions. As a result of automating common customer service requests, Belong’s ‘Mobile Disconnection Bot’ diverted 18,556 customer interactions from the contact centre, saving 2164 manual hours, while the ‘NBN Fallout Activations Bot’ diverted 15,032 contacts and saved 1753 hours.

Belong has benefited from being able to move its intelligent automation strategy away from total reliance on the IT engineers and developers — which creates bottlenecks — to a ‘whole-of-business’ low-code approach to automation. This approach delivers a high level of collaboration, control and flexibility to make changes very quickly.

Belong has also built automated processes (using Appian in conjunction with its own data platforms) to collect and analyse information for detection of fraudulent activity across its network and products.

“One of the biggest business costs for Belong is managing fraudulent activity; primarily fraudulent users who onsell our products without authorisation,” said Donnellan. “Using Appian with some of our data platforms, we built a truly lights-out automation process to help identify fraud and act on [it] sooner, saving the company time and money.

"The automation operates the whole process from end to end, including receiving and analysing data, managing the customer and sending communications, ultimately saving the company a million dollars per year.”

Belong will soon introduce a centralised automation team, which will be supported by Appian, to get the most out of these initiatives and to scope out new opportunities for the company.

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