What is an automation platform?

An automation platform takes repetitive, manual work off your team’s plate — routing approvals, assigning tasks, sending reminders, and logging every action. This guide covers how automation platforms work, the types available, and how Nutrient Workflow helps teams cut approval cycles, eliminate missed handoffs, and stay audit-ready.

An overview of automation platforms

An automation platform is cloud-based software that executes repetitive tasks on behalf of your team. As part of digital transformation, these platforms reduce the time and cost of routine work like data entry, employee onboarding, incident response, and customer service.

Types of automation platforms

The four main categories of automation platforms are:

1. Robotic process automation (RPA) — Software robots mimic human actions to handle rule-based tasks like data entry and invoice processing. Examples: Automation 360, UiPath.
2. Business process automation (BPA) — Automates end-to-end processes that span multiple systems and stakeholders. Examples: Microsoft Power Automate, Nutrient Workflow.
3. Cloud automation — Provides hosted infrastructure so you can scale automation without managing servers. Examples: Automation 360, UiPath Automation Cloud.
4. Hybrid automation — Combines RPA and BPA to cover both simple repetitive tasks and complex multistep processes in a single platform.

Nutrient Workflow falls into the BPA category with document-native capabilities built in — visual process design, electronic signatures, and AI-powered document extraction — so you don’t need separate tools for document-heavy workflows.

Who uses automation platforms?

Any business that runs repetitive, compliance-sensitive, or multistep processes can benefit from an automation platform.

Consider the difference between a global pharmaceutical company reviewing legal documents across departments and languages, and a small pest control company that just wants faster invoicing. Both need automation, but at very different scales. Nutrient Workflow handles both — it offers unlimited forms, processes, and audit trails, so a single platform grows with you from one workflow to hundreds.

What an automation platform delivers

An automation platform streamlines work by handling routing, tracking, and documentation automatically. The following sections cover some of the key benefits.

Fewer errors and missed handoffs

When a process runs on email and spreadsheets, steps get skipped. Automation enforces the correct sequence: Task A must finish before task B starts, and the platform reassigns work if someone is unavailable. The result is consistent output with less rework.

Audit-ready records

Every action — who approved what, when, and with which data — is logged automatically. When an auditor asks for proof that a procedure was followed, you pull the report instead of reconstructing it from emails. Nutrient Workflow’s dashboards show real-time process status alongside historical audit trails.

Key features to look for

When evaluating platforms, look for these capabilities. Here’s how Nutrient Workflow delivers each one:

1. Visual process builder — Nutrient Workflow’s drag-and-drop builder lets you design multistep workflows without writing code. Define task order, parallel branches, and conditional logic in a single canvas.
2. Built-in forms and data capture — Create request forms that pull live data from your ERPs, CRMs, or databases via REST APIs — no separate form tool required.
3. Document handling — Sign documents with built-in electronic and PAdES digital signatures, and extract data from PDFs and scans using AI-powered document extraction.
4. System integration — Connect to existing infrastructure (ERPs, CRMs, HRIS, databases) so automated processes share data across your tech stack without manual reentry.
5. Mobile access — Approve tasks, submit requests, and monitor workflows from Nutrient Workflow’s native mobile app (iOS/Android) with push notifications.
6. Real-time dashboards — Track KPIs, process cycle times, and bottlenecks with customizable dashboards that update as work moves through each stage.

Automation platform security

Nutrient Workflow includes the following security controls:

1. Single sign-on (SSO) — Centralized identity management so users authenticate once through your existing identity provider.
2. Role-based access control — Permissions restrict who can view, edit, or launch each workflow, down to individual process steps.
3. Data encryption — Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
4. Audit trails — Every action is logged with timestamps and user IDs, giving you a complete compliance record.
5. Secure integration — Connections to external systems use encrypted channels and authentication protocols, keeping data safe as it moves between platforms.

Common use cases for Nutrient Workflow

Here are four processes teams automate first:

• Employee onboarding — A new hire form triggers parallel tasks: IT provisions accounts, HR schedules orientation, and the hiring manager assigns a buddy. Each step fires automatically when the previous one completes, and nothing falls through the cracks.
• Contract approval — A submitted contract routes to finance for budget review, and then to legal for terms review. Built-in signatures let both parties sign without leaving the platform, and the completed document is stored with a full audit trail.
• Expense and purchase requests — Employees submit requests through a form that pulls live budget data. Approvals route based on dollar thresholds — small purchases go to the direct manager, larger ones escalate to department heads.
• IT access requests — An employee requests system access, the form auto-populates their role details, and the request routes to the security team. Access is provisioned only after all required approvals are logged.

Get started with Nutrient Workflow

Pick one process your team runs frequently — an approval chain, an onboarding checklist, or an access request form. Build it in Nutrient Workflow’s visual process builder, connect your existing systems, and launch it as a live automated workflow.

• See how the platform works
• Try Nutrient Workflow

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