0:00 – Introductions
1:20 – Early Automation History: BA’s Pandemic-Driven RPA Start
The story of British Airways launching UiPath automation during the pandemic despite resistance from central IT.
2:20 – Building Credibility & Moving Beyond Isolated RPA
The program evolves from scattered initiatives to broader business sponsorship and early intelligent automation.
2:55 – 2023–2024: Executive Pressure for Efficiency & Growth
Why automation is essential to hit ambitious cost and efficiency targets.
3:40 – From Opportunistic Tasks to Strategic Domain Automation
The shift from one-off requests to end-to-end domain automation and full-stack solutions.
4:45 – The Need for Multi-Tech Automation & Orchestration
A growing variety of tools (RPA, cognitive AI, native platform AI) is leading to a clear need for strong, independent orchestration.
6:50 – Showcase of High-Value Use Cases
Holiday pricing automation (SOSR), EU passenger claims expense filtering using GenAI, the News Agent summarization agent, and predictive aircraft maintenance using classical ML.
11:55 – Challenges of Testing Agents & Ensuring Reliability
Examples of hallucinations, the complexity of reverse-engineering agent decisions, and why testing matters before moving to mission-critical tasks.
13:45 – Why Independent Orchestration Matters for 2026
Future uncertainty in AI models, SLA demands, and IAG’s decision to avoid vendor-locked orchestrators.
15:10 – Q&A: How IAG Evaluated Orchestration Options
Luis explains why RPA-native orchestrators and BPM tools were rejected in favor of an independent orchestration platform.
