We have seen a rapid evolution of automation in the last decade, from repetitive process automation to a blend of machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence. With this, we have shifted from automating redundant tasks to automating enterprise operations.

As LOB leaders and CIOs work together on identifying and executing enterprise automation initiatives that are in line with strategic business objectives, the focus is moving toward automating critical and innovative operations while concurrently reducing TAT. As the industry moves toward continuous improvement, these processes will be regularly monitored and improved upon to ensure they stay aligned with current business needs.

The goal of this new generation of automation is to deliver faster service levels while reducing costs by eliminating human error through reliance on technology-based systems that can quickly adapt as business requirements change over time.

Let’s look at how the automation industry is set to evolve in 2023.

Trend 1:
Federated IT development will drive automation success

Automation has become a big part of business operations for both CIOs and LOBs. For the CIO and IT office, automation is about scalability, reliability, and security. But many LOBs are looking for more than just cost control from their automation initiatives – they want to improve their processes as well. One trend we’re seeing this year is that citizen developers are building their own automation solutions with low code / no-code components on scalable, secure platforms provided by the IT office. Citizen developers understand the business process better than anyone else, so they can develop automation sets that meet their needs and make work easier.

Trend 2:
Looking beyond cost reduction and focusing on driving agility of operations

As organizations adopt automation, they are moving from the early stages of automation to scale—where less than 8-10% of their processes have been automated. The impact on business post the pandemic has seen pressures on costs and margins, while automated processes have delivered from a cost perspective. Still, as businesses see the advantage of automation from a cost perspective earlier, they are now seeing how automation improved agility in both customer-facing operations (e.g., self-service) and critical back-office operations (e.g., Inventory stock management). This agility is helping cost-takeout strategies and reducing pressures on margins.

Trend 3:
Automation at scale = a combination of technologies with RPA

Enterprises have begun to see the benefits of task automation. They are reaping the rewards of scaling these processes and operations to increase the volume and scale of automation. One way companies are doing this is by increasing the number of bots to increase transaction volume. However, as the number of bots increases, so does the complexity of automation. This increased complexity will require a combination of conversational interfaces, low-code components, AI/ML, IPAAS (Integrated platform as a service), and process orchestration. This allows for seamless handoffs between automated processes and manual interventions with workflow orchestration.

Trend 4:
Automation will help to scale and accelerate digital transformation

The pandemic brought with it many challenges to organizations worldwide. However, organizations that adopted automation initiatives before the pandemic has seen a reduced impact on operations. For example, IT service engineers adopted co-browsing technologies to remotely fix customer issues, and many customers used self-service and AI Chatbots to complete online transactions without any other human interactions. Post-COVID, these organizations realize the increased scalability, agility, and other added value that these automation initiatives have brought to the organization’s digital transformation journey, which goes beyond just cost takeout.

Trend 5:
Automation done right will deliver amplified value

The recent economic downturn has seen enterprises deploy automation initiatives which in turn has delivered amplified value. They became more agile and could provide services with minimal human interaction. The right automation technology has consistently enabled companies to predict and proactively service their customers rather than respond reactively.

However, automation initiatives must be planned and executed properly:

• Identifying the right technology platform for the business, industry, and scale
• Building the required technical capability in-house that allows you to develop and deploy relevant solutions
• Ensuring that the technology platform deployed is secure and trustworthy and is protected against all vulnerabilities

Trend 6:
Task mining will drive automation scaling and deployment

Large organizations often struggle with scaling their automation and seeing the benefits of their automation initiatives, as automation only amplifies the inefficiencies of suboptimal processes and process variations. Task mining, hence, will help identify the process inefficiencies, in addition to providing empirical data on how each process runs and can be optimized. This helps apply a scientific approach to process automation, which is an essential step to scaling automation.