The Economist Intelligence Unit recently launched a report on automation and its impact based on research with over 500 executives in eight countries. Titled The Advance of Automation: Business Hopes, Fears and Reality, the report was sponsored by our partner, UiPath.
Here, we provide some salient highlights from the report, as well as links to resources so you can learn more about the results we’re creating with clients using automation, specifically robotic process automation (RPA).
Top Automation Trends from 2019 Survey
“The research results paint a broadly positive picture of the impact that automation is having on organizations. The operational benefits are clearly visible to business leaders, and there are expectations that it will soon begin generating top-line gains as well.”
- 90%+ of organizations are using automation technologies. And, 61% of US organizations surveyed make extensive use of automation.
- 50%+ are using automation extensively, particularly for processes relating to
- IT, operations and production, and finance.
Sectors most utilizing automation today:
- 61% manufacturing
- 56% financial services/insurance
- 49% healthcare
- 35% government
Departments being automated today:
- ~70% Operations/production
- 70% IT operations
- 60%+ Customer service
- 60% Sales
- ~60% Finance
- 50%+ Office management
- ~50% HR
C-Suite becoming responsible for automation:
- 84% of surveyed firms have a C-level executive responsible for the success of automation, particularly the CTO (29%), CIO (17%), and CEO (22%).
- Others from the c-suite are responsible as well, but less often – CDO (4%), COO (4%), and CFO (3%).
AI & Robotic Process Automation Trends
- 7:10 organizations are prioritizing AI as well as RPA for implementation.
- 71% of respondents believe that increased automation of customer service processes will be extremely important to their firm’s competitiveness. This level of automation will require more AI capabilities.
Top 5 Most Significant Benefits of Automation
- 52% say productivity
- 32% say reduced human error
- 28% say improved consistency of processes & output
- 27% say enhanced customer experience
- 27% say increased revenue
- 42% believe providing education and reskilling is among the most important practices they can employ to smooth the implementation of automation
Skills and Support Needed
- 39% say they need more complex problem-solving skills
- 36% more creativity
- 34% more collaboration
- 27% more people management
- 22% more advanced education
This survey highlighted the value and benefits of automation, including RPA, as well as the priority that executives are placing on it in their current and future plans. If you’re looking for expert assistance to accerlate the ROI of automation, contact us and look into these additional resources.
More Automation Reading & Resources:
Case Study: RPA Claims Processing: Automating 5,000 Claim Audits Per Week
Case Study: RPA Automates License Credential Verification Cutting Costs by 30%
Insight: Accelerate Your Digital Transformation Journey
Primer: Rise of the Robots — Robotic Process Automation
White Paper: “Robotic Process Automation: Maximizing Human Effort While Improving Efficiency, Accuracy and Speed”
Economist Research Brief: The Advance of Automation: Business Hopes, Fears and Reality
White Paper: Published by IDG in cooperation with CIO.com and SDLC Partners