Business demand for automation has surged and now spans multiple departments in a bid to accelerate efficiency and productivity due to macroeconomic uncertainty, according a study by Salesforce and Vanson Bourne.
The vast majority (91 percent) of those CIOs and IT decision-makers surveyed report that demand for automation from business teams has increased over the last two years. Many have noted that they are turning to automation more than ever to drive immediate value across all parts of the business, from both technical and non-technical departments.
The highest demand for automation came from four departments namely research and development (39 percent), administrative/operations (38 percent), customer service (33 percent) and marketing (26 percent)
The survey also noted that existing technology stacks are impacting the speed at which IT teams are able to meet automation demands from the business.
Nearly all (96 percent) respondents said that modifying and rebuilding automation is a challenge as systems and business requirements change.
In addition, four in five respondents said restructuring existing application and data landscapes to support automation would likely compound their organisation’s technical debt.
“Organisations across every industry want to automate processes and customer experiences as quickly as possible. However, if they try to go fast with the wrong tools and techniques, they’ll actually impede true innovation,” said Matt McLarty, Global Field CTO & VP of the Digital Transformation Office, MuleSoft.
“It’s vital that organisations become more adaptable to technological change, enabling them to build automations and connect data and applications in a holistic manner. Without taking a more composable approach, organisations risk compounding rather than reducing their technical debt.”
As organisations attempt to unlock the full potential of automation to not only fuel growth, but create efficient growth in a quicker and less disruptive way, nearly half (44 percent) are now using integration and API management capabilities to fully support their business process automation efforts.
A further 53 percent stated they were using integration and API management capabilities to “some extent.” This shows that there is a massive opportunity to more efficiently automate workflows at scale and deliver connected customer experiences faster.
The survey also revealed that 80 percent of organisations will have hyperautomation on their technology roadmap within the next 24 months, meaning that they need the right tools and capabilities to build and modify automations.
“Organisations should never just think that once a process is automated the job is done,” said McLarty. “If we’ve learned anything through this volatile period, in fact, it is that we need a new mentality when it comes to business.”
With a new, more composable mentality, McLarty says that any organisation can thrive. “The organisations that thrive in the digital economy are the ones that adapt to changes the fastest. For established companies, that means focusing on three things: growth with efficiency and sustainability, agility with safety at scale, and continuous innovation.”
