Integrated Automation: Why You’ve Been Doing It All Wrong

Over the last few years, intelligent automation (IA) has emerged as a catch-all term for various change agent technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and smart analytics that are being deployed individually or in concert to help enterprises across the globe enhance the automation of their IT and business processes. Well-executed IA is the catalyst for digital transformation at the core of an organization, fundamentally changing how business operations are executed, connecting front and back offices, and helping develop new business models driven by hybrid digital and human workforces.

However, not unlike emerging technology-driven innovations, there’s still a gap between rhetoric and reality, and the world of IT and business operations is in dire need of adopting a definitive definition, impact, and future direction for IA.

HFS, in collaboration with KPMG International, investigated the pace of change this IA phenomenon is having on enterprises by assessing the rate of adoption of emerging IA technologies, the early successes and challenges, and changing directives from the C-Suite to reach desired goals and outcomes. We surveyed 590 business leaders including 100 C-level executives across six industries and thirteen countries. We supplemented this quantitative analysis with detailed qualitative interviews with IA leaders at global brands to contextualize the trends.

The study findings make it clear that the objectives and aspirations for IA are exponential, but the execution is quite linear. Key study findings include:

• Enterprises have exponential aspirations from their IA initiatives for both value creation and speed to market
• Enterprises are seeking more than cost savings from their investments in IA. Elevating customer experience, unleashing data to drive insights, and top-line growth emerged as the top three drivers for IA in our survey.
• The majority of IA programs have not yet scaled. It’s not surprising that most programs have not yet reached scale, but enterprises believe they can scale quickly. Over 50% of respondents expect that they will scale and industrialize their IA program within 12 months! Execution strategies are linear or incremental to meet these exponential aspirations
• Enterprises are failing to integrate IA solutions. While there is investment across a broad variety of IA technologies, only around 10% of respondents are leveraging an integrated solution approach across the different dimensions of IA (automation, AI, and smart analytics).
• IA initiatives lack an enterprise-wide strategy. Moreover, IA initiatives continue to be piecemeal or, at best, functionally organized. Less than 10% of respondents have an enterprise-wide approach to IA.
• Leadership and talent concerns are rife. Lack of IA leadership vision and mandate (52%) and talent concerns (45%) are strong barriers to execution that will inhibit the ability to scale quickly.

To fill this gap between expectations and execution, enterprises need to clearly define the “Why, What, and How” to successfully scale intelligent automation. The “Why” needs to support exponential growth, not incremental improvement. The “What” requires an integrated, enterprise-wide strategy, not silos fending for themselves. The “How” prioritizes talent, speed, and execution. Addressing these questions holistically will yield integrated automation—the effective melding of technology, talent, organizational change, and leadership to achieve scale and deliver exponential benefits.