For a couple of decades now, businesses in all sectors have continuously directed a major share of their IT investments towards automation. And the focus is only growing with the coming of the new age of AI!
Gartner estimates that the total market for software that enables hyper-automation in enterprises will reach a staggering worth of over USD 1.04 trillion globally by 2026. Automation is set to be a central element of all digital transformation initiatives. It will be a pivotal capability that equips businesses to maximally utilize their digital backbone to embrace innovations like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and much more.
The automation journey is not a walk in the park
While automation is a highly desirable objective, not all enterprises can achieve their automation goals in their entirety. Surveys point out that automation initiatives like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are high on the list of failed IT projects. Some studies point out that nearly 30 to 50 percent of all RPA projects fail globally across enterprises.
The benefits are clear and the success stories that emerge are often transformational. So, why doesn’t automation pan out?
Several roadblocks stand in the way of establishing automation initiatives across businesses and functions. This blog is for business leaders seeking a better understanding of the top obstacles that could hinder their journey to effective enterprise automation.
Top 5 obstacles to effective enterprise automation
Legacy tools and processes
Most enterprises that have had years of business are saddled with legacy software, processes, and policies that are essential to their core operations. However, rigid policies that do not support data-driven operations, transactional intelligence, and other modern digital experiences are not great enablers of seamless automation. These are great candidates for modernization.
New automation-driven processes will be streamlined. But moving to a new process is not an easy endeavor. The presence of legacy software as well as processes will create major roadblocks for automation initiatives. These applications are hard to integrate with and harder to modify for the new needs. There will also be resistance from staff, users, and other stakeholders who have become used to the older ways. Many new methods come with the somewhat unwelcome promise of greater transparency and accountability. A successful automation initiative can be realized only when this resistance is overcome or bypassed.
Lack of technical skills
The availability of tech talent and a business’s ability to attract an adequate number of quality resources is a major problem that thwarts automation efforts. Most businesses have a core focus outside of technology. Since their primary business objectives are different and focused on different domains, they don’t seem like the ideal choice for tech experts looking to grow their careers in the long term. So, it’s hard for enterprises to attract the right people to drive automation initiatives.
It’s also hard for them to upskill their current people. Most businesses won’t have the tailored training and skill enhancement programs needed for tech staff to drive new-age automation initiatives. Without such a dedicated training and skill enhancement program in place, a typical enterprise will not be able to provide an environment of continuous learning that is critical for automation-focused tech talent. The net result is that enterprises struggle to staff automation initiatives, even when they have the desire to do so.
Implementation challenges
Automation technology evolves every year with new tools, platforms, and methodologies created by several global tech companies. Implementing this complex mix of tools in a business comes with a problem of complexity. Getting the mix right calls for a high-level strategic roadmap that takes every aspect of the implementation into account. For instance, moving existing processes will require calculated risk analysis-driven implementation to ensure a secure transition.
Besides, every automation software provider will have their own set of protocols, policies, and technology stack that demands further heavy customization and development. Moving age-old workflows to match new automation requirements will pose severe challenges in terms of change management and the creation of points of failure. For instance, the business and technology teams may become misaligned causing wrong outcomes to be implemented.
Systems Integration
An enterprise-wide automation initiative will succeed only when it can seamlessly guarantee smooth interoperability between the existing and new systems introduced for automation. With multiple departments involved, a disparate array of software running the show at different business units, and a barrage of new policies to be implemented, the overall integration success rates are often very low.
Enterprises must find ways to ensure seamless interoperability through intelligent integration of new and old business systems. There should not be any disruption to end-user experience as it can lead to further damage.
Lack of scalability in automation
Many companies find success in automating smaller business processes or workflows. However, for meaningful impact, they must scale their automation efforts. They must drive increased traffic to these workflows or extend the scope of automation to other related workflows and beyond. This is when many efforts fail to move out of the experimentation or pilot phase. There are many reasons for failure at this stage. Some have been documented here.
For these automation efforts to scale, enterprises must guarantee visibility into how different processes and business workflows work for each team. Only then can the IT team take calculated approaches to plan automation initiatives that can scale over time without risks.
Automation is critical but challenging
Summing it up, enterprise automation is a challenging paradigm for businesses to pursue but it is also a capability that they cannot ignore. Failing to achieve automation at scale will lead to long-term damage like loss of edge in digital experiences.
Enterprises need a technology partner like Recode Solutions to drive their automation initiatives with proven people, processes, and technology. This guarantees success and can also help them significantly lower the cost of their digital aspirations. Get in touch with us to know more.
