The world has become increasingly complex. In the early days of the pandemic, organizations were forced to transition to remote work and reexamine their business models. Organizations leveraged innovative business automation technologies to overcome operational challenges and meet their customers rapidly changing needs. As the world emerges from the pandemic, organizational priorities will shift to adapt to three business automation disruptions happening now.
1. Reducing Operational Complexity with Automation
In the early days of the pandemic organizations had to adapt or risk failing. This required,according to a McKinsey report, increasing “the speed of decision making, while improving productivity, using technology and data in new ways, and accelerating the scope and scale of innovation.” Similarly, an IBM Institution for Business Value report points tothe need for adaptability and speed in the post-COVID world, “Adaptability is now a mandatory business competency, and an accelerated pace of change has become normal.”The same IBM report found that “Some 55 percent of respondents say the pandemic has resulted in ‘permanent changes to our organizational strategy.’ An even larger 60 percent say COVID-19 has ‘adjusted our approach to change management’ and ‘accelerated process automation,’ with 64 percent acknowledging a shift to more cloud-based business activities.”Having weathered the most difficult days of the pandemic, leaders have begun prioritizing internal operational capabilities. Where leadership at some organizations once viewed business automation technologies with skepticism, there is now a broad acceptance of these technologies and commitment to leverage these solutions to become leaner and more adaptable to future challenges.
