As teams are increasingly required to achieve more results with less time and resources, technologies that can support this need have become intrinsic to day-to-day operations. A key example here is automation. Not only can automation improve efficiency, increase speed and cut costs, it can also alleviate repetitive, manual tasks to allow employees to spend their valuable time elsewhere. As a result, its rise through the ranks has excited organizations in recent years.
Now, enterprise-wide IT automation has taken these advantages to the next level. It extends the capabilities of automated processes, giving organizations further ability to empower agile ways of working and drive value within their business. In doing so, they can stand out to customers in a competitive market, while keeping operations running smoothly and cost-effectively.
What defines enterprise-wide IT automation?
In the broadest sense, enterprise-wide IT automation encompasses the automation of the most relevant and valuable IT processes across teams within an organization. This will of course differ depending on the goals and priorities of individual organizations, as well as other factors, such as business size, maturity and structure.
Taking an enterprise-wide approach to identify the priority areas for automation will enable organizations to realize the full potential of their digital operations. The process requires not only the implementation of automated technology, but also careful consideration of the people, processes and platforms involved. For example, using a unified platform for automation roll-out will bring together all processes and people within the business to ensure that implementation is consistent across teams and that security isn’t compromised.
The automation journey
When surveying IT leaders in the UK, France, Germany and Spain, we recently discovered that they all recognize enterprise-wide IT automation’s ability to help solve business challenges and the wider benefits it brings. It’s clear that the power of automation is being embraced by organizations across the globe.
From bolstering data management, governance and security to upscaling systems with speed and flexibility, enterprise-wide IT automation can unlock numerous business opportunities. While we’re seeing leaders recognize its benefits, it is important to remember that implementing and achieving enterprise-wide IT automation remains a work in progress for many organizations.
Our research recently found that just 18 percent of IT leaders surveyed have achieved enterprise-wide IT automation to date, but 75 percent have an automation strategy in place. On a country-by-country level, the UK is doing well in its automation journey, with 27 percent having already achieved enterprise-wide IT automation adoption. It comes ahead of Germany at 18 percent, Spain at 16 percent and France at 12 percent.
Overcoming enterprise-wide IT automation hurdles
As with any change, adopting enterprise-wide IT automation doesn’t come without challenges. On the whole, we can group the key challenges businesses are facing into three themes: people, processes and technology.
People
Organizations across the board are impacted by skills shortages at the moment, which is having a knock-on impact on automation adoption. There is not enough IT talent with the necessary skills to keep up with today’s rapid tech evolution. For example, 27 percent of UK leaders have flagged this as the biggest challenge they are currently facing.
At the same time, people themselves can be barriers to automation adoption if they are not accepting of technological changes. Employee advocacy is fundamental to any organizational change. No matter how solid your strategy or technology is, if there is resistance to change or you don’t involve people in the journey, it won’t succeed.
Clearly communicating the benefits of change at the start and involving teams in the whole automation journey will help to get people on board. It’s also important for leaders to listen to employee feedback on a regular basis if they are to support successful change management.
Process
Process-related challenges can include silos and adhering to government regulations, both of which could prevent the successful adoption of enterprise-wide IT automation.
To date, automation deployment has been very siloed, happening across multiple teams at different levels with clashing processes. Encouraging collaboration between teams and information sharing about successful transformations will help to bridge these silos and develop more unified processes.
When it comes to regulation, working with a vendor can help to keep compliance up-to-date throughout the automation journey and ensure that all processes adhere to regulatory requirements.
Technology
Technology barriers such as tech not being mature enough to adopt automation or cybersecurity implications can prevent the success of automation. For example, legacy IT infrastructures can be siloed without the sophisticated capabilities to implement enterprise-wide IT automation.
An organization’s chosen automation platform will play a pivotal role in the automation journey. Enterprises can turn to single scalable automation platforms, which will provide a unified, streamlined view of the whole process. This will enable new technology to be easily implemented and managed across relevant teams and departments, while keeping security top of the priority list.
The automated future
In order to fully experience the benefits of enterprise-wide IT automation, businesses need to see it as a strategic pillar, not as an add-on. Considering all areas of the business – from people to processes to technology – will play a central role here.
Leaders should continually ask questions as part of the journey – for example, how are the individuals whose tasks are now automated feeling? Is the automation platform working in all areas of implementation, giving a holistic view of progress within the business? Are the new processes and technologies embedded with the necessary security measures? This will help them to understand success and avoid any silos forming.
It is also important to remember that deploying enterprise-wide IT automation will be a step-by-step process. Taking small steps to work towards a business-wide automation strategy will lay a solid foundation and ensure that priority operations are successfully automated first, in order to drive the most business value. In doing so, businesses will be best positioned to continue growing, innovating and overcoming any challenges coming their way.
