Moving the Needle on Process Automation
Transformations take time, effort and plenty of coordination. They’re not implemented overnight. When organizations try to do too much too fast, they often don’t get far.
In this article, Jakob Freund, co-founder and CEO of Camunda, discusses the launch of his company’s 2022 State of Process Automation Report, which reveals more than nine in 10 (92%) IT decision-makers describe process automation as a vital element of digital transformation. He also discusses how IT leaders can overcome challenges with regard to process automation adoption and maximize their investment.
Business processes often are the most critical element to a company’s success. Amazon, for example, has disrupted every market it’s entered simply by creating a better user experience through automation.
Enterprises have gotten the message. Looking at the results of the 2022 State of Process Automation report, it’s clear that the discipline is moving forward rapidly. Nearly nine in ten organizations plan to invest more in the technology over the next two years, three out of four say it’s delivering significant ROI, and more than 80% say process automation is higher on their organizations’ priority lists than it was a year ago.
These numbers paint a rosy picture, but they don’t fully reflect the challenges prevalent inside organizations as they try to streamline processes and drive initiatives focused on digital transformation. Many see the benefits process improvement can bring but have trouble pushing ahead at their preferred pace.
The survey results underscore some of this frustration. Just 12% of the IT leaders who responded say their organizations have been implementing process automation at their planned levels this year. The rest are lagging behind.
The fact is, transformations take time, effort and plenty of coordination. They’re not implemented overnight. When organizations try to do too much too fast, they often don’t get far.
Four Common Challenges in Process Automation
IT leaders say several factors are blocking the adoption of process automation technologies. Here are some of the obstacles they’re encountering – and some strategies companies can pursue to move the needle on process automation.
1. Trouble getting started
While many business leaders want to automate processes, they get intimidated by the challenge. They look at their organization’s size, complexity and relationships between tasks, and they freeze up with a case of analysis paralysis. Three-quarters of the survey respondents say their organizations don’t know where to start and struggle to gather any momentum.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Process automation goals should be ambitious, but they don’t have to be achieved all at once. Start with a pilot project, not a program. This can be set up as a proof of concept with a go-live date and strict parameters to learn about all aspects of the workflow solution. Then focus on a broader “lighthouse project” that’s realistic in scope and designed to deliver on business value. From there, you can move on to broader-scale transformations incorporating larger teams and more complex automations.
See More: What Businesses Still Get Wrong About Process Automation
2. Dealing with legacy technologies
Nearly eight in ten respondents report that legacy systems, technologies and processes are holding them back from achieving digital transformation. This is no surprise. Legacy systems are rigid, and they impede developers’ progress. For business process automation specifically, legacy technologies prevent developers from implementing changes. Sometimes it can take up to 12 months to develop a new process.
For years the quickest way to get around the roadblocks legacy systems create has been to rip them out and replace them with something else. But this option can be costly and disruptive.
A better solution is to shift gradually to open source and modern technologies that leverage microservices and open APIs. More than half of the survey respondents say they’re already using open source technologies, and a third say they’re in the process of transitioning to them. Expect this trend to continue.
Organizations can also automate all of their processes from end to end, starting with the most urgent operations first, without ripping out business-critical legacy technology. They can do this by orchestrating together multiple local process automations, such as RPA bots. Then eventually, they can choose to rewrite an RPA bot as a modern, microservices-based application. This enables them to test new strategies and technologies that can grow in their organizations.
3. IT and business leaders aren’t on the same page
Collaboration between business and IT has improved in recent years, but many still consider it one of the biggest impediments to business transformation. According to survey findings, 95% agreed that business and IT leaders need to be aligned and collaborative for process automation to be effective. Meanwhile, over a quarter blamed a lack of alignment in this area as a key reason for not pursuing more process automation over the past year.
A big issue is that IT and business stakeholders often don’t speak the same language. Looking at a process automation situation, a business stakeholder might be concerned about whether a customer-facing process is running well, while an IT stakeholder may be more focused on the technical implementation. By visualizing and modeling processes in flowchart diagrams (e.g., using the BPMN standard), both these teams can understand how critical processes work. Business leaders can make high-level changes, and technical stakeholders can then use this specification to implement the process automation.
Clearly, business and IT must get on the same page. They have to agree on priorities and a level of engagement that will bring the organization forward. For process automation projects to move ahead, it will be critical for both sides to take a seat at the table and start communicating.
4. Process automation is falling behind other priorities
Getting IT and business stakeholders to work together is a start, but they still need to agree to elevate process automation from “nice-to-have” to “must-have” on the priority list. Too many organizations don’t do this. While 89% say process automation has led directly to business growth, 78% say it isn’t prioritized as highly as it should be.
That can change. Survey responses point to a strong business case technologists and business leaders can make to secure budgets for process-related initiatives. One-third of all respondents said their companies’ investments generated at least 100% ROI in just a year. They reported strong traction automating components such as IoT devices, customer portals, APIs, packaged enterprise applications and AI/ML algorithms. Process automation technologies were applied to initiatives to drive better customer service, digital transformation, control costs, reduce errors and provide better tracking for governance and compliance.
While process automation is gaining traction in organizations today, it’s just scratching the surface in terms of potential. Organizations can overcome the biggest barriers to success by setting reasonable goals, aligning their people and strategies, and transforming their processes one step at a time.
Are you facing any of the process automation challenges listed above? Share with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. We’d love to hear about your automation and digital transformation journey!
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