Overcoming obstacles to intelligent automation adoption
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This research examines the obstacles involved with planning and implementing automation technology, along with some common misconceptions about the technology’s capabilities and outcomes. It also explores the importance of a strategic approach to automation in overcoming these obstacles and provides some considerations for making your own program a success.
It’s a tough fact of business life that some technology initiatives falter during their early implementation while others may hit difficulties once fully up and running. Even when the project runs smoothly, if it’s not generating the expected results, stakeholders will be left wondering who or what is to blame.
Live automation outcomes
Introduction | Real insights | Live outcomes | Navigating planning | Compare and contrast
Mature solutions | Integration | Implementing | Conclusions | About Blue Prism
Real automation insights
Intelligent Automation is fast becoming a valuable asset for organisations worldwide. The process of deploying and scaling it is now easier than ever before, but some avoidable obstacles and pitfalls remain – both real and perceived. Computing Research spoke to 150 senior IT leaders in medium to large organisations across nearly every sector of the economy, to find out how they have fared on their automation journey and which challenges they came across along the way.
One hundred percent of the survey base has been involved in Intelligent Automation implementation or decision-making in their organisations. Out of those, 75 percent have live automation processes of some kind running.
Navigating the planning stage
Understand the capabilities of the technology before you begin.
Understand your unique challenges in order to create a strong strategy.
Structure your plan using guidance such as the Blue Prism Robotic Operating Model (ROM).
Select the vendor that will best help you to achieve your goals.
Spend time choosing the right processes to start your journey and create a roadmap to keep up momentum.
Does your organisation currently have any live automated processes in operation?
So what outcomes have the live proportion of programs generated to date?
For the 13 percent that hasn’t seen a financial return, it may simply be that the program is too early in its implementation. Alternatively, a lack of financial ROI can point to the wrong process being chosen to kick-off the program – a common mistake which can unfortunately affect internal perceptions of automation early on.
Avoiding the obstacles common to automation implementation requires careful planning, leadership, and management. Technology challenges must be considered alongside those involving employees and culture.
The survey found that some of the most impactful challenges are underestimated among those who haven’t yet implemented an automation program. Two of the three actual challenges identified most commonly were cultural changes (31 %), and workforce changes (26 percent). These aspects of automation can be mitigated during the strategy and planning phase if handled correctly.
The technology infrastructure needed for implementation was mentioned by over 31 percent of IT leaders, alongside increased complexity (19 %). Again, if this is identified as a challenge early on, the choice of vendor selection will be crucial. For example, Cloud and SaaS based automation software helps simplify implementation and avoid infrastructure costs.
How has your automation technology helped your organisation during Covid-19?
Compare and contrast
This suggests that the financial aspects are more troubling for some IT leaders before the project kicks off. Those who are further along in their journeys may find that the emphasis shifts even more strongly towards the cultural and human impacts and that the financial outlay is balanced by the return on investment.
Yes
No
75
%
25
%
41%
Automation has returned some time back to colleagues
6%
28%
Automation has helped us to quickly adapt operations to cope with Covid-19
12%
We have seen a significant financial return on investment
32%
22%
Automation has returned significant time back to colleagues
13%
24%
On-premises / Other
Cloud / SaaS
5%
Automation has given other benefits
29%
Cultural changes
32%
Technology infrastructure
24%
Uncertain payback/ROI
37%
Lack of skills / need for training
21%
Cost of implementation
11%
Increased complexity
16%
Workforce changes
Process automation programs have some unique obstacles and others which are common to many new technology implementations. For example, many IT and digital transformation initiatives suffer from ‘mission creep’, where they drift far beyond their original parameters and become overly complex and expensive. This is particularly true for large programmes where too many stakeholders jump onboard and demand too many deliverables. Some have the opposite problem: being rushed and planned superficially at the outset, leaving a mismatch between aims and deliverability.
To alleviate such issues, it’s important to have a clear understanding at the start of what automation technology can actually do for your organisation, agree a set of goals and scope with decision makers and stakeholders for the implementation phase of the project and have a roadmap for continuous development and improvement for at least the first 12 months.
Too early to see any measurable benefits
We have seen an acceptable financial return on investment
We have not seen a financial return on investment
We have not seen any measurable benefits from automation
The great thing about intelligent automation is that reasons for a lack of ROI are easily identifiable and can be rectified. Automation is rarely a wasted investment, as there are a multitude of use cases across functions and industries with proven results.
That said, a project will often stall where the technology is implemented tactically as a point solution, rather than strategically in line with business objectives. Business leaders should ensure that the business case is clear and the strategy sound from the outset, long before the technology is put in place. They should also establish that the technology can actually deliver what is being asked of it.
Given the right strategy, other benefits and forms of ROI are clearly there to be had. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed have seen their colleagues freed up to do more meaningful work, while digital workers take on more repetitive tasks. Just 6 percent of those who have implemented automated processes haven’t seen any measurable benefits.
How has your automation technology helped your organisation during Covid-19?
24%
Company perception of AI
3%
Regulatory reporting problems
24%
Operating costs
13%
Lack of transparency
16%
Loss of control/oversight of processes
Perceived challenges
(those without automated processes in operation)
Actual challenges
(those with automated processes in operation)
31%
31%
31%
26%
20%
19%
15%
14%
13%
11%
11%
10%
Your automation checklist
•
•
•
•
•
As the chart above shows, there is a contrast with the responses from those IT leaders who have already implemented automation and those who are in the earliest stages of planning an automation project or are still exploring their options. In this latter group, there is a more even spread of concerns across workforce, cost, ROI, and technology, though lack of skills remains in the top spot (cited by 37 percent of respondents as an obstacle).
Your automation checklist
What does ROI mean to your business? How quickly will the cost of the technology be offset by the value generated?
Don’t skimp on employee and stakeholder communications.
Can you offset a lack of skills and IT resource with low-code, cloud-based software?
Get the CFO and CEO on board with the project early on, and keep them involved.
•
•
•
•
As we have seen, the core promise of Intelligent Automation and RPA isn’t always the instant cost saving that some organisations might desire, although if used correctly, most users do save on operating costs over time. The most impactful benefits lie in staff augmentation and business transformation. Wherever there is a business function or product that relies on time-consuming manual processes, there is an opportunity for transformation. This in turn gives back time to people who can use their skills to more effectively and creatively support the business.
Mature solutions
[Inforgraphic]
When it comes to these benefits, survey respondents report noticeably better results:
22 percent say that Intelligent Automation has given significant amounts of time back to colleagues
41 percent say that it has returned some time...
...a combined total of 63 percent who can now focus on adding real value to the business.
But nearly one-third of respondents (32 percent) say that it is too early to quantify the benefits of automation
Arguably, this is a mature approach and should not be seen as a barrier to progress. Leaders should recognise that, as long as the technology has been implemented strategically to support business goals, then instant payback is not the right target to aim at; it’s to create a smarter, more agile, productive, and efficient business.
That said, nearly two-thirds of organisations already report time savings, while many are cutting their costs and seeing a return on investment.
Implementing automation
However, implementing Intelligent Automation or RPA is easier than integrating it with internal systems and processes – at least, this was the conclusion from those leaders who have actually done it. Forty-three percent of IT leaders found implementation either “very” or “fairly” easy, while 51 percent describe a “mixed bag” of results.
2%
Complicated
5%
Not very easy
51%
A mixed bag
30%
Fairly easy
13%
Very easy
How easy was it to manage the implementation of the overall program?
15%
Complicated
8%
Not very easy
38%
A mixed bag of easy wins and problems
21%
Fairly easy, but there was a learning curve
18%
Very easy and intuitive
How easy has it been it to integrate RPA/digital employees with existing systems and business processes?
So how easy did the UK’s IT leaders find integrating Intelligent Automation with their existing systems and processes? And what barriers did they encounter?
There are internal challenges for automation leaders to consider. Process automation demands a spectrum of decisions across business strategy, structure, technology, and (as previously explored) training. For example, any technology that transforms business processes and outcomes needs to be well integrated – in terms of existing systems, technologies, workflows and business culture.
The integration question
Over half of automation leaders encountered at least some problems during implementation. The most significant of these was human. Lack of skills and a need for retraining was cited by 35 percent of the survey base, as were cultural changes (28 percent), workforce challenges (24 percent), and the company’s perception of artificial intelligence (13 percent).
Your automation checklist
Be clear about what you want to achieve with automation.
Discuss with your vendor what ROI will look like and manage expectations accordingly.
Include process analysis in your planning to ensure you are automating the highest value tasks.
Monitor live automations closely to ensure they are on course to generate value.
Set a timeline for evaluation and improvement of each automated process.
•
•
•
•
•
Automation checklist
Work with your people to decide how they will use the time returned to them.
Where is your organisation falling down with productivity or customer experience?
Examine automation use cases from your industry for ideas.
Look beyond existing processes and structures to how you can innovate through automation.
Choose intelligent automation over RPA to widen the scope of transformation.
•
•
•
•
•
50%
35%
Lack of skills / need for training
21%
29%
Technology infrastructure
29%
28%
Cultural changes
18%
24%
Workforce changes
26%
20%
Increased complexity
32%
19%
Cost of implementation
11%
14%
Operating costs
13%
14%
Loss of control/oversight of processes
13%
13%
Company perception of AI
3%
13%
Regulatory reporting problems
16%
Uncertain payback/ROI
Actual challenges
(those with automated processes in operation)
Perceived challenges
(those without automated processes in operation)
10%
The latter point is worth examining. Alarmist media reports about technologies such as AI, automation, and robotics may have an impact on staff morale, and it is important to be aware of this problem and explore the real issues, benefits, and challenges openly. Leadership, transparency, and workforce cooperation will be essential here.
11%
9%
Lack of transparency
3%
4%
Reduced governance
A focus on cost reared its head in the survey too: cost of implementation was cited as a barrier by 19 percent of IT leaders who have actually done it, operating costs by 14 percent, and uncertain payback/ROI by 14 percent. However, as we have mentioned, the key is to implement automation in line with strategic aims – to support the business and make it smarter and more efficient.
Automation checklist
Choose a vendor that will support planning, implementation and beyond.
Work closely with staff across the organisation in the planning phase to alleviate fears.
Humanise your digital workforce – find ways to make them part of the team.
Consider cloud and SaaS software which makes implementation faster and simpler.
Choose an automation solution that makes work simpler not more complex.
•
•
•
•
•
Overall, the survey demonstrates that the main obstacles to progress in Intelligent Automation and RPA are a mix of financial worries, practical technology issues – in terms of integration and complexity management – and cultural and staffing challenges, where up-skilling is clearly essential.
Conclusions
Of all these, the human element is the one that cannot be overlooked under any circumstances, both in terms of leadership and discussion, and in terms of training and transparency.
While planning and implementing challenges will likely occur along the way, even the most commonly encountered hurdles were only met by around a third of organisations. As demonstrated by this research, the anticipated challenges are usually far worse than the reality. By approaching intelligent automation with sound business objectives in mind, and combining it with the right technology, the benefits we’ve shown are well within reach.
Seeking the right technology and strategy partners will play a key role in overcoming what obstacles remain – helping to fill-in any skills gaps, work through integration challenges, and sensitively tackle cultural changes. The end result can be an augmented workforce that no longer gets caught up in daily rote tasks and can instead direct its energy to driving and developing the core business.
Blue Prism is the global leader in intelligent automation for the enterprise, transforming the way work is done. At Blue Prism, we have users in over 150 countries in more than 1,800 businesses, including Fortune 500 and public sector organizations, that are creating value with new ways of working, unlocking efficiencies, and returning millions of hours of work back into their businesses. Our Digital Workforce is smart, secure, scalable and accessible to all; freeing up humans to re-imagine work.
Award winning SaaS platform, Blue Prism Cloud, simplifies scaling, giving companies access to a pool of cloud-based intelligent digital workers. Pre-configured with all the tools and AI capabilities needed for digital workers to deliver business value at speed, Blue Prism Cloud leaves you free to focus your resources on delivering outcomes while we make sure your digital workforce is available 24/7.
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41
%
41 percent say that it has returned some time...
22 percent say that Intelligent Automation has given significant amounts of time back to colleagues
22
%
63
%
...a combined total of 63 percent who can now focus on adding real value to the business.
32
%
But nearly one-third of respondents say that it is too early to quantify the benefits of automation
When it comes to these benefits, survey respondents report noticeably better results:
5
%
Not very easy
51
%
A mixed bag
30
%
Fairly easy
Very easy
13
%
2
%
Complicated
15%
Complicated
8%
Not very easy
38%
A mixed bag of easy wins and problems
21%
Fairly easy, but there was a learning curve
18%
Very easy and intuitive
How easy has it been it to integrate RPA/digital employees with existing systems and business processes?
