Intelligent automation is transforming the operational landscape for businesses, regardless of their size, whether large corporations, medium-sized companies, or small enterprises. Digitalisation is gaining momentum, and Gartner estimates the market for hyper-automation-enabling technologies will reach $596 billion in 2022.

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As more enterprises leverage robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence, and machine learning, below are some of the trends we see driving the digital future across industries and geographies:

SMBs are adopting intelligent automation at a faster pace.
‍Stepping into the third year of the pandemic, small and medium businesses are acutely aware of the need to adopt digital tools. According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, an increasing number of SMBs are interested in adopting digital technologies, with the most prominent use case being process optimization. 19% of SMEs said process optimisation was a key priority, compared with only 7% in 2019. Now, with affordable automation options being made available and the increasing democratisation of RPA, SMBs have many options to reduce costs, improve customer service, and improve competitiveness.

‍Process assessment and discovery have become strategic steps for successful and sustainable automation.
‍To adopt and scale automation, leaders need to prepare their organisation—culture, people, and processes. Knowing where to start, which processes to automate, and what tools to use are critical elements to achieving positive business outcomes. Process discovery and assessment frameworks offer an organisation actionable insight to make informed decisions, prioritise processes, and create an automation pipeline. A recent survey by Deloitte showed 84 percent of organisations that responded believed process mining delivered value, but that the value was not always "direct value" that could be tied to tangible ROI.

IA to drive a hyper-personalised and context-based digital customer journey.
‍Customers anticipate tailored engagement across digital and physical channels, with a growing preference for digital customer service. Intelligent automation amalgamates pertinent technologies to customise customer interactions and simplify their journey. Gartner estimates that by 2022, 60% of large organisations will extend their CX technology and process goals by tying together disparate systems in a holistic approach focused on customer needs.

True transformation with an intelligent automation ecosystem.
‍Companies are enmeshed with multiple automation technologies, each working in its own silo. Advancing from Automation CoEs, an intelligent automation ecosystem combines various technologies like RPA, AI, OCR, and more to help businesses see the truly transformative potential of their automation projects. Forrester recently published a report on how a collection of automation technologies are converging to form an automation fabric—a place where digital business takes place.

Enterprises lean on IA to support staff shortages.
‍About 40% of the working population changed or quit jobs last year during the "Great Recession. This change continued to be observed in the first few weeks of January. Many large, medium, and small businesses have used this opportunity to launch or scale their automation programmes, reducing their hiring costs and improving process efficiencies. With hybrid work here to stay, automated workplace tools boost employee morale and provide a positive employee experience.

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