Demand for automation surges among Aussie businesses

Nearly all (96%) Australian IT decision-makers report facing increasing demand for automation from business teams, according to new research commissioned by Salesforce.

A survey conducted by Vanson Bourne found that the highest demand for automation is coming from R&D, administrative, customer service, and finance and accounting departments.

But in the face of this growing demand, 93% of IT decision-makers report being concerned that supporting automation is likely to compound technical debt. Nearly as many (90%) believe that modifying and rebuilding automations is a challenge as systems and business requirements change.

“Organisations across every industry want to automate processes and customer experiences as quickly as possible. However, if they try to go fast with the wrong tools and techniques, they’ll actually impede true innovation,” said Matt McLarty, Global Field CTO & VP of MuleSoft’s Digital Transformation Office.

“It’s vital that organisations become more adaptable to technological change, enabling them to build automations and connect data and applications in a holistic manner. Without taking a more composable approach, organisations risk compounding rather than reducing their technical debt.”

To tackle these challenges IT departments are turning to integration and API management capabilities, the research found.

The survey also found that 93% of Australian organisations expect to have hyperautomation on their technology roadmap within the next 24 months. This will require even more judicious use of APIs and other capabilities to build and modify automations, McLarty said.

“Organisations should never just think that once a process is automated the job is done,” he said. “If we’ve learned anything through this volatile period, in fact, it is that we need a new mentality when it comes to business.”

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