By David Poole, CEO of emerging technology consultancy, Emergence Partners.

Considering the rapidly rising levels of technology adoption observed even before the COVID-19 outbreak, many industry analysts and commentators expect that the main impact of the pandemic on the world of work will be a similar increase in the proportion of employees remote working.

As a result, businesses will continue looking towards technologies such as AI and RPA as a solution to this reduced reliance on physical workers sharing an office space, accelerating the shift towards automation to enhance overall efficiency.

These factors will in turn pressure boardrooms into re-evaluating their approach to disruptive technologies and the role they play in the organisation’s wider digital transformation. This is also borne out by statistics: newly published research has uncovered a notable discrepancy between organisations’ use of automation and the existence of significant strategic and skills-based weak points standing in the way of investment.

Two thirds of businesses are increasing automation investment

Organisations are increasingly placing significantly more emphasis on technology in order to cope with the disruptive influence of the pandemic on global workplace practices. In fact, the same global survey shows that 66% of businesses have been driven to increase their investment in automation as a result of the recent lockdown.

This finding also confirms something many already knew: technology adoption is truly a non-negotiable feature of the modern workplace. However, it also illustrates the stark reality that IT decision makers must take their understanding of what’s achievable with these technologies seriously in order to make the most of them at an enterprise-wide level.

A lack of strategic thinking and in-house knowledge/skills is hampering efforts

Too often IT leaders across industries do not possess a crucial long-term vision when it comes to deploying disruptive technology and automating tasks previously executed by humans. In fact, a lack of strategic thinking in the software-buying process is seen as a barrier to automation investment 30% of the time.

It is understandable that decision makers might feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of tools available to them as digital transformation projects pick up speed and vendors look to take advantage – a ‘complex and commoditised’ automation ecosystem was cited as an obstacle to automation investment by 29% of senior IT decision makers.

Nevertheless, this further illustrates the need for business leaders to ‘block out the noise’ and zero in on the specific solutions that they stand to gain from. By focusing on end-goals and the higher level, strategic needs of the business, organisations need only concern themselves with those technologies able to address specific, agreed-upon pain points, which would in itself markedly streamline the process of automation adoption and its positive benefits.

Unfortunately, it seems that a familiar pre-lockdown problem continues to hamper successful automation adoption, after an Open University report from February of this year found that nearly half of business leaders lack essential digital skills - this month’s survey showed that a lack of in-house knowledge/skills was still seen as an obstacle to automation investment 39% of the time.

This also demonstrates that a lack of a clear, strategic vision for how and where automation should factor into organisations’ business processes may stem from a lack of training in how best to utilise the solutions available to them.

To fully capitalise on sophisticated, disruptive technology, it is imperative that decision makers devise a considered and well-thought through plan of action in place before making investment decisions. If this means delaying investing in solutions until comprehensive training and induction has taken place, IT leaders should be confident that doing so will pay off in the long run by ensuring technology is used to its full potential.

The importance of a holistic, top-down approach

While it would be unreasonable to suggest that digital transformation should come without its challenges and hurdles, the proportion of respondents citing a lack of knowledge, skills and strategic thinking as a barrier to investment in automation is both concerning and entirely preventable. The profound and often exponentially positive impact that careful and considered adoption can have on business processes can only be fully harnessed when these are all baked into organisational culture from top to bottom.

Indeed, there are numerous practical steps leadership can take to immediately address these considerations, and to which we have seen a number of companies respond positively.

Whether by diagnosing potential opportunities on the horizon, developing a strategic roadmap for long-term success or running tech immersion and executive education sessions, it’s never too late for organisations to take a step back from the myriad of solutions at their disposal and develop a calculated, strategic vision for automation adoption geared towards long-term success.

In recent years organisations have too often implemented technology without a wider consideration for how it fits into long-term business objectives. At a time of such profound disruption and uncertainty, one thing that remains in IT decision makers’ hands is the ability to plan and strategise.

It is therefore more important than ever that they prioritise developing long-term strategies for how the rise of automation and the solutions it entails can deliver on the profound potential for sustainable transformation they promise.

Technology is also vital for growth in terms of the software we use. One of the mistakes that many business owners repeat, especially small business owners, is a lack of proper financial management, tracking expenses versus revenue.

If until now you have used manual documentation, whether it is notebook records or manual invoicing, you probably know that tracking in this way is complex.

To improve the financial management of your business, take advantage of invoicing software that allows you to track business revenue, payments you owe, accounting data and the like, so you can better understand the comings and goings of your business.

Failing to adopt up-to-date information security is another big mistake - cyber threats are prevalent today and software can stop many attacks. You should consider looking at a bespoke software development company to assist you with all that you need. 

In an internet age, where sensitive business information is stored and communicated regularly, it's important to choose information security software that will secure the data on your computer - whether it is book keeping information, computer folders or private email. 

David Poole is CEO of emerging technology consultancy Emergence Partners.