Companies Increase Tech Investments to ‘Future-Proof’ Workplace

COVID-19 accelerated the world’s digital transformation, increasing investments in workplace  technology, according to a recently released Pegasystems study on how to “future-proof” the workplace. 

IT teams have previously been the driving force behind these investments, but now the entire collaborative workforce is getting behind the digital transformation, with 78% of respondents saying everyone plays a role in IT. 

Health experts say this is not the last pandemic, so companies are trying to ensure the next one does not catch them unprepared, as 74% of respondents from a prior study said the pandemic revealed a slew of IT gaps. This time around, the study shows that companies are prioritizing the technological needs and input of their employees as much as their customers. 

Organizations are doing so by investing heavily in intelligent automation, which incorporates technology like artificial intelligence or robotic automation in business processes to help employees complete tasks. Two-thirds of respondents, the study pointed out, said employees are requesting these tools to help them work. 

According to the study, which looked at how companies prioritized these investments to navigate the crisis in 2020, only 28% of the 3000 senior managers and IT frontline workers said their companies were prepared to move their operations to a virtual setting almost overnight.

Now, 84% of respondents said they are prioritizing their preparedness by investing in intelligent automation tools, which include artificial intelligence, business process management software, deep and machine learning, and robotic process automation.

Despite the fears of automation taking over people’s jobs, the study showed that 80% of the companies surveyed are investing in BPM, which is a project management methodology for tackling day-to-day business operations and workflows. Another 67% are investing in robotic automation. 

Additionally, robotic automation relieves employees of tedious and time-consuming tasks, while AI incorporates machine-learning and predictability to continuously adapt and improve the processes.

“Growing research says automation may make certain jobs obsolete, but it will also create new ones that will allow employees to use their time better,” the study stated. The study noted that 72% of companies reported that AI decreased employee stress levels, and 71% pointed to increased employee satisfaction. Intelligent automation links humans and intelligent machines; it does not replace humans with machines, and 81% of companies said automation frees up a minimum of four hours in an employee’s workweek. 

However, the study warns companies not to miss out on the opportunity of also investing in low-code solutions — a simplified version for non-technical workers that remains “the least widely known technology” with only 57% of respondents deploying it. The study also reports that code has become “a major obstacle for IT and business collaboration.” Deploying more low-code solutions would allow all employees to have input in the applications and develop a broader consensus of the business objective.

AI already plays a critical role in most businesses and is in use already in 67% of the respondents’ decision-making processes, with 64% finding it critical that their frontline staff become familiar with using AI over the next five years. These investments in AI tools and cloud-based solutions will allow the employees to improve their productivity in a collaborative manner that would withstand an external event like the pandemic.

To read the full study, click here. 

Victoria can be reached at [email protected]