Automation is crucial for enterprise survival in Singapore

automation singapore
Image by ismagilov | Bigstockphoto

ITEM: Automation will be critical in driving productivity and performance for most enterprises in Singapore – which also means enterprises that don’t implement automation at some level risk being left behind.

That’s the take from a new industry report that explores how digital automation is creating an impact on enterprises in Singapore, from huge multinationals to SMEs.

Positive results

The good news, according to the report, is that most enterprises in Singapore (83%) have already deployed at least one digital automation solution – the most popular being business process management, robotic process automation and iPaaS.

More to the point, the vast majority of that group reported saw positive results, such as reduced manual work, visibility and access to data, and improved employee experience. 82 percent of respondents said they observed results within six months, with IT/engineering, sales and finance functions reportedly benefiting the most.

It’s worth noting here that the survey – which covered 133 enterprises in Singapore between July and August last year – was commissioned by Singaporean trade association SGTech and Workato, which sells enterprise automation platforms. So take the results with however many grains of salt you prefer.

That said, other analyst reports have reached similar conclusions.

IDC has reported that automation solutions can not only help improve operational efficiency and propel revenue and profit growth”, but also enable enterprises to mitigate the effects of inflation, economic downturn and talent shortages. Which means failure to automate puts businesses at a considerable disadvantage, the report says.

Barriers to digital automation

This of course begs the question: why aren’t some enterprises adopting digital automation?

According to the survey, while 80% of firms who haven’t deployed automation intend to do so this year, 36% cited overly technical processes as a roadblock for business teams to automate independently:

Digital automations are still majority owned by IT departments, according to 54% of respondent enterprises. Enterprises also reported that the likelihood of achieving or outperforming their targets was higher, at 78%, when every department was involved.  

And this is where the enterprise automation platform pitch comes in:

To empower non-IT business functions to deliver automation projects, organizations can consider adopting easy-to-build automation platforms and low-code/no-code technologies.

Involve all stakeholders

Whatever solution enterprises choose, the key takeaway is that it can’t be just an IT project – every department has to be involved:

A change management program that involves all stakeholders will also be key to driving adoption and successful automation programs that meet departmental automation needs.

The full report is here.

Related article: Automation and digitization not done right – like lipstick on a pig!

Be the first to comment

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.