In order to survive the next decade of unrelenting technological and economic change, organizations will need two things: the ability to rapidly scale new technology and a holistic, enterprise wide vision for digital transformation that includes clear automation objectives. 

To break things down further, here are a list of the biggest digital transformation, intelligent automation (IA) and robotic process automation (RPA) trends. 

The RPA Industry will Continue to Experience Rapid Growth

Robotic process automation (RPA) has been all the rage for close to a decade now and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down. While the RPA market surpassed $2 billion in 2021, it’s expected to surge to over $3.17 billion in 2022, an increase of 53%.

The majority of this growth will not be driven by companies adopting RPA for the first time but rather by organizations expanding their existing RPA footprints. For example, RPA solution provider iPath recently reported a dollar-based net retention rate of 144% for 2021, meaning that its average customer spent 44% more in 2021 than 2020. 

Building the Automation Fabric

Similar to a data fabric, an automation fabric refers to the convergence of multiple automation technologies such as RPA, low code tools, native integration platforms (iPaaS), process intelligence, chatbots, and machine learning into one, unified technology ecosystem. Or, as Forrester puts it, a “whole-of-business automation that integrates multiple adjacent and complementary automation technologies, process architectures, organizational behaviors and partner co-innovation models, to support the goals of human-centered automation and an autonomous enterprise.”

By creating a framework to build, orchestrate, and govern a hybrid workforce of human and digital workers, automation fabrics bridge the gap between traditional automation and AI-based technology. In addition to enabling the proliferation of end-to-end process automation, it will also unleash unprecedented levels of what ZDnet refers to as “extreme innovation.”

Hybrid and Remote Work

For many, the days of commuting to the office are over. As more and more workers transition to full-time remote or hybrid positions, organizations are being pushed to rethink their approach to automation. 

To start, in the past, organizations have mostly approached automation from a cost-savings perspective. However, now they must approach it more from an employee experience or total experience (TX) standpoint. 

Secondly, with less people in the physical workplace, organizations will start to embrace advanced IoT-enabled physical workplace solutions. For example, collaborative robots (cobots) are starting to make their way into warehouses and factory floors. Designed to work alongside and collaborate with humans, they can help with everything from stocking shelves to examining dangerous industrial equipment. 

Low-Code and No Code Evolve

One thing is clear, from a marketing perspective, vendors are doubling down on “citizen developers” as a concept. Everyone from SAP to ServiceNow has recently rolled out new, low code developer tools. In addition, earlier this year Gartner predicted that by 2024, “80% of technology products and services will be built by those who are not technology professionals.”

Though we are extremely doubtful that 80% (or even 50%) of technology products and services will be built by citizen developers by 2024, we do expect the use of low and code tools to expand over the next year. Though these tools certainly won’t replace trained developers, their adoption will enable closer collaboration between IT and the business.  

Furthermore, as organizations look to not only transform the business, but their IT departments as well, low/no code will play a critical role in automating and re-engineering manual processes behind the scenes. 

The Composable Enterprise

The composable enterprise is an operating theory described by Gartner as “an organization that adapts to the pace of change and delivers business outcomes. It does this through the assembly and combination of Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs) – application building blocks that have been purchased or developed.” 

In other words, it's a modular operating strategy wherein different applications can be easily swapped in or out. Through the use of low code and no code tools, non-IT workers play a key role in developing new automated solutions and digital products. Compared to monolithic legacy approaches, it is much more agile and efficient, two must-haves in the rapidly changing digital economy. 

As Rich Waldron, Co-Founder and CEO, Tray.io explained to Enterprise Talk, “In the composable enterprise model, organizations can divide and conquer in multiple ways at a high level to build solutions and solve problems that exist in IT. A composable enterprise enables LOB teams to create solutions that can be consumed and adopted by the whole organization instead of just relying on IT, which creates a new innovation experience across the entire enterprise. For example, linking together all HR applications used in the onboarding process allows for new hires to control their own training. The composable enterprise will introduce a new way of solving problems faster while positively supporting the company’s growth in an IT savvy and compliant manner.”

Honorable Mentions: digital twins, hyperautomation, cloud automation, JIT workflows, semantic automation

Become an Intelligent Automation Network member today!

Premium content. Expert insight. Instant access. All for FREE.