Based on a recent CIO study State of the CIO Study 2022, budget growth for technology is at pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, 59% of CIOs anticipated an increase in their technology expenditure, up from 49% in 2021.
Organizations are adopting automation-first strategies in greater numbers to deal with the problems caused by hybrid work, rising customer expectations, and fresh competition. Over the next five years, these strategies based on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Low-code and No-code tools will be crucial in leveling the playing field between digital leaders and incumbents.
It is not surprise given that in most organizations, CIOs typically own IT automation, as well as play a role in driving business automation and automation governance, in addition to management of automation Centre of Excellences (CoE).
At the heart of transformation
CIOs today find themselves at the center of important corporate decisions. According to an Adobe survey, nine out of ten CIOs are anticipated to take the initiative in digitally transforming their companies in the digital age.
This redistribution of corporate control is supported by other top business executives. CEOs nominated their IT heads (CIOs and CTOs) twice as often as CMOs and CHROs, and even more frequently than all other senior roles, when asked which other C-suite officers will be most crucial over the next several years.
And what do CIOs themselves believe to be crucial? They intend to digitize everything by implementing automation wherever it makes sense, according to numerous studies. Accelerating digital projects was ranked as the top priority among CIOs in a 2021 poll by Gartner, closely followed by automating business processes.
According to Gartner, CIO’s should focus on finding the “why” or value what automation offers to their organization. They should set their eyes on process orchestration.
Instead of framing things as “We will automate (X)”, reframe it as “We need to be more efficient with (X) so we can get to (Y)”. This establishes the direction and the objective, and if you factor in the time, effort, and difficulties that are saved as a result, you're already thinking in terms of value.
Automation vs Orchestration
While it may seem like a thin distinction to draw, there is a difference between automation and orchestration. Due to the fact that automation deals with atomic, discrete steps that can be automated, it is largely task-focused. Individual tasks that can be automated include deploying a virtual machine template, checking a configuration setting, and installing a piece of software.
The order in which these automated actions are completed called orchestration. By definition, orchestration is the mapping and translation of an operating process into a series of stages. Each of these phases can either be automated, rely on the information or qualities needed from the previous step to continue, or be a manual step that hasn't been automated or has been decided to be manual (for now).
The key is scalability and agility
In a recent study by Deloitte titled "Automation with Intelligence: Pursuing Organization-wide Reimagination," it was discovered that in just two years, the number of firms using automation at scale has tripled. However, just one-third of companies have a plan in place for intelligent automation across the entire organization.
CIOs in charge
CIOs may put automation to work and take an important leadership role in assisting the organization to thrive in the new digital economy by guiding their organization through these three crucial phases.
Analyze how automation can benefit your company and your CIO position. Connect with us at connect@stralynn.com