Automation: A Top Priority for Digital Transformation
A survey of 502 senior executives across eight countries.
| Most respondents worldwide are satisfied with the effectiveness of automation

A report has been released on the current state of automation and future prospects for companies around the world.

According to this survey conducted by UiPath in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research institute of the British business weekly magazine The Economist, more than 90% of organizations are adopting and using related technologies to automate business processes.

The survey was conducted with 502 senior executives from companies with annual sales of $250 million in eight countries: Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than half of the companies surveyed were large corporations with annual sales of over $1 billion.

UiPath's survey results show significant progress in automating business processes, and automation will accelerate in more areas in the future.

According to the report, more than 90% of surveyed companies have already automated areas of their business, and 73% of them are very satisfied with the benefits of automation.

A majority of respondents, 88%, said automation would enhance human fulfillment, while 79% said automation would be most effective when it assists humans rather than replaces them. The main findings of the report are as follows:


Automation: A Top Priority for Executives in Digital Transformation
Automation has emerged as a top priority for C-level executives in their companies' digital transformation.

The responsibility for driving automation projects was identified as going to the CTO (29%), CEO (22%), and CIO (17%), in that order.

More than 70% of respondents said RPA and AI are priorities because they provide a competitive advantage in achieving their companies' strategic goals.

94% of the surveyed companies are pursuing digital transformation through automation, and the main benefits of automation technology include: ▲increased customer satisfaction ▲freeing employees from repetitive and simple tasks ▲increased work throughput ▲efficient product/service marketing ▲increased customer engagement ▲development of new revenue streams.


Manufacturing and IT operations are prioritized for automation.
The industry with the highest level of business process automation was manufacturing (61%), while government and public institutions (35%) showed the lowest level of automation among those surveyed.

Most companies that have adopted automation have done so for repetitive back-office tasks, most commonly in IT, customer service, and finance.

Key tasks for IT automation included managing passwords and service requests, and managing maintenance schedules during operations. Respondents identified customer service, marketing, and R&D as areas where automation is most urgently needed within the next two years.


Software robots should be introduced first, rather than hardware robots.
Software and hardwareThoughts about fairy tales also appeared differently.

69% of respondents said that software automation, such as RPA, is a higher priority than hardware robots to achieve strategic business goals.


Barriers to Automation Adoption
According to the report, despite the global trend toward automation, the adoption of automation is being delayed due to issues such as privacy and security.

Respondents in the public and healthcare sectors highlighted concerns about automation security.

Respondents cited limitations in technology implementation, a lack of relevant talent and capabilities, and employee resistance as barriers to widespread automation implementation.

Technological limitations appeared to be most severe in Asia, particularly Japan, while employee resistance to change appeared most pronounced in the UK.

Forty-two percent of respondents said it was important to provide training for automation and opportunities for employees to transition to new tasks after automation is implemented.