Demand for automation surges across all areas of business

Demand for automation from business teams has increased over the last two years according to 91 percent of respondents to a new survey.

The study from MuleSoft shows the highest demand for automation comes from research and development (39 percent), administrative/operations (38 percent), customer service (33 percent), and marketing (26 percent).

There are technical issues when it comes to meeting the demand, however. Nearly all respondents (96 percent) say that modifying and rebuilding automation is a challenge as systems and business requirements change. In addition, four out of five respondents say restructuring existing application and data landscapes to support automation would likely compound their organization’s technical debt.

"Organizations across every industry want to automate processes and customer experiences as quickly as possible. However, if they try to go fast with the wrong tools and techniques, they'll actually impede true innovation," says Matt McLarty, global field CTO and VP of the digital transformation office at MuleSoft. "It's vital that organizations become more adaptable to technological change, enabling them to build automations and connect data and applications in a holistic manner. Without taking a more composable approach, organizations risk compounding rather than reducing their technical debt."

Not quite half (44 percent) are now using integration and API management capabilities to fully support their business process automation efforts. While a further 53 percent say they are using integration and API management capabilities to 'some extent', suggesting that there is an opportunity to more efficiently automate workflows at scale and deliver connected customer experiences faster.

"Organizations should never just think that once a process is automated the job is done," adds McLarty. "If we've learned anything through this volatile period, in fact, it is that we need a new mentality when it comes to business."

You can find out more at MuleSoft CONNECT.

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