The rise of the chief automation officer

There have certainly been easier years than 2022 to try and start a business. Compared to larger companies, smaller companies have a harder time absorbing shocks such as changes in inflation, supply chain disruptions and changing workplace demographics. We see proof that investors are beginning to prefer proof of profit over growth, anathema to the startup founders of just a few years ago. At the same time, founders who embrace technological innovation have a huge opportunity.

Through our work with companies of all sizes in various sectors around the world, we see that the convergence of these trends explains the increased focus on “intelligent automation” as organizations move towards digital transformation. By applying artificial intelligence (AI) to IT operations (AIOps), robotic process automation (RPA), decision management and business automation, companies can reduce costs and do more with less. Intelligent automation also helps to global skills shortage by empowering employees to work on more engaging, value-added tasks and helping companies deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Nine out of ten employees who have used automation-based tools have improved their work-life balance. In short, automating processes makes businesses healthier – with the critical caveat of being applied thoughtfully, keeping an eye on user and employee experience, and providing an informed assessment of how the automation of a given process affects the organization as a whole.

With this background as context, the role of the Chief Automation Officer (CAO) becomes an important investment in a company’s digital transformation. Not only is the role of the collective labor agreement rapidly emerging, but it is also becoming increasingly important due to the positive impact automation has on companies in all sectors. The CLA is responsible for implementing business process and IT operations decisions across the enterprise to determine when and what type of automation strategy is best suited to each business need, while working with a wide range of leaders across all business pillars.

As part of a collaborative process, the CIO identifies areas for automation and modernization, the Chief Data Officer (CDO) collects data insights by automating workflows, the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) implements advanced AI methods and algorithms in automation processes, and the Align COO with change management.

With the right automation processes and the right team, collective labor agreements can measure success on the following indicators:

1. Every industry and use case can benefit from AI and automation

AI-powered automation enables organizations to apply intelligence across their business, bridging workflow gaps between business and IT. For example, IBM uses this approach to actionable intelligence to help organizations automate IT operations and business processes to reduce costs and improve user experiences.

The CLA can use AI and automation to understand relationships and correlations, gain deep insights, and establish baseline KPIs. Without AI, data discovery related to automation is usually limited to structured processes and structured data. With AI, the discovery process is no longer blocked by a lack of structure. By using AI, companies can move from discovery to decision-making in a more natural and collaborative way, increase employee engagement and productivity, and foster a more collaborative relationship between AI and employees.

There is no industry where the relevance of AI-powered automation does not apply today. Take production for example. Automation supported by visualization algorithms can help detect defects in manufactured components on the assembly line. In electronics, automation can be used to detect the sound of burglary or automatic control of electrical appliances, in financial services to automate payments or customer behavior data, and in retail to transform the customer’s shopping experience.

2. Closing the growing skills gap requires a deeper focus on more valuable work

As baby boomers leave the market, about 2.4 million fewer employees are joining each year. The pandemic has also impacted many companies’ ability to hire and general values ​​surrounding work-life balance, impacting the skills available in the workforce.

In fact, according to IBM’s recent Global AI Adoption Index 2022, the data shows steady adoption of AI as organizations look to address skills shortages and automate processes. For example, by automating tasks for skilled workers so they can be more productive, or by using AI-assisted learning or employee engagement. Nearly one in four companies are adopting AI due to labor or skill shortages, and 30% of global IT professionals say employees in their organization are already saving time with new AI and automation software and tools.

3. IT operations and core business processes are ripe for transformation

As I mentioned, AI and automation can transform IT and business processes to improve efficiencies, cut costs, and enable people — employees — to focus on higher-value work.

Two of the most important areas of IT operations in the enterprise are problem avoidance and problem solving because of the huge impact they have on cost, productivity and brand reputation. The rapid digital expansion among enterprises has led to an immediate increase in demand from IT leaders to embrace AIops tools to increase workflow productivity and ensure proactive, continuous application performance. With AIops, IT systems and applications are more reliable and complex work environments can be managed more proactively, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. This can enable IT staff to focus on high-quality work rather than tedious, time-consuming tasks, and identify potential problems before they become major problems.

In addition to applying AI and automation to help improve IT operations, business automation is also great for streamlining processes in virtually any area of ​​an organization. Some examples include sending marketing emails to a client distribution list on a predefined schedule, automating job application processing, scheduling job interviews, employment offers, onboarding, payroll and benefits administration in human resources or automating repetitive tasks such as qualify leads, assign prospects, and automate invoices in sales and accounting.

As organizations of all sizes continue to digitize and modernize their workflows, the collective labor agreement can help guide how AI and automation are used to modernize legacy IT systems and streamline business processes so employees can focus on projects that really make an impact.

The collective labor agreement is important because their experience is multifaceted. Not only can they use AI to drive automation across many verticals and use cases to address the growing skilled workforce gap, but they can also work hand-in-hand with the CIO, the CDO, the CAIO, and the COO to transform the core. business functions that affect business results.

Dinesh Nirmal is the General Manager of Data, AI and Automation at IBM.