Automation benefits, such as efficiency and productivity gains and improved customer and employee experience at lower cost, are globally valid and understood. But there are significant differences in adoption speed and intensity of software-based automation technologies across Europe compared to the Americas and Asia Pacific. Software-based automation technologies include robotic process automation, digital process automation tools, digital decisioning platforms, and low-code application platforms as well as purely AI-driven automation tools.

European business leaders clearly see the advantages of automating tasks and business processes, but they also see Europe-specific limitations and risks, such as:

  • Biased AI taking decisions that discriminate people or treat them unequally.
  • The EU’s supranational as well as national governments’ pandemic recovery programs aimed at keeping the current workforce untouched.
  • GDPR compliance concerns when applying AI and other data-hungry automation technologies.
  • An increased risk of cyberattacks with added levels of process automation.

Successful and sustainable automation requires thorough planning and priority setting, business process transparency and management, and a decision matrix to pick the right automation technology for a certain type of process, as well as execution mastery and continuous improvement of your automation landscape.

In our keynote at Forrester’s Technology & Innovation Global Forum, my colleague Dan Bieler and myself will explore the path to successful automation for European businesses and administrations. To find out more about this session, visit the agenda here.