Based on a global survey of 441 executives and our insights, we can see that the pandemic forced organisations to rethink how work is done. Through the survey results and case studies we show how cloud and automation-as-a-service have been used to rapidly deploy automations to support home working, ensure business continuity and manage significant rises in processing volumes.

Usage of RPA has soared since we first began researching automation adoption in 2015, when just 13% of leaders said they expected to increase automation in the coming months by investing in RPA. Today, 78% of our survey respondents have already implemented RPA and 16% plan to do so in the next three years.While robotics has now been adopted widely, the full potential of automation lies in an ever-increasing range of technologies, tools and techniques. The pace of technology innovation continues to outstrip the pace of automation adoption and, as a result, we still have a long way to go before we will capture the full benefits of automation. Upskilling the workforce so every employee can effectively use new technologies to improve their role, while building a culture that prioritises learning and creativity, will ensure that the people do not get left behind in the race to scale new technologies.

For organisations to successfully integrate intelligent automation, they must first acknowledge that transformation is necessary. It starts with making a conscious choice about what they want to achieve, based on the ‘art of the possible’. This decision is then fed into a robust and realistic intelligent automation strategy. Breaking down functional and process silos is a must, as is augmenting business processes by combining complementary tools and technologies – with Business Process Management* and low-code** at the centre – while using the right process optimisation technique.

Deloitte’s Operations Transformation services couple business, process and service design with technology fluency to help our clients navigate this ever-increasing range of technologies, tools and techniques. This enables them to imagine, build and transform the core business operations of their organisations, deliver on their corporate strategy, identify and capture new growth opportunities, and to surpass their business objectives. This journey is supported by Intelligent Automation, leading to a true business-led, technology-enabled transformation of the operations.

*Business Process Management: BPM is the discipline of managing processes (rather than tasks) to improve business performance outcomes and operational agility. BPM software tools are used to model, implement, execute, monitor and optimise end‑to‑end enterprise business processes.

**Low‑code: This refers to automation tools that have graphical interfaces, enabling a wide population of non‑technical users (rather than trained software technicians) to build automations.