Everything is getting better, faster, and going further all the time: The digital transformation and cloud computing are changing our day-to-day lives in many ways, both personally and professionally. But aside from those changes to our work life, another oft-forgotten but decisive development is the shift in customer expectations. Amazon and its cohort have set the bar high, with products available around the clock, and consumer expectations have adjusted accordingly. Consequently, the ability uphold this standard has become a litmus test for companies’ long-term success. But how is it possible to offer this kind of 24/7 service without skyrocketing costs? This requires a paradigm shift in corporate culture in which organizations prioritize stronger integration of digital automation tools.

Here are a few tips for companies just starting out automation:

• Streamline the entire IT operating model, for example by implementing DevOps or even DevSecOps
• Create a comprehensive catalog encompassing all available IT and corporate services
• Turn the data and findings you gather into company goals, or go one step further by implementing the objectives and key results (OKR) framework
• Eliminate silos to improve the customer and employee experience
• Ensure employee productivity throughout the entire company
• Automate unprofitable tasks for the service desk and IT operation teams to facilitate shift-left testing, which delivers increased economic value
• Accelerate day-to-day workflows by providing a clear overview of service offerings for IT and company requirements with self-service functions
• Foster remote working and collaboration while safeguarding company IT systems
• Integrating AI-based tools throughout the entire IT department reduces the workload for basic tasks
• Improved cooperation between development, security, and IT in the DevSecOps model allows you to boost the agility of your development team while ensuring optimal governance, compliance, and security
• Implement cognitive solutions and automation – these reduce risk and improve the user experience, ultimately increasing the total speed and growth of your business
  
  

As these tips illustrate, process optimization provides a number of ways to optimize your business. In this context, these methods are often referred to as a derivative of robotic process automation (RPA). There is a wide range of tools. From software for license and asset management, automated security solutions, and chatbots for the service desk to unified endpoint management and enterprise service management. Depending on the level of automation you want to achieve, you can select individual solutions. Or integrate the complete service package. 

Forrester TEI study on financial benefits of investment in ESM

Of course, these types of changes come at the price of additional investment. But these new automation tools pay for themselves in no time. The most important thing is for companies to find the right solution for their needs and requirements. The Total Economic Impact study from Forrester Consulting , which focuses on the example of an automotive supplier, illustrates that investment in the Enterprise Service Management system from Matrix42 is a good choice for upmarket medium-sized companies. The prerequisite for the investment was a substantial cost reduction while maintaining the same scope of services. According to the survey, the switch resulted in more transparency and flexibility. As well as an overall improvement in IT governance. According to Forrester, switching to this system not only led to high capital value. It also opened the door for a potential ROI totaling 51 percent after three years.

On the one hand, there are the financial incentives. And on the other, there is sustainability, a key value all companies need to adopt going forward. The more automation of processes, the less loss. This allows organizations to save on resources in the long-term and provides them with a decisive advantage looking forward. In many regards, the companies poised to lead the pack in the long-term will be those organizations that grasp the initiative to implement digital transformation, cloud, and automation processes right away.