Best Practices to Meet Today’s Automation and IT Challenges

The challenges – and opportunities – are deep for IT leaders leading the adoption, integration, and implementation of new business applications and processes at their companies. 

The labor market is tight, for IT professionals and talent across the business.  

The economy is squeezing budgets, driving the need for greater efficiency and productivity via automation.  

And as roles have grown, IT leaders are tasked with incorporating sustainability and other social goals into metrics to provide a fuller picture of the impact of the business. 

Those factors add up to having to do more with less. That may seem daunting, but the right technology, processes, and strategy can turn moments of uncertainty into moments of confidence. 

Top priorities, top efficiencies 

A recent report by Oxford Economics and SAP^® Concur^® details what IT leaders and others across the globe are doing.  

• 46% say increasing functional efficiency is their organization’s top priority. 

• 75% use basic automation to boost efficiency. 

• 68% say advanced automation is raising more efficiency. 

The report’s description of approaches used by AI Strategy Leaders is especially insightful. They’re a select group of industry peers using advanced automation – incorporating AI and machine learning – to achieve efficiency at rates above the norm. 

AI Strategy Leaders are more likely than non-leaders to: 

• Have a detailed and adaptable automation and AI strategy. 

• Customize technology to the specific needs of their business.

• Have integrated platforms connecting travel, expense, and invoicing solutions with their ERP.  

Strategies that can succeed 

Knowing the strategies that can bring results is one thing. Deciding key ones to focus on is more complicated, especially with IT teams and resources under stress. 

We recently discuss with Acquis Consulting Group, was awarded the 2023 Partner Innovation Award from SAP Concur, and suggest these 4 areas IT leaders should focus: 

Make integration less complex. With prebuilt connectors and other approaches, you can link travel & expense, HR, and other solutions to ERPs and other systems without affecting business continuity and eating up your team’s time. 

Provide wide-ranging support. From an experienced provider, your company and its employees can access support to drive your pursuit of efficiency. That can include in-person support and self-service digital adoption platforms.  

Secure your data, systems, and people. Your team has a critical role in cybersecurity, and that extends to ensuring automated business applications are secure and that users are confident in their safety. 

Measure sustainability. As companies increasingly factor environmental, social, and governance concerns into goals, IT leaders can help deliver the capabilities and metrics to track and support them. 

With multiple strategies to weigh and many day-to-day responsibilities, that’s much to consider. But the fact is, investment in digital solutions is expected to continue despite the challenges of the times. And, as an IT leader, you’re uniquely positioned to play an essential role in driving change with effective tools, processes, and security. 

Deepen understanding and tools 

• Download the Oxford Economics report, Becoming More Efficient: How IT Executives Lead the Digital Transformation, for more about what peers are doing with automation, as well as steps to consider. 

• Read our white paper, As Economic Outlook Shifts, IT Leaders Act Decisively with New Priorities, for more on the challenges facing IT leaders and how SAP Concur solutions deliver integration, support, and other features to help meet them.