Shortfacts - February 2020

Investment topic number one: automation

It has been at the top of the list of companies' most important investment topics for years: the automation of processes. The search for new ways to make business and IT processes more efficient, faster, more cost-effective and, above all, of higher quality is increasingly becoming a key factor for future competitive advantages.

Robotic process automation (RPA) - the fully automated processing of structured business processes using software - is very important in this context. A special analysis carried out by market research company Lünendonk & Hossenfelder in collaboration with NTT Data shows that RPA software already has a high degree of penetration in large companies.

For example, 11% of the companies surveyed already use RPA to a considerable extent, while a further 27% have implemented digital robots to automate individual process steps. 15 percent are not planning to use them at all, while 47 percent of those surveyed are currently looking into this topic.

RPA software is currently used particularly frequently to automate tasks in customer management/customer contact centers, sales, HR and IT. However, accounting/controlling is also a strong area of application.

In principle, the companies surveyed expect the technology to bring a whole range of improvements. Almost all respondents see efficiency and cost optimization as an opportunity resulting from the use of RPA software.

90% of the CIOs, CDOs and CFOs surveyed also expect automated processes to increase productivity. The companies surveyed have achieved the greatest successes in quality improvements, faster throughput times and cost reductions.

For example, 69% of RPA users speak of specific quality improvements, such as greater process reliability and correct data input. For 47 percent, the use of RPA tools has led to an acceleration in process speed.

In addition, 40 percent of companies report higher customer satisfaction as a result of more automation.