Five 2023 workflow automation trends reshaping the future

The sustainability imperative—and the challenge within

Customers, regulators, and governments are holding organizations more accountable than ever for their sustainability commitments. But balancing stakeholders, reporting frameworks, and compliance requirements can make it overwhelming to establish a plan that is both actionable and impactful. Organizations need a flexible, extendible, and scalable technology platform that can account for the issues that drive accountability as well as regulations, processes, and benchmarks.

• 98% of customers believe that brands have a responsibility to make the world a better place.
  Source: Peto, John, et. al., "The CIO’s call to action: Driving an environmentally sustainable tech agenda to accelerate organizational change," Deloitte Insights, May 18, 2022
• 1 in 4 employees report that they’ve considered switching organizations to work for a more sustainable employer.
  Source: Cascone, James, et. al., "Driving Accountable Sustainability in the consumer industry," Deloitte Insights, June 9, 2022.

Turning a crisis of productivity into an opportunity for innovation

A shift to more hybrid and contract work models has translated to a disconnected workforce, while a growing skills gap has left many industries with a talent void. One of the effects of these new realities is a continuing productivity challenge. This ultimately impacts employee experience, organizational performance, and shareholder value. Beyond that, it creates an environment of instability and uncertainty.

Now is the time for rapid, disruptive change and a fundamental reconfiguration of business models, processes, and structures. This requires:

• An agile ecosystem
• Simplified processes
• Embedded AI

Organizations can drive end-to-end value delivery through digital transformation

Many organizations lack the infrastructure to drive end-to-end value delivery through their investment strategies. In a time when technological innovation is imperative for all, this can result in stagnation and inefficiencies up and down an organization’s chain of value. Organizations should view investments as a vehicle for lasting, systemic value creation and examine how digital transformation efforts fit into long-term strategic goals.

• Many technology leaders reported that the pandemic has created an opportunity to reassess technology investments or reinvigorate existing investment plans.
  Source: Kark, Khalid, et. al., "Maximizing the impact of technology investments in the new normal," Deloitte Insights, February 3, 2021.

With effective management, cost optimization can boost innovation rather than hinder it

Organizations are in the process of digitizing every aspect of their operations, from customer experience to supply chain management and service delivery. This poses a new challenge: how to most effectively manage the costs of these expansive new tech landscapes. Failure to manage costs effectively can have a lasting impact on the pace of innovation. Enterprise-wide transparency allows different teams to compare cost-management strategies, and effective benchmarks are key to measuring progress against peers as well as the broader market.

• In a recent Deloitte study, organizations experiencing a greater value from their cloud services were not, in fact, spending significantly more than other respondents.
  Source: Domes, Cathleen, et. al., "Where does cloud generate the most value?" Deloitte Insights, October 4, 2022.

Enterprise performance requires strategic advancement toward Enterprise Service Management (ESM) maturity

Expectations of enterprise performance going forward are bringing new urgency to adoption of an ESM approach. Establishing a framework for ESM gives organizations the means to ensure that service delivery within the enterprise itself provides the right experiences, manages risks, and is as efficient and effective as possible. To reach this milestone, enterprises should prioritize the systems and architectures that allow for a high degree of governance.

• ESM maturity equips organizations with the tools to adapt to many of today’s emerging workplace trends.