Exploring IT automation trends: What 2023 holds for the future

This articles shares IT automation trends in 2023. To see predictions of what 2024 holds, check out Automation ROI, hyperautomation, generative AI for automation — What’s coming in 2024. In this post, Redwood Software’s Chief Product Officer, Abhijit Kakhandiki, shares what businesses can expect for automation in the coming months.

It’s 2023, and if there’s one aspect of the IT industry that refuses to slow down — the consistent evolution of automation platforms. The landscape of IT automation has been significantly shaped by integrating new technologies, market demands and ongoing innovation. It’s become clear that automating business processes is incredibly beneficial to enterprise companies across the spectrum, ranging from utilities and finance to cybersecurity and healthcare.

Even before the pandemic, when many businesses needed to rethink how they got things done, including their IT operations, the automation market was on fire. But some things are hotter than others. And as we wind down 2023, it’s a good time to look at the transformative shifts that happened, and how that bodes for the future.

Harnessing automation: The 2023 perspective

1. Robotic process automation (RPA): It’s hard to discuss automation trends without bringing up RPA. RPA uses software robots or “bots” to automate time-consuming, rules-based repetitive tasks that are generally well-defined to promote operational efficiency. Leveraging RPA can significantly streamline business processes and allow them to occur 24/7 without human intervention. The bots are faster than humans, which increases productivity. But they also free those same humans, including the IT team, to focus on more strategic initiatives.
2. Hyperautomation: Beyond RPA, the world is shifting towards hyperautomation, a term first coined by Gartner. Hyperautomation involves implementing multiple automation technologies, like machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and decision-making algorithms, to carry out more complex tasks than RPA can handle. Hyperautomation uses the full spectrum of automation tools, from basic bots to sophisticated AI-driven functionalities.
3. Artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML): AI and ML are two digital technologies that we’ve witnessed become intertwined within automation. Whether it’s chatbots powered by natural language processing (NLP) being used for an enhanced customer experience or advanced algorithms for predictive analytics, AI and ML remain at the forefront of the automation surge.
4. Low-code and no-code automation: Perhaps nothing has been more transformative than the democratization of automation thanks to low-code and no-code platforms. It has essentially eliminated the need for high-cost, highly resourced IT teams and cumbersome processes by enabling even non-tech business users to create apps, interfaces, process management workflows and more with drag-and-drop solutions. By simplifying the creation of end-to-end automation workflows, businesses have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives significantly, without heavily relying on IT teams.
5. Orchestration and workloads: One of the bigger trends In 2023 that is sure to continue is an offshoot of many of the other trends, particularly low-code automation. That trend is based on the idea of not just automating individual tasks but orchestrating entire workflows across departments and across applications. It’s becoming known as the automation fabric, with everything being woven together by platforms like Redwood’s orchestration automation software, which enables businesses to design, manage and optimize intricate processes in real time.

Looking towards 2024, we need to keep an eye on plenty of emerging technologies. Existing technologies like cloud-based automation solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) and business process automation (BPA) will continue to grow, and businesses will need to ramp up technology if they want to achieve aggressive business outcomes. The ongoing expectation of more efficient workflows, streamlined processes and higher operational efficiency pushes businesses to prioritize IT automation. RPA, AI and ML are going to continue to evolve quickly and offer more innovative functionalities that promise real-time decision-making capabilities and improved customer experience.

As for the future of Redwood, we’ve been laser-focused on automation for 30 years and will be at the forefront of this next wave. Platforms like RunMyJobs by Redwood empower companies to embrace these automation trends and developments to achieve unprecedented scalability and innovation.