Future of automation: five ways automation will help businesses (2023)

In this article, we’re going to look at how future automation will help industries and businesses and pave the paths to provide opportunities not before possible.

In a rush? Here are the main points we cover

  • What is automation?
  • Current statistics for automation and it’s future
  • What industries are automation currently used in?
  • Improve collaboration
  • Increase productivity
  • Minimise human errors
  • Improve customer experiences
  • Increase ROI
  • Wrapping up
  • About L.A.C. Conveyors & Automation

What is automation?

Let’s first look at what automation is. Businesses are automating processes at a noticeably large rate and I’m sure you’ve heard of the term, but at some point, asked the question “what is automation?”.

Automation by Wikipedia’s definition “is the technology by which a process or procedure is performed with minimal human assistance. Automation or automatic control is the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers and heat treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships, aircraft and other applications and vehicles with minimal or reduced human intervention.”

By automating a process you’re looking to reduce human intervention which can lead to improved efficiency, decrease operational costs, and reduce mundane jobs within the company.

Whether or not all points are favourable for employees is a topic of conversation for another time. But it does indicate why automation is on a rapid increase within the workplace.

Current statistics for automation and it’s future

Let’s have a look at what the current statistics for automation are to give an idea of the automation market today.

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  • World Economic Forum says machines will create 58 million new jobs
  • International Federation of Robotics has noticed a 14% global increase in Industrial Robot Jobs annually
  • Tech Jury estimates up to 30% of jobs will be replaced by automation
  • PWC suggests that upwards of 30% of jobs could be automatable by mid-2030s
  • Deloitte notes that although technology has displaced over 800,000 jobs in the UK between 2001 and 2015, it’s created approximately 3.5 million new ones
  • McKinsey estimates that automation can boost the global economy by 1.4% annually
  • Willis Towers Watson show in their report that 57% of employers say that the main goal of automation is the augmentation of worker performance and productivity

Take from the stats what you will, but one thing is clear, automation and robotics aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

So, now we know what the stats, facts, and predictions of automation and robotics are, let’s have a look at why the technology may have such high numbers by examining how the future of automation will help businesses.

Improve collaboration

One of the key reasons why robots are increasing in the workplace is due to the benefits robotics can bring to a business. Future of automation is only going to help businesses achieve further collaboration.

In a report by Holmes Noble, they report that collaborative technology can increase production capacity by 20% whilst lowering material consumption by 4%. Those kinds of numbers over time can really allow a business to get ahead, especially within an industry such as manufacturing.

There are increasing automation tools for communication and admin such as Slack and TeamWork.

Here’s an example of a business using a communication tool like Slack with its automation features.

You’re a business with various departments. Slack allows you to set up an automated reminder to make sure people hit their set deadlines. This automation tool has now stopped you and your team from potentially missing a deadline and having further down the line costs such as a lost client.

Increase productivity

Following on from the point before, as Forbes mentions, in manufacturing, technology provides seamless connections across production and distribution chains, easing the process of getting products from the assembly floor to the customer.

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So, when you’ve got a quicker, more collaborative, way of getting tasks done, it has a knock-on effect on increasing how many projects you can do due to the efficiency increase.

Thanks to automation and real-time reporting data, businesses and departments can use this for a quicker result on the next project. So, once a project or task has been tested several times, they can use the data to see how to reduce errors and in turn increase the productivity of the automation tool.

The future of automation won’t only affect the productivity of businesses but also our personal lives. Already we’re seeing our bills, schedules being linked through apps, and tasks being set through tools like Evernote which of course frees up our time and gives us one less thing to do or think about.

Although, just because automation will give us all this free time, that’s not to say every business or everyone is using that spare time productively.

Minimise human errors

Unless we have a situation where robots take over the world like in Terminator franchise, the world will always have a human error for a range of different reasons, some on purpose and some by accident.

But automation currently does reduce the risk of human error, in some industries more than others and the future of automation will have bigger reductions in human error with the even bigger possibility of increased productivity and more collaboration.

Take a product that must be accurate to a specific measurement every time. It’s harder for a human to do this accurately and to a consistent time basis due to people not moving in a fixed position like a robot. Therefore, it usually takes a human more time than a robot as they must align it up to the measurements each time using their hand-eye coordination.

Now if you had this automated through a machine or by a robot, thanks to vision systems and controlled precise movements, a robot will do that job at the same measurement time in and time again.

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Even if the robot or automation system is only slightly faster, over time it compounds into a lot of extra time and less needed personnel for that project. Hence why companies invest in the long-term solution to reduce their margin of error or risk of human error.

Improve customer experiences

Thanks to all the above increases, it should be quite evident this has a knock-on effect on the customer experience. Lower risk for errors and increased production time means a better, more accurate service in quicker time usually resulting in a happy customer.

Take the parcel delivery service as an example. When they install a new piece of automation kit, it allows them to speed up their service and handle more parcels, resulting in a higher number of people getting their items quicker at a lower cost to the company.

The future of automation is only going to improve this as more software applications and systems come into play.

Look at Amazon with their one-day prime service delivery. That’s improving customer experience and is likely responsible for why a high number of people use that service over a competitor.

It was thanks to automation that this service was able to be used. From automating when the parcels were coming into the building through to automating processes, so the order was taken, checked, and sorted quicker. Like Hermes automated their returns department.

Increase ROI

ROI or Return on Investment is an aspect that’s been increased thanks to automation, at least in a high number of cases. Future of automation will only increase the ROI further with enhanced processing methods and lower cost systems being applied to businesses.

For tangible products, the ROI is usually on how much quicker a machine or system can do the task for the company which saves time, money, and increases capacity for more products.

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Imagine you’re the site manager for a car maker company such as Jaguar Land Rover. If you had the option to bring in an automation system, which yes, might be a reasonably expensive up-front price, but would repay the cost within a year while increasing production levels of car parts, would you be interested?

My guess is yes.

Now imagine you’re the head of a team for a software business. You hear about a platform that can run on your computer that will log all your client data with various fields including where the lead is in their customer journey and you could access it anywhere and export it to display. Would you be interested?

My guess, again, is yes. This is also exactly why CRM tools such as Salesforce and Oracle NetSuite are so successful and have a big customer base.

Wrapping Up

So, there we have it, five ways automation is currently used which should have hopefully given you an idea for what the future of automation could hold in store for us.

One thing is clear, automation is only increasing and being employed by more businesses within various industries across the world thanks to its numerous benefits.

We’re excited to see how automation is going to further increase businesses capabilities and what new businesses, software, and products could be on this planet in the near future.

For updates on topics including automation, conveyors, and robotic solutions, be sure to follow our business page on LinkedIn.

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FAQs

How can automation help businesses? ›

The benefits of automated operations are higher productivity, reliability, availability, increased performance, and reduced operating costs. Moving to lights-out operations yields a good return on investment. The benefits of automated systems can be a powerful motive for increasing service to your end users.

How automation will help in future? ›

In the future of automation, more companies will have a Head of Business Systems role to oversee their huge number of tools — and this position will hold a vast capacity for impact and change. More than ever, the SaaS tools we choose will help our businesses become more productive, profitable, and impactful.

What is the impact of automation in business? ›

The data they collect is more accessible and valuable than ever before. By automating repetitive processes, companies can increase the efficiency of their teams. They can avoid hiring more workers, reduce overhead and increase employee productivity. A business can also cut its costs by automating its backend systems.

What are five advantages of automation? ›

Benefits of Automation
  • Lower operating costs. ...
  • Improved worker safety. ...
  • Reduced factory lead times. ...
  • Faster ROI. ...
  • Ability to be more competitive. ...
  • Increased production output. ...
  • Consistent and improved part production and quality. ...
  • Smaller environmental footprint.

What are the benefits of automation? ›

Advantages commonly attributed to automation include higher production rates and increased productivity, more efficient use of materials, better product quality, improved safety, shorter workweeks for labour, and reduced factory lead times.

What will the future of automation look like? ›

"2022 will see further convergence between previously disparate areas of automation including basic and advanced forms of process automation (RPA, iBPMS, Low Code Workflow tools), Intelligent Document Processing, Rules-based and Artificial Intelligence (AI)- based Decision engines and others," says Dan Ternes, chief ...

How automation is changing the world? ›

Automation allows individuals and companies to free people from time-consuming, repetitive tasks that machines perform more efficiently, allowing humans to create new jobs and put energy into creative aspects of the business.

What is the future of automation testing? ›

Codeless automation is the next big thing in the world of automated testing. Testers can now save a lot of time by automating the process of writing and running test scripts. According to Future Marketing Insights, “The demand for codeless testing will rise at 15.5% CAGR between 2021 and 2031.”

What are the 4 types of automation? ›

Different Types of Industrial Automation Systems
  • Fixed Automation. Also referred to as hard automation, fixed automation systems carry out a single set of tasks without deviation. ...
  • Programmable Automation. ...
  • Flexible Automation. ...
  • Integrated Automation.
23 Sept 2020

What are 2 examples of automation? ›

Examples of fixed automation include machining transfer lines found in the automotive industry, automatic assembly machines, and certain chemical processes. Programmable automation is a form of automation for producing products in batches.

What is the purpose of automation? ›

Automation reduces time, effort and cost, whilst reducing manual errors, giving your business more time to focus on your primary objectives. Repetitive tasks can be completed faster. Automating processes ensures high quality results as each task is performed identically, without human error.

What is automation in a business? ›

Business automation is a term for the use of technology applications that perform repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for higher value work. This includes business process automation (BPA), robotic process automation (RPA) and AI-powered automation.

What is automation advantages and disadvantages? ›

Comparison Table for Advantages and Disadvantages of Automation
AdvantagesDisadvantages
Increased productivityNeeds large capital expenditure
More efficient use of materialsCan become redundant
Better product qualityCould introduce new safety hazards
Improved safetyStill requires human intervention
6 more rows
14 Feb 2022

Is automation good for the economy? ›

Automation, jobs, and wages

Workers who can work with machines are more productive than those without them; this reduces both the costs and prices of goods and services, and makes consumers feel richer. As a result, consumers spend more, which leads to the creation of new jobs.

Why you should automate your business? ›

Automating tasks will increase your team efficiency, and it can lead to improved productivity and better profit margins. Business automation helps you to make routine, redundant tasks automatic, so that you and your team can focus on other projects.

How does automation improve efficiency? ›

In an automated environment, employees have the time, resources, and freedom to focus less on manual tasks and more on strategy, innovation, and tech. This equates to a much higher employee productivity rate.

How does automation improve quality? ›

Automation improves quality in a number of ways: eliminating human error, improving consistency and accuracy, giving the ability to create more complex goods, and identifying errors along the way. Eliminating human error - People are inherently imperfect, so what we make will be imperfect as well.

What are the types of automation? ›

Automation systems are classed into three different types of automation: Fixed automation. Programmable automation. Flexible automation.

What is the future of industrial automation? ›

Industrial automation is poised to deliver almost $209 billion in revenue by 2020 with new instrumentation and control products driving the growth. Industrial technologies such as robotics, cloud, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming increasingly pervasive.

How automation is changing the workplace? ›

Put simply, workplace automation refers to the use of systems to perform repetitive or predictable tasks without direct human inputs. Automation can be applied to physical tasks using machinery or robots, or to data-driven processes using software and algorithms.

What is the future of automation engineer? ›

People who automate work will be in high demand because they can have an outsized impact at the company. As technology continues to proliferate every part of our life, we need more engineers to automate the repetitive tasks so we can focus on innovation.”

Will automation increase the quality of life? ›

Robots can improve our quality of life and make the world better, not by replacing humans, but by working effectively together. Researchers at MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL are exploring how robotics has the potential to power the economy and improve the quality of our lives.

How does automation impact society? ›

Impact on society

A properly justified automation project will increase productivity owing to increases in production rate and reductions in labour content. Over the years, productivity gains have led to reduced prices for products and increased prosperity for society.

How is automation used today? ›

Things such as electronic devices, machines, and even robots are used to automate tasks that used to be completed by humans. Advances in software, machine learning, and robotics are quickly making it possible for companies to accomplish more with fewer workers.

What is the future of automation testing engineer? ›

Automation Engineers or Quality Analysts are expected for more duties and more QA processing challenges over a general testing role like test planning, test environment setup, test execution, test-data preparation, performance, security testing, developing test automation tools, etc.

Why is automation testing in demand? ›

Automation Testing provides a myriad of benefits in terms of efficiency, productivity, and ROI of quality assurance teams. Moreover, it enables a higher level of test coverage as test suites can be reused, and thus, delivers results much faster and minimise the time to market of the products.

Is there any growth in automation testing? ›

The automation testing market is expected to grow at 14.2% CAGR during the forecast period from 2021 to 2026.

What are the automation strategies? ›

  • 10 Strategies for Automation and Production Systems.
  • Specialization of operations. ...
  • Combined operations.
  • Simultaneous operations. ...
  • Integration of operations. ...
  • Increased flexibility. ...
  • Improved material handling and storage. ...
  • On-line inspection.
5 Jul 2014

What are the principles of automation? ›

The 10 Principles of Automation
  • Keep It Simple.
  • Empower Your Operators. ...
  • Put Automation in Your Job Title. ...
  • Automate SLAs. ...
  • Build Exception-Based Notification. ...
  • More Rules, More Automation. ...
  • Eliminate Run Books and Manual Procedures. ...
  • Manage by Exception. ...
17 May 2019

What is the best automation tool? ›

Below are some of the best Test Automation tools:
  • ACCELQ – Best for Codeless Test Automation.
  • Avo Assure – Best for Beginners & Experienced.
  • Kobiton – Best for Test Real Devices.
  • TestComplete – Best for Code or codeless test creation.
  • testRigor – Best for Integrations with CI/CD and Test case management.

What is the best example for automation? ›

Examples of automation include

Cars which use technology, cameras and artificial intelligence to drive. Though self-driving cars are not without risk of crashing, they can be set up with a higher standard of safety than your average human driver, who will get tired and make mistakes.

What is called automation? ›

The dictionary defines automation as “the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically.” We define automation as "the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services.”

Where is automation being used? ›

Automation is being used in a number of areas such as manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, facilities, operations and lately, information technology.

What are the benefits of industrial automation? ›

What are the Benefits of Industrial Automation?
  • Higher Production Rates. How can we do more with what we have? ...
  • Increased Productivity. ...
  • More Efficient Material Use. ...
  • Improved Product Quality. ...
  • Improved Safety.

Why should you automate your business? ›

Increased Efficiency

Efficiency is also increased by process automation. It allows your organization to achieve the best production performance, meet deadlines and always ensure the high availability of processes. It streamlines business operations, so you can focus on other vital areas of your business.

What is automation in a business? ›

Business automation is a term for the use of technology applications that perform repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for higher value work. This includes business process automation (BPA), robotic process automation (RPA) and AI-powered automation.

How can automation increase productivity? ›

5 Ways Automation Can Increase Your Productivity
  1. Speed Up Email Processing. Dealing with emails can be overwhelming and time-consuming if you do not find a system to manage them well. ...
  2. Boost Communication Using Chatbots. ...
  3. Data Backup. ...
  4. Plan Social Media Posts. ...
  5. Schedule Meetings.
2 Sept 2021

What can be automated in business? ›

Some of these business tasks can be automated, while others on your list may need to be delegated to employees.
...
Administrative Tasks You Can Automate
  • Backing up files. ...
  • Share calendars. ...
  • Eliminate annoying e-mails. ...
  • Job recruitment. ...
  • Your to-do list. ...
  • Online forms. ...
  • Email signatures.

What are the types of automation? ›

Three types of automation in production can be distinguished: (1) fixed automation, (2) programmable automation, and (3) flexible automation.

What is automation and its need? ›

Automation is a term for technology applications where human input is minimized. This includes business process automation (BPA), IT automation, personal applications such as home automation and more.

How do you automate a business process? ›

Read on to learn more about how to automate critical processes in your business.
  1. Identify Functional Areas Of Operations. ...
  2. Create SOPs. ...
  3. Identify Repetitive Tasks. ...
  4. Prioritize Areas To Automate. ...
  5. Digital Transformation.
8 Nov 2021

How automation is changing the world? ›

Automation allows individuals and companies to free people from time-consuming, repetitive tasks that machines perform more efficiently, allowing humans to create new jobs and put energy into creative aspects of the business.

How is automation used today? ›

Things such as electronic devices, machines, and even robots are used to automate tasks that used to be completed by humans. Advances in software, machine learning, and robotics are quickly making it possible for companies to accomplish more with fewer workers.

Where is automation used? ›

Automation is being used in a number of areas such as manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, facilities, operations and lately, information technology.

How does automation improve quality? ›

Automation improves quality in a number of ways: eliminating human error, improving consistency and accuracy, giving the ability to create more complex goods, and identifying errors along the way. Eliminating human error - People are inherently imperfect, so what we make will be imperfect as well.

What are the pros and cons of automation? ›

The Pros and Cons of Automation for Business
  • The Pros of Automation.
  • Efficiency. This is among the major benefits of automation. ...
  • Reliability and Consistent Output. ...
  • Lower Production Costs. ...
  • Increased Safety. ...
  • The Cons of Automation.
  • Initial Investment. ...
  • Incompatible with Customization.
19 Aug 2019

What is automation productivity? ›

Automation has a direct impact on employee well-being and thus on employee productivity by automating repetitive and boring tasks. Automatization allows employers to automate minor and repetitive tasks that do not add much value to the organization and allow time for more valuable work.

What is intelligent business automation? ›

Intelligent automation (IA) combines robotic process automation (RPA) with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, optical character recognition (OCR), intelligent character recognition (ICR) and process mining to create end-to-end business processes that think, learn and adapt on their ...

What are the three ways to automate a process? ›

Within this amalgam of concepts, there are three key technologies that we must take into account: macros, IT process automation (ITPA) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

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