Brexit boost to RPA adoption

Published 15/03/2019 by Dean McGlone, V1

Hear the latest at partner conference - Advanced World 2019 – 10 days before the agreed date of leaving the EU

The uncertainty over Brexit is having a major impact on businesses across the UK and beyond, as they grapple with the potential impact the different outcomes may deliver – no-deal, delayed deal – etc. We predicted back at the beginning of the year that despite all the concerns, there could also be positives seen from the shenanigans over Brexit – and investment in technology is certainly one of the more positive outcomes. So where better to be on Monday 18th March than Advanced World, one of our key partner’s annual customer events.

The roller-coaster ride of Brexit negotiations looks set to continue, certainly over the next few days and so Advanced World is well-timed.  It will give a fantastic opportunity to gain more understanding on the continuing Brexit journey from Carolyn Fairbairn, one of the keynote speakers on the day. The CBI Director General is best placed to be navigating us through the political, economic and technological factors that are impacting businesses today, and will be sharing her views on how leaders can plan for the future during these uncertain times.

Advanced World will also look to bridge the challenges between business uncertainty and technology innovation. According to Advanced’s latest Trends Report, technology ranks highest when it comes to business spending priorities – over and above R&D and talent acquisition. Over half (52%) say it will be a priority for 2019, and we believe Brexit will force organisations to make technology investment one of the top priorities. 

And we see one of the key trends around such innovation being RPA – robotic process automation. Just this week, Computer Weekly has reported on recent research by Everett Group – see more here.  The report claims that business spending on RPA will increase by 20-30% as a result of the increased administrative burden expected after the UK leaves the EU.

“Systems supporting procurement and supply chain management, as well as finance and human resources, will be affected, with organisations turning to RPA and other automation technologies to respond quickly to Brexit changes,” according to Sarah Burnett, research vice-president at Everest Group.

We’ve been strong advocates for the rapid adoption of RPA with businesses. However, the big worry is that many organisations are putting investment plans on hold as they remain distracted by Brexit.  Whilst the technology industry continues to transform at a faster pace than ever, those businesses that are failing to accelerate their digital journey are at great risk for falling behind. Technology such as the Cloud and RPA are helping such digital-centric businesses be agile and flexible. It frees them up to focus on their core business, as well as minimise cost and leverage economies of scale, improve end-user experience, and reduce operational risk.

With Cloud’s monthly subscription model, finances can be better controlled too, eradicating spikes in investment. By automating manual and usually administrative heavy processes, businesses are better placed to increase both productivity and efficiency levels, as well as relieving teams from mundane and repetitive work – which may well be on the horizon with the burden of Brexit change - to focus on higher-value and strategic activities.

Of course, all this collides with a need for more digitally-savvy employees, ready to step up to a new way of working. And again, Advanced World may prove interesting at the MD of Hays – Mark Staniland – will be another keynote at the event, discussing the latest in workplace trends.

The V1 team will be at the event, taking place at the ICC in Birmingham on Monday 18 March, to share its insights about the latest technology trends in the areas of RPA including invoice automation and looking at the impact of GDPR on companies document management plans too. So don’t delay – come along and make sure you’re ready to jump on board and put the latest technology innovations at the heart of your company’s success for the future.