2023 is shaping up to be a challenging year for IT and Ops professionals – you are dealing with massive layoffs, the threat of an imminent recession, shadow IT, and cybersecurity risks. Not to mention the need to support your colleagues in finding and implementing tech solutions on their own, which might often get in the way of your day-to-day responsibilities.
Your work has become frustrating, tedious, even mundane. It’s time to take back control and win hours back to dive into the work you truly love. How? IT Automation.
Propeller Research surveyed 522 IT and Operations professionals on behalf of airSlate. The data indicates that 92% of respondents view the risk of getting pulled into problem-solving and fixing poorly implemented solutions as their number-one concern. At the same time, 85% are very concerned about shadow IT projects emerging in their organizations.
On the bright side, the majority of IT and Ops pros believe that they need more automated solutions to improve workplace productivity and regain control of their job.
In this blog, we’ve gathered valuable insights and statistics, and distilled them into the key takeaways that you won’t want to miss. Check out the full report for details.
IT and Ops teams are concerned with increased workloads and organizational inertia when it comes to implementing new technology
According to data surveyed, IT and Ops teams are challenged with supporting distributed workspaces and spending too much time on manual administrative tasks. At the same time, tech gurus are feeling frustrated because investments in new technology are not happening fast enough, and they don’t have the autonomy to implement the technology they want and need. Over half of those surveyed say that in order to embrace technology, they need support from company leadership.
As an IT professional, investing in your career development is a key factor for success in today’s ever-evolving tech industry. By enrolling in the airSlate Academy‘s certification programs covering Document Workflow Automation for IT Professionals and IT Directors, you can acquire essential automation skills that will make you an invaluable asset to your company and propel your career forward.
The vast majority of IT and Ops professionals encourage citizen development efforts
Allowing business users, also known as citizen developers, to leverage low code/no code tools to automate business processes is a common practice – almost 69% of organizations surveyed encourage citizen development. In fact, the success of the citizen development efforts largely depends on setting proper guardrails and ensuring oversight by the IT and Ops teams. And rightly so, 92% of IT and Ops professionals believe their teams have the skills needed to successfully implement and leverage workflow automation solutions.
Finance, Sales, and Marketing teams are the first priority when it comes to introducing and deploying automation
Our recent HR report suggests that Human Resources are the most frequent requesters and the most self-sufficient deployers of document automation solutions. And yet, in the next 12-18 months, IT and Ops teams will prioritize automation for document workflows relating to Finance, Sales, and Marketing. This may reflect a shift in priorities from talent-related initiatives towards profitability for organizations in the face of a potential recession.
Shadow IT will remain an issue as long as remote/hybrid workforces exist
According to the surveyed data, 85% of IT and Ops teams are concerned about landing in one or all of these scenarios:
- Being pulled into problem-solving and having to fix poorly implemented solutions
- Compromised security because of shadow IT projects
- Incorrect implementation of the projects
It’s not uncommon for employees in distributed workplaces to use personal devices and preferred software instead of IT-sanctioned tools purely out of convenience. A shadow app can operate under the radar for months until the person who introduced it leaves the company. Once something goes wrong, the IT experts have to fix the app they never even knew existed.
Investing in a Saas management platform is one of the most effective ways of avoiding these problems. For example, you can go for a platform such as Zluri, among the most reliable cost-saving solutions for Saas expenses. With a reliable Saas management platform, you can discover unapproved apps, eliminate compliance risk, and secure unused apps, among others, to help minimize risks and losses.
IT and Ops strive for more autonomy and automation can help them get back in the driver’s seat
Doing more with less is a reality for many IT professionals, who are dealing with increased workloads beyond their original roles and responsibilities. Almost 41% of IT and Ops professionals are still spending too much time on manual administrative tasks, which hampers their overall productivity.
Leveraging document workflow automation allows operations managers to focus on strategic decision-making, optimize resource allocation, and achieve cost savings. Automation skills help Ops Managers and their teams ensure compliance, boost collaboration, and enable seamless integration with existing systems, thus empowering operations managers to drive organizational success and stay ahead in a competitive business landscape.
airSlate is a comprehensive document workflow automation platform that revolutionizes businesses by enabling anyone to create stunning documents and automate document workflows in a single platform. It scales to fit anyone’s needs, from simple tasks like editing PDFs and creating forms to the more complex ones like eSigning documents and automating workflows. airSlate is everything you need to get your documents done.
- IT and Ops teams are concerned with increased workloads and organizational inertia when it comes to implementing new technology
- The vast majority of IT and Ops professionals encourage citizen development efforts
- Finance, Sales, and Marketing teams are the first priority when it comes to introducing and deploying automation
- Shadow IT will remain an issue as long as remote/hybrid workforces exist
- IT and Ops strive for more autonomy and automation can help them get back in the driver’s seat
