Future Council Discussion: Leading Five Automation and Tech Predictions for 2025
Future Council Discussion: Leading Five Automation and Tech Predictions for 2025
As we approach the new year, enterprise IT encounters an intriguing predicament: One of the least automated sections within any company is IT itself. It's likely that this trend will shift, although the outcome might not be entirely clear. While experts will continue to hype advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), they might not delve into the specifics.
People involved in technology must step up their game in 2025 by focusing on the five enterprise automation and technology trends outlined below.
1. In Enterprise IT, AI Will Collaborate with Humans—Not Eliminate Them
There's been a lot of chatter about AI replacing human workers. This is undeniably happening in various sectors, such as writing, administration, and clerical roles. However, in the enterprise context, things are evolving differently.
AI in business operations signifies enhancing top-notch IT systems and system management. As fast as things progress currently, this progression will continue to be gradual. Expect to see AI expanding in tandem with "rapid gains" in already automated areas.
Enterprises will enter 2025 with caution towards AI startups that overpromise and underdeliver. Instead, they'll focus on mission-critical business objectives and outcomes. The primary question won't be about applying AI to the enterprise as a whole, but about applying it to specific enterprise challenges. Interinterestingly, many of these challenges revolve around optimizing existing technology: AI assisting or combining systems and stacks.
2. AI's Setup and Monitoring Stages Will Be Fashioned for (and by) Non-Specialists
According to six out of ten business owners, AI will boost productivity.
To prepare enterprise AI for prime time, we'll need to approach two crucial stages differently: setup (how the technology's functions are configured for daily use) and monitoring (how it is monitored and adjusted).
In the setup stage, we allow non-IT experts to take the wheel. That is, business users, not just technologists, will automate business processes. "Citizen developers" adopt a practical strategy when it comes to end users: They prioritize functions like order to cash, record to report, supply chain, and warehouse management, as these directly impact their work and business outcomes. This allows them to create more automation with increased utility.
In the monitoring stage, citizen developers should also be able to monitor and issue directives to the technology, posing questions in plain English as if it were a co-pilot. These might include: "Did my automation run successfully? If there were errors, what were they?"
3. Agentic AI Will Gain Momentum
Agentic AI refers to intelligent entities that operate autonomously in any environment without human intervention. Think of it as AI's evolution from processing language, videos, images, and sound to executing tasks on the user's behalf. Enterprises will increasingly make use of it to monitor customer data and detect fraud. If fraud is discovered, Agentic AI will begin investigating the issue, alerting relevant teams, or even taking corrective action—all without further direction.
To leverage Agentic AI, you require two things: a workflow engine—since you're automating processes, not individual tasks—and connections to your corporate systems. This is where automation comes into play. Automation connects to IT infrastructure and business applications in a way that allows Agentic AI to act efficiently to resolve issues or address service requests.
4. Disconnected Automation Will Shrink
In the automation realm, many SaaS platforms and cloud-native applications are not appropriately designed for enterprise usage. Therefore, how do businesses advance their modernization journey?
Before you add another automation platform on top of your existing platforms, think twice. This can only lead to a proliferation of disconnected islands. Smart enterprises, instead, will evaluate their present platforms and review their technology adoption strategies to see if there's a match.
Anticipate a shift towards single-platform models in 2025. Enterprises will wager on platforms that can handle both legacy applications—meaning work with what they already have—and consolidate into a unified future that links all applications: legacy, current, and emergent.
5. Automation Fabrics Will Gain Traction
The era of disconnection is characterized by fragmented data and process components. Blame this on the explosion of best-of-breed applications that although exceptional for a specific purpose, struggle to work well with others. But by 2025, businesses intent on outperforming can no longer follow the "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" model.
An automation fabric integrates the disparate elements into a unified whole, creating a cohesive alignment between established applications, processes, and data. Imagine it as a "central nervous system" that enables seamless communication and operation across a technology stack.
Automation fabrics also save on labor costs (especially training), decrease system fragmentation, lower error rates, and prevent major interruptions. Think of it as one platform, requiring one skillset, offering one location to identify and address potential issues.
Preparing for the Future of Automation
How should you prepare for the future of automation?
Evaluate Your Automation. Obsessing over a single solution to address a granular problem overlooks the larger issue of how your IT components function as a whole. IT success begins by addressing the flow and unity of the overall system.
Embrace a "Users First" Philosophy. We must enlist those who will use the technology in the construction process. Set aside the notion that only the IT team can manage the task. Adopt tools that enable this collaboration.
Bring in Specialists to Assist You. Managing an IT system, particularly one that's segmented and filled with misalignment, can be a round-the-clock task on its own. Instead of struggling with limited resources, hire seasoned experts who are well-acquainted with the latest innovations.
I eagerly anticipate the advancements the new year will bring, always aware that technology performs optimally when in the hands of dedicated, forward-thinking professionals who welcome progress. If you prefer, consider it a sort of intelligence that outlasts every fad and that no device can mimic.
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Charles Crouchman, a renowned technology expert and a key member of The Council for Our Website's Tech Leaders, emphasizes the importance of non-specialists becoming involved in the setup and monitoring stages of AI implementation in enterprises. This practice would allow business users to automate their processes more effectively, leading to increased productivity and utility.
In addition, Charles Crouchman suggests that enterprises should focus on finding platforms that can handle both legacy applications and new ones, preventing the proliferation of disconnected automation islands. By adopting this practice, businesses can establish a unified and cohesive technology stack, leading to improved efficiency and cost savings.