New research conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Emergence Partners has found that 46% of UK businesses have been driven to increase their investment in automation as a result of the recent lockdown.

Our survey of 500 IT decision makers across the U.S., U.K., France and Germany, represents a clear signal from businesses globally that investment in automation is a huge priority, with two thirds (66%) of respondents increasing investment in the technology either significantly or slightly. Technology adoption is truly a non-negotiable feature of the modern workplace, and as these results demonstrate it’s also a top priority for business.

Top barriers for successfully automating processes across the business

• Nearly 40% of respondents indicated that a lack of tech knowledge/skills has been a barrier to automation investment  
• 30% of businesses highlighted a lack of strategic thinking as a barrier 

• Nearly 30% of respondents indicated that a complex and commoditised automation ecosystem is standing in the way of investment 
• 21% of businesses reported the largest number of instances where outdated vendor licensing models were acting as barriers to investing in automation  
• Nearly a quarter of respondents across the board (24%) claimed that a lack of senior-level buy-in was directly standing in the way of investment in automation 
• 20% of respondents mentioned lack of consultancy/service support from vendors as a barrier to automation processes 

 Read the full feature in BusinessCloud.