As experts continue to debate whether a true recession is on its way, two things are certain: The economy is contracting, and borrowing is more expensive than it has been in over a decade. As a result, many businesses are becoming more cash-conservative, slowing their growth plans and battening down the hatches for what might be a challenging handful of years.
But as belts are tightening, business leaders still need to consider continued investment in areas that can improve business operations. As they evaluate how to optimize under financial pressure, businesses must weigh where their investment dollars will give them the best and quickest ROI.
And when it comes to bang for their buck, leaders are coming back time and time again to investments in technology. Tech leaders aren’t pulling back from technological investments at all, even in the face of a possible recession. Wisely, these leaders understand more than ever before that technology isn’t a cost center—it’s a business driver.
But not all technological investments are created equal, even when it comes to automation. Here are some factors finance leaders should consider when weighing where to allocate their increasingly-precious investment dollars.
Approach RPA With Caution
Automation is near the top of business leaders’ list, beaten out only by cybersecurity and analytics, according to a Bain & Company survey of 180 IT decision makers across North America and Europe. Forty-one percent of these respondents cited “building automation capabilities within business lines” as one of their most critical IT priorities.
Indeed, on its face, automation poses several cost-saving benefits, from reducing overhead to minimizing costly and time-consuming human error. But these solutions don’t always accomplish what they promise, especially when they involve robotic process automation or RPA.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/09/01/in-the-face-of-recession-investing-in-ai-is-a-smarter-strategy-than-ever/?sh=2f9bf4733e53
But as belts are tightening, business leaders still need to consider continued investment in areas that can improve business operations. As they evaluate how to optimize under financial pressure, businesses must weigh where their investment dollars will give them the best and quickest ROI.
And when it comes to bang for their buck, leaders are coming back time and time again to investments in technology. Tech leaders aren’t pulling back from technological investments at all, even in the face of a possible recession. Wisely, these leaders understand more than ever before that technology isn’t a cost center—it’s a business driver.
But not all technological investments are created equal, even when it comes to automation. Here are some factors finance leaders should consider when weighing where to allocate their increasingly-precious investment dollars.
Approach RPA With Caution
Automation is near the top of business leaders’ list, beaten out only by cybersecurity and analytics, according to a Bain & Company survey of 180 IT decision makers across North America and Europe. Forty-one percent of these respondents cited “building automation capabilities within business lines” as one of their most critical IT priorities.
Indeed, on its face, automation poses several cost-saving benefits, from reducing overhead to minimizing costly and time-consuming human error. But these solutions don’t always accomplish what they promise, especially when they involve robotic process automation or RPA.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/09/01/in-the-face-of-recession-investing-in-ai-is-a-smarter-strategy-than-ever/?sh=2f9bf4733e53
