Dive Brief:
- Automation software maker UiPath assembled a CIO automation council, which will gather more than a dozen executives to share best practices on automation, the company said Monday.
- The newly formed group will meet quarterly and includes Scott Kessler, EVP and CIO at BJ's Wholesale Club; Fumbi Chima, EVP and CIO at BECU; William Kehoe, CIO for the State of Washington; and Rajan Kumar, CIO at Intuit.
- The group will work on ways to boost the maturity of automation use cases, UiPath said. It plans to focus on citizen development, using automation to boost talent retention, and exploring more advanced use cases of low code and AI.
Dive Insight:
Executives see automation as a lever to accelerate business growth. But many companies fail to see results despite efforts — and resources — directed at automation adoption. The goal of UiPath's group is to help chip away at the problem.
Gartner research has identified a skills shortage as a top obstacle toward emerging technology adoption, but other surveys find internal adoption of automation is another key barrier.
Automation is also a way for businesses to overcome talent shortages, as business leaders aim to take redundant or repetitive tasks off human workers' desks. This strategy becomes especially relevant given the unrelenting demand for talent, as recent employment numbers show.