Leaping 4ward in 2024
2024 is already shaping up to be a significant year for many reasons. It’s a leap year – which of course happens every 4 years – and an Olympic year. Not only that, most crucially, over 40 national elections will be taking place in 2024, including in some of the world’s major economies. It’s going to be a year like no other politically and for business. This, naturally, means change but what, might you ask, has that got to do with technology?
In a world with greater fiscal pressures and the need to do more with less, organizations are constantly looking at how to adapt, how to become more efficient and how to use the right technology to help them do so. It’s all about how to make that ‘leap’ towards the latest solutions this year.
Automation is key
Most organizations - no matter their size or sophistication - are exploring how automation might help to boost productivity – of both operations and people - and also how to evolve business processes to become more effective.
2024 is an important year for acknowledging the critical role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing. It’s not the future, it’s now, with both Applied AI and Generative AI continuing to create a huge buzz. Advancements are accelerating as we see more prolific use of AI which, in turn, drives additional applications. Businesses are prioritizing which use cases deliver the fastest or most significant impact on their business performance, examining which applications drive growth and which help to reduce costs – as well as finding a balance between the two.
AI and automation are often blamed for removing the work of people and being designed purely to reduce costs, but what if automation can actually change work, improve how we do things and help to boost strategy and growth?
Different work
Using AI-enabled technology and tools which automate and reduce complexity results in those who use them having additional capacity for more strategic and rewarding work. This leads to happier colleagues who, in turn, will deliver a superior customer experience, giving better results at every level and in every part of the organization. Silos are reduced and opportunities to collaborate are increased, leading to greater people satisfaction. This can transform work and how people feel about it and, enabled by technology, means that both organizations and people can grow and thrive. This is something that we at Unit4 have always focused on - for almost 44 years – and our ERP technology was always designed with people in mind.
We are now merging the power of AI with human-centered design for enhanced efficiency and personalization. We are also leveraging AI-enabled automation to streamline user interactions - reducing errors, and manual and repetitive tasks. And, by harnessing AI to ensure our system adapts and responds effectively to users’ behaviours, tasks and location, among other elements, we aim to deliver a user experience that's not just intuitive and engaging, but also context-aware, smart and forward-thinking.
Tech the enabler
Whatever the opinion about automation, one thing is certain – technology in all its many guises will act as one of the key enablers and differentiators for all organizations. If I consider Unit4’s global customers, regardless of their size (albeit predominantly mid-market enterprises), or their industry - primarily across PSO, nonprofit and public sector – the common requirement is the need for automated, intelligent, integrated, intuitive, cloud-based ERP solutions.
Whilst these have been around for almost 20 years, the difference now is that software as a service and cloud technologies – and AI - offer the best solutions for digital business, the opportunity to automate and get ahead.
Applying the correct tech in the right way is really the crux for any business. With increased pressure on budgets, the investments that leaders and their boards are making have to deliver clear outcomes and value in a world of change. And, whatever types of technology that companies choose to employ in this most different of years, they will do so knowing that it’s a fundamental way to help navigate change and drive success – so, in 2024, are you ready to make the leap?
