The word automation was first coined in the 1940s to describe the increased reliance on automatic processes in the automobile and manufacturing sectors. Since then, our understanding of machines has evolved by leaps and bounds, and today, these self-governing systems work alongside us to augment human capabilities and creativity.
Over the last century, we have witnessed an abundance of category-breaking automation, driven by technological advances that optimize processes, personalize experiences and enhance decision making. According to IDC’s Future of Intelligence Survey, more than one-third of respondents rated automation as critical to increasing enterprise intelligence. Undoubtedly, today’s IT leaders need to juggle the human-machine divide and invite fresh thinking to leverage automation as a tool for greater efficiency.
That is why we cannot talk about a modern storage experience without discussing automation. At its core, automation is technology that frees humans from laborious and mundane tasks, allowing us to focus on higher-value challenges. But in today’s hyper-connected environment and changes like remote working, higher volume of data transactions and increased IT workloads, automation can improve an organization’s overall agility and ability to respond to customer demands.
Here are three broad benefits of data storage automation.
Improved Productivity
Employee productivity is perhaps the most evident of all the benefits of automation. IT teams work round the clock to maintain their organization’s data storage ecosystem and secure mission-critical data. However, this process involves repetitive and time-consuming tasks. In specific sectors such as healthcare services, time is of the essence, and anything less than optimal could have unintended consequences impacting patient experience.
To stay ahead of the curve, 2M-IT, one of the largest providers of healthcare data analytics in Finland, has chosen to rely on Dell’s PowerScale to relieve the workload of its overburdened workforce while navigating the changes in healthcare. Automated workflows free medical staff from labor-intensive tasks and enable workers to focus on more valuable work, such as patient care.
Accelerate Outcomes by Enabling Advanced Analytics
Data and analytics are touted as a strategy and priority for many IT leaders; yet, 68% of data available to businesses goes under-leveraged. That is because preparing data for analysis is a laborious undertaking that costs organizations a lot of time and money. Therefore, it would make business sense for leaders to leverage machines to harness the actual value of data. Gartner estimates that by 2025, the 10% of enterprises that establish AI best practices will generate at least three times more value from their effort than the 90% of enterprises that do not.
Duos Technologies Group is an intelligent technology solutions company that relies on Dell’s PowerEdge Servers. It provides leading freight railroads, such as CSX, with automated inspections of rail cars to capture data and handle analytics in real-time. With an estimated 1.3 TB of data generated per inspection portal daily, it is crucial that information is processed and analyzed rapidly to provide customers with actionable intelligence.
Robots Will Complement Humans, Not Replace Them
Undeniably, the advent of automation, as with any new technology, has brought a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Contrary to fears over losing jobs to robots, the World Economic Forum predicts that 97 million new roles will emerge by 2025 as a result of automation. Entry-level positions will disappear, replaced by ‘jobs of the future’ with better opportunities that no one has ever done before.
As automation continues to make unprecedented strides for efficiency, those in these positions must be equipped with the right skills to bring out their full potential. To ensure that the workforce is a future fit for emerging IT roles, leaders must invest in the future and make efforts to plug the digital skills gap.
At Dell, we recognize the importance of upskilling and nurturing talents who can become future innovators. For example, in a partnership with University Sains Malaysia (USM), we are working on grooming industry-ready graduates through the USM LIFE program that advocates creative and experiential learning. By exposing students to the necessary skills and knowledge, it will prepare them to be agile, resilient, adaptable and innovative in these challenging times.
In closing, the robots are not winning; humans are. As humans, we are limited in our capacity, but we can rely on technology and automation to reach levels of efficiency and gain opportunities once unimaginable. The world will only continue to change progressively faster, and those who do not automate will be left behind. Those who do, however, will see a new world of opportunities and elevated productivity.
