Businesses increase automation spend but many tools go underutilized

Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of businesses have increased their automation spend in the last year, with 30 percent planning to invest more in the next 12 months.

However, despite the significant rise in automation investment, the majority of organizations (61 percent) admit their automation tools are underutilized due to fragmented strategies, siloed implementation and the need for a trusted orchestration partner.

That’s according to a new report from Redwood Software based on a survey of 285 automation practitioners across industries including manufacturing, retail and finance.

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Automation is key to business success

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of those polled said that automation is either mission-critical or very important to business success. The overall top priority for businesses in 2025 is to reduce costs. Nearly 40 percent of respondents reported that automation has cut cost by at least 25 percent, with 12 percent stating it has cut costs by more than 50 percent.

Meanwhile, almost half (43 percent) said automation has decreased manual workloads by at least 25 percent, with 48 percent noting an efficiency increase of at least 25 percent, according to Redwood Software’s Enterprise Automation Index 2025.

The top four areas of automation investment are IT operations, customer support, workload automation and HR, the research found.

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Adoption stalls automation progress

Despite the clear business value and potential ROI of automation, its full potential is still very much untapped, the report indicated. Just 10 percent of surveyed businesses prioritize automation adoption, with most admitting their current automation tools are somewhat or greatly underutilized.

What’s more, only 27 percent of respondents believe their organization uses automation tools fully, with less than 6 percent having achieved end-to-end autonomous automation in any core process.

AI will enhance automation, but are businesses ready?

Most businesses (65 percent) believe artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly enhance or revolutionize automation, but nearly 40 percent do not feel ready to adopt it, according to the report.

“This research confirms what we see across industries: automation is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s mission-critical,” said Kevin Greene, CEO of Redwood Software. “There’s a growing opportunity. Investment is up, results are proven, yet adoption is stalling. Organizations that overcome these barriers – through the right tools, education and strategic support – are the ones that will unlock the full value of automation and be ready for what’s next with AI.”

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