Charles Crouchman is Chief Product Officer at Redwood Software, a leader in automation fabric solutions.
As we enter the new year, enterprise IT faces an interesting challenge. One of the least automated functions in any company is IT itself. I hope that changes, but I don’t necessarily get a clear picture. Experts and the media will continue to tout the revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), but many will not delve into the details.
Technology people need to do better in 2025 by working toward these five enterprise automation and technology trends.
1. In enterprise IT, AI is meant to assist humans, not replace them.
There’s a lot of talk about AI replacing human workers, and we’re certainly seeing seismic shifts in writing, administrative, and administrative roles. However, things play out differently in the corporate world.
AI in business operations will power best-in-class IT systems and systems management. As fast as things are moving today, it is an evolutionary phenomenon and will continue to be so. AI is expected to expand in conjunction with “rapid advances” in areas that are already automated.
Looking ahead to 2025, companies will be wary of AI startups that overpromise and underdeliver. Instead, you start with mission-critical business goals and outcomes. Key questions center on how to apply AI to specific enterprise challenges, rather than how to apply AI across the enterprise. Interestingly, many of them rely on existing technologies: AI optimizations that enhance or integrate systems and stacks.
2. AI configuration and control stages are built for (and by) non-experts.
Six in 10 business leaders believe that AI will improve productivity.
Preparing enterprise AI for prime time requires configuration (how the technology’s capabilities are configured and expanded for daily use) and control (how it is monitored and course-corrected). We need to think differently about two important steps: ).
During the configuration phase, have someone other than the IT expert drive the bus. This means not only technicians but also business users will be automating business processes. ‘Citizen developers’ take a hands-on approach to end use. They are concerned with supply chain and warehouse management, from order to cash, and from recording to reporting. That’s because it is directly related to work and business results. Therefore, it helps further automation with a higher level of utility.
In the control phase, citizen developers should similarly be able to monitor the technology and request it directly, asking questions in plain English as if they were co-pilot. This may include: “Did the automation run successfully? If there were any errors, what were they?”
3. Agentic AI gains momentum
Agentic AI refers to intelligence-based entities that operate autonomously in any environment without human intervention. Think of this as a leap forward in AI from processing language, video, images, and audio to performing actions on your behalf. Businesses are increasingly adopting it to monitor customer data and detect fraud. And if that fraud is detected, Agentic AI begins investigating the issue, alerting relevant teams, and even taking corrective action without waiting for further instructions.
To take advantage of Agentic AI, you need two things: a workflow engine (to automate processes rather than individual tasks) and connectivity to enterprise systems. This is where automation comes into play. Automation connects to your IT infrastructure and business applications so that Agentic AI can operate at maximum efficiency to fix problems or respond to service requests.
4. Disconnected automation shrinks
When it comes to automation, many SaaS platforms and cloud-native applications are not properly designed for enterprise use. So how can companies take the next step in modernization?
Stop before you add yet another automation platform on top of another. This will only lead to the proliferation of isolated islands. Instead, smart companies will evaluate their current platforms and review their technology adoption roadmap to see if there is a match.
A shift to a single platform model is expected in 2025. Businesses will bet on platforms that can service legacy applications (that is, take advantage of existing applications) while also allowing them to move toward a unified future that links all legacy, current, and emerging applications.
5. Automation fabric is here to stay
The era of disconnection is characterized by siled data and process components. This is due to the explosion of best-of-breed applications that are great for a single purpose but perform poorly for others. But in 2025, companies that want to be great will no longer be able to follow the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” model.
Automation fabrics knit disparate parts into a seamless whole, creating tight connections between established applications, processes, and data. Think of it as a “central nervous system” that enables smooth communication and operation across the technology stack.
Automation fabrics also save on labor costs (especially training), reduce system fragmentation, reduce error rates, and prevent large-scale interruptions. Think of it as one platform, requiring one skill set, and creating one place to find and address potential problems.
Prepare for the next wave
How should you prepare for the future of automation?
Evaluate automation. When you fixate on one solution to solve a granular problem, you miss the larger problem of how IT components work together. Success in IT starts with addressing flow and uniformity throughout the system.
Take a “user first” approach. We need the people who use the technology to participate in building it. Take advantage of the tools that make this possible and set aside the idea that only your IT team can handle this task.
Get help from a professional. Maintaining IT systems, especially those that are often siled and misaligned, can be a full-time job in itself. Instead of struggling with limited bandwidth, bring in experienced professionals who are familiar with the latest solutions.
I look forward to seeing the breakthroughs the new year brings, always remembering that technology performs best for focused, forward-thinking professionals who embrace positive change. I’m looking forward to that. Call it, if you like, a form of intelligence that outlives all trends and that no machine can replicate.
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