Research from analytics firm SAS has found that Finland appears to be leading in hyperautomation awareness while a number of large countries are falling behind.
Hyperautomation brings together AI, robotic process automation, and multiple business processes on a cloud platform to help organisations make better decisions more quickly.
“Organisations will require more IT and business process automation as they are forced to accelerate digital transformation plans in a post-COVID-19, digital-first world,” said Fabrizio Biscotti, Research Vice President at Gartner.
Businesses that adopt hyperautomation as part of their digital transformation journeys will gain a competitive edge over rivals.
“We know from our own research that companies are already using hyperautomation to drive efficiency, customer service and innovation,” commented David Shannon, Head of Hyperautomation at SAS UK & Ireland.
However, it seems organisations in some countries are exploring how it could help their business more than others.
For its research, SAS analysed online search data for 24 countries to determine awareness of hyperautomation and where demand seems to be growing fastest.
Here are the top 10 countries for hyperautomation awareness:
| Country | Annual total searches (2021) | Potential reach | General awareness (% of potential reach)*10,000 |
| Finland | 2,120 | 4,640,000 | 4.57 |
| Sweden | 2,860 | 9,580,000 | 2.98 |
| Switzerland | 2,170 | 7,910,000 | 2.74 |
| Ireland | 1,190 | 4,770,000 | 2.49 |
| Australia | 4,160 | 20,600,000 | 2.01 |
| Singapore | 3,730 | 19,900,000 | 1.87 |
| Austria | 1,710 | 9,140,000 | 1.87 |
| Netherlands | 5,580 | 31,300,000 | 1.78 |
| Belgium | 1,760 | 11,000,000 | 1.6 |
| Germany | 10,930 | 74,500,000 | 1.46 |
The UK is in 12th place with just 1.25 people in every 10,000 searching for hyperautomation. However, that’s still ahead of countries including the US, France, Spain, Italy, and Japan, which were all in the bottom 10 out of the 24 countries analysed by SAS.
Spain and Italy at least make appearances in the list of the 10 countries where search has grown fastest—meaning they’re best placed to push their way into the top 10 for awareness before long.
Here are the 10 countries where search has grown fastest:
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | YoY Growth (%) |
| Turkey | 1,330 | 2,170 | 63.2% |
| Sweden | 1,890 | 2,860 | 51.3% |
| Spain | 1,910 | 2,840 | 48.7% |
| Italy | 2,840 | 4,190 | 47.5% |
| Poland | 1,370 | 2,000 | 45.9% |
| Germany | 7,530 | 10,930 | 45.1% |
| Netherlands | 3,900 | 5,580 | 43.1% |
| South Africa | 1,370 | 1,910 | 39.4% |
| India | 29,730 | 40,570 | 36.5% |
| Austria | 1,270 | 1,710 | 34.6% |
With the UK all the way down in 18th place on the list with an increase of 20.4 percent, it’s clear that far more awareness is required for the country to have much chance of becoming a hyperautomation leader.
“While search data can’t tell us everything, it’s a useful barometer to test the mood of nations. Awareness has grown rapidly in some countries in just three years, indicating where demand could be strongest,” added Shannon.
“Automation has enabled businesses of all sizes to transform their operations, and hyperautomation is the next step in the journey. Now is the time for them to build it, and other advanced technological solutions, into their digital strategies.”
(Photo by Josh Redd on Unsplash)
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