Automation: Benefits and Drawbacks
Eliminating unnecessary costs is a natural part of doing business. By “trimming the fat,” so to speak, organizations can optimize operations and profits. Automation technology is instrumental to this plight, but as these systems grow more advanced and capable, even professional employees are finding themselves at risk of losing their jobs to cheaper, more efficient automated systems.
You can see this in many forms throughout the manufacturing and retail industries. For example, the self-checkout systems at major retail stores allow for shoppers to get their wares and get out. Manufacturing plants use automated assembly machines to aid in some mundane tasks. The goal is to eliminate payroll and optimize operations, but let’s face it: these trends put people out of work. Yet, despite the various advantages of automation, their performance is often variable, and they require a certain amount of oversight in order to be effective. Shopping centers will often have a staff member on-hand for times when the self-checkout machines don’t work, and someone has to fix malfunctioning technology when it’s not assembling parts correctly. Thus, humans still have a vital role in ensuring the success of automated systems.
In light of this fact, rather than replacing workers, a solution could be to use automated technology to augment the capabilities of human workers. For example, there are programs that write articles for news aggregates. These systems are capable of writing much faster than a human ever could, but they also lack the emotion required to appeal to readers in a way a human author can. There are still plenty of jobs that automation systems can’t touch, but how long will this remain the case?
While we’re not necessarily declaring that technological advancement is bad, we want to raise awareness of how technology advancement affects the economy and job market. If a technology is putting skilled people out of work, can it really be called “advancement?” This is a question that you have to answer for yourself.
Even if automated solutions are taking jobs, they can still be somewhat useful. Take, for example, your business’s IT infrastructure. You can now outsource your business’s IT needs to a managed service provider, allowing for an “automated” process of managing and maintaining your business’s technology solutions. In a way, you would be augmenting your business by bringing valuable technical expertise into the fold, allowing for more efficient management and maintenance of your systems.
The beauty of working with Tech Experts is that we aren’t like other automated solutions, like those that want to replace your workers. Instead, we want to work with your internal IT department (if you have one) to help your business reach its greatest potential. If your team is having trouble keeping up with critical updates, we can handle this responsibility for them. Or, if you want to implement new solutions and innovate for a better future, we can recommend and implement solutions based on your team’s unique needs. Regardless of whether your team has the training and expertise to handle your IT solutions, our team can offer a way to improve your business’ operations.
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