A recent study analysed the profitability of 2020 Fortune 500 companies with more than 25,000 employees, and ranked them by the profit generated per employee1. The study made a powerful observation – the older the company, the less profit it generates per employee.

Digital transformation has unleashed profound change on the world of business. We’re seeing a new generation of companies emerge, and they look vastly different to its predecessors. As companies embrace digital transformation, their success and growth become far less dependent on their headcount. Their operations become more automated, and less labour-intensive. This shift enables them to serve a far greater number of customers at lower cost. Many organisations underestimate the increasing momentum of digital transformation, the behavioural changes driving it, and the scale of disruption bearing down on them. Digital has become a disruptive economic force, challenging traditional operating models at a pace not seen before. Legacy systems can create inertia making IT a potential blocker for older and established enterprises to deliver the transformation they need. For many making this transition, deploying new automation technologies can be an effective means to make an impact on business processes and improving their profit per employee.


1 P. Bornet, Intelligent Automation, 2020, p. 56.