Is the Cloud the Next Robot Automation Scare?

Posted by Jim Flack on July 5, 2011

In a previous life 20 years ago, I watched the evolution of digital audio automation replace full time air talent,

broadcast board operator and producer positions until it was possible to manage a major market radio station with as

little as three FTEs with the residual programming completely automated. I refer to this situation as “robot radio.” The

(tower) lights may be on, but there’s no one home.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the fear of robots taking away jobs from human beings was a very real concern.

Obviously it made sense in some industries where repetitive actions and procedures could be automated with

increased efficiency and accuracy. In a perfect world, often portrayed in science-fiction films, we could be free from

dangerous work and rely on our computer friends to entertain us and maintain operations on a grand scale. However,

the danger lies in being TOO reliant or these computers could turn on us or develop some bug that would be

frustrating.

Fast forward to today with the “cloud” being the automation scenario driving fear and loathing. CIOs are under

constant pressure to increase revenue and decrease IT budgets and costs associated with legacy systems. But

when a company decides to implement a cloud-based solution, IT personnel often become concerned with their long-

term future as employees.

The cloud should not be viewed as replacement for FTEs but more of an advanced tool to increase efficiency and on-

demand IT capability. Hubspan discovered in real-life cases that IT personnel were not eliminated from their

positions. They were often moved to different areas of the company because of their valuable skill sets and insight

into their legacy systems which integrate with cloud-based solutions. Consistently, when our customers deploy a

cloud-based B2B integration solution, the IT team previously managing EDI or other integration connections or

mapping, is actually moved to strategic projects or areas of the business.

By extending your business processes across the cloud, companies increase their productivity drastically. What took

minutes or even hours is completed in a matter of seconds. Legacy systems can now communicate with a multitude

of different protocols and formats, streamlining business processes with partners and suppliers and offering

transparency into the system. This allows such companies to not cut the bottom line but to increase revenues and

profit, which allow for more growth and market share.