A Message From the CIO: The Real Reasons Why We Haven't Embraced Intelligent Automation

Dear Executive Team,

Today, I write to address the elephant in the room — the persistent question of why our organization hasn’t embraced intelligent automation yet, despite the clear business need for it. As your CIO, it’s time for me to share the reasons we have not moved forward, and the reality behind why we’ve been dragging our feet.

1. No Money – “We can’t afford intelligent automation right now.”

Reality: We blew our budget on sending the team to a big tech conference in Las Vegas. Who needs efficiency when the slot machines are calling and the buffet is endless?

2. No Resources – “We don’t have the resources to implement intelligent automation.”

Reality: Our team is simply too busy keeping our old legacy systems on life support and there has only been a few hundred complaints from our end users about all of that manual data entry required on those legacy systems.

3. No Time – “We’re too busy to implement any new technologies.”

Reality: We’re too busy running in circles to stop and consider running in a straight line. Why solve problems today when you can delay and pray they will go away tomorrow?

4. Saying No to No Code – “Our team actually loves coding the old-fashioned way.”

Reality: They especially enjoy debugging their software at 2 AM more than sleeping.

5. All Hype – “Intelligent automation is just a buzzword; it’s all hype.”

Reality: We feared embracing new technology might make us look too… “progressive.” Better to stick with our trusty old approaches. Even if it’s broke, don’t fix it.

6. We Love Our Manual Processes – “We’ve always done it this way.”

Reality: Our manual processes have worked just fine for at least two decades, maybe we can get another decade out of them? Tradition is our middle name!

7. Robot Anxiety – “Integrating robotic process automation is too risky.”

Reality:?We’ve watched too many sci-fi movies where robots take over. Better to stick with the chaos we know than risk a robot uprising. Plus, Skynet isn’t in the budget this year.

8. Why Mimic Our Competitors? – “Just because they use it, doesn’t mean we should.”

Reality: We’re followers, not leaders. Leading the charge is too much pressure. Better to wait until everyone else has done it first. Sign us up to go last!

9. Fear of the Unknown – “Ignorance is Bliss”

Reality: Why bother learning about new intelligent automation tools when we can stick with what we know? It’s much safer in our comfort zone.

10. Job Security Concerns – “Our employees fear automation will take their jobs.”

Reality: Our people have always been content with manual paper shuffling and Excel spreadsheets. They would rather do mundane repetitive work, than risk having their jobs changed with intelligent automation.

11. Low ROI – “Intelligent Automation only provides a 20X Return on Investment.”

Reality: If we wait long enough, maybe the return on investment will go even higher?

12. “Too Much Change” – “We all hate change, right?”

Reality:?Let’s maintain the status quo in aeternum.

Conclusion In all seriousness, the landscape of business is evolving, and so must we. As your CIO, I acknowledge that it’s time to embrace intelligent automation — not just to keep up with the times, but to lead the charge in efficiency, innovation, and competitive differentiation.

Intelligent automation is not just a tool — it’s a way to streamline operations, reduce costs, and focus on what truly matters: driving growth and delivering value to our customers.

It’s time to move forward, embrace intelligent automation, and transform our organization for the better. Let’s lead our business into a more efficient, innovative, and successful future. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Sincerely,

Your CIO