Bain in the News & Press Releases

HFS Research noted the firm’s ability to ‘to take a digital-first approach to every client engagement’

The value of Global Business Services (GBS) centers extends well beyond cost savings. “What used to be and remains an efficient process of services has evolved into an engine of transformation and a source of competitive advantage,” said Michael Heric, a partner and global leader for Global Business Services and Shared Services.

The imperative to sharply improve business processes, and even reinvent the business, using automation technologies is gaining steam. One way to automate is through teams: Set up a project team, or an automation center of excellence (CoE), identify the right activities or tasks, reimagine a business process, and then automate the activities. Another way is to get automation technologies into the hands of a broad swath of employees who can, in turn, automate work on their own.

Bain & Company’s joint report with UiPath uncovers the truth of automation adoption—employees are ready to embrace it, but many do not have the opportunity to do so

IDC MarketScape recommends Bain & Company for digital transformation engagements for its ability to “combine deep industry and client knowledge with a strong pragmatic focus”

Narrowly defined, the RPA market is small, with sales of no more than $3bn last year, estimates Saikat Ray of Gartner, a research firm. So UiPath and its rivals have built "automation platforms", which include programs to identify tasks and others to perform them. By automating ever more processes, such tools create their own demand. In this broader view, sometimes called "hyperautomation", RPA could generate $30bn a year in the next three to five years, says Mr Ray. Bain, a consultancy, puts the figure at $65bn.

Bosses have boasted of automating their operations for years without an awful lot to show for it. Covid-19 has spurred them to put their money where their mouths are. Hernan Saenz of Bain, a consultancy, reckons that between now and 2030 American firms will invest $10trn in automation.

A recent survey from Bain & Company of nearly 800 executives worldwide estimated that the number of companies scaling up such automation technologies is set to double over the next two years — and that coronavirus will almost certainly accelerate that timeline.

A new report from Bain & Company estimates the number of companies scaling up automation technologies will double in the next two years

While many finance executives are slashing costs to weather the downturn, some view investments in technology as essential to better equip newly remote finance teams or strengthen other parts of the business.

CFOs can use the current crisis to identify and mend weak or ineffective processes in the finance division, Bain & Co advised in a recent publication.