Automation seen as key to AI success in Australia & New Zealand

New research among finance and IT leaders in Australia and New Zealand indicates that most see automation as an essential precondition for successful artificial intelligence projects, with deficiencies in governance and data quality cited as key barriers when AI is adopted in isolation.

Automation first

A survey of over 700 business leaders, including a significant proportion from Australia and New Zealand, found that 82 per cent of Australian and 78 per cent of New Zealand respondents believe automation must precede AI deployments for maximum impact. Executives pointed to risks around governance, data consistency, and quality when introducing AI without first automating core processes.

The findings reveal that while nearly all organisations in both countries have started integrating AI technologies, the most beneficial results-such as efficiency gains and improvements in quality-were reported only among those pairing AI with process automation and orchestration.

Key outcomes

For Australian respondents, efficiency (54.33 per cent), innovation (51.18 per cent), and quality improvements (48.82 per cent) topped the list of outcomes strengthened by combining automation and AI. In New Zealand, quality improvements (52.05 per cent) and efficiency gains (47.95 per cent) were most often cited, alongside enhanced risk management and governance (46.58 per cent).

Organisations without automation as a foundation cited ongoing challenges. The survey found that lack of automation led to issues such as unreliable data and insufficient oversight, which restricted the scalability and governance of AI initiatives.

Sector example

The University of Sydney is one example of an organisation opting for a methodical approach, investing in automation before scaling up its use of AI.

"We've been using automation to ensure there are clear and consistent process pathways for our people to follow, and to ensure our resulting data is clean," said Deborah Hook, Director Legal Operations, University of Sydney. "Using automation has been a key first step for us. It means we're then implementing AI on quality processes and trusted data foundations - which elevates us from AI as a personal productivity tool, to AI for end-to-end workflow transformation."

Adoption rates

According to the survey, 99 per cent of Australian and 96 per cent of New Zealand organisations have started to use AI in some capacity. Technical skills shortages were the main reason some Australian organisations have hesitated, while in New Zealand, ethical questions, cost, and legacy system integration were cited as significant obstacles.

Automation was identified as a practical tool for addressing several common barriers to AI adoption, including maintaining data integrity, providing clear audit trails, and facilitating human oversight at key decision points.

Barriers and benefits

Governance failures and inconsistent data can undermine AI rollouts, the research found. Executives said that automation can support compliance, enforce data-handling rules, and advance organisations towards broader digital goals.

"AI and automation together are greater than the sum of their parts. AI alone can create individual productivity gains, but it takes automation to make it scalable, governable, and a true value driver," said Keith Payne, Regional Vice President, APAC, Nintex.