Sixty-six percent of small and mid-sized businesses say automation is critical to their success

Zapier has launched the State of Business Automation Report for 2021.

FREMONT, CA: The 2021 State of Business Automation Report, publication by the pioneer in easy automation for short and mid enterprises, reveals the applications, benefits, and competitive advantages of software automation for SMBs.

According to the study, automation has become necessary for companies, helping them respond to unforeseen crises, compete with larger businesses, and enable employees to spend less time on work pressure and more time on innovative and strategic ventures.

"This past year, many businesses fearful of losing their ability to stay open had to quickly learn how to take their business online in a matter of days, not weeks or months. For many, this meant using a variety of new, digital tools and figuring out how to make them work together — quickly," said Wade Foster, co-founder, and CEO of Zapier. "Many rely on automation to make this technology work together and create scalable processes. As a result, businesses and knowledge workers alike are benefiting from automation."

Major findings from the report include:

Small companies benefit from automation.

According to 88 percent of SMBs, automation helps them compete with larger businesses by allowing them to work quicker, minimize mistakes, and have better customer service. Sixty-six percent claims automation is now essential to run their company. As a result of the pandemic, 63 percent of SMBs claim automation allowed them to pivot quickly.

Intelligent employees are happier because of automation.

The findings of the data report show that automation benefits both workers and companies. Sixty-six percent say automation has increased their productivity at work. Since they automate manual duties, 65 percent of employees are less overwhelmed at work. Workplace automation, according to 63 percent of respondents, has helped them avoid burnout.