Automation secures jobs while trebling output, argues HelpSystems tech director

"You don't need to fear it - it leads to a much more enjoyable life" says MacColl

The IT industry need not "fear automation" as, quite the opposite of costing jobs in the technology sector, it only secures them and leads to greater productivity.

This is the view of IT systems and infrastructure management firm HelpSystems' director of EMEA technical services, Donnie MacColl.

Speaking to Computing ahead of our 24 May 2016 web seminar Automation without alienation - how to create an efficient and happy organisation, MacColl said worries surrounding automation are based more on suspicion and scare stories than reality.

"Most fears come for IT jobs, or IT-based administration jobs," he told Computing.

"But to give an example, one of our customers we're automating at the moment is a parcel delivery and logistics firm. They have parcel delivery people who were manually taking the orders and then when the driver arrives with a delivery, he scans a sheet, which is also then manually updated.

"The team were worried that automating that process would put them out of a job, but it's actually not only secured all those people's jobs, it's also allowed them to treble the amount they can process."

HelpSystems is also applying automation to managed service providers, automating data centres to help reach "four nines" availability.

"You don't need to fear automation," MacColl said. "It can make IT simple and give you a much more enjoyable day-to-day life - it can lead to knowing you can't get blamed for something going wrong.

"It takes away the onus of responsibility for complex processes on underlying technology. You can't be an expert on everything - you may have gained many extra responsibilities from mergers or acquisitions."

MacColl stressed that automation used in this way can "empower employees to be able to do IT themselves".