Building for Change: How IT Can Lead Through Economic Uncertainty

With global trade shifting fast, large enterprises face mounting pressure to move quicker and operate leaner. Yes, some tariffs have been paused or rolled back this spring—but policies “snap back” overnight, disrupting supply lines and busting budgets with little warning. For manufacturers, retailers, and anyone with complex global sourcing, this volatility is now business as usual: uncertainty is the only constant.

Demands like these expose the limits of rigid IT. Legacy integrations fail, manual updates create cascading errors, and piecemeal bolt-ons become technical debt. The result? Missed SLAs, lost margins, and a business that simply can’t adapt fast enough.

So, how do you not just keep up, but actually gain ground in a world where unpredictability is now the rule? The answer isn’t another spreadsheet or fire drill.

It’s a digital backbone that’s anti-fragile—designed to get stronger with every disruption.

What Sets Winners Apart

During the pandemic, companies that rapidly reconfigured operations—onboarding suppliers, digitizing customer touchpoints, automating supply chains—outperformed peers. Those same skills define today’s leaders.

The differentiators aren’t far-fetched—they’re fundamental:

• Speed & Agility: Deliver system-wide changes in days, not quarters.
• Adaptability: Pivot operations fast—without rebuilding core architecture.
• Anti-Fragility: Systems and teams that get stronger—not brittle—with each disruption.

As Vijay Tella, Workato’s CEO, says: “Anti-fragile companies don’t simply weather storms—they learn, adapt, and thrive because of them.” This philosophy is more than aspirational—it’s becoming a core requirement for IT leaders facing continuous economic uncertainty.

In today’s climate of economic policy whiplash, companies that win are the ones who rewire supply chains, pricing, and compliance in days, not months.

When uncertainty is always “on,” agility isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s mission critical.

Tariff Turbulence: What Enterprises Are Really Up Against

1. IT and supply chain leaders are under pressure for faster pivots—and their legacy systems can’t keep up.
   A recent West Monroe survey found that nearly 70% of supply chain executives cited tariff and regulatory uncertainty as causing “planning paralysis,” with many companies delaying system investments, re-architecting integrations, and even pausing procurement to “wait out” the next tariff announcement.
   
   
2. The demand for AI, automation, and digital integration is surging.
   Gartner’s 2024 supply chain forecast highlights that “83% of supply chain organizations expect to increase spending on digital technology and automation this year to respond to market volatility and regulatory shocks”—with AI, agents, and workflow automation topping the list of investment areas.
   
   
3. Tariff oscillations are overwhelming manual processes, increasing error rates and slowing business.
   According to Deloitte, organizations relying heavily on manual ERP or spreadsheet-driven workflows reported “greater delays, higher exception rates, and more firefighting” during the April 2025 tariff round—with digital leaders weathering the storm up to 2x faster.
   
   
4. Even the world’s most advanced enterprises are experiencing complications, cost swings, and trust risks.
   CNN Business reports that “tariffs continue to complicate supply chains for major tech and manufacturing companies, including Apple and Nvidia, forcing rework of supplier relationships and digital infrastructure in real time.

How Workato Powers Anti-Fragile Adaptation—With Real World Results

Automate and Orchestrate End-to-End Workflows

When market volatility or new tariffs demand overnight changes, manual patchwork slows you down. Workato unifies EDI integration, API management, and data orchestration—connecting legacy ERP, cloud platforms, and partner systems for true end-to-end control and instant change.

Leverage AI Agents Across Manufacturing and Supply Chain

Modern manufacturers are increasingly turning to AI agents to automate complex, cross-system workflows—from inventory management and procurement to production scheduling and fulfillment. These digital copilots at the core of an enterprise eliminate bottlenecks and manual tasks to enable real-time supply chain decisions, making organizations more resilient, not just faster.

Accelerate responsiveness and business agility

Workato gives organizations the power to automate processes and instantly sync data across all departments—finance, operations, customer service, and more. By removing manual handoffs and connecting systems in real time, teams can respond to market shifts, scale new initiatives quickly, and focus on driving strategic growth instead of firefighting bottlenecks.

Why This Isn’t Just Crisis Management

Relying on manual connectors or slow-moving middleware to swap suppliers, update pricing, or pivot regions is a business risk—technical debt and band-aids that break under constant change.

There’s a better way: One unified platform that enables Enterprise Architects and IT leaders to reconfigure mission-critical processes in hours, not weeks. With Workato, you’re not just automating tasks—you’re making agility and resilience part of your standard operating model.

Don’t wait for the next shock. Get tailored advice, a live demo, or a rapid proof-of-concept—and see what anti-fragile looks like.

Take the first steps

• Learn How Modern iPaaS is Evolving to Enterprise Orchestration
• Why the path forward is Cloud-Native vs. Cloud-Optimized
• The Role of APIs in Enterprise Automation
• Download the 2025 iPaaS Buying Guide