The purpose of this study is to point out the extent to which enterprises want to exploit the possibilities of information technologies (IT), system integration of information systems (IS) and business process automation with the aim to increase the intelligent work with information and improve business management support in enterprises. The paper evaluates the development and analyzes the views of 189 managers of Slovak SMEs and 26 managers of IT companies on the causes that prevent wider use of innovation opportunities and IS potential in enterprises in the process of increasing the competitiveness of their enterprises in the market. In this case we focused on the analysis and identification of several advantages and disadvantages related to the implementation of innovation and process automation and their impact on business management. We compare these results with the results of similar researches in the EU. Based on the best practice results, we suggest practices and recommendations that should eliminate the barriers to successful implementation of innovation potential in businesses and create conditions to support managerial decision making processes to be more effective.