Well, it depends. It's not a competitive advantage for instance if your payroll goes through on time every month, it's just what's expected. It is a competitive advantage if you have say better employee retention than your rivals.

Similarly, it's not a competitive advantage if your printers are always full of paper and toner. It is a competitive advantage if you can automate things that previously required manual operation.

I think the assertion was not that they should get better treatment, but that they should get equal treatment. I may have misinterpreted, of course.

I was replying though to the poster, not so much the article, specifically as he stated that they are "just a part of the business".

I'm not sure what else they should be, exactly.