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WHAT IS ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA)?


LEARN HOW RPA WORKS, THE BENEFITS IT PROVIDES TO ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPERT
RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW BEST TO LEVERAGE THE TECHNOLOGY ON BUSINESS PROCESSES

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By: Adam Jeffs, Ian Hawkins 06/07/2021
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Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software-based technology utilizing
software robots to emulate human execution of a business process. This means
that it performs the task on a computer, uses the same interface a human worker
would, clicks, types, opens applications and uses keyboard shortcuts.



Source: PEX Network channel, YouTube

Gartner defines RPA as a productivity tool that allows a user to configure one
or more scripts, often referred to as ‘bots’, to perform certain tasks in an
automated fashion. As a result, bots mimic or emulate selected tasks within an
overall business or IT process. RPA uses a combination of user interface
interaction and descriptor technologies to allow automatic completion of mundane
and repetitive tasks.

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UiPath defines RPA as software robots that mimic and integrate human actions
within digital systems to optimize business processes. RPA captures data, runs
applications, triggers responses, and communicates with other systems to perform
a variety of tasks.

Rob King, author of Digital Workforce Reduce Costs and Improve Efficiency using
Robotic Process Automation, says: “RPA is the application of technology that
allows employees in a company to configure computer software or a ‘robot’ to
capture and interpret existing applications for processing a transaction,
manipulating data, triggering responses and communicating with other digital
systems.”

RPA is predominantly used to automate business processes and tasks, resulting in
reductions in spending and giving businesses a competitive edge, all considered
of which proved crucial since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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HOW DOES RPA WORK? 

RPA is versatile and flexible enough to be used in a business of all sizes, from
start-ups to enterprise organizations. It comprises a wide array of technologies
in the market that greatly differ from one another. However, most RPA products
will include developer tools, a controller and the robot itself.

Unlike other forms of automation, RPA has the intelligence to decide if a
process should occur. It can analyze data presented to it and make a decision
based on the logic parameters set in place by the developer. In comparison to
other forms of automation, it does not require system integration.

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WHAT ARE THE COMMON TYPES OF BOTS AVAILABLE TODAY?

There are two common types available in the market: programmable and intelligent
bots.


PROGRAMMABLE BOTS 

A programmable robot is defined by set rules and instructions, and parameters
need to be defined by programmers before the bot can get to work. Ultimately,
this involves mapping out a process step-by-step, which can be very
time-consuming for more complex tasks.


INTELLIGENT BOTS 

Bots with artificial intelligence can analyze data – both historical and current
– to learn how employees perform a process. The robot will follow their clicks,
mouse movements and actions. After a period of time when enough data has been
analyzed, the bot will be able to complete the process itself. Intelligent and
self-learning bots are better suited to perform processes involving unstructured
data and ones that involve fluctuating parameters. 

To understand some of the unique and powerful applications of RPA, to Angela
Johnson, head of risk for IT change and new technologies at Lloyds Banking
Group, as she discusses why financial services are adopting RPA and IA.





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delivered to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter and join our community of
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Source: RPA & IA Live 2020


WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF RPA?


 * RPA ENABLES AUTOMATABLE WORK
   
   One of the predominant draws of RPA is that it enables automatable work,
   relieving human workers from repetitive clerical processes such as data entry
   and data manipulation. It allows human workers to focus on complex
   value-adding tasks that elevate a business.
   
   


 * IT REDUCES HUMAN ERROR AND COSTS
   
   Foibles to which human workers are prone – particularly during long
   repetitive tasks – caused by tiredness and boredom are completely mitigated
   with RPA. This results in work that is more accurate, timely and consistent,
   ensuring that time and money is not lost correcting old work or creating
   duplicates.
   
   


 * IT WORKS ON EXISTING IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND IS NON-INVASIVE
   
   RPA works alongside existing IT infrastructure and it just needs to be
   trained on how to use it. This is a major benefit for organizations using
   legacy systems. It interfaces with front-end infrastructure and uses the same
   graphic user interface (GUI) that human workers would use to complete a task,
   ensuring that the IT landscape does not have to be changed to accommodate
   RPA – keeping costs to a minimum.



HOW TO IMPLEMENT RPA

While RPA is great at driving operational excellence, some processes are more
viable for automation than others. It is always a good practice to roll out RPA
slowly to mitigate teething issues that often come with technology
implementation. Lee Glazier, head of service integrity at Rolls-Royce, notes
that the broad-based power group has selected repetitive business processes as
the focus for automation as these are the most viable candidates and operate in
a way that is simple and easy to define. They include contract administration
and recruitment processes.

King writes that “most modern automation vendors are the natural evolution of
end-user computing (EUC); they provide simple business tools that allow
consistent, repetitive tasks to be automated across an increasing number of
different underlying applications".

Examples include automating a large list of files that need to be renamed;
copying information from core customer system into a policy administration
system; collating information from several websites into a summary report.

The risk is that with any new technology, it will not be thoroughly understood,
and projects will not make the best use of the approach. In PEX Network’s
Intelligent Automation: RPA and AI Report 2021, Laxmikant Pukale, director of
intelligent automation at Fortune 500 banking company USAA notes that it is wise
to understand what the final outcome will be before attempting to implement
automation.

SEE ALSO: The role of process mining and RPA in helping organizations pick
automation battles

Stephan Blasilli, lean director at EDP Renewables, advises against implementing
technology for the sake of it in PEX Network’s Intelligent Automation: RPA and
AI report 2020. He says: “It is always problematic if you think you need to have
this technology just because everybody else is doing it. You have to have a
business problem or specific business problems that you want to solve. If you
think about call center environments, we are talking about a significant
transaction volume. These are not just small implementations.”

Although the instinct is to start small and scale, it may be necessary to
demonstrate enthusiasm for a new approach by making a bold move, particularly if
it tackles a large problem such as a change in the regulatory landscape or an
influx of data from digitization elsewhere in the organization.



SEE ALSO: The importance of unlocking process automation’s potential 


WHAT IS NEXT FOR RPA?

Automation technology has been a staple of business for the last decade but in
recent years, RPA has reached a high level of sophistication while retaining
ease-of-use. Its benefits took a stronger significance during the Covid-19
pandemic, and it is no longer a tool solely used to facilitate the automation of
simple and repetitive IT tasks. We are already seeing signs that RPA is being
used beyond data input and for other time-consuming processes such as email
recognition and file conversion.

RPA is maturing, and with the convergence of other technologies such as
artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML), we are beginning to explore
new possibilities. RPA will incorporate machine learning and cognitive
algorithms to apply increasingly accurate judgement and learn how to perform
processes at a faster rate.

We will also likely begin to see reductions in cost and effort as RPA
implementation becomes easier due to advancements in techniques such as low-code
automation. Low-code allows less skilled workers to complete complex automation
tasks through drag-and-drop features, significantly reducing the cost of
sourcing and training staff for this purpose.

One of the major discussions in the technology world is how human jobs will be
affected by RPA. Critics argue that the widespread elimination of jobs will
occur and that working environments will be turned on their heads.

There is no denying that some jobs will be replaced by RPA – the most likely
candidate being data entry keyers. However, this would be ignoring the wider
picture as there are a wide array of job roles that may emerge as a result of
RPA. Historically, new technology has almost always resulted in the creation of
more jobs, and the widespread incorporation of RPA will be no different. For
example, RPA engineering and RPA developers are roles that would not exist
without the technology.

It will not just create new jobs. It also has the ability to enhance current
jobs, by providing human workers with the necessary robotic process automation
tools to focus on high-value tasks.


WHAT ARE SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS? 


IS RPA EXPENSIVE?

RPA is often cheaper to compliment than traditional automation thanks to its
ability to work alongside IT infrastructure that is already in place. With RPA,
business leaders will not have to endure headaches of thinking about the costs
of infrastructure remodeling, outsourcing or offshore/onshore manual processing.


IS RPA A CYBERSECURITY RISK?

Like many new technologies, the potential downsides often get overlooked in
comparison to the excitement generated by the benefits. The misuse of data – the
kind of sensitive data software robots are privy to – is a major security
concern. Issues may come in the form of rouge developers who programmed software
robots maliciously, malware, Trojans and hackers.

Diligent companies will incorporate additional cybersecurity measures, which
may entail data encryption and role-based access to confidential data.


HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE PROJECTS APPROPRIATE FOR RPA?

Choosing the best tasks within an organization to automate is challenging: do
you select the ones that are easiest to automate – or the ones which will give
you the biggest return? iGrafx recommends that you ask the following questions
before embarking on an automation project: 

 * Do you have a data-driven system or process to guide you through the
   identification and prioritization of tasks to automate?
 * Is there resistance to change in your organization? Is there a good reason
   for this resistance?
 * What small-scale automations can you implement at low risk?
 * How are you involving others in the decision-making process about automation?
 * Is there a general consensus – or dissent – on the reasons for automating?
 * Where there is disagreement is there a way of testing both sides?
 * Can you agree on what success looks like?



PEX REPORT 2024 GLOBAL STATE OF PROCESS EXCELLENCE

PEX Network's annual report reveals the current state and future trends of
process excellence. Based on a study profiling hundreds of global process
excellence leaders, the report provides insights on how to leverage innovation,
generative AI, and process intelligence to achieve operational excellence,
customer-centricity, and organizational growth. Download your copy of the PEX
Report 2024/2025 today and benchmark your process excellence journey against
your peers.

Download Now



This article was originally written by Ian Hawkins and published on 11 October
2018 and was recently updated on 7 June 2021.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Topics: RPA & Artificial Intelligence OPEX Process Excellence


COMMENTS

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Jessica Chauhan
5 years ago
The biggest drawback of RPA is that someone or something needs to tell it what
to do. RPA cannot make decisions on its own. For example, it cannot decide which
supplier is the most cost-effective to re-order from; that intelligence needs to
come from a human or AI. This is where AI comes back into action!


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Fikercel curt
4 years ago
RPA 2.0 is the future of Robotics. With the rise of artificial intelligence,
Roberts can now reason its incoming inputs. Now, they don’t blindly follow the
algorithm but they can learn the patterns and improvise the output according to
the circumstances or the changes in the input. To know more visit Signity
Solutions how they help businesses with RPA 2.0


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