What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software application technology that helps to create, establish, and manage the human-intelligence-imitating robots or bots to perform high-volume repetitive work using any software. Just like how a human can log into applications, enter the data, analyze and complete the tasks and copy or extract any data between applications, RPA technology creates software bots that can do all the above actions efficiently. These robots can do the work faster and more recurrently then human beings and also without any breaks.

Robotic process automation designs the sequence of work from initiation to completion in such a way that the company’s profitability, capability and accessibility increases multiple times.

RPA can be put into action to speedup the digital process / digitalization. It has a major part in digital transformation.

RPA has become so ubiquitous as it is broadly applicable in a wide range of industries like public sector, retail, financial services, healthcare, IT and manufacturing and so on where high-amount repetitive work that also requires conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning or remembering) work is involved.

To build a RPA technology you must have a platform which handles end-to-end tech – from finding great automation opportunities to quickly creating high performing bots and managing the automatic interface efficiently across various platforms.

Types of RPAs:

• Programmable Solution bots: First generation RPA tools which can interact with other systems, understand their work process and execute it based on the client’s requirement.
• Self-learning Tools: The robots analyze the repetitive human process and implement the same on different platforms.
• Cognitive or Intelligent Automation Bots: are self learning robots with functions of Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and image recognition which can handle unstructured data.

List of RPA tools used by various organizations across the world:

Another Monday
AntWorks
Automation Edge
Automation Anywhere
BluePrism
Kofax
NICE Systems
UiPath
WorkFusion
and so on.

To select the right RPA tool for your company consider the following checklist:

Provide better customer service.

Guarantee that business operations and processes are in agreement with regulations and compliance standards.

Speed up the processing time rapidly.

Increase the efficiency by digitizing and scrutinizing the processed data.

Cost effective by reducing manual and monotonous tasks.

Help employees be more productive at work.

BENEFITS OF RPA:

RPA has defined the beginning of a new era of work with little or no human intervention.

One of the main benefits of RPA is that it can be implemented quickly and easily, often without significant changes to existing systems and processes. RPA bots can work around the clock, 24/7, and can perform tasks with a high level of accuracy and consistency, reducing errors and increasing productivity.

The next benefit of RPA is that it can help employees to save time and use that time to focus on higher-value tasks that require more creativity and problem-solving skills. This leads to improved job satisfaction, as well as increased innovation and growth for the organization.

DRAWBACKS OF RPA:

However, there are also some possible drawbacks of RPA. A primary concern is that RPA can lead to job displacement, as some tasks that were previously performed by humans will now be automated. Additionally, RPA may not be suitable for tasks that require human judgment, decision-making, or complex reasoning. It’s important to carefully evaluate which tasks are suitable for automation and which ones should remain with human workers.

CONCLUSION:

RPA is a type of software technology that uses bots to automate repetitive, rules-based tasks typically performed by humans in business processes. RPA can improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency while reducing costs, and can free up human workers to focus on higher-value tasks. However, RPA may not be suitable for all tasks and may lead to job displacement in some cases.