For a layman, the technology of Robotic Process Automation, RPA, immediately brings to mind robots that perform tasks. Well, in a way they are right. But in RPA, these bots are not physical or mechanical robots but software robots that perform repetitive, time-consuming tasks thus freeing humans to perform more complex tasks.India’s first RPA lab in NIELIT Gorakhpur was inaugurated by the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Shri S Krishnan (IAS). The lab was built with the intention of reskilling/upskilling manpower in Robotics Process Automation. In the recently concluded GITEX 2023 where RPA vendors from across the globe showcased their latest solutions, it is a matter of pride that the Indian companies were at the forefront of RPA capabilities. All this points to the importance of RPA as a technology that can improve organisational efficiency, reduce costs and free up employees to focus on more complex and strategic tasks.The global robotic process automation market is projected to grow from $13.86 billion in 2023 to $50.50 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 20.3% in the forecast periodIn this week’s edition of “The People Weekly” we will discuss Robotic Process Automation, and how it can transform businesses and its future prospects. Delving into the most pertinent topics shaping the contemporary business landscape, “The People Weekly” editorial team meticulously curates a selection of articles that provide insights, illuminate future trends, and uncover emerging patterns. This endeavour is driven by PeopleLogic’sunwavering commitment to equipping our valued readers with the knowledge they need to navigate the ever-evolving business world with a broader perspective and enhanced understanding.
Robotic Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA for short, is a technology that enables companies to automate repetitive, time-consuming, and rule-based tasks that would have normally been done by humans. Software robots are designed to emulate human interactions with software systems, to execute repetitive, mundane tasks like data entry, transaction processing, and report generation with remarkable accuracy and speed. Unlike the mechanical robots one encounters in factories, RPA involves using software bots.In recent times, RPA has emerged as a cornerstone of digital transformation, empowering organizations to streamline operations, optimize costs, and elevate customer experiences. Its versatility allows for seamless integration with advanced technologies like machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence, further augmenting its capabilities. Think of RPA as the digital workforce. In a recent survey commissioned by Uipath, 84% of Indian organizations will scale up their robotic process automation (RPA) initiatives or achieve an enterprise-wide RPA deployment by 2025.
How does RPA transform businesses?
Imagine having to fill out hundreds of forms sitting for hours- a classic example of repetitive, mundane tasks which require very little human creativity or cognitive ability. Apart from this task being utterly boring, the output is not guaranteed to be error-free either and is time-consuming. And this is where RPA steps in. RPA helps organizations to transform their businesses by ensuring increased productivity/ efficiency and accuracy. Some of the benefits of RPA are
Increased Efficiency: RPA software robots can work 24/7 and perform tasks at a much faster pace than humans. They can complete tasks accurately and efficiently, thus freeing up time for employees to work on more complex or creative projects.
Reduced Operational Costs: Using RPA reduces the costs associated with labour for mundane and routine tasks. It can also reduce the need for hiring additional staff to manage repetitive tasks. Automating routine tasks allows organizations to redeploy human resources to more value-added activities. This not only increases productivity but also contributes to cost savings in the long run.
Increased Accuracy: With no room for human errors, RPA greatly reduces the chances of mistakes when compared to manual inputting of data by minimising the risk of human error, ensuring accuracy and consistency in data processing. This is particularly important in industries where precision is critical, such as finance and healthcare.RPA consistently produces consistent, high-quality work.
Enhanced Scalability: RPA can easily adapt to changing workloads. As business demands increase, organizations can scale their automation efforts by deploying additional bots without significant infrastructure changes.
Compliance improvement: RPA solutions enhance compliance efforts by maintaining comprehensive logs of automated processes, fostering transparency and facilitating audits. This ensures adherence to compliance.
RPA Use Cases
Some of the industries that have successfully implemented RPA technology are
Banking and Insurance: RPA is commonly used in banking and finance to automate account opening and closing, compliance, fraud detection, and loan processing. Many traditional banks are implementing RPA in order to counter the growing fintech industry.
Customer Service: RPA bots can handle routine customer queries, process requests, and update customer records, allowing human agents to focus on more complex and sensitive issues. The chatbots which interact with those who enter websites are examples of RPA bots. It can also automate responses to frequently asked questions on websites. Manually gathering customer information which once was a cumbersome task is now efficiently and accurately done by RPA.
Manufacturing: RPA is used to automate tasks like inventory management, order processing, invoice processing, contract management, supply chain management and shipment tracking in a manufacturing unit. It particularly helps in reducing errors and improving the overall efficiency of supply chain operations.
Sales and Marketing: RPA can help improve the efficiency of the whole cycle of sales process and marketing activities. From lead generation to qualifying the leads using certain criteria to automating marketing campaigns and tracking campaign analytics – RPA technology has held it all together. This helps the team to focus on more strategic tasks.
HR & Payroll: RPA can automate HR processes, including employee onboarding, offboarding, payroll processing, and benefits administration. It can assist in managing and updating employee records across different systems.
Healthcare: RPA is being used to automate tasks such as patient registration, appointment scheduling, claims processing and billing. It helps healthcare organizations improve operational efficiency and reduce administrative costs.
Data Extraction and Migration: Traditionally, organizations rely on their own employees or external contractors to handle data processing tasks which include data entry, data format conversion, and data replication. RPA can automate these tasks, reducing errors and improving data accuracy. It can assist in migrating data between systems by automating the extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes.RPA Adoption Industry Distribution
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RPA Trends to Look Out For!
RPA is a rapidly growing and evolving technology. More companies are adopting RPA to automate high-volume, low-value tasks. RPA will also be widely used by the public sector. With GOI already having pioneered an RPA lab- the country’s first. RPA is also evolving into something more sophisticated in conjunction with AI/ML. With the help of AI/ML capabilities, RPA can be used to perform more complex tasks that require judgment. Reports suggest that organizations across industries have started to adopt hyperautomation with lowcode. “Hyperautomation”, a term coined by Gartner is the amalgamation of RPA, AI/ML and BPM (Business Process Management). Some of the major independent software vendors in the RPA domain are UiPath, Automation Anywhere, BluePrism, Antworks, Appian, Microsoft, NICE etc and a few System Integration companies that have an RPA practice are IBM, Happiest Minds, Accenture etc
PeopleLogic Opinion
RPA is a powerful technology that can help businesses to improve efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. It is also a relatively easy-to-implement technology, and it can be used to automate a wide variety of tasks not to mention its transformative potential to revolutionize how businesses operate. By automating routine tasks, organizations can achieve greater efficiency, accuracy, and scalability, ultimately empowering their workforce to focus on more strategic and creative endeavours. With the increasing adoption of RPA, businesses are seeking skilled professionals to effectively utilize RPA tools and technologies. PeopleLogic Business Solutions, a pioneer in technology recruitment for over 16 years, possesses the expertise, experience, and trained recruiters to identify and connect businesses with top-notch RPA talent. We go beyond traditional recruitment agencies by thoroughly assessing candidates’ technical skills and their understanding of the constantly evolving RPA technology.
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