Discovering a game changer: Robotic Process Automation
Over the years, implementing User Experience (UX) change processes have become a major challenge for developers, but the good thing is that 70 per cent of user events are repetitive and this is where the demand for automation gets very high.
The downside to that are the life cycle of the processes involved, with their associated costs, making them unattractive options for business owners.
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Suffice it to say that Business Process Innovation is at the heart of all transformational agendas, where automation, business intelligence, robots, elements of artificial intelligence and mobility have all become the main business solution enablers.
Organisations that are profitable and competitive today are those that have taken advantage of automation.
One of such major innovative products, for business process innovation, is the emergence of Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
The beauty and the performance of RPA is the sort of automation that does zero mistakes and is at the same time non-intrusive.
What is RPA
Robotic Process Automation may sound like a big tech jargon, but let us break this down to the basics.
Robotics are entities capable of being programmed by a computers for complex tasks.
Any instrument capable of mimicking human actions can be termed a robot or a robotic activity.
A sequence of steps that leads to a meaningful activity is what we call a process. A basic understanding of a process could be the steps or activities in preparing hot tea.
Automation, on the other hand is any activity that is programmed to automatically function, without human intervention.
So, in defining RPA, one would say that it is, “mimicking human actions to do a process without human intervention.”
Practically, RPA is automating manual processes and that should get all interested.
Why RPA
First of all, RPA is the kind of disruptive technology that is not IT lead. This is not the typical IT system such as the Big Data architecture or the traditional programming language that you will require some IT experts from India and Dubai to make happen. No!
The development of RPA has been democratised, with the power of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for everyone, just like any other generic desktop application that does not require any advanced computer skills.
Anyone, with basic computerised controls is capable of designing an effective process with the available RPA Tools.
Usefulness of RPA
Just consider the number of investments, research and advancements made in the field of automation and robotics and you would not need to be told that that is a technology that would compete with all and stands to threaten the jobs of people.
Robots do not make mistake; robots do not sleep and robots are synonymous to speed and efficiency.
Not everything can be automated and it does not look likely that robotics will replace human employment in the near future, but of course, with the powers of Artificial Intelligence, not much can be predicted in future trends.
Where RPA is most effective is the user activities performed by organised steps or sequences and these are the processes that can be emulated with an RPA Tool.
Automation
There are some activities that can be automated with RPA. They include the generating of invoices, payroll, the installation of software and online data entry.
Other activities that can be automated are the extraction of information from files, data conversion, the monitoring of E-mail accounts for the appropriate actions to be taken and the recovery and restoration of files between systems.
Robotic Process Automation is for everybody, and the reality of digital transformation is here with us today. Irrespective of the position one may hold, software is driving all sectors of industry and, today, commercial entities, who are leading their space, while not being core IT people, are taking centre stage with software enabled visualisations and analytics in board room meetings.
RPA tools
Robotic Process Automation tools are the robotic softwares, specifically designed to automate manual processes. Currently, there are about three tools at the top of the transformational innovation. They include Automate Anywhere, Blue Prism and UiPath.
Automate Anywhere is an RPA tool with more than 3000 customers. It is the top of the grade enterprise software. Automate Anywhere gives you the freedom to choose from pre-built robots that are readily downloadable to start work.
Blue Prism is a market leader in RPA, with a variety of robot solutions to operate and perform repetitive tasks.
The UIPath boasts of a collaborative platform of more than 300,000 users and hundreds of built-in, customisable activities open for everyone to explore and learn.
The writer is a professional in the IT field.
Writer’s E-mail: [email protected]