The first unique feature that the technology offers is that it does not impact existing systems architecture in any way. This would be music to the ears of the IT department of an organisation. This is because RPA technology is essentially designed to work at a presentation layer of an application/system be it a front-end or back-end application. In some cases, it is possible to use API’s to connect with applications/systems through the backend to be able to process transactions faster. When working with the front-end of applications/systems, it mimics the human interaction with applications/systems and executes that business process just as a human worker would do so. What every business would get as a result of automating a business process is faster processing times, increased accuracy of execution and the ability to scale up and down seamlessly to keep pace with your business demand.
The second unique feature of the technology is the fact that unlike a long-drawn IT project it takes only a matter of days to create a set of instructions understood by the RPA digital workmate and to see business processes running in an automated manner. This clearly is a break from tradition where outcomes take months/years to be visible from complex IT Transformation programmes.
The third feature in the context of the connected workforce that RPA technology delivers is enhanced levels of security. Moving work to low-cost locations has often challenged the security & privacy of personal data with several instances of unauthorised access is reported. The RPA enable Digital Workmate to be trained to follow instructions/wizards which therefore limits the activities to those processes only and the digital workmate does not look ‘left’ or ‘right’ thereby significantly eliminating the possibility of unauthorised data access.
However, for a ‘Sticking Plaster’ to be more durable and have curative efficacy it is important that the use of the technology is not only planned but is also calibrated. For businesses looking to adopt the technology, it is required that the business and IT functions within the business are on the same page. No matter how non-intrusive RPA technology is there are considerations in infrastructure and security that must be addressed to effectively run it in the organisation. Whilst encashing savings derived from low hanging fruits are a key financial consideration, businesses do need to investigate the following basic questions for a longer-term curative benefit:
- What business processes do we want to automate?
- When do we want to automate these business processes?
- How will we achieve our automation requirements?
- How will the handshake between a human worker and a digital workmate happen?
- How will we effectively utilise the freed-up time of our workforce?
An answer to these basic questions will inevitably lead you to the need for developing an automation roadmap just like you would for any business transformation programme. It is here that you will soon realise that to achieve the desired business outcomes, it is important to capture the effectiveness by contrasting current state metrics with future achieved metrics. Adopting RPA gives many other consequential benefits like the ability to scale at a fraction of the costs involved and being able to digitally empower the workforce to walk that extra mile for clients with the freed up time from automation.
In conclusion, whilst RPA could be considered a short term Sticking Plaster for broken IT systems the benefits like cost advantage, time to market, ability to deploy a two-speed architecture and the consequential benefits that can be achieved, make it a highly durable & curative sticking plaster. The market certainly thinks so, with leading analysts predicting double-digit growth over the next few years and the RPA market is expected to be over USD 8 Billion in the next 5 years.
So, is RPA a sticking plaster for broken IT systems?
"Well, in a pure sense, no, as a market disruptive force, which gives unparalleled efficiency, accuracy and cost savings to your business, it is prudent to consider it as a vitamin pill that modern day enterprises need."