Technology never stands still. And more and more tasks once performed by people can now be entrusted to robots. Let's take a look at what RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technology actually is, and where it can be applied
The human factor is an inseparable part of any working relationship. Your employees can get tired, feel lazy, make mistakes, ask for a raise. There's no getting around it — that's life, as the saying goes. Which, fortunately, doesn't stand still — today it's entirely possible to "unload" employees from most routine, monotonous work, leaving them with creative, analytical, and other intelligent, "human" tasks. Or, for example, to handle a workload that's multiplied several times over — without growing headcount. It also lets you cut costs, boost efficiency, and streamline management. All of this, and much more, is made possible by RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technology — robotic automation of business processes.
An RPA software robot is a program capable of mimicking human actions on a computer by interacting with the user interface of various systems.
Let's list those actions.
But of course, software robots aren't just about interacting with the user interface. Robots also work great with systems via API (Application Programming Interface), recognize scans, work with databases, send emails and messenger messages, run analytics, and process data — using both simple and highly complex algorithms, including neural networks (AI).
It's worth noting that its work is 100% logged — a full log is kept of every transaction the robot performs.
As we said, the possibility of error is completely eliminated.
And let's add that it can work 24/7/365.
And there you have it — the perfect "digital employee." Or, if you prefer, a "digital assistant."
We have a separate article on the outlook for robotization — here, we'll go into more detail on the RPA technology itself.
Robotic Process Automation is robotic automation of business processes. It's based on using software robots that, just like your employees, are able to work with the graphical user interface (GUI) of various systems.
And this is the main difference between RPA and classic automation, which is based solely on programming and the use of an API (Application Programming Interface).
Of course, software robots also work great with APIs, but the absence of an API, or poor documentation for one, is no longer a problem.
What does the emergence and steady democratization of RPA technology mean for business?
First. It's now possible to automate complex, end-to-end business processes involving all kinds of different systems, applications, and websites. Work can be robotized whether it involves off-the-shelf, standard applications or complex ERP systems. And, most importantly, with in-house-built and legacy applications, where classic integration simply isn't possible.
Second. Very often, RPA robotization solves the business process automation task much more simply, quickly, and cheaply than classic integration.
For example. If the same task requires:
- on one hand, two weeks of a developer's work — often after a three-month wait in the queue, since the development department is overloaded and doesn't have time for your process right now...
- and, on the other hand, three days to build a software robot — then we think the business's choice is obvious.
RPA software robotization is a business process automation tool. And this tool effectively handles routine tasks wherever classic automation would cost more than the benefit it delivers.
RPA is easier to implement, pays for itself faster, and, most importantly, requires no changes to your existing IT systems. You very often don't need to rewrite your perfectly functional application from scratch — no matter how much your developers might insist on it.
RPA technology lets you look at business processes in a new way, and automate the work of many departments — from finance to IT — at a new level. Everywhere, RPA delivers fewer errors, lower costs, and higher productivity.
Finance and accounting departments use RPA to create and recognize source documents — invoices, bills of lading, universal transfer documents, acceptance certificates, VAT invoices — to prepare payment orders, reconciliation statements, generate management and financial reporting, reconcile data across various accounting systems, interact with electronic document management systems, and many other tasks.
HR departments use robots to automate processing employee requests, generating certificates, applications, orders, sick leave and travel documents, handling paperwork for hiring, termination, and onboarding, searching and processing résumés, posting job openings, and so on.
Marketing and sales departments hand robots routine work like monitoring and analyzing competitor pricing, finding tenders and bids, integrating and interacting with internal and external applications, websites, social media, and messengers, as well as accounting systems — finally freeing them up to focus on what actually matters for the company: marketing and sales.
IT specialists entrust RPA with application deployment, network device monitoring, and remote IT infrastructure management. Software robots can find and fix problems faster than a human, and around the clock, every day of the year.
You can read more about the departments that have already robotized their work here.
By handing routine, mechanical tasks over to "digital assistants," employees can focus on more intellectual, creative, and analytical work.
They get the time to reach their full potential, tackle complex problems, and grow professionally. Which means — time to move their company forward.
RPA software robotization is winning over more of the market every day and becoming a driving force of digital transformation. Join in!
