RPA: If I build it, will they come?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software process which overlays existing systems and replicates the keypresses that a human would make on a repetitive, rules driven process. Think about invoice matching, or re-keying between systems, or wrap time on calls – these are examples that can easily be automated.
How many times have you seen large scale integrations either fail, because they have taken too long to implement, or stop half way because the cost of the final leg could not be justified, leaving legacy systems to rot on burning platforms? Integration is expensive, and investment leads to diminishing returns on the roadmap. RPA can manage tail end of the implementation roadmap at low cost and deploy relatively quickly.
Modern service providers in a range of industries including Telecoms, Manufacturing, Retail and Finance are seeing a huge year on year rise in the uptake of RPA. If you haven’t adopted this technology yet, don’t hang about because your competitors will have.
Conservative estimates suggest RPA may reduce manual processing by 30% in many organisations, and whilst this can clearly be translated into savings, progressive companies will reallocate many employees from mundane tasks to more cognitive, and mentally rewarding activities. The introduction and coupling of AI is likely to increase this figure further.
Organisations wishing to adopt RPA have a number of options. The first is to establish a Centre of Excellence within their organisation, select one of the RPA platforms (such as Blue Prism, UI Path, Automation Anywhere), and hire a skilled Delivery team (BAs, PMs, Developers, SAs etc). Obviously in a small context some of those roles may overlap. The other option is to go down the black box route – find a provider who has scale, and who can deliver and host, with appropriate ongoing support. The second is probably the fastest option but invariably it can be immensely expensive. The optimal approach may be to take on experienced, hardened veteran resource, to steer your organisation and build your own capability whilst avoiding the common pitfalls.
How to start? Find compelling opportunities within the business, then establish a small team to prove the case. Following this, move on to larger, more complex end to end processes, scaling both the delivery capability but also the service management capacity as you grow.
Inevitably, when a business implements RPA, it will cause a snowball effect, stakeholders quickly embrace the solution and propose more and more candidates. Opportunities will come most easily when they are 'farmed' rather than 'hunted' as the buy in and the technical foundations and relationships will be in place already.
Start small, make it compelling. “Build it, and they will come”.
Tim Olsen has 20 years of experience in Digital Transformation and has established the largest Automation practice in the UK. He now specialises in creating and scaling effective Automation Centre of Excellences for clients.