Is RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Dying to APIs?

Although RPA has been introduced to the world recently but there is a question often asked is whether RPA will be replaced in a near future scenario where all applications offer APIs for direct interaction and automation.

What factors drive users to choose RPA over APIs?

Advantages of using RPA over API:

1. Legacy Systems: RPA is often used to automate processes in legacy systems that lack modern APIs or have complex UIs that are difficult to interact with programmatically.
2. Ease of Use: RPA tools often provide a user-friendly interface that allows non-technical users to create automation workflows without extensive programming knowledge.
3. End-to-End Automation: RPA can automate end-to-end processes that involve multiple applications or systems, even if they have different APIs or no APIs at all.
4. Rapid Deployment: RPA can be quickly deployed without the need for extensive development or integration efforts, making it suitable for automating repetitive tasks in a short time frame.
5. Cost-Effectiveness: While APIs may provide more direct access to applications, implementing API-based automation can require significant development resources and ongoing maintenance costs. RPA may be more cost-effective for certain use cases, especially for smaller-scale automation projects.

Disadvantages of using RPA over API:

1. Brittleness: RPA solutions rely on mimicking user interactions with the user interface, making them more prone to breaking if there are changes in the application's UI layout or workflow.e
2. Performance: RPA bots may not be as efficient as API-based solutions since they involve additional overhead related to UI interactions.i
3. Limited Scalability: RPA solutions may struggle to scale effectively, especially when dealing with large volumes of data or complex processes, whereas APIs can handle higher volumes more efficiently.
4. Security Concerns: RPA solutions interacting with applications through UI may pose security risks, such as exposing sensitive data on the screen or being vulnerable to UI-based attacks.i
5. Limited Integration: While RPA can automate tasks across different applications, it may not offer the same level of integration and data exchange capabilities as API-based solutions, which can seamlessly communicate with other systems and services.

Summary :

Overall, As an RPA Consultant I think API won't replace RPA I think they complement each other.

RPA can be useful in automating tasks where APIs are not available or it costs a lot more than n RPA tools license.

What do you think?