What Can We Really Expect From RPA in 2019?

I wrote recently on this blog about my surprise at how sophisticated the RPA solutions offered by IBA Group already are. As I mentioned, they are offering solutions that are far from the typical vapourware offered by some IT specialists – they already have genuine case studies using all the major RPA platforms.

So to take this theme forward a little, how is the RPA market doing? You will have seen many bullish predictions, but a couple of reports from Forrester Research and RPA software specialist UiPath caught my eye.

Forrester makes some bold claims. Principal Analyst JP Gownder said: “Automation will be central to the next phase of digital transformation, driving new levels of customer value such as faster delivery of products, higher quality and dependability, deeper personalization, and greater convenience.”

That’s strong support for RPA in 2019, but Forrester also notes that we are now reaching a tipping point for automation. The Forrester argument suggests that we will now start expecting professional employees to be augmented by automation. This alters the workforce and drives companies to focus on customer value.

In fact, this is a common theme in talks that I have given on automation. I believe we will see this being a much more pervasive change in the way that professionals work and are hired for their jobs. At present we still see RPA as a function of the technology department, but soon we will see job adverts on LinkedIn for HR professionals, credit analysts, and accountants all asking that the applicants have relevant RPA coding experience – that’s going to be quite a change.

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Photo by Happy Kiddo licensed under Creative Commons.