What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation occurs when a tool is applied to perform the keystrokes and /or computerised actions of a manual user to complete a task, either completely autonomously, or in a supervised environment.

Think about the processes in your organisation. There will be many which are labour intensive and have multiple steps which exist primarily because information needs to be passed from one system to another, or simple decisions need to be made. It is likely that with considerable effort replatforming and integrating systems these processes could be eliminated, but either the systems are legacy, and no-one knows how they work, or the FTE cost is relatively low compared to the investment needed to replace the process. I can think of multiple ‘swivel chair’ examples in my last role where we built a complex provisioning platform but couldn’t justify the business case to target the ‘rats and mice’ at the end of the pareto curve.

The advantage of RPA is that the tool can overlay existing systems (even green-screen) without any need for integration or replatforming. The bots can be ‘trained’ very quickly to perform the manual tasks, either stand alone, or attended by a user.  The deployment can be in a matter of weeks, at a relatively low cost.

Benefits will include reduced manual handling time, so users can be utilised on more productive tasks, improved morale, as the repetitive, mind-numbing tasks are taken away, and also much improved accuracy. Once programmed, a bot won’t make mistakes or become distracted. Similarly, bots work 24/7/365, so their availability by far surpasses even the most diligent human.

RPA can be combined with Optical Character Recognition, to read and process handwritten forms, and it will increasingly work in tandem with Chatbots, IVRs and AI to become more capable and integrate seamlessly with other channels and processes.

No doubt by now, you, the reader will have visions of Terminator and Hal, and wonder where all this is heading. RPA is likely to remove mundane tasks and allow individuals to be employed in areas where their skills can add more value. This has to be a good thing. I have a Robot lawnmower at home (called ‘Rob’), and I’ve never once missed mowing the lawn myself – especially when its raining, but it frees me up to do whatever adds most value to me with the time I have saved. It’s the same principle. I’ve never felt threatened that he’ll start taking over my role as the man of the house!

There is no doubt that in time, the working environment will shift to adopt the new technologies, and our skills will be used in new ways, to enable us to be more productive and effective. Corporations will need to take advantage of these developments to avoid falling into obscurity and remain competitive in the new landscape.