Are You Struggling with These 13 RPA Challenges?

Quick Overview

Security concerns, unrealistic expectations, and system maintenance are common barriers to robotic process automation adoption. Let’s learn how to overcome these challenges for consistent business growth.

The key takeaways include:

• Common risks associated with RPA systems
• Top 13 RPA challenges and how to overcome?
• Examples of successful RPA Deployments

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a transformative force in business process optimization. And, as a Grand View Research Report states, the global RPA market is projected to reach US $30.850 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 39.9%.?

However, RPA implementation is challenging as it requires strategic planning and execution. Addressing all these challenges can help attain numerous benefits, such as efficiency, cost savings, higher productivity, etc.

If you plan to deploy RPA technology into your business process, it is the right time to invest in it. Here, we will provide a list of RPA challenges and their solutions, ensuring maximum ROI for investment and long-term success in your business.

What is RPA and How It Works?

Robotic Process Automation is the technology using software bots to automate repetitive, rule-based activities performed by humans. Most of these activities involve structured and unstructured data and predictable workflows. Some of the tasks include the following:

• Data entry
• Invoice processing
• Customer support ticket handling

RPA mimics human actions within digital systems, making them more efficient, reducing errors, and enabling employees to focus on higher-value work.

Here is How RPA Works

Identify Task & Do Mapping

RPA begins with the identification of repetitive, time-consuming processes suitable for automation. This step involves understanding and breaking the workflows into smaller, executable tasks.

Bot Development & Deployment

Developers design bots using tools like UiPath, Blue Prism, or Automation Anywhere. These bots are designed to interact with applications like login systems, data extraction, or form filling without changing the existing IT infrastructure.

Integrate with Existing Systems

RPA bots are designed to integrate with enterprise software like CRM, ERP, or legacy systems. They work like humans and use the same user interfaces, so no complex APIs or backend changes are required.

Execute Along with Monitoring

After deployment, bots execute the tasks as defined, working 24/7 without fatigue. Businesses can monitor their performance in real time and receive alerts for errors or anomalies.

Continuous Improvement

Advanced RPA solutions integrating AI and Machine learning development can help the bot learn about changes in the workflow over time and become more competent in doing so.

Common Risks Associated with RPA Systems

Several risks can cause project failure when RPA systems are implemented. That’s why implementing RPA solutions for enterprises needs a strategic approach to succeed.

Some of the risks associated with RPA systems are given below:

• Poorly defined success criteria
• No good infrastructure
• A lack of skilled professionals
• Bad change management
• Unable to understand how your business operates
• Lack of IT ownership and the larger business unit

13 Top Challenges of RPA with Solutions

Implementing automation helps streamline business operations, boost efficiency, and reduce manual efforts. But, it comes with a set of challenges that need to be addressed with practical solutions. It will make automation successful and sustainable in the long run.

The following RPA challenges and solutions are categorized into 5 segments namely organizational, selection process, implementation, technical, and post-deployment issues. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of RPA challenges and solutions.

Segment 1: Organizational RPA Challenges and Solutions

1. Improper IT alignment with Business

IT is absolutely critical to the successful deployment of RPA. I find there is a significant difference in speed and cost to deliver between clients that have an engaged and supportive IT function and those where IT is less supportive.

• David Wright, Consulting Partner at Deloitte

It is one of the significant RPA organizational challenges most startups and software companies face. While working with RPA technology, organizations often separate business and IT responsibilities.

This delays the IT department’s involvement until after the proof of concept phase, ultimately causing frustration.

How to Fix it?

The business department can highlight the following facts about RPA:

• Aim to reduce the overall IT staff burden without replacing the complete system
• Ensure IT and businesses communicate well and understand each other
• Can establish an RPA competence center having members on both sides
• Be prepared to resolve all types of security concerns

Also Read: Why ValueCoders is the Right Partner for Enterprise Software Development?

2. Undefined Responsibilities & Lack of Ownership

Many organizations don’t bother to employ a person responsible for different tasks of an RPA project. This ultimately affects the decision-making process and creates confusion for everyone involved in the project.

Hence, once the RPA solution is implemented, it is the sole duty of a person to understand his/her role in the new environment.

How to Fix it?

It is better to clearly define who will be responsible for different aspects of the RPA project. This involves roles for:

• Design approval
• Execution monitoring
• Success rate measurement

3. Choosing the Wrong Business Case

There may be circumstances when a RPA development company chooses an inappropriate business case for its RPA project. This will affect its future profits.

Hence, it is vital to understand when exactly you need to automate tasks and what you aim to achieve while selecting a case.

How to fix this?

For your RPA project, you can go with the following directions:

• Focus on the core work area that is valuable to the company
• Use top RPA tools to optimize your hiring process
• Consider the main cost factors for your RPA project
• Go for automation of the repetitive tasks by taking help from skilled developers
• No need to hire new employees if you automate atomic and straightforward manual tasks

4. Having an Unclear RPA Strategy

You must define a strong strategy to avoid automation challenges in business. Zeeshan Rajan, senior IT manager at PWC said, “RPA is user-friendly, but everything takes time, and so does an RPA implementation.

“A good basis has to be established to enable further scaling, and that requires a strong foundation with a clear strategy, communication plans, and change management, trained RPA experts, and a stable IT infrastructure—just to name a few examples.”

How to fix it?

You need to define a strategy that will lead the project. While you do this, you could ask yourself these questions before implementing RPA:

• Is RPA a permanent solution or a temporary one?
• What is our aspiration for scaling?
• What are our goals for implementing RPA? How can we measure outcomes?
• When is other technology appropriate, and when will RPA be appropriate?

Segment 2: RPA Failures Due to Process Selection

5. Unable to Optimize and Streamline the Process

If you try to automate unoptimized processes, it will only result in no output. Hence, you can use this when you want to perform a specific task, even if it is the most optimal solution.

Let’s understand this with an example of a real-life process in which an employee receives an email with some text and some numbers.

These numbers are essential. Instead of retrieving the numbers only from the email, the employee needed to print this email, bind the printed file in a folder, scan it again, and add it to the system as a digital image.

After this, others will find these numbers in the scanned image instead of the original email. The printing and scanning steps need to be removed to automate this process.

How to fix this?

To streamline processes with RPA services, you must do the following things:

• Optimize and simplify the process by removing unnecessary steps
• Minimize the number of exceptions, if possible
• Take help from RPA developers, business analysts, subject matter experts

6. Selection of the Wrong Process

You must know that not all processes are suitable for automation. It is not necessary that automating large processes will bring improvements. Sometimes, it is a small process that could result in significant savings.

Hence, consider these things while hiring RPA candidates. The right people will surely bring you success.

How to fix it?

• Look for template-driven processes that are guided by standardized rules and require manual inputs
• Find out whether the candidate process is standardized to the organization
• Prioritize processes that are used frequently, on a weekly or even daily basis
• Avoid processes that require high-level cognitive tasks
• Check for fault-tolerant processes rather than error-sensitive tasks
• Opt for processes with high business impact

Segment 3: Implementation Challenges of RPA Technology

7. Trying to Automate the Complete Process

It is not easy to automate the whole process. Although you can automate 70-80% of the process without much effort, the last 20-30% can cost you a lot. This cost can be five times higher than the cost of the significant automated part.

How to fix this?

You can resolve this challenge by using the following steps:

• Determine whether you need to automate the complete process or not
• Look for the tasks that suffice for automation
• If possible, combine RPA tools with AI technology

8. Not Utilizing Reliable Customized Solutions

In this modern era, we are surrounded by various off-the-shelf enterprise automation solutions. If you find a reliable tool carrying all essential features, then there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

Ready-made tools, available for licensing, are suitable for reducing the risks associated with RPA technology.

How to fix it?

Hire RPA developers who use the following steps to fix this:

• Check the suitability of custom RPA solutions as per your requirements
• Trust the off-the-shelf RPA solutions if you operate in a heavily regulated industry
• Employ a custom RPA solution provider if legacy systems are involved

Segment 4: Technical RPA Challenges and Solutions

9. Inappropriate Infrastructure

Businesses don’t get fruitful results when they support RPA deployment with poor infrastructure.

How to fix it?

Your organization would need some capabilities after automation; thus, you must look for the following aspects:

• The required infrastructure must be strong enough to run all scripts
• It should also operate 24*7 and make sure the system is centralized
• External factors should not influence it

10. Scalability Issues

Scalability concerns are the most common RPA challenges. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, only 3% of the total organizations can scale their RPA solutions efficiently.

How to fix it?

You can reduce the scalability issues by using the following steps:

• Implement processes to work independently and parallelly to each other and increase the no. of bots
• Make sure the RPA solutions architecture is simplified and audited

11. Working With a Third Party

There may be situations exist when you have the processes to automate include inputs from a third party. In this case, it is better to understand how they fit in and how this interaction will be uniform and consistent.

How to fix it?

• Must check for the inputs external stakeholders provide to you over time
• Check if these inputs are consistent in formatting and order of submission
• Handle all variations by enhancing RPA with other digital technologies

Segment 5: Post-Implementation Challenges

12. Inadequate Maintenance

The top RPA tools businesses use must reflect changes that occur in the process. In fact, regular monitoring of automated processes can help them uncover intangible changes or any hidden issues that RPA development teams missed.

It is important to notice these changes because they can confuse bots and result in errors. Even the most sophisticated system degrades over time. The RPA tools accumulate these bugs, ultimately resulting in memory overflow.

How to fix this?

You need a responsible person who will take ownership of customized RPA solutions for businesses and perform the tasks discussed below:

• Make sure RPA software is up-to-date as all relevant adjustments are done on time
• Should monitor the automation process (from cleaning to storage) and only interfere when required
• Do endurance testing to check if the system’s performance is good or not

13. Security Concerns

Bots can access ERP, CRM, and other related business systems. This allows data to move freely across different processes, leading to security challenges.

How to fix this?

You must take the following four preventive measures to overcome this RPA challenge:

• Assign a unique identity to each RPA bot and process
• Must limit RPA access rights to avoid abuse and fraud
• Ensure the RPA tool provides a comprehensive audit for suspicious activities
• Implement review and change control for RPA scripts to secure RPA development

Examples of Successful RPA Deployments

RPA has brought innovation to various business operations. It helps streamline workflows and improve efficiency. Here are some real-world examples of how companies have successfully utilized RPA:

Deloitte

As an RPA consultant and practitioner, Deloitte deployed RPA internally to automate invoice processing, client reporting, and data management tasks. This has enhanced the firm’s productivity and demonstrated its intent to embrace the latest technologies.

NASA

NASA used RPA to process internal data and improve workflows. For example, it used bots to extract information from financial reports, process purchase orders, and generate documents.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola applied RPA to automate its data integration procedures across various ERP systems. This has further streamlined financial operations and strengthened the accuracy of reporting and forecasting.

Walmart

Walmart employs RPA to handle a wide array of back-office operations, such as invoice processing, supply chain management, and data entry. These bots have avoided human interventions in highly repetitive tasks, leading to cost savings and improved efficiency.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank used RPA to enhance its compliance and regulatory reporting processes. It automated its routine tasks, thus significantly reducing human errors and improving efficiency.

Also Read: The Future of Automation: 6 RPA Tools Dominating 2025 and Beyond

Conclusion

Successfully automating the right processes will bring many benefits, but RPA challenges exist. RPA development companies are vital partners in overcoming the most promising RPA challenges businesses face today.

From streamlining complex workflows and addressing scalability concerns to enhancing compliance and reducing operational costs, RPA development experts bring the tools and strategies needed to turn obstacles into opportunities.

If you want to transform your operations, contact ValueCoders. As a leading RPA development company in India, we offer comprehensive analysis, identify automation opportunities, and provide tailor-made solutions to optimize business operations and generate maximum ROI.

Feel free to contact us today!