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Robotic Process Automation and its future

Robotic Process Automation and its future

Machine learning sounds like the beginning of a bleak, dystopian future shown in movies such as The Terminator and X-Men Days of Future Past. Then, when you hear the phrase "Robotic automation process," you might assume that it refers to the step in which machines eventually overthrow humans and rule efficiently. RPA, fortunately, only concerns itself with efficiency. 

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes it simple to create, deploy, and manage software robots that mimic human interaction with digital systems and software. Software robots can copy tasks like understanding what is on the screen, navigating systems, identifying and extracting data, and a wide range of defined actions, just like human beings can. 

Keep reading this article to understand what RPA automation is all about. 

What is Robotic Process Automation?

RPA, also called software robotics, uses automation technologies to mimic back-office tasks performed by human employees, such as filling out forms, moving files, extracting data, and more. It skillfully integrates and executes repetitive tasks between enterprise and productivity applications by combining application programming interface (API) and user interface (UI) interactions.

RPA tools enable the autonomous execution of various tasks and transactions across unrelated software systems by creating scripts that mimic human processes.RPA automation frees human resources to focus on more complex tasks by using rule-based software to perform business process activities at a higher volume. 

Many organizations are opting for RPA to streamline enterprise operations and reduce costs. Businesses can quickly automate routine rules-based business processes with RPA, freeing up business users to focus more of their time on customer service or other higher-value tasks. 

Difference Between AI and RPA

Robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) are frequently confused but trust me; they are very different concepts. While RPA is the process by which a software bot uses a combination of automation, computer vision, and ML to automate repetitive, high-volume tasks that are rule-based and trigger-driven. Artificial intelligence combines automation, machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), hypothesis generation, analysis, and reasoning. 

RPA is process-driven, whereas AI is data-driven. RPA bots can adhere to the processes defined by the end user, whereas AI bots use machine learning to recognize patterns in unstructured data and learn more about them over time. Robotic process automation is entirely developed to replicate human-directed tasks, whereas artificial intelligence is made to replicate human intelligence. Even though using RPA and AI tools reduces the need for human intervention, their approaches to process automation are different. 

Despite their differences, RPA and AI work well together because AI can support RPA in fully automating tasks and dealing with challenging user cases. RPA also allows AI insights to be quickly actioned rather than waiting for manual implementations. 

How Exactly Does RPA Work?

We must comprehend the essential core capabilities of RPA software to understand its operation. The core capabilities are: 

  1. Low code capabilities to build automation scripts.
  2. Integration with business applications
  3. Administration and orchestration, including security, monitoring, and configuration.

RPA Automation technology can easily access information through legacy systems and integrate with other applications through front-end integrations. Due to this, routine tasks like copying and pasting content between systems can be completed by the RPA automation platform in a manner similar to that of a human.

Advantages of Robotic Process Automation

A few of the advantages an organization can receive from RPI are as follows:

  1. Less coding: Because RPA automation does not require a software developer to configure everything, non-technical staff can be onboarded more quickly. Instead, use drag-and-drop features in user interfaces.
  2. Cost-effective: As RPA lessens teams' workloads, other employees can be reassigned to crucial tasks that call for employee input. As a result, productivity and ROI will rise. 
  3. Greater customer satisfaction: Because bots and chatbots can operate around the clock, they can cut down on customer wait times, increasing customer satisfaction levels.
  4. Better accuracy: Humans make mistakes and learn from them, whereas RPA robots are programmed to adhere to predetermined workflows and rules, which is advantageous to the organization. RPA automation can handle tasks like printing, copying, and emailing that need to be accurate and compliant. RPA can also offer an audit trail, which makes it simple to track progress and deal with problems more quickly.
  5. Supports the employees: By taking care of the repetitive, high-volume workload, RPA automation allows people to focus on more thoughtful and strategic decision-making tasks. This change in workplace dynamics positively impacts employee happiness and mental health.
  6. Higher operational agility, better opportunities for auditing the automated process, and insights into a company's workforce that will allow them to identify and analyze current process problems and proactively improve them are additional benefits of RPA.

Application of RPA in Different Industries 

Numerous industries have streamlined their business operations by using RPA technology. RPA automation implementation is found across the following industries. 

  1. RPA in healthcare

The most significant hospitals in the world use RPA automation to speed up information management, insurance claim processing, payment cycles, prescription management, and other rote tasks because these documents are essential to the patient's health. Human error is reduced, and the patient experience is improved when RPA handles all the tasks. 

  1. RPA in banking and financial services

One of the first sectors to adopt RPA automation was the banking sector, and many large banks now use RPA to automate tasks like Know Your Customer (KYC) research and anti-money laundering. These operations involve a number of labor-intensive rule-based tasks, so it is possible to see the value of automating them immediately. The other uses of RPA automation in banking include reconciliations, report generation, and various regulatory compliance processes. 

  1. RPA in the insurance

Insurance is one of the other industries with many repetitive processes that can be quickly done by RPA automation. RPA has been used in the insurance industry for a variety of use cases, including operations related to claims processing, policy management, underwriting, regulatory compliance, and many more. 

  1. RPA in retail.

Retail companies are beginning to invest heavily in RPA automation as a result of the effects automation is having on other industries, which will improve both the experiences of customers and employees.RPA is widely used in the retail industry for various purposes, including fraud detection, customer feedback processing, customer relationship management, warehouse management, and order management. 

The Future of RPA 

RPA automation is expanding and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Judging by the current state of RPA automation and the latest trends in its development, we can predict the different ways it is developing. So, RPA's future may lie in this. 

  1. The widespread adaptation of RPA: Despite the fear that automation has around the possibility of being held responsible for unemployment as minimal work is automated. As RPA technology helps organizations hire fewer people and save money, it will likely continue gaining acceptance and adaptation in the business world.
  2. Smarter RPA with artificial intelligence: There is already buzz and interest around intelligent automation (IA) combining RPA and artificial intelligence. Intelligent automation is a trend that won't go away anytime soon because it opens up more opportunities by automating decision-based processes involving unstructured and non-digital data.
  3. Combining human and digital workforces: RPA automated bots will enhance human labor by taking on the most time-consuming, repetitive tasks. It will lead to developing a digital workforce that will work alongside a human workforce.
  4. The convergence of RPA with machine learning, advanced analytics, and other technologies will lead to future scalable solutions for enterprise-wide digital transformation.

Key Takeaways 

  1. RPA, also called software robotics, uses intelligent automation technologies to carry out routine office duties that human employees would otherwise complete. 2. Due to the importance of RPA, numerous businesses worldwide have begun automating small tasks that could result in employee error. 
  2. RPA is used in many industries, including healthcare, banking, finance, and retail. 
  3. Intelligent automation (IA), which combines RPA and AI, is already a popular technology.