Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the name of an elegant solution for automating everyday business tasks.

Gartner predicts that nearly 69 percent of management tasks will be fully automated by 2024. Basic automation covers thousands of standard business tasks out of the box, but cognitive robots also promise to perform more complex tasks. They use machine learning under the hood, and these RPA systems still require individual research and development.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation describes a software program that mimics human actions to complete repetitive business tasks. These programs have little to do with hardware bots but can act as regular white-collar workers. RPA software can be configured to complete any type of task that has a clear sequence of actions to reproduce.

Types of RPA

There are 3 main types of robotic process automation: attended automation, unattended automation, and hybrid RPA.

1. Attended Automation:

This type of bot resides on the user’s computer and is usually invoked by the user. Attended automation is best suited for jobs that are triggered at points that are difficult to detect programmatically.

For example, say a customer service representative would normally need up to 3 screens and perform 5 manual steps to complete a transaction. Instead of going through all these.

RPA robots can work as a representative, perform the necessary operations and ask the representative for advice when necessary. Attended automation can be deployed to augment these tasks for customer-facing employees who still need to complete manual work.

2. Unattended Automation:

These bots are like batch processes in the cloud and the data processing tasks are completed in the background. Unattended automation is, among other things, a solution for reducing the work of back-office employees. Unattended automation can be triggered in the following ways: data entry at a specified location, bot startup, orchestrator startup, and specified intervals.

3. Hybrid RPA:

In this type of RPA, attended and unattended RPA bots are combined to ensure the automation of both back-office and front-office activities. This enables end-to-end process automation.

Types of tools for Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

When looking for automation tools for your project, you need to know which type to use. Here are 3 types of RPA tools:

1. Macros:

They automate processes that are in a single system and are also the oldest tools in automation. If the process you want to automate is simple enough that it only requires one tool, such as a spreadsheet, then macros are the best choice. Macros can be used to organize data, perform calculations, etc.

2. IT Process Automation (IT PA):

They can automate complex processes dependent on multiple systems; these are functionally specific automation tools. IT PAs are behind-the-scenes bots, but they are built and require oversight by experienced IT professionals. 

They handle complex tasks such as alerts from multiple sources, prioritize action plans, and deploy one of your defined possible action plans. They also alert key members of your team who require notification of activity before the ticket is closed.

3. Cognitive Automation tools:

These robots have screen scraping capabilities that allow them to use the desktop like a human to perform tasks that require multiple systems. They are not as accurate as ITPA tools and are easy to use. 

Using a simple drag-and-drop programming interface, they are augmented with artificial intelligence capabilities to help them learn from previous examples. They use natural language processing and can also be called intelligent or cognitive robots.

Benefits of RPA

1. Lack of human error

All processes are performed without human error! Yes, each process is performed exactly according to the defined rules. By default, this is already a big success.

2. Compliance

Another benefit is compliance. Quality and Process Compliance are perfect for compliance. So if you are in a highly regulated industry, where you need to demonstrate that you are carrying out processes in accordance with certain rules and legislation, this is a great opportunity to use RPA for these benefits.

3. Speed

These processes can be performed 24/7 and can be scaled to a more flexible workforce. This means that if you need to respond to rising demand, you can do it much faster than if you were using people in the traditional model.

The Future of RPA

RPA will go beyond just the automation of procedures and repetitive tasks that reduces productivity at work. With the combination of advanced technologies, robots will be able to perform even more complex tasks. 

If you have questions or are looking to enhance your RPA service, feel free to reach out to our team of experts at info@bigsteptech.com and we will take care of the rest.