What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the most discussed and hyped technologies today, promising to revolutionize the way businesses operate.

RPA is software that automates repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more complex tasks that require cognitive skills. It is an intelligent technology that mimics human actions and performs them with accuracy and speed.

With its ability to reduce costs, and increase efficiency and accuracy in processes, RPA has become increasingly popular across industries. From finance to healthcare, logistics to retail, organizations are implementing RPA to streamline their operations and stay competitive in an ever-changing business landscape.

This article is going to explain what Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is, how it works and why companies will benefit from implementing it.

What is RPA?  – Definition

“Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that enables you to create bots and set rules for them so they can perform the actions done by an employee when performing a process.”

The most important thing about the definition of RPA in order to understand its meaning is that it enables you to create bots, and set rules for them.  This means that an RPA system is capable of processing several tasks at the same time without waiting for any further instruction to be completed.   

RPA uses robotics in order to perform these tasks which are responsible for the activities done by a human based on what we call Business Processes.  What differentiates Robotics Process Automation from other types of systems is that it does not require any coding in order to run and provide results quickly.  Also, robots do not need breaks or vacations and they never get tired so they might work 24/7 without stopping.   

How does RPA Work?

In order to explain how robotics process automation works, we will use a blog article published on the Forbes website :

“RPA is not a piece of software.   It’s not even one bit of software.  It’s an umbrella term for several different technologies that work together to provide digital labor, bots that can act like people by opening applications and manipulating data within them.”

This article clarifies how robotics process automation works in order to carry out business processes that are typically performed by humans. There are two main types of robotics process automation – Screen Scraping and Image Recognition. The first one allows the robot to monitor movements on your PC screen or mobile device to monitor activities such as clicks, keyboard movements or writing texts etc., while the second one is capable of identifying and understanding images.   

Why Companies will benefit from RPA?

RPA has many different advantages, but the most common among companies is that it can be done without writing any code or developing robotics applications because it relies on third-party robotics. The second important thing for companies to consider when thinking about robotics process automation is that robots will carry out your business processes 24/7 and they never complain or ask questions, so there’s no need to hire additional employees in order to increase workforce capacity.

Furthermore, robotics process automation systems reduce errors and save time by making robotic programs and automating software and applications designed for specific tasks such as spreadsheets and word processors.  Also, robotics can be used as a solution for different tasks and processes:

– Monitoring and controlling robotics applications,

– Performing certain tasks Humans would not be able to do them,  or even if they did, it would take a long time.   

Disadvantages of Implementing Robotics Process Automation Systems

One of the significant disadvantages of implementing RPA systems is the high cost involved in acquiring and installing these technologies. Unlike other forms of automation, such as macros or scripts that come pre-installed on most computers, RPAs require a considerable investment in terms of software licenses, technical infrastructure changes, and training costs. This can be particularly challenging for small- and medium-sized enterprises that may not have the financial resources to support such an investment.

Another disadvantage associated with RPA implementation is job losses. Since RPAs automate repetitive tasks previously done by humans, it leads to a reduction in personnel requirements leading to job displacement or redundancy.