Upside of RPA

Upside of RPA

Evolution of IT business operations trends from late nineties to current is massive when it started with Mainframe systems to latest RPA, AI, ML based operations and everything in between (Client/Server, standardization, consolidation, virtualization, cloud etc.). Current wave of RPA based operations takes to another level where transactions are more analytical then just operational tasks.  

Key upsides of starting your RPA journey are multifold:

1.    Decreased Operational Costs

With extensive popularity of Outsourcing and offshoring/nearshoring in last few decades enterprises have benefitted from labor arbitrage. Some of the Labor statistics shows cost comparison between US and offshore (India, Philippines) and that gets extended to RPA based Digital Labor as Robotic Process Automation is creating a “shift beyond labor arbitrage,” and reducing labor costs phenomenally in both IT and business process environments.

While many companies, large and small will find RPA decreases their need for human labor, reduces processing times, and ignites the ability to easily interface with foreign systems valuable to their bottom lines.

2. Improved Data Analytics

In current generation each task or activity a bot executes produces meaningful data that can be gathered is a strong source for multidimensional analysis. This drives and provide insight for better decision making in the areas of the processes being automated. When data is efficiently combined, compared, and contrasted to data collected it allows for better decision making on both a micro and macro level. As each step in a process is traced a company is able to identify gaps where processes could be further optimized to increase efficiency.   

3. Increased Compliance

The nature of automation means that each step in an IT or business process is fully tracked and documented within the system that is being automated. This makes a company become more compliant with industry and audit regulations.

RPA plays a key role in the industries (like Financials, Life Sciences, healthcare etc.) that have functional areas highly regulated by strict compliance guidelines. In an RPA based solutions it will all the relevant logs, data, workflows and reports which enables tremendous insight and documentation to comply with relevant regulations.

4. Increased Efficiency

A software robot never needs time off – it can work 24x7x365. Typically, a single virtual engineer or robot can replace several full-time employees which depends on process complexity. The same volume of work can be done in less time, with accuracy or more volume can be processed in the same amount of time, thereby allowing downstream work to commence sooner.

5. Higher Employees Productivity

As more repetitive & tedious jobs are handled by bots, employees can participate in more value-added activities that involve personal interactions, problem solving and decision making. RPA allows employees to complete tasks that are more valuable to the company and its customers. When employees feel their work is valued and worthwhile, their productivity increases, which in turn increases employee retention rates. But beyond being able to participate in more value-added activities, employees are better supported for their value-added tasks. This can help increase productivity. Again, the same volume of work can be done in less time, thereby allowing downstream work to commence sooner.                                             

6. Improved Accuracy

With tested and proven repetitive processes bots are not prone to make mistake unless there is a change in process or input or output data points. Employees are human and eventually all humans make mistakes. A compelling feature of RPA is its capability to virtually eliminate processing errors. It’s not a turn-key solution. There will still be the need for testing, training, and governance, but as long as a process is properly optimized and all its sub-processes are accurately mapped, a business need not worry that its software robots will make the mistakes that its employees might.

7. Increased Client Satisfaction

As employees move to more customer-facing roles, and as automation makes processes more efficient and error-free, customers are likely to become more satisfied with their experience. As a company improves its relationships with its customers, customer satisfaction, retention, and acquisition will improve as well.

8. IT Support & Management

Automated processes in the remote management of IT application and infrastructure operations can consistently investigate and solve problems for faster process throughput. This is a journey from Reactive to Proactive to Preventive operations.  Robotic process automation can improve several core Remote infra Management to include service desk, server, database, network devices monitoring and operations. Separating scalability from human resources allows an organization to handle short-term demand with no additional headcount or training requirements. Additionally, IT management will be more effective because RPA makes it easy to maintain a scalable infrastructure. In short, it’s easier to scale software than it is people.