Robotic Process Automation - Automating the

Automation
Blitz Learning Technologies
Rajeev Suman
July 20, 2016
Automation has always been the favorite child of process developers around the world. Minimizing
human effort and time through innovative software and services has been in place from quite
some time now. Take the example of assembly line technology, ATMs, automated toll booths, and
self-checkout counters. These innovations have automated and minimized the human intervention
from long time now. However, it seems this is not enough and now being the time for Automation
2.0. Robotic process Automation (RPA) is the next step forward towards this vison. It involves
what is termed as smart software. Smart software is applied to do high-volume, repeatable tasks
which normally takes too much time to accomplish and are very mundane to do regularly. As
predecessors to RPA, artificial intelligence (AI), expert systems, and other methods of process
automation have been in use earlier. RPA takes these processes to a new level with greater
advantages over previous processes. While traditional automation is capable of completing rule
based repetitive tasks, RPA combines automation with adaptability and awareness of artificial
intelligence. Thus RPA not only automates the processes that require human effort but also
automates the processes that require human judgement. [In simple terms, RPA can be
differentiated from traditional automation in the same way a driverless robotic car vs a car using
cruise control. While cruise control only modulates vehicle speed, a driverless car is able to be
aware, learn, adapt, and respond to various driving situations, as a human would. (Wessel, David.
Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 19 Apr. 2011.
Web. 7 July 2014.)]
RPA refers to the implementation of machine/software that imitates human action to complete
tasks based on predefined set of rules. In IT industry, processes such as request management,
access management, monitoring, incident management etc. can be managed through RPA. RPA is
slowly becoming a substitute for offshore outsourcing. Advantages from RPA comes in the form of
cost benefits and increased efficiency over manual process outsourcing. In IT industry, the befit of
RPA to leverage other applications and software without the need of integration has further driven
the adoption of RPA especially in Finance and accounts (F&A) segment.
Evolution of Automation

Automation evolved over time from performing manual non repeatable tasks to gradually
transforming into more linear tasks which were repeatable and more standard. While manual
tasks involved high degrees of manual intervention and labor, linear tasks started to involve
automated scrips. This was the first step towards automation. From there the journey has been
quite interesting. Next came more complex activities which were orchestrated and multi scripted.
These orchestrated activities evolved into more automated and dynamic processes with high
degree of machine inference and observation. Tasks which are nonstandard are now automated
with the use of artificial intelligence thus keeping in mind the dynamic nature of the task. With
RPA, systems will be more self-aware. They will not only automate the tasks but will show a
certain degree of human judgement. These will be more predictive and will self-learn and
execute. They will be capable of self-diagnose for any errors and correct them thereafter. Such
RPA systems will involve AI and cognitive analytics to perform in more efficient way with minimal
human intervention.
Robotic Process Automation: Market
RPA market is made up of RPA application providers such as Blue Prism, IPSoft, Be Informed B.V.,
Appian Corporation, and Automation Anywhere Inc. as well as RPA service providers such as
Sutherland Global Services, TCS, Accenture, Cognizant, Infosys, and HP. The market is segmented
further into various sub segments represented as below:
According to estimates from Transparency Market Research, global IT robotic automation
market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 60.1% for the period 2015-2020 to reach $4.95 billion by
2020. The market volume was estimated to be $472 billion at the end of 2015.

Source: TMR Analysis, March 2015

Currently North America and Europe are the early adopters of RPA. Gradually, towards 2018 and
beyond, Asia Pacific is expected to increase the adoption of RPA and will show the highest
growth.

Advantages of RPA
Decreased operational costs: RPA is providing cost savings beyond labor arbitrage. There
have been used cases of RPA saving 25% to 40% of labor costs in both IT and business
process environments.
Improved data analytics: With each task that is executed, RPA produces critical data
which can be gathered and analyzed for better actionable insights.
Increased regulatory compliance: With increased level of automation, the process is fully
tracked and documented. This helps in better compliance with industry and audit
regulations.
 Increased efficiency and accuracy: RPA can be run 24/7 throughout the year thus
increasing process efficiency. In a typical scenario a single instance of RPA does the work
of 2-5 full time employees. RPA is capable of virtually eliminating any process errors.
Increased employee productivity: As the RPA tool handles the tedious and repetitive
jobs, employees can focus more on value added, problem solving personal interactive
tasks thus increasing their productivity and customer satisfaction.
Logistical advantages: RPA minimizes or eliminate complications related to time zones,
language and cultural barriers with offshore labor. It also decreases efforts on employee
recruitment and training.
Versatility: RPA has its scope of usability across various industries and its ability to
complete a variety of tasks.

Growth Drivers Growth Inhibitors

Application and infrastructure management RPA market will be negatively affected by
needs will bring in huge opportunities for security concerns of the technology over
robotic process automation increased access to an individual
Existing BPO contracts will restrict the
Cost benefits and increased efficiency in the IT
usage of robotic automation software in
industry will drive the growth of the global IT
the BPO segment. But this restriction will
robotic automation market
cease to exist as the contracts expire
Its ability to leverage other applications
without integration will drive the adoption of
RPA across finance and accounting sectors to
reduce expenditure

Future of RPA
A report from McKinsey & Company estimates that increased adoption of disruptive
technologies like automation software and RPA will lead to the replacement of 110mn-
140mn FTEs by 2025. As the adoption increases and RPA becomes more and more
sophisticated crowd sourcing or impact sourcing will increase. New jobs with high skills to
maintain and improve this technology will be needed. RPA may be used an important tool
for cognitive computing where it will not only adapt and assess but will interact, iterate
and understand contextual elements of business processes. Such cognitive computing
systems will use AI and complex machine learning algorithms to performing cognitive
tasks from sensing, predicting, inferring, and even having an emotional intelligence. We
can see the primitive use of such cognitive systems with certain versions IBMs Watson.
RPA is going to change the way services are provided in their speed, accuracy and
behavior.
About the Author
Rajeev Suman is a project lead with Grail Research. He is a technology
enthusiast. He is a pro bono consultant and technology evangelist for Blitz
Learning Technologies. His core responsibilities include providing consulting
services to service providers, organizations and end users on various facets of
service delivery, technology, and disruptive forces acting in the industry, He
has over 8 years of experience in technology consulting and market research.
He earned a PGDM from IFIM B School, Bangalore. Rajeev can be reached at:
| rajeev@blitzlearning.in|https://in.linkedin.com/in/timirraj |

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