What Is RPA, and How Could it Change the Way You Work?

What Is RPA, and How Could it Change the Way You Work?

RPA-Change-Work-Process

It is no secret that automation has taken over in the workplace. Technological advances have allowed us to do more with less, and with the help of Artificial Intelligence and robotics, the future is looking brighter than ever.

If you’re a business owner and you’re not sure how to incorporate RPA (Robotic Process Automation) into your workflow, this blog post is for you. Read on to find out what it is, why it’s important and how it could change the way people work.

What is Robotic Process Automation

Robotic process automation (RPA) is an emerging form of business process automation technology based on the notion of software robots or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. RPA tools can automate highly repetitive, rules-based tasks across disparate systems just as a human worker would. By automating these types of processes, businesses can achieve dramatic improvements in efficiency and quality while freeing up employees to perform higher-value work.

In general, RPA software robots are designed to mimic the actions of a human user within a digital system. For example, a software robot might be configured to log into a financial application, retrieve data from a spreadsheet, and populate fields in the application with that data. Or, a robot might be programmed to scrape data from websites and populate a database with that information. The goal in either case is to automate manual tasks that are time-consuming and/or error-prone when performed by humans.

See how we automate the bank reconciliation process and improve operational efficiency.

Get Case Study

See how we automate the bank reconciliation process and improve operational efficiency.

Get Case Study

See how we automate the bank reconciliation process and improve operational efficiency

There are numerous RPA software vendors on the market today offering different solutions for different needs. Some common features of RPA tools include:

  • Task recording and playback: Users can record themselves performing manual tasks within digital systems and then playback those recordings to create software robots that repeat the same steps.
  • Natural language processing (NLP): Some RPA tools include NLP capabilities that enable them to understand unstructured data such as text or emails and take appropriate actions based on that data.
  • Optical character recognition (OCR): OCR capabilities enable RPA tools to “read” information from images or scanned documents and convert it into a format that can be processed by the software.
  • Analytics: Many RPA tools include built-in analytics capabilities that can be used to track process performance and identify areas for improvement.

How RPA Works

RPA software bots are designed to mimic the actions of a human user, such as opening and interacting with applications, entering data, and following instructions. To do this, they rely on screen scraping—the ability to read and interpret the text and images displayed on a screen. This means that they can be trained to carry out specific tasks by observing how a human user performs them.

Once an RPA bot has been trained to carry out a task, it can be deployed to do that task in production—that is, in the real world, outside of the training environment. When an RPA bot is deployed in production, it will work alongside human users to carry out the task it has been trained to do. In some cases, the RPA bot may even take over the entire task from start to finish; in other cases, it may simply assist the human user by carrying out certain steps in the task.

RPA bots are typically deployed using an RPA platform, which provides the necessary tools and infrastructure for developing, deploying, and managing bots. RPAs can be deployed on-premises (i.e., within an organization’s own IT infrastructure) or in

The RPA Process

There are four main steps in the RPA process:

  1. Identify business processes that can be automated.
  2. Select the software robots, or “bots,” that will carry out the automation.
  3. Configure the bots to mimic the steps of the human workers they are replacing.
  4. Deploy the bots and monitor their performance.

How RPA Affects Your Business

The benefits of RPA are twofold. First, by automating these types of tasks, businesses can free up their employees to focus on higher-value work. Second, because RPA software robots can work faster and more accurately than humans, businesses can improve efficiency and productivity while also reducing errors and improving compliance.

There are a few things to consider before implementing an RPA solution in your business. First, you need to identify which processes would benefit from automation. Second, you need to ensure that the data required for these processes is accessible and of good quality.

Finally, you need to have the infrastructure in place to support the deployment of RPA software bots within your organisation.

If you are thinking about implementing RPA in your business, get in touch with us today to find out more.

Conclusion

In today’s digital era, automation is essential for companies of all sizes and shapes. RPA is a powerful tool that will fundamentally change the way organizations grow and thrive, by transforming them into digitized businesses. Small- to medium-sized enterprises are especially eager to use this technology because it will provide improved services for customers. We can expect to see this revolutionized technology make its way into mainstream corporations in the coming years, as it reaches feasibility and accessibility.

Cogniwize Infosystem is your business’ trusted RPA services provider. We strive to maximize efficiency and reduce operational costs by implementing robotic process automation in your workplace. Our client-centric approach begins with an evaluation and ends with an expansion. Do you want to know how RPA services can bring digital transformation to your business? Contact us today, we’d love to help you implement RPA!