RPA is a widely used acronym for Robotic Process Automation.

Robotic Process Automation is a term that is used to refer to a software tool that is developed to either partially or fully automate a routine task that is normally completed by a human.

RPA is used to automate tasks that are rule-based and repetitive such as data re-entry from one system to another. The software bot tends to imitate the action that would have been completed by a human. As the bot will read one screen to scrape the required information and then populate that into a second system or screen. RPA, therefore, works best within a rule-based environment where the data is structured, as it cannot make any complicated decisions that us humans can.

Live chat seen on many websites are often chatbots which are an example of RPA. They are able to deal with simple requests such as opening hours of your business, or able to navigate someone to a certain area of the website. But when using live chat, you will often find that with more complex questions you are directed to a support agent or to a contact an email address.

Introducing this technology has several benefits for your business:

• Reduce the time that your employees spend on mundane tasks and allow them to focus on more value-add activities, which will benefit your business and is also likely to improve their job satisfaction.
• Fewer errors – using RPA especially in the case of data re-entry ensures 100% accuracy, as the risk of human error is removed.
• Less downtime – RPA works 24/7 without the need for breaks or holidays.
• Reduce costs – the improved efficiency will help to reduce administration costs.

Gartner estimates that RPA is the fastest-growing segment of the global enterprise software market, with RPA growth of 63% in 2018.

Thinking about how you can introduce automation in your business?

We recently completed a project for a client which automated their order entry process. Orders are now taken directly from email and pushed to their ERP without the need for manual entry. Read more about our Order Automation Solution.